Changed my ATF Today.
 

I finally got around to changing my ATF fluid and filter today. This is the first time I've changed it since I bought it at 97,000 miles; it now has 141,000. I'm not sure if the previous owner changed it either.

I used the instructions from PelicanParts.com as well as my Bentley and they laid out the process very well. The PelicanParts is much better though, and it's all you need.

Pelican Link: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...Fluid_Auto.htm

Some observations......

•First off I have to mention what a nasty sloppy project this is! ATF was everywhere! Pulling the drain plug is no big deal, but once you drop the pans, you have a good 2' x 1' area that'll drip for hours.... :( At one point I got a cup of warm ATF splashed onto my face, when I pulled the big pan.

•The magnet on the larger pan had a lot of mushy debris on it. I'd say it was about 3/8" thick. Also, the smaller pan had some harder black deposits on the pan bottom (inside). Here's a pic from the Pelican article of the magnet: http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...Auto/pic15.jpg Those 6 grey humps are all debris! The magnet is a completely flat circle when it's clean. Mine was worse BTW.

• There was significant corrosion on the transmission gasket/pan sealing surface. It was mostly the outer few millimeters, and mainly on the passenger side. The pans didn't corrode at all, but just the transmission. So, it's about impossible to get a completely clean & smooth mating surface. Also, after 10 years, the old gasket on the large pan was very hard to get off; brittle and stiff. You could pull off some large chunks, but a lot needed a razor to scrape with. The gasket on the small pan came of relatively easily, but did require some cleaning up.

• The smaller pan is symmetrical, except for the bolt holes and this was a problem. :mad: In my haste I slapped the gasket on, filled the small pan with fluid and proceeded to bolt the pan up. It was then I realized the some of the bolt holes had no holes in the gasket. So, I had to drop the small pan again and flip the gasket over. Of course, spilling new fluid all-over in the process. One more thing with the small pan. If you fill it up too much, the transmission parts hanging down will displace so much fluid, that the pan will overflow. Again, spilling fluid everywhere. :rolleyes: The larger pan isn't symetrical, so you can't screw that one up, it think....

• One more thing with the larger pan. Make sure one of the first things you do in this project is to loosen the upper fill bolt. I waited until it came time to pump the new fluid and then realized the fill bolt was almost seized :eek: It took a LOT of force to get it loose and I almost stripped the head hex. Maybe it wasn't THAT tight, but when you're on you back sliding all over, it feels very tight.

I didn't have any transmission problems before I started, and thankfully all felt well after I was done. It didn't feel much different, although the upshifts seemed to come a little quicker and more smoothly, so that's good.

I used about 4.5 quarts of "Resolute" brand Dexron III. It's a "Mill's Fleet Farm" store brand that's made by Citgo. It was maybe 1.49/quart on sale. I didn't feel like buying expensive stuff for some reason.... I bought a "Meistersatz" brand transmission filter kit from Pelican as well.

• ATF fluid nasty, stinky stuff. Don't change your fluid in clothes you aren't fully willing to throw away. I ran a soaked shirt throught the wash and it still smells terrible. It stained my undershirt pink/red, so I threw it away since I couldn't wash the color or smell out :(