Flush everything.

[..]

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I went in for a routinely Oil change when the shop noticed this yellow gooey stuff in my coolant. I am currently at 52k miles, however I purchased the car with 42k miles and have been meaning to flush all my fluids. What I think happened was the previous owner must have filled up with autozone coolant.

Anyways, I was wondering when is a good time frame for all of the fluids to be flushed?

1) Differential Flush
2) Transmission Flush
3) Coolant Flush
4) Brake Flush
(if any others please list)

I am very big on maintenance so I would like to know when these things should be done. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Durim

[Iron Man]

See the attached file.

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I went in for a routinely Oil change when the shop noticed this yellow gooey stuff in my coolant. I am currently at 52k miles, however I purchased the car with 42k miles and have been meaning to flush all my fluids. What I think happened was the previous owner must have filled up with autozone coolant.

Anyways, I was wondering when is a good time frame for all of the fluids to be flushed?

1) Differential Flush
2) Transmission Flush
3) Coolant Flush
4) Brake Flush
(if any others please list)

I am very big on maintenance so I would like to know when these things should be done. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Durim

[135Pats]

Just IMO but you're at a mileage where i'd feel comfortable doing it all at once. My E88 is nearing 60K and i've flushed every fluid in the car at various intervals. Starting at 50K i'll be doing a trans service (pan, sleeve, fluid) every 25K, oil every 6K, brake fluid once a year, etc.

Not sure how often i'll swap the diff fluid out, i flushed OE for Liquimolly about 5K ago.

[..]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

Just IMO but you're at a mileage where i'd feel comfortable doing it all at once. My E88 is nearing 60K and i've flushed every fluid in the car at various intervals. Starting at 50K i'll be doing a trans service (pan, sleeve, fluid) every 25K, oil every 6K, brake fluid once a year, etc.

Not sure how often i'll swap the diff fluid out, i flushed OE for Liquimolly about 5K ago.

Yes, I agree. I believe my next service should be with the transmission. Would like to also flush the differential.

Weird thing is, when I went a few days ago to get an oil change and a coolant flush my oil temps have been signiificantly higher ever since. The weather has not changed and I rarely go WOT.

I have the BMS Low temperature thermostat so prior to this my oil temps never passed 230 even on the hottest days.

Any idea what could have happened?

[Dackelone]

Fluids to be Flushed...

1) Differential Flush - change 2K miles and then every 30K miles (SAF-XJ 75w140 GL5)
2) Transmission Flush - change every 50K miles (ZF LifeGuard6(auto) or MTF-LT4 for manual trans N54 or LT5 for N55's)
3) Coolant Flush - change every five years (BMW Coolant)
4) Brake Flush - change every year or two (DOT4 or DOT4+)

(if any others please list)

Power Steering fluid - change every four years or so. ATF-III or CHF-11S (look on your PS res cap for which fluid to use)
change oil and filter every 5 to 8K miles. Only use a BMW LL-1 approved oil


and other things to change...

change pollen micro filter every year and wiper blades (at least)every year.
change spark plugs every 45K for no tune or every 25K with a tune.

PS: Many of us (including myself) use Redline ATF D4 (or some use D6(thinner for colder climates)for my manual trans) Some guys use MT90 or MTL for really warm/hot climates. I like to use R.L.'s ATF-D4 though.

[Pig Farmer]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Yes, I agree. I believe my next service should be with the transmission. Would like to also flush the differential.

Weird thing is, when I went a few days ago to get an oil change and a coolant flush my oil temps have been signiificantly higher ever since. The weather has not changed and I rarely go WOT.

I have the BMS Low temperature thermostat so prior to this my oil temps never passed 230 even on the hottest days.

Any idea what could have happened?

Ask the shop if they bled the cooling system. There's a simple process you can perform to prime the water pump to make sure it does not cavitate. Cavitation will cause poor coolant flow and significantly shorten the life of your water pump. Another member was asking about this recently as well. Here's what you can do... Turn the climate control to the highest temperature setting and the lowest fan setting. Put the key in the ignition and press the start bottom once to turn on the electrical system but don't start the car. Then hold the gas peddle down for 5-10 seconds. You'll hear the water pump begin to cycle on and off. This will continue for several minutes. You can take your foot off the gas once the water pump starts to cycle. Eventually the water pump will run continuously for what seems like a minute then it will stop for good. It's best to have the car hooked up to a battery charger when you do this. Leave the door and hood open when you start the process. If you open the door while the pump is priming itself it will sometime stop the process.

Another thought... Ask the shop if they use straight antifreeze or some mix of antifreeze and demineralized H2O. The more H20, the better the cooling effect. After my original water pump was replaced several years ago, I've been running 80% H2O, 20% antifreeze! and a bottle of Water Wetter with great results. That being said, there's no threat off freezing temps where I live.

[..]

Anyone know a reasonable price for a diff and transmission flush (Drain & Refill)

I was quoted at $460 total (Fluid & Labor) at one place

While at another I was quoted $190 total.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Anyone know a reasonable price for a diff and transmission flush (Drain & Refill)

I was quoted at $460 total (Fluid & Labor) at one place

While at another I was quoted $190 total.

A local shop to me will do just the diff for $65, so the $190 sounds like a good deal, but what kind of fluids will they use?

[..]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

A local shop to me will do just the diff for $65, so the $190 sounds like a good deal, but what kind of fluids will they use?

Redline synthetic for the transmission

OEM for the diff

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Redline synthetic for the transmission

OEM for the diff

Sounds pretty good then. I would ask for Redline for the diff as well.

[..]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

Sounds pretty good then. I would ask for Redline for the diff as well.

Thanks for the advice!

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Anyone know a reasonable price for a diff and transmission flush (Drain & Refill)
I was quoted at $460 total (Fluid & Labor) at one place
While at another I was quoted $190 total.

$460 is insane. I wouldn't give that shop the time of day.

$190 is perfectly reasonable for a standard diff fluid change and manual transmission change. I would verify the fluid they use against the specifications in this thread, but other than that it sounds good to go.

[..]

Originally Posted by cheshirecat79

$460 is insane. I wouldn't give that shop the time of day.

$190 is perfectly reasonable for a standard diff fluid change and manual transmission change. I would verify the fluid they use against the specifications in this thread, but other than that it sounds good to go.

Thank you for the feedback!

I was told to go with Redline mt90 for the transmission and moble1 syn 75w90 for the rear diff.

[..]

So I was informed that the Diff and Transmission takes an hour each. So a total of 2hrs of labor. The gentleman stated our diffs do not have a drain plug but instead have to use a pump to flush it.

Also, he stated that they use Automatic Redline fluid for the manuals.

Can anyone confirm if this is all true?

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

So I was informed that the Diff and Transmission takes an hour each. So a total of 2hrs of labor. The gentleman stated our diffs do not have a drain plug but instead have to use a pump to flush it.

Also, he stated that they use Automatic Redline fluid for the manuals.

Can anyone confirm if this is all true?

That's rounding up but yea, sounds about right time wise. And they are correct Re: the drain plug, since it's "lifetime" diff fluid there is no drain plug. It's obnoxious.

I'm guessing they will use Redline D4 ATF. It's an oustanding fluid for ATs or MTs, i've run it through the 6AT in my 1er for the better part of a year.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

Anyone know a reasonable price for a diff and transmission flush (Drain & Refill)

I was quoted at $460 total (Fluid & Labor) at one place

While at another I was quoted $190 total.

Both qoutes sound kind of steep to me! How much labor do they charge to change your engine oil? I would say 1/2 hours labor rate to change your trans and 1/2 hour's rate to change the diff fluid is fair. One hour or maybe 1.5 hours tops! Two hours sounds high to me.

Yes, the diff does not have a drain plug... so the shp must have a tool that can suck out the old gear oil out of the "fill hole". Then add new oil until it spills out of the fill hole.

Changing the transmision oil is fairly easy. I think 1/2 hours labor is fair. One hour's rate is high. Again... I would ask how much labor rate they charge for an oil change. My bet is 1/3rd of an hour labor rate.

The correct oil for the trans is BMW MTF-LT5 or you can use Redline ATF-D4 or D6. The D6 is thinner for use in colder climates. I use D4 all year round in my 135i MT. You will need 2.2Liters of trans oil. So buy three quarts.

For the diff, BMW says to use Castrol SAF-XJ 75w140 GL5 API. You coudl also use Redline 75w90 GL5 or MTL90. Both are great diff oils.

I would change both trans and diff oils every 30k miles. Here is what my old trans fluid looked like...

Bellow is what my trans fluid looked like after 35K miles(left), new MTF-LT4(for my car) center, and new Redline ATF-D4 far right.




Good Luck,
Dackel


DIY: manual transmission and diff fluid change
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...+change&page=4
[/B]

[..]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Both qoutes sound kind of steep to me! How much labor do they charge to change your engine oil? I would say 1/2 hours labor rate to change your trans and 1/2 hour's rate to change the diff fluid is fair. One hour or maybe 1.5 hours tops! Two hours sounds high to me.

Yes, the diff does not have a drain plug... so the shp must have a tool that can suck out the old gear oil out of the "fill hole". Then add new oil until it spills out of the fill hole.

Changing the transmision oil is fairly easy. I think 1/2 hours labor is fair. One hour's rate is high. Again... I would ask how much labor rate they charge for an oil change. My bet is 1/3rd of an hour labor rate.

The correct oil for the trans is BMW MTF-LT5 or you can use Redline ATF-D4 or D6. The D6 is thinner for use in colder climates. I use D4 all year round in my 135i MT. You will need 2.2Liters of trans oil. So buy three quarts.

For the diff, BMW says to use Castrol SAF-XJ 75w140 GL5 API. You coudl also use Redline 75w90 GL5 or MTL90. Both are great diff oils.

I would change both trans and diff oils every 30k miles. Here is what my old trans fluid looked like...

Bellow is what my trans fluid looked like after 35K miles(left), new MTF-LT4(for my car) center, and new Redline ATF-D4 far right.
Attachment 1073219



Good Luck,
Dackel


DIY: manual transmission and diff fluid change
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...+change&page=4
[/B]

This is great info! Thank you so much for taking the time out to post!

Few things....

The shop charges $119.99 for an Oil change (Labor & Fluid).

They recommended Redline ATF-D4, as you said:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=9

$34.47 for 3 quarts.

BUT

For the diff they recommended Mobil 1 75w90. Would you choose Redline 75w90 over that?

Here is the Redline 75w90 GL-5:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=57904

How many quarts will I need?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by DurimOne54

This is great info! Thank you so much for taking the time out to post!

Few things....

The shop charges $119.99 for an Oil change (Labor & Fluid).

They recommended Redline ATF-D4, as you said:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=9

$34.47 for 3 quarts.

BUT

For the diff they recommended Mobil 1 75w90. Would you choose Redline 75w90 over that?

Here is the Redline 75w90 GL-5:

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=57904

How many quarts will I need?

Mobil1 is good oil too. But if it were my car... I would use Redline fluids for both trans and diff. The shop is (probably) recommending Mobil1 bc they are making more money on that brand vs RedLine.

You will need two quarts to change the diff fluid. I think its ~1.2 liters.

And you will need three quarts for the manual trans. ~2.1 liters.


IF you know how much a quart of motor oil sells for at your indi and then take off $12 for an oil filter... that would tell you how much labor they charge for that $120 oil change.

Some shops pay the tech 1/2 hour's shop time but bill that oil change labor at a lower labor rate(than their regular COD repairs). They do this to stay competitive. Back when I worked at a VW/Subbie dealership we charged $60 per hour. But our oil changes were billed at $40 per hour. So the techs always got paid 0.33 Time Units or almost 1/3 of an hours pay, but the costomer ony paided about $12 in labor time, plus oil and filter parts and shop fee's(if any).

People bring thier car's in for an oil change and its always easy to spot something wrong with the car. This is where the bill can end up more.

Dackel

[JimD]

I don't think anybody can get two quarts of fluid in the differential unless they stand the car on the nose for the fill. I doubt I got much more than a pint out of mine and I know that 1 quart was plenty for the refill. It may technically hold more than that but differential fluid is pretty thick and clings to the surfaces. A vacumn pump will not remove it from surfaces.

The hardest part of changing these is getting the vehicle up in the air. If you can do that, you can do it yourself. I used MTL from Red Line, which is thicker, and their differential fluid. I will be due to do it again before long. It is about the same difficulty as changing the oil but it involves a little different tools and process. The tools are cheap.

[..]

Originally Posted by JimD

The hardest part of changing these is getting the vehicle up in the air. If you can do that, you can do it yourself. I used MTL from Red Line, which is thicker, and their differential fluid. I will be due to do it again before long. It is about the same difficulty as changing the oil but it involves a little different tools and process. The tools are cheap.

Which Redline MTL are you running?

Asides from it being thicker, is there any differences between using the ATF-D4 and the MTL?

What I'm not understanding is why do some members on here prefer to run ATF in their manual transmissions as opposed to MTF?

[alvarogd]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Fluids to be Flushed...

1) Differential Flush - change 2K miles and then every 30K miles (SAF-XJ 75w140 GL5)
2) Transmission Flush - change every 50K miles (ZF LifeGuard6(auto) or MTF-LT4 for manual trans N54 or LT5 for N55's)
3) Coolant Flush - change every five years (BMW Coolant)
4) Brake Flush - change every year or two (DOT4 or DOT4+)

(if any others please list)

Power Steering fluid - change every four years or so. ATF-III or CHF-11S (look on your PS res cap for which fluid to use)
change oil and filter every 5 to 8K miles. Only use a BMW LL-1 approved oil


and other things to change...

change pollen micro filter every year and wiper blades (at least)every year.
change spark plugs every 45K for no tune or every 25K with a tune.

PS: Many of us (including myself) use Redline ATF D4 (or some use D6(thinner for colder climates)for my manual trans) Some guys use MT90 or MTL for really warm/hot climates. I like to use R.L.'s ATF-D4 though.

Hi,
I'm new here. I've been reading this morning lots of threads and posts about the oil (engine, trans and diff)
I'm not sure about which ones I need.

I own a 2005 130i manual transmission and live in southern Europe, southern Spain, in Málaga. So the weather is over 10ºC the whole year and summers over 30ºC it's normal. Just bought it with 144.000km (i think this is 90k miles) and want to do a flush of all the fluids, because I really don't know what the previous owners have done.

I will use it as daily car and try to get to the track once or twice a year (I've got myself an mx5 for trackdays)

I've been reading that the correct oil for the trans is BMW MTF-LT5. Many bimmers use Redline ATF-D4 or D6. For the weather conditions I have here (close to Ascari track, for more info) should I use D4 insted?
Also red that Redline MTL is ok, so this or ATD-D4 should be one of my choices. No difference?
( three quarts for the trans ?? )

For the diff I could use Redline 75w90 GL5 or MTL90 ?
( two quarts for the diff fluid ?? )

I just red here that the Coolant should be "BMW Coolant", how many quarts or litres ?

For the brakes, can I use DOT 5.1 instead? I'm a noob but I get myself into trackdays and i think this 5.1 works better with high temps.

Engine oil could be Mobil1 0W-40? Are 7 quarts enough ?

I have recently change the pollen micro filter and I will check the spark plugs.

Also, any good (cheap) online oils shop for European bimmers ? Best in € not £. Because I can't get my hands on Redline in Spain, only UK.

Thanks !!!

PS.- Shall I introduce myself in other sub-forum ?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by alvarogd

Hi,
I'm new here. I've been reading this morning lots of threads and posts about the oil (engine, trans and diff)
I'm not sure about which ones I need.

I own a 2005 130i manual transmission and live in southern Europe, southern Spain, in Málaga. So the weather is over 10ºC the whole year and summers over 30ºC it's normal. Just bought it with 144.000km (i think this is 90k miles) and want to do a flush of all the fluids, because I really don't know what the previous owners have done.

I will use it as daily car and try to get to the track once or twice a year (I've got myself an mx5 for trackdays)

I've been reading that the correct oil for the trans is BMW MTF-LT5. Many bimmers use Redline ATF-D4 or D6. For the weather conditions I have here (close to Ascari track, for more info) should I use D4 insted?
Also red that Redline MTL is ok, so this or ATD-D4 should be one of my choices. No difference?
( three quarts for the trans ?? )

For the diff I could use Redline 75w90 GL5 or MTL90 ?
( two quarts for the diff fluid ?? )

I just red here that the Coolant should be "BMW Coolant", how many quarts or litres ?

For the brakes, can I use DOT 5.1 instead? I'm a noob but I get myself into trackdays and i think this 5.1 works better with high temps.

Engine oil could be Mobil1 0W-40? Are 7 quarts enough ?

I have recently change the pollen micro filter and I will check the spark plugs.

Also, any good (cheap) online oils shop for European bimmers ? Best in € not £. Because I can't get my hands on Redline in Spain, only UK.

Thanks !!!

PS.- Shall I introduce myself in other sub-forum ?

Hi @alvarogd ,

Where to start... ?


Since your in such a hot climate... yes, I think Redline's MTL would be best for your manual trans fluid. The trans holds slightly more than 2.1 liters... so get three quarts and you will be fine. Or maybe order five quarts so you have enough for a second trans fluid change down the road.

Just make sure when you change the trans fluid... the car is completely level. This is important!!

The diff fluid bmw specs is Castrol SAF-XJ 75w140 GL5 API. You can use Redline 75w90 GL5 or MTL90. I think I would go with MTL90. I think Redline also makes a 75w140 gear oil as well. But realistically you will be fine with either of those Redline products. The diff holds slightly more than 1.2 liters. So two quarts will do the job. You will need a suction pump to remove the old diff oil. Drive the car before hand so the fluid is thinner(when warm/hot).

http://www.amazon.de/Castrol-Syntrax...+saf-xj+75w140


See my post #70...

DIY: manual transmission and diff fluid change
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...+change&page=4



I would only use BMW Coolant. Its sold in Europe in 1.5 bottles that you mix with distilled water. The entire cooling system holds 9 liters I believe. Not 100% on that. You will have to put the car into the cooling system bleeding process. Do a search to find out the procedure.

BASF makes suitable coolant as well. I just do not know which one you need. ?
http://www.amazon.de/BASF-53115792-G...ds=kuehlwasser

Brake fluid is DOT 4 or Super DOT 4. DO NOT use DOT5 as this is 100% silicone and will not work in your braking system. You will need to flush the braking system(and maybe the clutch slave if your OCD). two liters should be enough.

Cartechnic brake fluid SuperDOT4
http://www.amazon.de/SUPER-PLUS-1000...rds=super+dot4

Mobil1 0W-40 LL4 is a good oil. I use German Castrol FST Edge 0w40 LL1 on my car. http://www.amazon.de/CASTROL-EDGE-0W...+fst+edge+0w40