DIY - 135i/N54 Steptronic Automatic Transmission Fluid Flush and Service

[DrGadget]

While there was nothing wrong with my transmission, I just had all fluids replaced by SouthernBM at 50,000 km. It feels like new.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by uberschnell

The ZF AT has a liquid heat exchanger. It's located right behind the intercooler and to the drivers side. It seems that you would want to focus on increasing radiator cooling capacity if you want to address the AT heating issue.

That is more to warm UP the trans fluid and not to cool it down.

[badgesnob]

Hi mate,

Regarding purchasing from the CTSC, they do not ship internationally, especially oil because it is hazardous. I really dont know how you did it with the CTSC. Can you advise?

[froop]

Originally Posted by badgesnob

Hi mate,

Regarding purchasing from the CTSC, they do not ship internationally, especially oil because it is hazardous. I really dont know how you did it with the CTSC. Can you advise?

It seems like a more recent development. When I ordered mine back in late 2012 I had absolutely no issue with it.

Hi Alex,

Shipping the least expensive way is with the USPS and that cost is $140 for
app. 22lbs.
Too expensive.

Best regards
Klaus

-----Original Message-----
From: alexwong##
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 3:30 PM
To: info@thectsc.com
Subject: Contact Form - CTSC - ZF parts: 2008 E88 135i Transmission Service
Kit

Name: Alex
Message: Hi,

I'm looking to purchase one of your kits but I'm actually from Australia.

Do you ship to Australia and would it be possible to provide me with a
quote?

Thanks,

Alex

Click-N-Ship® Shipping Details

Shipped from: Shipped to:
KLAUS MALENKE
THE CTSC
##
CAMARILLO CA 93012-8771
ALEX WONG
##
FAIRFIELD (SYDNEY), NEW SOUTH WALES
NEW SOUTH WALES (AUSTRALIA) 2165

Type of Service: Priority Mail International
Label Number: CV 022 062 418 US
Note To Recipient: Oil change kit from The CTSC you ordered.

[badgesnob]

Originally Posted by froop

It seems like a more recent development. When I ordered mine back in late 2012 I had absolutely no issue with it.

Thanks Alex, weird, he even emailed me today and said never.

[lainmike0710]

Doesn't the 135 have a DCT not Steptronic?? Just curious per the title of the DIY post. 128 is Steptronic GM (Made in France) transmission and 135 is DCT ZF (Made in Germany). Not sure, that's just what I always read/heard. I will admit, despite my 128 having the GM transmission, I've had NO issues whatsoever so I'm thinking they do much better work in Europe than the US.

[sparky1_2007]

2008-2010 auto 135i's had a ZF 6HP?? unit. It wasnt until 2011 that a DCT trans was available.

Also, word of caution to anyone doing this. Remove the fill plug first before draining anything. I almost stripped my old one out trying to remove it. You cannot get any sort of socket/extension combo up in there without lowering the transmission, so it is best to make sure you can remove it before you start removing fluids and such.

To remove I used an 8mm allen key, 8mm short socket and a 1/4" extension that added another 2-3" onto the length and banged on it with a rubber mallet a couple times and it cracked loose.

[lainmike0710]

Originally Posted by sparky1_2007

2008-2010 auto 135i's had a ZF 6HP?? unit. It wasnt until 2011 that a DCT trans was available.

Also, word of caution to anyone doing this. Remove the fill plug first before draining anything. I almost stripped my old one out trying to remove it. You cannot get any sort of socket/extension combo up in there without lowering the transmission, so it is best to make sure you can remove it before you start removing fluids and such.

To remove I used an 8mm allen key, 8mm short socket and a 1/4" extension that added another 2-3" onto the length and banged on it with a rubber mallet a couple times and it cracked loose.

Both very interesting bits of information.

[muddtt]

Thanks for the write up. I was thinking about doing this on jack stands. How stable was it for you on the stands? You feel better about doing it on jack stands afterwards? Thanks.

[froop]

Originally Posted by muddtt

Thanks for the write up. I was thinking about doing this on jack stands. How stable was it for you on the stands? You feel better about doing it on jack stands afterwards? Thanks.

No worries!

Should be fine on jack stands. Just for extra safety, put some ramps and/or wheels under the raised wheels. It's very safe with jack stands but extra safety measures will make it feel a lot more comfortable.

[Sasha4]

Hey froop-

Did you install the Sealing Sleeve that comes with the package. I noticed that ECS doesnt contain that in theirs- wondering if its needed.

Also- did you need to use any of the additional hex bolts on your install (5 are provided by CTSC)- again wondering since not provided by ECS.

Only asking since I'm trying to save on shipping

For the actions of moving the gear selections 1-6, Ill be on a Ranger Quickjack which I can just let the wheels rotate. Is it better to actually let the transmission rotate the driveline to get the fluids moving or is just the actions of moving the gear selector while brakes are applied enough?

Thanks in advance

Sasha

[froop]

Originally Posted by Sasha4

Hey froop-

Did you install the Sealing Sleeve that comes with the package. I noticed that ECS doesnt contain that in theirs- wondering if its needed.

Also- did you need to use any of the additional hex bolts on your install (5 are provided by CTSC)- again wondering since not provided by ECS.

Only asking since I'm trying to save on shipping

For the actions of moving the gear selections 1-6, Ill be on a Ranger Quickjack which I can just let the wheels rotate. Is it better to actually let the transmission rotate the driveline to get the fluids moving or is just the actions of moving the gear selector while brakes are applied enough?

Thanks in advance

Sasha

Hey Sasha,

I didn't get any sealing sleeve or additional hex bolts with my kit that I remember.

As for the transmission shifting, I think it's better to let it free spin.

[Sasha4]

Originally Posted by froop

Hey Sasha,

I didn't get any sealing sleeve or additional hex bolts with my kit that I remember.

As for the transmission shifting, I think it's better to let it free spin.

Thanks froop- Tackling this hopefully this weekend with a coolant flush as well.

[Sasha4]

Froop- Great write up- helped a bunch as I just completed my coolant flush and Transmission service this morning. Wanted to point out two corrections to your write up

The dust shield bracket is held on by an 8mm nut/washer
The drain plug is most definitely a 10mm and not 3/8 (that was very loose).

Other than those two things- spot on!

A couple of pictures. Im shocked BMW states Lifetime when the look of the fluid was horrible at 60K on my wife's car and the filter would continue to weep out oil to the point I emptied the pan 4 times from the filter alone. It was very clogged for sure

For those wondering- I use a 5000XL Ranger QuickJack from Bend Pak. Its a portable lift that gets me about 23" of clearance and works great. Was able to have my friend work the gears and get almost 6 liters in the transmission case. Awesome lift system and they make it 12V too for true portability for race tracks.




Where the magic happens



Magnets were coated in metal sludge. This should be done at 40K and everyone should get this done. It likely saved my transmission.



Drive afterwards confirmed the shifting was vastly improved. Ran a 60 mph 3rd gear romp to 130 and it was silky smooth and free of hesitation. In automatic mode (regular)- the 70 mph drop from 6th to 5th to overtake was fast and had zero lag. Huge improvement over yesterdays drive. All the gears seemed to be shifting much smoother and without any jerkiness.

If you haven't done this- DO IT!

Froop- Thanks again!

Forgot to add- took we with a twin coolant flush- about 3 hours to complete taking my time.

[muddtt]

i've been dragging my feet on this. guess i'll go ahead and order the parts. thanks for the motivation.

[froop]

Originally Posted by Sasha4

Froop- Great write up- helped a bunch as I just completed my coolant flush and Transmission service this morning. Wanted to point out two corrections to your write up

The dust shield bracket is held on by an 8mm nut/washer
The drain plug is most definitely a 10mm and not 3/8 (that was very loose).

Other than those two things- spot on!

A couple of pictures. Im shocked BMW states Lifetime when the look of the fluid was horrible at 60K on my wife's car and the filter would continue to weep out oil to the point I emptied the pan 4 times from the filter alone. It was very clogged for sure

For those wondering- I use a 5000XL Ranger QuickJack from Bend Pak. Its a portable lift that gets me about 23" of clearance and works great. Was able to have my friend work the gears and get almost 6 liters in the transmission case. Awesome lift system and they make it 12V too for true portability for race tracks.

Drive afterwards confirmed the shifting was vastly improved. Ran a 60 mph 3rd gear romp to 130 and it was silky smooth and free of hesitation. In automatic mode (regular)- the 70 mph drop from 6th to 5th to overtake was fast and had zero lag. Huge improvement over yesterdays drive. All the gears seemed to be shifting much smoother and without any jerkiness.

If you haven't done this- DO IT!

Froop- Thanks again!

Forgot to add- took we with a twin coolant flush- about 3 hours to complete taking my time.

No worries! I'm glad it helped. I'm actually due to do a full flush of the fluid now that I'm 50,000kms past when I last changed it and I'm starting to notice a little clunking again with some shifts occasionally.

Thanks for the nut/bolt/plug sizes. I'll update them in the OP. I have no idea why I would have written 3/8" actually seeing as everything on the car is in metric measurements. Maybe that's all I had at the time haha.

Btw, that lift system looks epic... I might have to look at getting something like that if my car isn't too low for it that is.

Edit: Had a look at my OP and I did actually write 8mm bolts for the splash/dust shield but had it has "7 8mm". I've changed it to 7 x 8mm. Also, it looks as though I also used an imperial 5/16" allen key for the fill plug. I wonder if that is in fact an 8mm allen key. I'll change it anyway as 5/16" is equivalent to 7.94mm.

[muddtt]

Saw this online.

[Sasha4]

Originally Posted by froop

No worries! I'm glad it helped. I'm actually due to do a full flush of the fluid now that I'm 50,000kms past when I last changed it and I'm starting to notice a little clunking again with some shifts occasionally.

Thanks for the nut/bolt/plug sizes. I'll update them in the OP. I have no idea why I would have written 3/8" actually seeing as everything on the car is in metric measurements. Maybe that's all I had at the time haha.

Btw, that lift system looks epic... I might have to look at getting something like that if my car isn't too low for it that is.

Edit: Had a look at my OP and I did actually write 8mm bolts for the splash/dust shield but had it has "7 8mm". I've changed it to 7 x 8mm. Also, it looks as though I also used an imperial 5/16" allen key for the fill plug. I wonder if that is in fact an 8mm allen key. I'll change it anyway as 5/16" is equivalent to 7.94mm.

Well written and easy to follow. My wife is ecstatic with the change the transmission has and Im quite impressed as well.

The lift for my wifes 135i was too low to use the 4" rubber spacer blocks with the billet aluminum hockey puck spacers that have that rectangle to fit in the pocket, so I ran it up with the 2" rubber blocks, placed my Reverse Logic parking ramps under the tires and lowered it back down. That gave me the necessary clearance to use the 4" blocks for extra wiggle room underneath.

A suggestion to anyone looking to do this on a budget and be safe, Id suggest Reverse Logics specially designed ESCO jack stands with built in swiveling blocks that fit in the lift pockets. Ive used them to work under my GT-R and they are rock solid, inexpensive and conveniently- work with BMW pockets too. A set of 4, some plywood to gain enough height to get to the center jack pads front and rear and a Harbor Freight 2 Ton Low profile jack (simply an amazing jack that Ive used to lift my heavily modified long travel FJ, GT-R and BMW.

Jack stands (they usually run specials on the forums and have great sales all the time)

http://www.reverselogic.us/shop.html...tegory=4643108

Jack (take your 20% coupon you get every other month in and snag this jack- you wont be disappointed)

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-ton-l...ump-68050.html

Hope that helps.

Pictures of both items mentioned above while in use on my GT-R- Jack left to act as a safety but never required it.

[1and1]

Thanks for the great DIY!
I just did the trans fluid, and wow, what an improvement!

I'm at 60K miles, and it was shifting harsh in sport mode, especially 2>3 and 3>4. With the fresh fluid the harshness is gone and the trans is once again well behaved. Totally worth it, and if your step is starting to misbehave and you're over 50K miles, do it!

I spent some time modifying my jack stands to fit, maybe 30 minutes and something that needed to be done anyway, this was just a great reason to knock that little project out. Aside from that the job was quick and easy, not really any more difficult than changing your oil.


Putting the"tree" in shade tree mechanic...

[hey1]

Hi I want to change my tranny fluid on a 134000km car. Can I just change the fluid without changing the filter.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by hey1

Hi I want to change my tranny fluid on a 134000km car. Can I just change the fluid without changing the filter.

Yes, you can. BUT... when you drain the A/T pan... you will only drain less than ~4 liters of ATF. The trans holds about 9 liters. So you might have to change the fluid like this a few times before the ATF will be a fresh clear red color. This is how I changed my trans fluid on my e39 a few years back.

I am not even sure the 135i A/T have a pan plug/screw. Most AT's you simply drop the AT pan. Looking back... I would have a shop do the service. Check around where the closest ZF authorized service center is to you.

[1and1]

Originally Posted by hey1

Hi I want to change my tranny fluid on a 134000km car. Can I just change the fluid without changing the filter.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

I am not even sure the 135i A/T have a pan plug/screw. Most AT's you simply drop the AT pan. Looking back... I would have a shop do the service. Check around where the closest ZF authorized service center is to you.

Yes, you can change just the fluid, but considering the age/mileage I'd strongly encourage doing the filter as well if it's not been done before. It's very easy to do, not adding much complexity or cost to the job.

And, yes the step trans has both a drain and a fil plug. Both are clearly discussed and shown in pics in the original post of this thread.

Also note that as Dackelone mentioned you'll want to do the fluid change two or maybe even three times if not replacing the filter. Due to fluid in the torque converter you may even want to do it more than once even if you replace the filter if you're really wanting to be thorough. I did fluid & filter just recently and will probably do a fluid only change in the spring when I do the diff.