E90 330i Transmission oil changed

[wtbdeath 4]

I decided to do a oil change on my 330i , with ZF 6 speed transmission.

The car is 2005 with 189k on it, on original transmission oil, of course....

Anyway, bought 10 litres of pentsion ATF 1 (full synthetic) rather than ZF Life guard , because: 1, it is cheaper. 2. it is full synthetic.

Also bought ZF filter kit.

I changed oil only first, the oil came out was nasty, car was having hard shifting from 1-> 2 and not so smoothing shifts after that.

Filled in 4.7L , car felt good, shifting after 2nd is super smooth, but still feel 1->2 some times bit hard.

Drove about 500km, dropped pan, did full filter change.

Now, is the interesting part, the 2 magnets on the filter are FILLED with black fine dusts / shavings , I don't think it can hold any more than that, I am glad I changed it.

put on new pan and bolts, I can see have a very very very minor leak from the sealing sleve, if you know what I am talking about, anyway, didn't buy that part and just left it as is.

Filled in 5.5L back to transmission ( reused 0.5L of old oil) , the oil came out prety good, I thought TC would hold some old oil and would be black, but not the case here.

I didn't reset adaption, no need to do it anyway, for the first 200km, I can tell the transmission is getting better and better, and after 500km, the hard shifts are totaly gone, shifts through all gears super smooth!

Total job is around $500 , I would do it again 40k later (changing the sealing sleve, otherwise I will just change oil, about $100 job). Well worth the money IMO.

Edit: From what I read on internet, ZF lifeguard is just semi-synthetic , I don't think it will work after 10 years, or 100k. It is thin oil to provide better fuel enconmy but the ATF1 I use didn't go any worse, I average 10.5L/100km for combined driving and drive it as it is meant to be driven...

Edited July 20, 2015 by wtbdeath

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

The E90 6 speed transmission must have the correct oil and the loom socket replacement is standard replacement when servicing the transmission with adaptation clearance, road test & recheck.... I saw "cheap" in your post. A word I seldom use looking after peoples cars.

[wtbdeath 4]

The E90 6 speed transmission must have the correct oil and the loom socket replacement is standard replacement when servicing the transmission with adaptation clearance, road test & recheck.... I saw "cheap" in your post. A word I seldom use looking after peoples cars.

Knowing what you are doing and do it cheaply is a common good practice I heard.

The reason "must" have the "correct" oil is because most of the oil on market are not compatible. The replacement oil is not even available in NZ.

Dealers quoted $63/L for lifeguard , semi synthetic , as trade account, I could get ~$40/L , but still much expensive than full synthetic Pension ATF1 replacement at $20/L.

For 1/3 of the price if using correct part, I could replace it 3 times as my wish and maybe still save some penny for beers.

Edited July 20, 2015 by wtbdeath

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

What ever......Do as you please

[wtbdeath 4]

The point of this post was for whoever was thinking about a transmission oil change, they should change it, if it is over 5 years, or 100k, sooner the better. No many people doing it proactively until it is too late, it can be totally avoided and at a very reasonable price.

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

The point of this post was for whoever was thinking about a transmission oil change, they should change it, if it is over 5 years, or 100k, sooner the better. No many people doing it proactively until it is too late, it can be totally avoided and at a very reasonable price.[/quote

Exactly what I promote.. Using the correct oil and procedure, doing it once only

[Olaf 3321]

@wtbdeath how's it working out for you, and where'd you buy the Pentosin ATF-1?