mikeyb74
03-24-2011, 06:17 AM
I had the chance to experience changing the transmission fluid on my cousin's 04 330ci equipped SMG with 65K. Which was "almost" as easy as changing the tranny fluid in a manual car.
You will need an 8mm and 17mm socket
2 liter of transmission fluid (BMW sells it in a 5 liter bottle)
Fluid pump/siphon
Drain pan
Able to get car in the air (I used 4 jack stands)
Jack the car up with your floor jack and place the jack stands. Make sure the car is level.
Use your 8mm socket + ratchet to undo the 2 under trays in the way.
Undo the smaller one which sits more to the passenger side of the car and that will swing down.
Then undo the larger of the trays which sits across the middle of the car, right under the gearbox. Approx 6 8mm hex bolts and 2 8mm washers secure the trays to the underneath the car.
Once these are removed, you'll see and have access to the gearbox, to the left of the yellow sticker which says life time oil you will see the drain plug. Above but inline with this you'll see the filler plug. I undid this plug first and a small bit of fluid came out so this shows you just fill it until it comes out.
You then want to place the drain pan or under the drain plug and undo it. It comes out fast so undo the plug with your socket then use your hand to pull it away fast.
The old fluid was very watery and had a lot of metal filings in it.
Put the drain plug back in and "simply" refill the box.. I used the transfer pump. I put one end in the filler hole and one end in the fluid bottle and simply pumped. The first pump on the third liter had fluid coming out of the gearbox so I quickly put the plug back in and tightened them up.
I then jet washed the underside as fluid had been weeping from the drain plug then replaced the under trays.
It's been 100 miles since and the difference is noticeable. No more clattering or clunky gears when selecting first or reverse, hard changes seem a lot smoother and the box seems totally silent compared to before, I could hear gears engaging etc.
The fluid which came out smelt burnt, had filings, was more water like and when rubbed between my fingers, it wasn't the most lubricating of fluids.
Sorry for not posting pictures of this DIY. I was planning on taking pictures but my cousin was in a hurry. I was also planning on changing the diff and SMG fluids but that will have to wait for another day.
This DIY will work for all SMG equipped cars.
You will need an 8mm and 17mm socket
2 liter of transmission fluid (BMW sells it in a 5 liter bottle)
Fluid pump/siphon
Drain pan
Able to get car in the air (I used 4 jack stands)
Jack the car up with your floor jack and place the jack stands. Make sure the car is level.
Use your 8mm socket + ratchet to undo the 2 under trays in the way.
Undo the smaller one which sits more to the passenger side of the car and that will swing down.
Then undo the larger of the trays which sits across the middle of the car, right under the gearbox. Approx 6 8mm hex bolts and 2 8mm washers secure the trays to the underneath the car.
Once these are removed, you'll see and have access to the gearbox, to the left of the yellow sticker which says life time oil you will see the drain plug. Above but inline with this you'll see the filler plug. I undid this plug first and a small bit of fluid came out so this shows you just fill it until it comes out.
You then want to place the drain pan or under the drain plug and undo it. It comes out fast so undo the plug with your socket then use your hand to pull it away fast.
The old fluid was very watery and had a lot of metal filings in it.
Put the drain plug back in and "simply" refill the box.. I used the transfer pump. I put one end in the filler hole and one end in the fluid bottle and simply pumped. The first pump on the third liter had fluid coming out of the gearbox so I quickly put the plug back in and tightened them up.
I then jet washed the underside as fluid had been weeping from the drain plug then replaced the under trays.
It's been 100 miles since and the difference is noticeable. No more clattering or clunky gears when selecting first or reverse, hard changes seem a lot smoother and the box seems totally silent compared to before, I could hear gears engaging etc.
The fluid which came out smelt burnt, had filings, was more water like and when rubbed between my fingers, it wasn't the most lubricating of fluids.
Sorry for not posting pictures of this DIY. I was planning on taking pictures but my cousin was in a hurry. I was also planning on changing the diff and SMG fluids but that will have to wait for another day.
This DIY will work for all SMG equipped cars.