How to change the Automatic Transmission Fluid and Filter in a BMW 330i equipped with a GM Automatic Transmission 5L40E which is the AS5-390R. This is the sa…
BMW e46 Automatic Transmission Fluid and Filter Change.wmv
160
Like
Save
){kind=link}
- Tags:
Automatic, Change.wmv, filter, Fluid, Transmission
- Categories: BMW
Comments
Write a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hi John R. sorry to hear that. If you are unsure about this procedure,
please take your car in for service. Transmissions can be touchy and being
under the car while running can be un-nerving. Thanks for watching though.
Brett, yes you want the rubber seal to be against the easier to warp
surface (the pan.) If you want to get most of the old fluid out you can
drain, refill, and run it, then drain again. I bought a case of Dexon VI
so I could do this. Change the filter right before filling it for the last
time.
Yes all is well, I have put 30k miles on the transmission since and it
works very well.
Bad practice of draining the fluid out first without loosening the refill
plug. Potential problem of draining all the oil and yet encounter problems
later of loosening the refill plug.
I strongly recommend removing the fill plug before you start the job.
Hi knfksh81, The Dexron you want to use is: The Mobil Dexron VI (or other
synthetic blend) will replace Texaco ETL 8072B as the ATF. This is 6 not
4.
hi Dan. Thanks.
very good sharing..thanks
What if you do it wrong and the tranny error light comes on and its stuck
in 3rd? That happened to me with my old ’01 E46. I had to pay a mechanic
$200 to fix it. Now I’m hesitant to try it again on my newer ’04 E46.
Hi,
thanks for the video, 2 questions:
the new metal/rubber gasket goes on with the rubber down?
And, you stated that the first part of this process you simply drained the
pan and then refill the fluid. Did you also go through the gears changing
process in the first stage. I know you did the gear changing process when
you replaced the filter. Thanks again.
Hey great video. I always change my transmission fluid around 50,000 miles
even when they say that you should change it at 30,000miles. It don’t hurt
the car’s transmission and you save money. I was wondering if you do the
same.
like
I have 124k on my ’01 330ci Convertible, is that too late to change oil and
drop pan to change filter? I don’t believe the fluid has been changed
before and the previous owner in which I bought from 5 months ago would
have no clue. Also, sometimes shifting into reverse it takes a sec to
catch. Any help would be great, thanks!
Hi Dan, Thanks for the excellent video. I plan to do this procedure in the
coming months and use Dexron IV fluid. Do you still recommend using this
fluid after having it in your transmission for some time now? I have the GM
tranny.
It will run out the fill plug area.
the atf was black! how many miles was that?
I changed my fluid 2 years ago but never shifted gears or anything and now
its like hard to put drive or reverse is this the problem that the gears
didn’t get fluid inside?? I just drained and filled I think that was the
problem
how do you tell the difference between the gm 5l40-e and the zf 5 speed
s5d320z models? i have a bmw z3 coupe with the trip tronic.
good job but half of the dirty oil is in the T.C. So what i did was take
the ols rubber ring from the filter and find a hose that the same size as
the inner dia. of the rubber ring and stick it in the oil intake and at the
other end 4 liters of new oil, start the car and let the it suck in the
tranny. of course the old fluid is gonna come raining down every where.
Thank you for the video. Very handy and great to see a Dexron VI being used
b/c BMW sure is good at creating the land of unknown when it comes to their
LIFETIME transmission fluid :). I used Valvoline Max Life (its compatible)
with great success and my 330i BMW shifts great. My first change was at
95k. With my next fluid change I’ll definitely go with a good dexron 6.
Thanks again
There is no such thing as lifetime fluid. Period. It’s the lifetime of the
warranty. All fluid should be changed every 30K to 50K if you want it to
last. If your auto tranny is starting to turn to shit, swap it out for a
manual. Its a big job but well worth it!
the only Problem is the Amount of crap that stays in the Torque converter
and trans cooler
I just put an additional 15k miles on the car since the change of fluid and
it shifts great. A co-worker of mine has a similar car with the same
mileage and never changed fluid, his transmission went out two weeks ago.
Can changing tranmission oil help if gearbox reverse gear fails?
A few suggestions for others if you don’t mind dantsuchiya – If you don’t
have the proper tool to loosen the fill plug but have a T45 socket, a
closed/open 8mm wrench and a small rubber mallet you may ok. Insert the tip
of the T45 into the closed side of the 8mm wrench and than insert the T45
into the fill plug. With the wrench now attached to the T45 tap the wrench
(counter clockwise) with the rubber mallet and increase your strike as
needed. This should loosen the fill plug very quickly
will this work on auto xi models?
The only thing I would have done differently is to remove the fill plug
first. This is way if you can’t get it open you don’t have a car with an
empty transmission and no way to fill it!
It’s no more than 7 ft lbs for the 20 little bolts because there is a
rubber gasket on the inside of the metal so that seals it up pretty well. I
just did an estimation by holding the ratchet at the pivot axis and turning
it like it was a T-handle. I went around once at less than 5 ft lbs and
then just cinched them up to spec the second round. I’ve driven it 250
miles and no leaks
Yes good point, make sure you can at least loosen the fill plug, because if
you drain the transmission there isn’t a way to reverse it.
Yes Peter, four jack points plus two safety jacks just edged up at both
ends. Nobody should be under the car when running it and you should be
fully in the car and ready to cover the brake just in case something goes
wrong. Level ground is a must. No sudden movements, shift into gear and
bring it up on revs slowly.
love your vids on BMW but you have to talk louder. I cannot hear you good
Fantastic Peter, glad the Dexron VI worked well. I have put an additional
30k miles after my fluid change and the transmission still works very
well…good luck with the 525i Touring.
Aren’t you supposed to remove the fill plug first before draining the fluid
at the begining? Just in case you can’t open the fill plug after the
project.
The transmission I have is a France made GM unit so I was able to use
Dexron 6 (VI). There isn’t much documentation out there and the original
Texaco ATF is not readily available. If you do have a GM unit (Sticker will
be on the pan) then you can use Dexron VI.
I agree. Great stuff, but I have all volume up as high as it goes and
barely hear Dan talking sometimes.
Yes the manual says lifetime, but when I changed it out, it was pretty
dark. If you plan on running your car above 120k, I recommend changing the
fluid. Because the recommended fluid is difficult to get, the Dexron VI
works well as a substitute, especially if yours is a GM Transmission like
mine, assembled in France.
Once you feel signs that the transmission is going, a fluid change will not
help it. The GM transmission made in France has a lot of moving parts, when
a manufacturer thinks of “lifetime” of a car they are thinking 100k miles
or so. The e46 is meant to be driven so a lot of drivers have over 100k
miles, I just think it’s better to be safe than sorry. This is just
preventative maintenance that goes beyond the owners manual.
Hi, what is this noise from 14:11 on? I mean the rattling. Is it normal? I
have the same rattling at my 325 E46 ATM. THX
Sorry about that, the cam/mic was somewhat far away, will try and speak up
a little more next time.
The car had almost 100k miles on it, yes it was pretty dirty. Thanks for
watching.
Hi, I’m curious because my owners manual says the fluid never needs to be
replaced as it is “lifetime” for the car. 2003 330, is there a reason to
change the fluid if the trans is operating normally?