impee's DIY Transmission Fluid Change

DIY Transmission / Gear
Fluid Change

impee's DIY Transmission / Gear Fluid Change for BMW 318i e46
How to Change Transmission / Gear Fluid yourself!

Prices:

Professional labour costs for Changing Transmission / Gear Fluid - £55 (private) or £155 (BMW) - per hour X 1 hours

Please Note: Tools required below will also be useful for other DIYs

Difficulty Level: Easy / Medium

Approximate Time For This Project: 1.5 hours

REQUIRED ITEMS
items	INFORMATION	OUTLET	QUANTITY	PRICE*
Original BMW Transmission Fluid	BMW MTF-LT-2 Manual Transmission Fluid Part # 83220309031Part #2. This is the Fluid sold by BMW. It only comes in a 5 litre bottle.	BMW	1	£60
Alternative Transmission Fluid REDLINE D4 Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)	- If it gets cold in your area use only Redline D4 ATF - If it gets cool in your area, use a mixture of D4 ATF and MTL - If it is usually warm/hot in your area, use only MTL	http://www.redlineoil-europe.com http://www.opieoils.co.uk	2	£30
Socket Wrench & Torque Wrench	It is recommended to use a Torque Wrench, to avoid damage to the nuts. For more details, please refer to this page.	http://www.halfords.com http://www.screwfix.com	1
17mm Socket			1
8mm Socket			1
Trolley Jack	Should support upto 2 Tonnes.	http://www.halfords.com	1	£30
Jack Stands / Axle Stands	Should support upto 2 Tonnes. To lift car on stands, refer to this page.	http://www.halfords.com http://www.argos.co.uk	4	£30
Star Brite Lower Unit Quart Pump - Oil Transfer Pump	Try to get one that fits Quart bottles.	http://www.aquapart.co.uk http://www.starbrite.com	1	£16
Tissues			4
Disaposable Rubber Gloves			4
Bottle / Bucket / Drain Pan	To catch the oil.		1

OPTIONAL ITEMS

It is a good idea to go and buy an extra Screw / Drain Plug from BMW before you start the DIY. Past DIYs (and my impatient nature) have taught me to always have atleast 1 extra of each screw, bolt or clip! Some times you could simply loose one, break or even strip it! They only cost from £0.70 upto £3.00 a piece, depending on what you buy.

items INFORMATION OUTLET QUANTITY PRICE*

Screw Plug Part number: 23117527440 Part #16. BMW 1 £2

Transmission Additive 125ml
Art no 0893 552
Use only if you find the gear is a little stiff. http://www.wurth.co.uk 1 £10

*prices correct at time of publication

1)	Assemble Your Kit + Notes
	Below is the total kit I used. I used only 1 and a bit bottles of ATF, without mixing with any other oil. This car is a 5 speed Manual gear. I have heard that some other Bimmers (atleast US model ones) take just over 2 litres of Fluid, where as mine took just over 1 litres. Please check first. BMW say and also the yellow stickers stuck on the transmission say that the oil is a lifetime oil, but that is nonsense. Everything has a shelf life! Once you change the oil, you will notice a huge difference while shifting gears. Torque Wrench: For conversions, refer to this chart. For general BMW Tightening Torques, refer to this document. Change Duration: I personally believe that the Transmission Fluid should be replaced no sooner than every 5 years or 75,000 miles or when gear shifting gets rough - which ever is sooner.

2)	Car On Jack Stands
	I recommend that the car be lifted on 4 Jack Stands so that it is level and all the oil can drain from the chamber. 2 Jack Stands at the front and 2 at the back. I personally leave the actual car Jack / Trolley Jack still raised under the car, close to where I work, just to provide me with some insurance incase any of the Jack Stands fail! For more details on lifting the car on Jack Stands, please refer to this page.

3)	Shields - Removal
	Some DIYs state there may be 2 shield to cover the Transmission resevoir, however mine did not have any. Either my car never had them, or my mechanic took them off and kept them! Take off the 2 shields by removing their nuts and clips. You will need a 8mm socket. The smaller sheild should be removed first.

Shields - Removal

Some DIYs state there may be 2 shield to cover the Transmission resevoir, however mine did not have any. Either my car never had them, or my mechanic took them off and kept them!

Take off the 2 shields by removing their nuts and clips. You will need a 8mm socket.
The smaller sheild should be removed first.

4)	Screw Plugs - Open
	First remove the Fill Screw Plug (to ensure you can fill it up, before you drain it). This is the top one. You will need a 17mm socket. Next remove the Drain Screw Plug, this is the one facing down . You will need a 17mm socket. One of the Screws Plugs has a green/blue stain on the head, that indicates that this is the Fill Screw Plug. I am not sure why they are differenciated, as they are both exactly the same Screw Pulgs. As you can see I am using a hammer to turn the Socket Wrench, this is because both screw plugs were very tight indeed!

Screw Plugs - Open

First remove the Fill Screw Plug (to ensure you can fill it up, before you drain it). This is the top one. You will need a 17mm socket.
Next remove the Drain Screw Plug, this is the one facing down . You will need a 17mm socket.

One of the Screws Plugs has a green/blue stain on the head, that indicates that this is the Fill Screw Plug. I am not sure why they are differenciated, as they are both exactly the same Screw Pulgs.

As you can see I am using a hammer to turn the Socket Wrench, this is because both screw plugs were very tight indeed!

BMW Transmission Fluid Chamber

BMW Transmission Nut Opening

BMW Transmission Nuts

5)	Oil Draining
	Catch the oil being drained. Once you take out the drain plug, the oil will pour out very quick. It was nearly finished by the time I powered up my camera! It will take about 5 mins to completly drain dry. You will notice the oil will be filthy and also see very tiny spots of metal float on the top (that is your gear). Once all the oil has drained, connect the Oil pump to one of the D4 ATF oil bottle and pump some new oil into it (about 4 pumps), to remove any remnants of the old oil.

6) Filling Oil

Next fit the Drain Screw Plug back and tighten it to 37lb .ft. or 50Nm using the Torque Wrench. You will need a 17mm socket.
Using a Torque Wrench reduces any chances of damaging the nuts.

Now using the oil pump and the 2 D4 ATF oil bottles, fill the gear oil chamber with oil. This will take about 15mins and alot of pumping.
You will know when the chamber is full as oil will start to pour back out of the hole. It will take just over 1 bottle to fill the chamber.

Next fit back the Fill Screw Plug and tighten it to 37lb .ft. or 50Nm using the Torque Wrench. I wasn't able to fit my torque wrench in that little gap, so just tightened it as much as I could. You will need a 17mm socket.

With a tissue wipe around both Screw Plugs and do a sanity check to ensure no oil is leaking from both plugs.

7) Sheilds - Re-fitting

Fit the 2 shields back in the order that they were removed, i.e. the small to be fitted first. You need a 8mm socket.

NOTE: Remember to remove the car from the Jack Stands before you get into the car to test the gear!

8) Comments

Look at the difference in colour. BMW Life Time Oil?!?

You will now definately find gear shifting alot smoother than before.

6)	Filling Oil
	Next fit the Drain Screw Plug back and tighten it to 37lb .ft. or 50Nm using the Torque Wrench. You will need a 17mm socket. Using a Torque Wrench reduces any chances of damaging the nuts. Now using the oil pump and the 2 D4 ATF oil bottles, fill the gear oil chamber with oil. This will take about 15mins and alot of pumping. You will know when the chamber is full as oil will start to pour back out of the hole. It will take just over 1 bottle to fill the chamber. Next fit back the Fill Screw Plug and tighten it to 37lb .ft. or 50Nm using the Torque Wrench. I wasn't able to fit my torque wrench in that little gap, so just tightened it as much as I could. You will need a 17mm socket. With a tissue wipe around both Screw Plugs and do a sanity check to ensure no oil is leaking from both plugs.

7)	Sheilds - Re-fitting
	Fit the 2 shields back in the order that they were removed, i.e. the small to be fitted first. You need a 8mm socket. *NOTE:* Remember to remove the car from the Jack Stands before you get into the car to test the gear!

8)	Comments
	Look at the difference in colour. BMW Life Time Oil?!? You will now definately find gear shifting alot smoother than before.

DIY BMW e46 Change Transmission / Gear Fluid by - impee www.impee.co.uk

Any questions please contact me