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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Kansas city Mo.
    Posts
    7
    My Cars
    2006 330ci E46, M54

    Proud new owner of a 2006 BMW X5 4.4I

    Hello everyone!
    I know that this subject has been beaten to death over the last decade but most of the discussions seem to boil down to arguments and just cut off without any feedback on how it went.

    I was hoping to get a fresh 2017 opinion from a group that has experience with the transmission fluid change on this car.

    Backstory...

    In 2007 I returned from Iraq and inherited my Dads 2006 330 CI and it was my baby till a 200LB Buck took it out after hunting all weekend. It had 95k and at 75 K I changed the fluid and filter on the trans. I used 20 quarts of Valvoline Max life(drain-new filter-fill drive around the block-drain-fill repeated ) and the car drove better than ever. That cost about $100. The car was getting 28 MPG with the KN I had on it.

    So with that positive EXP, I am really having a hard time justifying spending the scratch for the ridiculously high priced LG6. (I can buy 5 GAL of max life synthetic and run it till its red for less than 100$!) and both specs are on it US_VAL_ML_ATF_EN.pdf
    But the 2006 4.4I has 90 K on it, and a different transmission. It has no overt signs of trouble. But its due. And I don’t want to wait any longer. And I don't want to F@#K it up.

    Should I just drop the pan and replace 7 quarts of LG6 plus the sealing sleeve with a 270$ kit or
    Flush out all the old with the procedure I used above plus the sleeve.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Montreal/Cape Coral
    Posts
    207
    My Cars
    2012 X6 35i
    First off, is the oil black?

    I changed the oil on my Toyota FJ at 75k miles. The "lifetime" oil was jet black. It shifted better afterwards. I don't think you're taking too much of a chance at 90k

    Personally, if I felt that I absolutely had to change the tranny oil, I'd replace it gradually. In other words, replace maybe 1/3 at a time, drive it for a couple hundred miles, then again. Again, the theory is that the increased lubricity of the new oil is what causes the clutch plates to start slipping. It has been suggested that by changing the oil gradually, the plates don't suffer lube shock, if you will.

    The above has absolutely no basis on fact, so you're ultimately on your own
    2007 FJ Cruiser (best vehicle to date)
    2012 X6 35i Sport
    2013 ML350 BT
    2019 4Runner

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Chattanooga, TN
    Posts
    206
    My Cars
    2002 X5 4.6is "munyhog"
    These transmissions are fickle beasts. I say wait until you need to rebuild the transmission or replace the torque converter (you'd only be replacing ~80% of it anyway without draining the convertor) if it seems to be shifting well right now. It'll happen sooner or later.


    * if you still choose to go ahead and replace the fluid check this out
    Last edited by mgboy; 12-24-2017 at 09:35 AM. Reason: link

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Montreal/Cape Coral
    Posts
    207
    My Cars
    2012 X6 35i
    On my Toyota I kept feeding fresh oil into the running tranny while pumping out the old oil thru a cooler return line into a waste container. Definitely a four-hand job but mess was kept to a minimum.

    Oil started out jet black and by the end of 16+ litres, the oil was coming out same colour as going in.
    2007 FJ Cruiser (best vehicle to date)
    2012 X6 35i Sport
    2013 ML350 BT
    2019 4Runner

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