View Poll Results: Lifetime Oil in Tranny? change or no! @170K car

Voters
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  • Don't change..

    1 10.00%
  • Change it now!... you won't have problems

    6 60.00%
  • Danger, you are inviting trouble.

    0 0%
  • Dummy change it now... no such thing!

    3 30.00%
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Thread: Lifetime Tranny Oil.. @170K

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Lightbulb Lifetime Tranny Oil.. @170K

    Ok.. I know this subject has probably been covered.. However I'm still getting conflicting information from various sources. My gut tells me there is no such thing as lifetime oil and I want to change the oil in the tranny.

    However I've been warned NOT to change it as the tranny is working well, and the manufacturer designed it that way. If I do change it I'm inviting trouble..

    Here's my questions: Who's done it with no issues? And Who's not touching it and how many miles do you have on you car?


    BTW.. I just replaced the head gasket and the car is running amazing.. the block and internals looked great so the engine has a lot of miles left on it..

  2. #2
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    EXOTICS
    As you have noticed there are pro's and con's to either choice.
    I am in the camp that doesn't believe in lifetime oil.
    My opinion is change intervals of 50,000 miles for transmission fluids,
    you are free to form your own opinion based on your research and personal experiences.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Mine is at 182k and shifts very smoothly. At this point, I feel like it's too late to change it, if it hasn't been changed before.

  4. #4
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    The 'don't change it' camp is retarded unless its a car you intend to sell tomorrow and don't want to invest in and really really don't want to have the slightest extra downtime or labor required.

    If changing the fluid causes problems then one of the following is true:
    A. might be your mechanic is dumb and doesn't know how to fill these trannies... (happens...)
    B. good chance if you change / flush again and change filter etc. at same time it will be OK and you've just not completed the cleanup yet
    C. if truly the tranny crapped out merely because you disturbed the magic sludge (like you truly had 'false seals' and whatnot)... that tranny was on super last legs and was gonna die sooner than later anyway.

    IMO the 'dont change it if you missed the window! don't disturb the magic sludge!' camp is a load of crap though and is loaded with tons of urban myth and false interpretation of scenarios A or B...

    One constructive thought however could be, for those 'long long never change' scenarios, prob good idea to drop the pan for the change, instead of just a drain, so indeed you get anything down at the bottom out the first time... I didn't do that myself when I still was slushboxed and changed the fluid at something like 70k but its a good thought...
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

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  5. #5
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    Change, it's never too late. I changed the fluid in my 2000 540it at 176k, and I changed the fluid in my friend's 2002 540it at 190k miles, both had original fluid. Both are fine and have had no issues since then. My 2000 540it is now at 197k miles and the transmission still works perfectly
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  6. #6
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    2000 BMW 528i Touring
    I recently had mine changed with over 221k miles on orginal fluid. Driven 1000+ since no issues.
    2000 528i Touring Sport-Premium (Daily Driver)
    2015 X3 (Wife's car)
    2016 Chevrolet SS, 6spd manual (Weekend fun)

  7. #7
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    Flip a coin. Heads for don't change it. Tails for change it.

    I say leave it alone and keep on driving.



  8. #8
    JimLev's Avatar
    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by auaq View Post
    Flip a coin. Heads for don't change it. Tails for change it.
    I say leave it alone and keep on driving.
    auaq, you should have wrote:Flip a coin, heads change it, tails change it.
    The BS storry that the old oil is holding the tranny together is all BS.
    The crap particles could plug up some of the small passages in the valve body or one of the many valves responsible for shifting.
    If you wimp out just drop the pan, clean it, replace the filter, and the 3 quarts of fluid that were in the pan like GG mentioned.

  9. #9
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    auaq, you should have wrote:Flip a coin, heads change it, tails change it.
    LOL I almost wrote exact same thing.

    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    The BS storry that the old oil is holding the tranny together is all BS.
    The crap particles could plug up some of the small passages in the valve body or one of the many valves responsible for shifting.
    If you wimp out just drop the pan, clean it, replace the filter, and the 3 quarts of fluid that were in the pan like GG mentioned.
    Yeah. I understand 'false seals' can be a real thing, which is the grain of truth there. I don't buy "new fluid will stir up the sludge and clog things up!". Again if that's the case, then either the tranny was about to puke itself anyway, or, another flush very well might sort things out and be far better than driving around on the old sludge in the first place. Again, I chalk half the nightmare stories up to guys who didn't refill properly.
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

    1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
    1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)


  10. #10
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    I've resurrected quite a few misbehaving 5HP24's with just a fluid + filter change. The one in my 540it shifted like garbage when I bought it, but after two fluid changes and a filter change it's silky smooth. I've drag raced and road-tripped with this transmission, no problems whatsoever.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

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