[BionicYeti]

Had the oil changed in my 335d's gearbox today.
Im the 2nd owner and the car has 69k on the clock. Car has been "cared" for by BMW according to the service book.

Judging by the age and mileage the car hasn't been used as a motorway cruiser so maybe not had the easiest of lives but the state of the oil that came out was horrid. Black and not the nicest of smells.

I cant believe the difference in the way the car changes gear and touch wood the sudden gear change slap has now gone. Changes in all modes are very smooth. No longer am I counting the seconds while it thinks about changing gear lol.

So despite what BMW may tell you, I can highly recommend getting the gearbox oil / filter changed, especially if you are experiencing treacle like gear changes in auto or neck breaking snap changes in M

Edit: Also had adaptations reset, which as Steve says, seems to really help. Its almost as if over time the gearbox gets lazy however the reset seems to give it a good kick in the @rse to get it back in check lol

[old grey steve]

Totally agree we've done shed loads makes a areal difference as you say its better for the box long term plus the end result ususally is the car feels like its a new car totally different in response, smoother on upshifts/downshifts nicer to drive generally plus if you watch carefully you'll even notice a slight improvment in economy too. The icing on the cake re doing one of these is resetting the adaptations for the gearbox, which can be done as it will enable the mechatronics set up to adapt to its new filter and fluid plus the engine will adapt to the fact that the gearbox is working more efficiently too

[f3adm]

Might have to look into this, will it make a difference on a manual transmission 335i?

[Len_Beach]

I've just bought the ZF kit from ECP for £195 for my remapped 330d LCI.

I'm just weighing up whether to do it myself or pay for the change.

Any ideas on the labour costs?

[Len_Beach]

Originally Posted by f3adm

Might have to look into this, will it make a difference on a manual transmission 335i?

Absolutely. Manuals are generally easier as they're drain and refill.

My E46 M3 felt great after a change.

[mob17]

Got mine done a couple of years ago, makes a huge difference. I had a jerky change at 2nd->3rd but was silky smooth afterwards.

[Dann]

I had the oil done on my E36s manual gearbox when it hit 100k ( about 5k after I bought it)
About 300ml of oil came out and it was as black as engine oil.
It's scary because it's meant to have about 1.5l in.

The oil I used made it a little bit notchy when cold but the difference in feel after was incredible.

[BionicYeti]

Originally Posted by Len_Beach

Any ideas on the labour costs?

Not sure were you are in the country Len but if close to Telford / Shrewsbury I can put you in touch with the guys that did mine

Most of the cost in doing this is the actual kit so doubt the labour would be much.

[Pazzify]

Seen a few posts about what a difference this can make to the car, mine has just gone over 63k miles, so may do it next year as part of the service.

How much was it roughly?

[toonpirate]

Ive just had a rebuild on my gearbox + new mechatronic. The gearbox centre recommends an oil service every 4 years or 40k miles. After forking out £3k for the re build it is certainly something I'll be doing in future.

[Digitalize]

I certainly felt a difference after having mine done, just need to get the diff oil done now.

[mob17]

Originally Posted by toonpirate

Ive just had a rebuild on my gearbox + new mechatronic. The gearbox centre recommends an oil service every 4 years or 40k miles. After forking out £3k for the re build it is certainly something I'll be doing in future.

+1

Especially on tuned cars. I'd say a 40-60k service is a good idea

[gaza01]

Defo makes a difference! I did mine myself so saw first hand the state of the fluid and and sludge at thr bottom of the pan.

[Stoatmaster]

Any recommendations on fluid for manuals? I've always used Redline in my other cars, but is it better to stick with BMW spec?

[BionicYeti]

Silly question but could the gearbox oil be changed on a regular basis, without changing the filter every time to save on expense ?

For example do it yearly but on the 3rd / 4th year do the whole thing again ?

I noticed after 70k the magnets in the filter was covered in a very slight coating but nothing unusual.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by BionicYeti

Silly question but could the gearbox oil be changed on a regular basis, without changing the filter every time to save on expense ?

For example do it yearly but on the 3rd / 4th year do the whole thing again ?

I noticed after 70k the magnets in the filter was covered in a very slight coating but nothing unusual.

In theory yes it could be done and its not a bad idea as I've been thinking about doing this said same thing with mine (last sump change 2013) it wouldn't harm the gear box as clean fluid will go back in of course the thing is you'll still have the old sump/integrated filter in place therefore to a degree will get some contamination of old v new will be going on but as a maintenance thing I think its something many should consider and of course if your sumps been in place for years go with the complete kit and service it all correctly .

[BionicYeti]

Cheers Steve, one to add to the list each year then

[E30 sam]

I had mine done last month, it's an E92 330d LCI it was on 98k but to be honest I can't tell the difference, it may change fractionally quicker but it still holds gears a little too long & kick downs far too easily.

I'm just looking at that £350 is better than a rebuild as I'm sure it'll have preserved the life of the box.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by BionicYeti

Cheers Steve, one to add to the list each year then

Wow each year. Again nothing wrong with going this route, might seem a wee bit OTT for some but nor things for sure it ain't gonna do any harm is it

Originally Posted by E30 sam

I had mine done last month, it's an E92 330d LCI it was on 98k but to be honest I can't tell the difference, it may change fractionally quicker but it still holds gears a little too long & kick downs far too easily.

I'm just looking at that £350 is better than a rebuild as I'm sure it'll have preserved the life of the box.

if as you say you cannot tell the difference I'd say from the outside having seen shed loads of gearbox services done looking I'm a little surprised.

There are several ways to look at this. Perhaps the adaptations on the gearbox haven't been re set as well as the partial issue you may have could be software related updating the gearbox software then resetting all adaptations can prove productive on the gearbox ECU and if yours isn't remapped perhaps the engine ECU too as they constantly talk and work together. Can prove in certain cases worthwhile going fir software updates.

The other conclusion may lie within the gearbox itself if all else proves to f been done, from a pressure solenoid to a blocked trans cooler or even a possible coolant related issue these can all have a bearing on the transmissions behaviour. But I'd ask the basics and start with whether the adaptations have been sorted for starters.

[HassShah]

Morning All!

Just around this topic of Gearbox Oil changing. I have a E90 330D Auto pre LCI. Was tempted to have all my software updated on the modules and was also looking at having the oil changed as I dont think its been done and the car is sitting on 109k at the mo so think it would be worthwhile. Do you know what the rough costs should be to have this done or any recommendations to a garage in or around Bedfordshire that are not gonna rip me off and carry out the correct process such as what Steve has mentioned?

Also kind of on this topic. If I have a stock remap on my car from when I had my DPF removed by updating all the brains on the car will I potentially lose the remap as a company called Fensoms in Luton who were going to carry out the updates as they are cheaper then the Main dealer could not guarantee me if I would lose my remap and that they would need the car for a couple of days as the gearbox update can take several hours.

[old grey steve]

Originally Posted by HassShah

Morning All!

Just around this topic of Gearbox Oil changing. I have a E90 330D Auto pre LCI. Was tempted to have all my software updated on the modules and was also looking at having the oil changed as I dont think its been done and the car is sitting on 109k at the mo so think it would be worthwhile. Do you know what the rough costs should be to have this done or any recommendations to a garage in or around Bedfordshire that are not gonna rip me off and carry out the correct process such as what Steve has mentioned?

Also kind of on this topic. If I have a stock remap on my car from when I had my DPF removed by updating all the brains on the car will I potentially lose the remap as a company called Fensoms in Luton who were going to carry out the updates as they are cheaper then the Main dealer could not guarantee me if I would lose my remap and that they would need the car for a couple of days as the gearbox update can take several hours.

Stevenage any good for you. If so give me a PM re booking.

Re your DPF situation if you've removed the DPF the re map needs to work with this if your re map doesn't show this then yes you'll have an issue retaining the re map as it is as you'll need to update(create a new map to suit DPF delete) but updating software re mapping all in a days work likewise the gearbox service (Mon-Fri only though)re remapping gearbox stuff can be done on a Saturday