Gearbox oil advice needed

[b20wht]

My x5 has done 119k now and I want to change the gearbox oil and filter but I'm reading all sorts of do's and don't's when it comes to the brand of oil to use. Ideally I want to use shell m1375 oil which is what bmw use/specify but I can't find anywhere (other than dealers) that supply it. I have crossed the shell oil over to various different oils that say they are up to the job ie valvoline max life, Fuchs 4134 etc but I'm not sure what to do!! Any advice from people experiences on this please?

[kamb]

contact the guys at Opie Oils they will help you

definately mixed reviews on change of ATF i am considering it myself but may just leave it

[Smeeagain]

I understand from a previous conversation with jason, they recommend opening the plug and taking a little sample out to see the condition before deciding whether to proceed or not. Even if its full of crap you may decide that the 'crap' is taking up a lot of the tolerances. clean out the oil and you take all that way .....which may or may not be a good thing ......

[fenj66]

from my experience, i would say that if there are no problems with your gearbox at the moment, i would leave it alone. i did mine to try and cure the lurch, even had a gearbox software update, but i still have the lurch and another annoying fault that wasnt there before. quite a lot of money wasted for me im affraid.

[X5Sport]

[quote="Smeeagain"]
I understand from a previous conversation with jason, they recommend opening the plug and taking a little sample out to see the condition before deciding whether to proceed or not. Even if its full of crap you may decide that the 'crap' is taking up a lot of the tolerances. clean out the oil and you take all that way .....which may or may not be a good thing ......
[/quote]

+1 on that.....but it's a massive debate as we know.

[b20wht]

Fenj66 what oil did you use? When you say you have a lurch is it when you stop at traffic lights ect? as mine does this just lurches forward slightly like it's selected a gear or something!? Also I feel like it should change up the gears sooner sometimes instead of holding a gear. That's the reasons I thought a oil change would be a good thing. I am defiantly going to do a oil change once I have found the right oil at a reasonable price.

[fenj66]

I used oil I found from an oil distributor on eBay. It was expensive. £95 for 4 litres. I can't remember the name of it. But it was specced for the zf 26hp gearbox. My lurch is the same as yours. Had it as long as I've owned the car, 5+ years! I'm just used to it now. After doing the oil change and software update. I got a new lurch when upchanging from 1st to 2nd when cold.

[Smeeagain]

[quote="b20wht"]

Fenj66 what oil did you use? When you say you have a lurch is it when you stop at traffic lights ect? as mine does this just lurches forward slightly like it's selected a gear or something!? Also I feel like it should change up the gears sooner sometimes instead of holding a gear. That's the reasons I thought a oil change would be a good thing. I am defiantly going to do a oil change once I have found the right oil at a reasonable price.
[/quote]

Do a search on this site - this was discussed recently - oil change does not always solve the lurch and does have the potential for causing you issues further down the line. Someone posted recently that they had the lurch for five years without any issues.

I considered doing this when I bought my car with 70k on it, as I had little previously history. Having done the research I decided not to change the oil (even though I had and still have the lurch) - 100k miles later gearbox is still fine (with occasional lurch).

If you have the funds set aside for a gearbox rebuild set aside (circa £1500 and more) then do it, but be aware of the implications. Consider what you would do if the rebuild is subsequently required.

Smee

[Dimsum]

I had a slight lurch and an occasional judder under light load. Mileage is 110k. Gearbox service and software update solved the problems and she now drives better than ever.

Would I have bothered if I hadnt suffered these issues? .. Honestly I think I would have left the service and just made sure it had the latest software. .

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[Smeeagain]

Can the gearbox software update only be done by BMW or do others have access to it?

Is there a menu that can be accessed (either in the car or via 1.4.0 Scanner) to check what software is currently installed?

Smee

[Dimsum]

No an Indy can do it as long as they have the right equipment.

Edited to add that I meant anywhere can do it as long as they have the equipment not just a BMW indy...

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[X5Sport]

Mine was done by a Bosch Autocentre.

[jason@bwchiptune]

It's not a software update that is needed for the lurch problem

What you have to do is see what update software will be or what's on the gear box ecu
Then you have to manually pick and program the software fix into the gear box ecu
I've seen loads of x5 where customers have had a software update for this problem in stead of the software fix uploaded


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[Smeeagain]

Hi Jason

what would you charge for someone to bring you their X5 and do exactly that?

Smee

[jason@bwchiptune]

£95 plus vat for software fix
£130 plus vat for software fix and gear box setup on road test


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