bfd wrote:
That is not correct. The engine oil specification changed to long life
synthetic BMWLL98 while the new ZF transmissions without a dipstick or fill
hole were designed from the outset to use a special synthetic ATF which has
an in-spec design life in excess of 100,000 miles.





I believe there is still a coolant service shedule although with long life
coolant it may well be more like four years.

brake
There is no change in brake fluid service schedule.



transmission and differential fluids changes every
Because they are not needed and although the initial cost of the vehicle is
more to the customer, the whole life cost is vastly reduced with no
significant reduction in viable vehicle life.




Not if they meet the latest BMW oil specification or they are changed every
***** [insert your preferred rediculously short service interval] miles.



Further, in the US, BMW coolant is
Then use it. 50% ethylene glycol with latest corrosion inhibitors is usually
good for 100,000 miles or five years use in my experience. The red coolants
are even better but not compatible with EGlycol coolant.

Huw

Huw,
Thanks for the update. However, a couple of things. First, if BMW is
now selling cars with transmission WITHOUT fill holes, that doesn't
speak well for "long-life." Remember, to BMW, *long-life is 100,000
miles*. After that, everyone should get a new one. For many, that may
be the case. However, I guess I'm from the old school where cars should
be able to go 200K, 300K or more.

Further, I still find it interesting that BMW coolant which in the US
is basically Valvoline G-48 is still the same fluid used 10+ years ago.
Yet now, the coolant schedule is 4 years rather than 2 years as
previously required. With its continued use of plastic radiators and
other parts, call me paranoid, but I think owners should still follow
the old schedule and change their coolant every 2 years.

Moreover, at least for cars with manual transmission cars, I see
nothing wrong with changing transmission and differential oil every
30,000 miles. That's what the old scheduled called for and the fluids
haven't changed. Of course, I like my cars to last more than 100,000
miles....

In article <1138127715.098230.163600 (AT) o13g2000cwo (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
bfd <bfd853 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
And you reckon those 'old school' cars went to 300K miles without repairs
or overhaul, but simply frequent oil changes? I can remember when it was
common to overhaul an engine - perhaps even twice in the life of the car -
re-bore and crank grind, etc, when oil was changed near every month. Now
it's exceedingly rare as the lack of facilities for such things locally
would prove.

The coolant protects the metal parts of the system - doubt it has any
effect on the plastic ones.

It would be easy to analyse the lubricant and see if it had deteriorated.
After all there should little in the way of contaminates in either a
gearbox or rear axle. If there were, filters would be fitted. So it must
come down to the oil breaking down if a change is needed. Of course it may
do no harm to change it, but then again it may do no good and be simply a
waste of money and effort.

--
*Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Dave Plowman dave (AT) davenoise (DOT) co.uk London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"bfd" <bfd853 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

Coolant change schedule is every 4 years on my '99 E46. But the service
manual for my 2003 Z4 calls for checking the coolant level (topping off, if
necessary) at Inspection I (every 30~35k miles), but no time based change.
Since I suspect this is the same for other BMW models, we have obviously had
"lifetime" coolant for the past 3 years!

Tom K.

"Huw" <hedydd[nospam]@tiscali.co.uk> wrote

lifetime) was correct. The coolant didn't change but went from 2 years to
4. The oil has been on the lights for some time (its probably fine if you
don't expect a 250,000+ mile engine). BMW doesn't directly address Diff or
Man Trans lubes, but common sense (and the fact they have no lifetime
warrantee) would dictate change at practical intervals (I do it in
conjunction with Insp 1 & 2, about every 32-33,000 miles).

R / John

bfd wrote:
The oil manufacturer estimates that the oil remains within specification for
at least 100,000 miles. Even though the quality or performance of the oil
steadily declines out of spec after this point there is nothing to say that
it becomes unacceptable until long after this point and the transmission
last even longer. This is most likely to be the case in intensively used
cars and these are, after all, the only ones likely to reach much over
200,000 miles. Cars used in towns or used harshly are likely to fail sooner
than average. It was ever thus.

Personally, I would change the fluid with fresh synthetic approved fluid at
the first 100,000 miles and forget about it. It is probable that the
transmission will fail at some point due to factors unrelated to the fluid,
at which point it would have to be repaired and refilled with fresh fluid in
any case.




Owners are free to choose their own service intervals. If it makes you feel
good to perform supplementary services then go right ahead. The car is just
a lump of manufactured alloys and plastics and doesn't feel a thing.
Personally I have never found a problem with modern coolant, which has a
high corrosion inhibitor level, leaving coolant untouched over periods of
some six to eight years. Changing coolant is far less critical than any
almost any other maintenance that I can think of. As long as the colour and
the specific gravity looks OK then the coolant is OK in my experience. There
may be specific exceptions but apart from old engines which needed extra
inhibitor added regularly due to cavitation issues with their parent metal
bores they are not that fussy. Even all alloy engines run with modern
factory coolant are extremely tollerant.



So do I. However you are wrong that nothing has changed. The cut and finnish
of gears may have changed. Some fluids have changed. As I have illustrated
some transmissions and engines have changed by being designed for low
maintenance and a longer life than previous generations despite drastically
reduced regular maintenance. This is a win-win situation.

Huw

John Carrier wrote:
Yes they may well have. The cars now last a very long time without failure
if you are lucky and many more hit 200k+ miles in a short period of time
than used to be the case. A transmission oil change at 100,000 miles is
hardly a hardship for most people so it may as well be done. For those who
wish to do it themselves there are instructions on the net on how to drain
and refill these gearboxes. I know that some US BMW's use GM transmissions
rather than the ZF fitted in the UK but the same priciples apply, just check
that there are no important small details of difference in the practical
maintenance, like the amount of oil you should add.

You may be interested to know that my Range Rover is fitted with the BMW
diesel mated with a GM5 transmission. The V8 models are matched with the ZF.




The coolant didn't change but went from

Why not? A mate had an Audi Allroad which he serviced every 20,000 miles and
it ran sweet as a nut with no sign of wear at 200,000 miles.



BMW doesn't directly
I'm sure you feel much the better for it.
I would maybe change the diff oil once at 100,000 miles because it would
make *me* feel better :-)

Huw

Mine has a digital counter that tells me when the next oil change is and it
is roughly every 15K miles. I use full synthetic and I am sure a lot of BMWs
use the same (especially the new ones). Sometimes I drive it hard (since it
is a BMW, and an Ultimate Drive Machine) and then I might get the oil change
sooner. The computer keeps track of this stuff.

100K miles... Pa...lease!

bfd wrote:
Apart from possibly the US built X5 they are not filled with Valvolene at
the factory.
In any case, the G-48 is almost certainly not to the same formulation today
than it was much over 10 years ago. Then again I have some vehicles with
around 125,000 miles that have never had a coolant change and will only get
one if the system needs draining for some important reason like a leak or to
change hoses.




With its continued use of plastic radiators and

You think plastic parts appreciate a coolant change? I wonder what your
reasoning is?

Huw

Huw wrote:

I have seen the directions that are an excerpt from an official BMW
service note on checking level.

http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/Mainte...0Autotrans.pdf

It shows a drain and a fill hole (on at least these older models). I
would like to do a partial drain and refill as a preventive on my 115k
mile 540iA trans (ZF model A5S 560Z), but I cannot find the fluid for
sale anywhere.

Here is a nice chart for these older transmissions:
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/images/...luid_Chart.pdf

Mine is supposed to use Shell LA 2634. BMW part number is 83 22 9 407
765 which is "conveniently" packaged in 5 liter bottles. Convenient
because a fluid change without torque converter takes 5.5 liters...



--
-Fred W