BMW E46 Gearbox service

[retroray]

Recently got a nice 2000 plate e46 330i auto touring and want to get the gearbox serviced. Its the ZF gearbox and i have heard you can drive out to ZF in Germany and they do a proper service of the gearbox this is what i had planned to do once things have gone back to normal.

However i really want to get the oil changed for peace of mind until i can get out to Germany. I have tried ZF who have a place in Nottingham but they don't do any servicing to cars here they just recommend ZF approved places who can. I have tried the places they recommended near me but from what they have said they just do a drain and refill so not all oil gets removed.

Has anyone had this done on an Auto BMW and can recommend somewhere in Essex or just south of the river that could do a proper drain and flush of the gearbox? Or do i leave it until i can get out to Germany?

Cheers

[ballbagbagins]

I had a e46 auto touring maybe 3/4 years ago. I am a BMW independent do a gearbox drain and refill. Can't recall why I didn't do it myself, maybe it's meant to be a faff.

I did see some info on a forum from someone who'd been out to Germany to get zf to semi dismantle part of the 'box in order to thoroughly clean some of parts.

Seems like hassle for an e46 unless it's a keeper?

[ballbagbagins]

I'm near Manchester

[Jem45]

Correctly flushing the gearbox oil and resetting adaptive software on auto transmissions is a big topic on the V70 Volvo forums. Not sure if the e46 has similar adaptive software concerns but for guidance on correct approaches to DIY transmission flushing, search 'Gibbons Method' on t'internet - might be useful/ transferable info there for you?

TBH, I would have thought any decent BMW indy would be able to talk to you about a model appropriate gearbox flush/ service. Driving to Germany seems above and beyond the call of duty unless it's for fun - expensive too!

Cheers, Nick

[ballbagbagins]

Aug 10, 2020 15:48:42 GMT ballbagbagins said:

I had a e46 auto touring maybe 3/4 years ago. I am a BMW independent do a gearbox drain and refill. Can't recall why I didn't do it myself, maybe it's meant to be a faff.

I did see some info on a forum from someone who'd been out to Germany to get zf to semi dismantle part of the 'box in order to thoroughly clean some of parts.

Seems like hassle for an e46 unless it's a keeper?

I meant to say I went to a BMW independent, not that I am one.

[retroray]

Aug 10, 2020 15:48:42 GMT ballbagbagins said:

I had a e46 auto touring maybe 3/4 years ago. I am a BMW independent do a gearbox drain and refill. Can't recall why I didn't do it myself, maybe it's meant to be a faff.

I did see some info on a forum from someone who'd been out to Germany to get zf to semi dismantle part of the 'box in order to thoroughly clean some of parts.

Seems like hassle for an e46 unless it's a keeper?

Yeah it's a keeper I bought it off the family who bought it brand new insane amount of history with it aswell and it's a fairly high spec inside. I heard that aswell few posts I've seen said they had it done for 400-500 euros been quoted around £300 to drain the oil then add new with filter and gasket change.

Aug 10, 2020 17:10:46 GMT Jem45 said:

Correctly flushing the gearbox oil and resetting adaptive software on auto transmissions is a big topic on the V70 Volvo forums. Not sure if the e46 has similar adaptive software concerns but for guidance on correct approaches to DIY transmission flushing, search 'Gibbons Method' on t'internet - might be useful/ transferable info there for you?

TBH, I would have thought any decent BMW indy would be able to talk to you about a model appropriate gearbox flush/ service. Driving to Germany seems above and beyond the call of duty unless it's for fun - expensive too!

Cheers, Nick

I'd planned on turning into a holiday if I went to Germany so not too bad. A few indys I've spoke said not to bother changing the oil as it could supposedly open up more issues because they cant get all the oil out so maybe they cant be bothered to take the job on? I wouldn't say it's a high mileage car it's just done 130k and been looked after but no paperwork to say the oil has been done

[ballbagbagins]

After the indy changed my gearbox oil the car gear change was smoother but it wasn't poor to start with.

If you did it yourself you could drain what you could from the 7 litres or whatever the capacity is, drive the car for a period of time the drain and refil again.

My indy charged me £170 I think and he is extremely well revered, I also used him for my previous e90.

A trip to Germany for a what, 2k car with presumably no current gearbox problems does seem very eager.

[nukelaars]

BMR Performance in the Crawley area can do a full oil change using the correct equipment. They are very experienced BMW trained master technicians. Found this post on their Facebook page.

[vitesseefi]

Another place to look for gearbox servicing info is on the Audi A8 forum. The D2 A8s are all auto and very prone to gearbox problems - one of the reasons being that Audi say it’s sealed for life. Without mentioning that it’s a short life. ZF say oil changes at 40k!

The consensus on there is to use proper ZF service centres with machines like the one pictured above.

Nick

[legend]

I've done an e38 V8 and an e39 i6

they have a drain valve so getting the oil out is easy. The sump then needs to come off to replace the filter, then they normally have an internal tower in the sump that you pump the new oil in until it dribbles out. you can get the manual oil pumps for about £10. most of this is covered on youtube or have a dig around on the BMW forums