BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Paul Howd on May 6, 2009, 8:45 am

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Peter Warman on May 6, 2009, 2:47 pm, in reply to "BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Peter Warman - Administrator

Hi Paul There is a BMW540 1995 listed in Autodata and Vivid but not sure if this is exactly your model, Vivid does show a dip stick Peter

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Paul Howd on May 8, 2009, 8:32 pm, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Paul Howd

Riggght! More info. According to BMW the gearbox is an A5S-560Z with a "Filled-for-life" system (IE filled until the sump gasket springs a leak and the fluid ends up all over the garage floor and the owner ends up needing a new transmission! ) However, much to the constrnation of the BMW parts chappie, there is no listing for the relevent fluid nor is there any indication of what quantity a "Drain and refill" might require. I am confident that I can track down a suitable transmission fluid, but I still need to have some idea as to what quantity I might require and what the filling procedure actually is. Any help gratefully received! Paul

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Peter Warman on May 9, 2009, 4:26 pm, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Peter Warman - Administrator

Hi Paul This is the same gearbox type It lists the Auto Fluid as: ATF - ESSO LT71141 HTH Peter

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Colin Hedger on May 9, 2009, 10:46 pm, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Colin Hedger

Paul, Have done ATF change on E39 2001 523ia (2.5 6cyl)and E31 1997 840ia (4.4 v8). Both use LT 71141.Approx 4 to 4.5l for drain/refill on both. If you buy from BMW its £17 per litre plus vat but they have to decant it into your own container as they dont sell litre or 5 litre bottles! buy it from Jaguar its £25 per litre container or £117 for 20 litre container!!!!!!!!!! Guess what i did? Colin.

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Paul Howd on May 10, 2009, 1:35 pm, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Paul Howd

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Andrew Dimond on May 11, 2009, 5:32 pm, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Andrew Dimond - GEG Diagnostic

Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #

Posted by Paul Howd on May 13, 2009, 9:46 am, in reply to "Re: BMW 540 V8 1995 - Auto box fluid top up/replacement #"
Paul Howd

Ack! That doesnt sound very encouraging! Having said that, I have done some reading on the interweb and it would appear that (In principle) the filling procedure shouldnt be too hard (though it is potentially messey and even expensive in oil!) The ilustration posted by Peter appears to be correct, though it looks like a drain plug it is actually a level plug. The plug is actually recessed in the sump and so "opens into" the sump at a point 2-3 inches above the bottem. The idea is to introduce fluid into the box until it starts to spill out of the gearbox through this access port (with engine running!) In the vehicle set up which I read about this topping up was achieved through a filling tube (like a dipstick tube) However, in this case, I dont seem to be able to locate a filling point. Unless fluid can be carefully introduced using a handpump into the gearbox via the level checking port. Ho Humm, I would love to see a ZF/BMW engineer explain (with a completly streight face) the technical advantags of designing a gearbox so that there is no sensible way of checking/topping up the relevent fluids!