120kmi factory fill ATF ZF 6HP28X 2013 BMW X5 35d
- Thread starter heynow
- Start date
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Ouch!
How does it shift now? - and did you change it, and what to?
But but the engineers said it's a lifetime fluid and we should listen to them they designed the vehicle
Don't blame the engineers. Engineers do the best they can within the parameters set by management, accounting, marketing, shareholders, etc. Guaranteed the bean counters figured there would be few enough failures during the warranty period to call it a lifetime fluid and reduce the "total cost of ownership" equation that marketing can hang their hat on. So many of the questionable instructions coming from manufacturers have very little to do with engineering. Yes, I design things for a living.
Originally Posted by Ram02
But but the engineers said it's a lifetime fluid and we should listen to them they designed the vehicle
We have a few bmw. I just ordered atf in to do a couple transmissions. After seeing these results I'm glad I did. Wow.
OK, so lets unpack this analysis.
To a layman such as myself I see two things.
No 1: "Abrasive and other contaminant levels were normal". - To me this means that filtration was good and the fluid wasn't bad.
No 2: The comments about torque converter, gear & bearing wear suggest that the unit might not be a perfect fit for the application and no amount of fuid changes are going to prevent that wear. Also the analysis says "higher than normal". Well, how much higher than normal? Are we talking a little bit or a lot? What is their population of ZF6HP's? Is it comprised of trucks (Ford) or light weight sedans (3-series, A4 Audis)?
Still, 120k miles. Change and keep on rolling.
Thoughts?
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Bmw used to say lifetime fluid on the pans, but on the workshop sheet it called for oxygen sensors and atf change at 100k, so they assume 100k is the lifetime of the vehicle. This interval went away in 2008 or so
Originally Posted by tcp71
Ford says the same for their version of that transmission, the 6R80. Lifetime my a$$.
Yea I do the quick change (dont flush it) with new filter every 5k on a ZF 6HP26. It has a tune in it and is running alot more power through it then stock as well. Holding up quite well, I dont use ZF lifeguard fluid though, seems its not thet great anyway. There are quite a few very good fluids for it now, Fuchs, LM etc.
Mercedes said "lifetime" on their 6 and 7 speed but then had them failing within the 3yr. 50k warranty. so they came out with 39k fluid filter change. I have yet to figure why 39 and not just 40???