BMW e38 ESSO fluid or Valvoline?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rmz

Joined
Mar 25, 2009
Messages
34
Location
Chicago
this is a topic of heated debate on the bmw forums.... seems like you guys know a heck of a lot more about fluids than they do though:

my 98 740 comes with "esso" synthetic trans fluid and is supposedly not to be serviced (even though it has fill and drain plugs).

i don't agree with the non-serviceable idea for anything so i want to change the trans fluid in a couple weeks. it's got 89K on it now.

the question is whether i should buy the expensive esso fluid at the dealership or use maxlife which is supposedly acceptable. i don't plan on doing a whole flush, just fluid drain and filter...

recommendations? advice?
 
What model transmission do you have? Is it ZF and the fluid requirement Esso LT 71141?

The E46 crowd has great success using Red Line D4 ATF as an alternative to LT 71141. Other use Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc or Mercon V ATF, Amsoil ATF or Castrol Multi-Vehicle ATF. I used Motul ATF-1A since it was easier to get in my part of the world.
 
Originally Posted By: SamSpade
What model transmission do you have? Is it ZF and the fluid requirement Esso LT 71141?

The E46 crowd has great success using Red Line D4 ATF as an alternative to LT 71141. Other use Valvoline MaxLife Dex/Merc or Mercon V ATF, Amsoil ATF or Castrol Multi-Vehicle ATF. I used Motul ATF-1A since it was easier to get in my part of the world.


i forget off hand which of the two transmissions i have, but last time i was at the dealer i gave them my vin and asked which fluid i needed and how much... they told me it was the ESSO stuff (forgot number) and it was almost $20 a liter.


so is there no problem in putting the different fluid in? does it matter that they will be mixed since i won't be doing a full flush? should i just pay extra either for the same fluid or to flush the whole thing instead of mixing?
 
We need to know which transmission model you have first before any good advice is given. There are different fluid requirements and different issues on the BMW transmissions.
 
I just did a flush to Redline D4 atf in my '07 530i with the ZF transmission which also specifies the expensive Esso fluid. I do not notice any difference in the shift quality or the toruq converter lockup. The transmission is acting just as it did before. I would say you are safe using something other than the liquid gold Esso stuff.

FYI I found this thread useful when I was doing my reasearch: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180663
 
Originally Posted By: Twilight_Blue_G35c
I just did a flush to Redline D4 atf in my '07 530i with the ZF transmission which also specifies the expensive Esso fluid. I do not notice any difference in the shift quality or the toruq converter lockup. The transmission is acting just as it did before. I would say you are safe using something other than the liquid gold Esso stuff.

FYI I found this thread useful when I was doing my reasearch: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180663


thanks for the reply. did you do a full flush or just drain what was in the pan? how long has it been since and how many miles were on it when you did it?
 
I did a full flush at 41,000 miles. I had not changed the oem fluid out so I thought it was a good time to do a flush as I plan to keep this car for a while. I've driven about 2,000 miles since and I'm very happy that I still don't notice any difference from the oem fluid.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: Twilight_Blue_G35c
I did a full flush at 41,000 miles. I had not changed the oem fluid out so I thought it was a good time to do a flush as I plan to keep this car for a while. I've driven about 2,000 miles since and I'm very happy that I still don't notice any difference from the oem fluid.


sounds like you're taking good care of your bimmer, but mine is much later on in it's life than yours is... i bought mine with 82K, 89K now, and i don't plan on doing a full flush, just pan/filter... so that being the case wondering if it's ok to mix the fluids??? with the money it would cost me to take it somewhere and do a full flush i could just buy the esso fluid and change it myself. any knowledge on how much better a full flush is?
 
for a drain/refill just use some Maxlife. No sense in mixing $9/10 a qt fluid with some used, nominal fluid. Certainly do not pay $20/ltr for that Esso fluid, whihc is really not that special. The Redline or Amsoil(the one I use) are better, longer-lasting fluids, and is the type of fluid I use when doing a full pan drop/flushout of old fluid via cooler line/hose.

Regardless, mixing of fluids is really not an issue as long as the fluid you are going back with is recommended for your tranny. The biggest issue for the complete flush is it takes more fluid and time/effort to accomplish. In the case of BMW with the fill plug onthe side of the case, it is much easier to do on the lift to keep the car level and refill the unit between flushouts. I cannot imagine doing that on ramps in the driveway.
 
Why don't you just use Mobil 1 ATF? Esso LT 71141 is listed on the label as being one of the applications this fluid is for.
 
We've seen a lot of feedback in several BMW forums that M1 Synthetic ATF is "too slippery" a substitute for LT 71141. Whether if it's true or not is anyone's guess but not a few have avoided M1 for the ZF transmissions.

To add to the confusion, I have a 3/25/2007 PDF of the Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF product sheet that doesn't say anything about LT 71141, while the 9/2/2008 version has LT 71141 in there along with just about any other spec. And -- the properties (viscosity, density, etc.) are different! Looks like they reformulated without explicitly stating it on the label.
 
The bottles of Maxlife at my local auto parts store do not claim LT71141 compatibility.
 
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
for a drain/refill just use some Maxlife. No sense in mixing $9/10 a qt fluid with some used, nominal fluid. Certainly do not pay $20/ltr for that Esso fluid, whihc is really not that special. The Redline or Amsoil(the one I use) are better, longer-lasting fluids, and is the type of fluid I use when doing a full pan drop/flushout of old fluid via cooler line/hose.

Regardless, mixing of fluids is really not an issue as long as the fluid you are going back with is recommended for your tranny. The biggest issue for the complete flush is it takes more fluid and time/effort to accomplish. In the case of BMW with the fill plug onthe side of the case, it is much easier to do on the lift to keep the car level and refill the unit between flushouts. I cannot imagine doing that on ramps in the driveway.


thanks for the reassurance. i will be doing it in my garage in a week or so. i'll use that time to decide on which fluid to buy. what i'll probably do is drain the pan from the drain plug and fill it with new fluid, drive it for a day and then drop the pan to change the filter and refill (just to get more of the old fluid out since a couple of quarts of fluid is not too bad).
 
The Maxlife jug that I have lists the Esso spec. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I had a BMW that took the Esso fluid.
 
The Maxlife jug that I have lists the Esso spec. I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I had a BMW that took the Esso fluid.
 
Originally Posted By: rmz
Originally Posted By: Twilight_Blue_G35c
I did a full flush at 41,000 miles. I had not changed the oem fluid out so I thought it was a good time to do a flush as I plan to keep this car for a while. I've driven about 2,000 miles since and I'm very happy that I still don't notice any difference from the oem fluid.


sounds like you're taking good care of your bimmer, but mine is much later on in it's life than yours is... i bought mine with 82K, 89K now, and i don't plan on doing a full flush, just pan/filter... so that being the case wondering if it's ok to mix the fluids??? with the money it would cost me to take it somewhere and do a full flush i could just buy the esso fluid and change it myself. any knowledge on how much better a full flush is?


Just my opinion of course, but if you're not going to do a full change-out of fluid stick with what's in there now. I know, I know, they're all supposed to be compatible, but that transmission is un-godly expensive to replace. Why take a chance?
 
At 90k, you need a flush.
Since it is filled with a full synthetic fluid, switching to a lesser blend will require more frequent changes, look 30k full flushes.

With 11 years and 90k on the OE fill, the fate of that unit is already sealed!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

E
1998 BMW 540 ZF5HP24 5 speed auto trans fluid problems
Replies
16
Views
558
kschachn
The Critic
Honda 6AT Fluid Level Caution
Replies
8
Views
1K
supton
Brons2
JATCO CVT8 recommended fluid - Mitsubishi Outlander
Replies
16
Views
462
JTK
Number_35
2014 Nissan Murano CVT fluid
Replies
10
Views
895
Rango
B
Brake Fluid for 2020 BMW M2C with Sport Brakes
Replies
13
Views
753
edyvw
Back
Top