Maxlife for '03 BMW 530i?

[kschachn]

In my opinion the way BMW specifies approved ATF can be weird. I'm assuming the part number for your transmission fluid is 83229407807, which apparently in the BMW world only means one fluid made by Esso. If you read the Pentosin literature carefully you will see they recommend it for this application as well and it does not actually carry the BMW approval either.

But do note that the newer Maxlife no longer makes the recommendation for LT71141, nor does it list LA2634 (a Shell fluid) which is used in the 540i version of my E34. But no one tracks down that specific fluid, everyone uses one that is recommended. Why Maxlife no longer lists that as a recommendation is unclear.

 

[KenO]

Interesting. The half dozen maxlife gallons I have on the shelf still all list LT71141, as do the ones I saw on the shelf at Walmart the other day. Is that a recent change?

 

[edyvw]

Why don't you just get ZF5 fluid?

 

[bbhero]

Exactly. Get the REAL BMW fluid. Don't pinch pennies over trans fluid. Heck my CVT fluid is like $18 a quart... but it's what I would buy without hesitation. Why?? Because it's a WHOLE lot cheaper to buy $140 worth of REAL CVT fluid from Nissan than buying a wing and prayer fluid from another source that cost $40. All at the potential cost of a $5,000 transmission. Easy math here.

 

[KenO]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
Exactly. Get the REAL BMW fluid. Don't pinch pennies over trans fluid. Heck my CVT fluid is like $18 a quart... but it's what I would buy without hesitation. Why?? Because it's a WHOLE lot cheaper to buy $140 worth of REAL CVT fluid from Nissan than buying a wing and prayer fluid from another source that cost $40. All at the potential cost of a $5,000 transmission. Easy math here.



FWIW - I use Lifeguard 6 in the E90/E60 auto transmissions that call for it. I run the Pentosin ATF1 in the ZF 5 speeds in the E46/E39. Never had an issue in all the years I've been servicing these cars in my shop. However - this is my personal car. I expirament, and see if I can save a few bucks in the process. Example: I bought 2 cases of Joe Gibbs MTF dirt cheap. I just drained the Redline MTL from my M52 swapped 318ti and refilled with the Joe Gibbs. The car is going to a drift event this weekend. If I blow the trans up - I could care less, I have a spare on the shelf. It's a $150 trans. But I'll know if it works. On the same token, if the auto in my E39 blows up, I can have another for $400-$500. Knowledge and personal experience is nice. If it really does do my trans harm, that knowledge is invaluable to my customers - I can tell them with a straight face, and knowing for a fact what happens when you use x. And I'm only putting my personal equipment in harms way to gain that knowledge, not a customers.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: KenO
Interesting. The half dozen maxlife gallons I have on the shelf still all list LT71141, as do the ones I saw on the shelf at Walmart the other day. Is that a recent change?


My apologies, the containers I have in my garage also list the BMW specs as being suitable. Since I didn't have the container in front of me when we started this discussion, I was going by the PDS on Valvoline's website which doesn't explicitly list those BMW numbers:

http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/maxlife_atf.pdf

I remember running across this a while ago when I was looking for a fluid for my old BMW. I guess the statement on the PDS that "The above constitutes only a partial list of applications approved by Valvoline. Please contact us at 1-800-Team-VAL for additional applications" was the part I was missing

 

[KenO]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: KenO
Interesting. The half dozen maxlife gallons I have on the shelf still all list LT71141, as do the ones I saw on the shelf at Walmart the other day. Is that a recent change?


My apologies, the containers I have in my garage also list the BMW specs as being suitable. Since I didn't have the container in front of me when we started this discussion, I was going by the PDS on Valvoline's website which doesn't explicitly list those BMW numbers:

http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/maxlife_atf.pdf

I remember running across this a while ago when I was looking for a fluid for my old BMW. I guess the statement on the PDS that "The above constitutes only a partial list of applications approved by Valvoline. Please contact us at 1-800-Team-VAL for additional applications" was the part I was missing

Gotchya, it's cool. I see in your sig you have an E34 530. Original motor, or was it replaced during the Nikasil issues?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: KenO
Gotchya, it's cool. I see in your sig you have an E34 530. Original motor, or was it replaced during the Nikasil issues?


No it was replaced under the program. I doubt there are many Nikasil M60 engines left.

 

[1JZ_E46]

Pentosin AFT1 is fantastic oil. I did a ton of research a few months ago and settled on it for my 6HP ZF tranny. I would use it over the maxlife. It's designed and manufactured in Germany for German cars.

 

[KenO]

I wouldn't run it in a 6HP, doesn't that call for a lighter viscosity fluid? If you're talking about the X5 in your sig, that trans calls for Lifeguard 6.

 

[1JZ_E46]

Originally Posted By: KenO
I wouldn't run it in a 6HP, doesn't that call for a lighter viscosity fluid? If you're talking about the X5 in your sig, that trans calls for Lifeguard 6.


Many people run it in there 6HP with excellent results. It carries the Shell M1375.4 approval. I didn't find one case of someone saying it made things worse. LG6 is an arm and a leg and a pain to find. My X5 is almost 10 years old and I got it for cheap. It's funny, Pentosin actually makes a low-viscosity version of ATF1, but I think it may be a bit too light. I haven't heard of anyone using it in their 6HP.