Changing all the oils <non M-3><long><auto trans><differential>

[RangeR BoB <samurai@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, I spent a fun weekend putting Sputnik up in the air using a set
of ramps for the front wheels and a nifty floor jack and jack stand
combo I bought at Walmart for $39.99.  For that you get a 5,000 lb floor
jack, which goes down to 6", low enough to get under my car even with
the front axle on ramps, and a pair of jack stands with ratchet
adjustment.  of course, they are made in China, and that is OK, but I
wonder how many bullets I have bought for their army (Hey, it is THEIR
avowed interest to build enough ships and planes to be able to move a 1
million man army anywhere in the world by the year 2005, not mine, so no
flames, OK?)

- -------
	Trans drain/fill:

	Tools needed:

	30 mm open end or tubing wrench
	More strength than I have
	#25 TORX bit
	Lots of ATF.

	The instructions for the ZF 4-speed auto tranny specify that you need
to remove the dipstick tube from the pan before you drop it.  I crawled
under the aforementioned raised car (Please, Please, if you raise a car,
be sure you know what you are doing or it will fall on you.  I used the
jack on the third member, put jack stands under the subframe (NOT the
suspension) and then reapplied the jack so I had 3 points of contact)
and dumped the oil using the drain screw (why don't american makers add
one?) and drained ~3 quarts of reddish stuff that didn't look great, but
wasn't especially burned.  On a rag, it was still bright red, but in
bulk in the drain pan, it had a vague brownness to it.

	I applied the 30 mm wrench and all the strength in my 6'7" frame to the
nut, with no success.  Out comes the triflow (with teflon) Still no
dice.  Taking a cue from a BMW digester, I used the floor jack on the
wrench to bust it loose.  Wrench flexed up to the headpipes, Still
no-go.  Oh hell, just drop the pan and screw (pun intended) the dipstick
tube.  If you undo the 6 fasteners and weasel the pan down, the dipstick
tube will slip thru it's support collar and will allow you to get to the
filter.

	Pan off, sweep it out and check the magnets:  Thin film of metal
shavings, nothing out of the ordinary.  Drop the filter.  Crap! they are
TORX, so off to the auto parts store, back, still wrong size, and off to
Sears for a set of TORX bits.  That issue resolved remove the 3 screws
from the filter, and spill oil all over your self.  Check to see that
the O-ring is not on the valve body.  Mount the new O-ring to the fresh
filter, have it pop of 6-7 times, and finally get it to stay w/o cutting
your finger tip on the sharp filter stamping.  OK, Filter in place, dog
it down with the 3 TORX screws.

	To replace the pan with the dipstick tube still in place, you best get
some good masking tape and secure the gasket to the edge of the pan. 
There is an annoying bracket that supports the shifter cable and the
computer wiring gizmos that makes your life hell. It totally gets in the
way of one of the attachment bolts and would be a PITA to remove, so I
worked around it.

	Make sure you have all 6 clips and bolts in place (or you will regret
it, ask me how I know) and arrange the pan and gasket snug on the tranny
body.  Torque down the 6 clips.  The clips are a nice change compared to
screws going thru the pan like an American pan, which invariably get
distorted if you over torque them.

	Since I took a while to screw around with this, more than the
recommended 3.2 quarts of oil dripped out, so in went 4 quarts of Mobil
synthetic ATF.  Seal it up, start the car and check for leaks.

	Shut it down, and take it off the jack stands, jack and ramps n that
order.  Drive w/wife into the countryside to get some onion rings and
allow tranny to warm up, along with the other stuff.  Return to home, up
on the ramps/jack/jackstands, and drain the fluid a second time.  Oil
still a bit dark, but better.  Remember on an auto trans, at least 50%
of the oil is trapped in the Torque Convertor, and can't get drained w/o
removal, or standing the car on end for a day (beyond my capabilities).

	Short of removing the oil cooler lines while it is running and
refilling at the same rate it gets pumped out (not at my level of
ability while working solo, too many worries about getting too
much/little oil in the trans and having to run around the car to kill
it) I figured this would dilute the bad stuff to around 25% or so.  So
drain the old, and 3.2 quarts more Mobil synthetic ATF. 

- ----
Fuel Filters

	Tools Required:
	Screwdriver
	10 mm socket
	Fleet Fingers

	The manual recommends using devices to pinch off the rubber fuel lines
to keep you from bathing in gasoline.  In hindsight, let it drain (catch
it in your drain pan) you don't lose much (the volume of the filters)
and the tank pump fills up the lines in a jiffy (slight stumble on
engine restart, lasts 1 sec, then smooth running.)
		
	Undo the 10mm clamp bolt holding the filters (M-70s have 2) to the
car.  Unclamp the input side hoses, but leave them on the filters. If
you want to save the gas, take the caps off the new filters, and put
them close by.  Also lay the filters near.  Yank the rubber fuel line
off the filter, and cap the line with your thumb and the filter tip with
your fingertip.  Slip the cap over the filter tip, and the new filter
into the fuel line.  Do this twice.  Remove the clamp from the old
filters, and transfer it to the new ones.  In the process, your new
shiny filters become just as grubby as your old ones.

	Unclamp and follow the same procedure with the output hoses.  Give up
and just let them drain (they really do stop pretty quickly, tho when
bathing in gasoline, it hardly seems so)  Reconnect the lines, and clamp
it all down.  Rebolt the 10 mm clamp bolt.  Woo Hoo!  Done!

- ----
Third Member:

After putting it up for the second ATF change, I also did the third
member oil.  

	Tools:  Big ol allen wrench
		really long cheater pipe or wrench (for leverage)
		Diff oil pump
		~2 quarts diff lube

	I followed sage advice and tried to remove the fill screw before
draining the old oil.  Good idea, as the top plug was almost as tight as
the dipstick tube.  I slipped the box end of a 24 mm combo wrench (chain
adjustment on a Suzuki GS-750) and used it for extra leverage on the
allen wrench, and with many herculean efforts, called it a loss.  One
last try (reposition self for better leverage, watch the 24 mm combo
wrench (forged, Craftsman) flex lick the dickens, and PoP! it was free!

	Oil drooled out the back filler, so the level seemed good (car was more
or less level) so I popped out the drain plug (similar procedure, less
strain) and drained off the old lube.  Still pretty good looking, no
obvious wear material, looked fine.  

	Replace drain plug, plug pump into fill plug.  Start pumping some of
Mobil's finest 75-90 synthetic hypoid gear oil into the third member,
refill the jug once or twice, and stop pumping when it starts oozing out
the filler.  Replace the filler plug, and check the tightness of the
bungs, remembering what fun over torquing brought you...

- ---

	Engine oil:

	Tools needed:

	Oil Filter
	Oil (8 quarts for an M-70)
	13 mm & 17 mm sockets.

	Pop hood (already up for other things) hang trouble light from rear
mount (its dark already, all day job) and pop off the 13 mm bolt on the
filter housing to drain the oil back to the crankcase.  Get under the
car and pull out the 17 mm drain plug.  Drain the oil, pull the filter,
replace the crush washer and O-ring, and drop the filter into the cover
and re-tighten the 13 mm bolt.  Replace the drain plug in the oil pan. 
Add 8 quarts of Mobil 15-50 Synthetic. (see a pattern here?)

	In my Ford days, I used to pull off the coil wire and crank the engine
to get oil pressure before firing it up.  With BMWs, I have been told
not to run the engine with the HT disconnected.  So I cranked it up and
gritted my teeth until the oil pressure light went off.  

	Check for leaks, give the car a spin around the block.  Use all gears
and all modes in the tranny.  Park it and check fluid levels in the
engine and trans in the usual way.

	Clean yourself off, pop open a Planer Hefeweissen (time for
Oktoberfest!) and enjoy a rewarding way to spend your weekend under your
(heavy) car!

- --

RangeR 
  BoB
Hembrook

'89 BMW 750iL                   "Sputnik"         94k
'89 Suzuki Samurai 4x4          "Sammy"           95k
'88 Kawasaki ZX-10                                28k

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End of bmw-digest V9 #299
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