What a difference!

[ernie]

Hi, I know the subject of transmission fluid renewal has come up many times before in this forum but I thought i'd mention that I have just changed mine & I can't believe the difference! I have the ZF4HP22 in my 745 & I did the full flush-through as described in the FAQ's. I also changed the pan filter & gasket at the same time. The old fluid was darker in colour than the new but didn't smell burnt or anything. I had the fluid changed by a so-called automatic transmission specialist around 20,000 miles ago but all I can say is that they couldn't have done the full flush-through because the car didn't drive any differently. Also, according to their invoice, they only used 3 litres of fluid & most of us know that the ZF transmission holds a lot more than that! They must have just drained the box, renewed the filter & gasket & filled it up again. They charged nearly £100 for that. I have just done the job myself for £55. The box has often shifted roughly (but not always) & has sometimes started off in 2nd gear, I can only assume something was sticking somewhere. Anyway, drives like a new car (almost) now so i'm well pleased. A classic case of "If you want a job done properly - do it yourself!". Some of you may remember that I posted with these autobox problems a couple of years ago so that's when I decided to go to a specialist (having lacked the confidence to tackle the job myself). Having now flushed the tansmission myself I don't know what I worried about - thought the job was quite easy compared to others I have done.

[740Estate]

Good to hear of the difference! Cheers for posting about it, reminds me I need to do mine. Keep putting it off/forgetting to do it, should get it done really.. Engine oil, air and fuel have all been done, silly not to do the transmission too!