Just changed M5 and diff fluids, SOTP impressions and notes

[zlexiss]

Ok, with 35k on the odo, I got some Redline fluids from Thunder Racing, and sat under the car for an hour or two.

Differential:
Jackstands on all corners, except for the rear instead of putting the stands on the rear axle, I set them at the tire change jacking points. Lets the axle hang down, better access to the diff cover and fill plug. No real shavings at the magnet or other signs of trouble. Not sure what the original fluid looked like, more like used motor oil than the nice clear Redline 75W90 gear oil.

New Felpro gasket, no RTV used. Autoshops sell these nice gear oil pump tops that made filling the diff a breeze. About 1.75 qts needed.

Transmission: Car up on all four corners as before. Draining the fluid (Still red with a touch of brownish tint, no longer clear, smelled ok) through the drain plug. Decided to take the little gear oil pump, stick the feed tube in there, and see if I could suck any more out. Got about 1/4-1/2 additional quart of old fluid out, our drain plug is not the lowest point in the M5.

Used the same pump to fill with new Redline D4 ATF (called them up and it was their recommendation over the other fluids). Reached the fill plug in just under 3.5 quarts.

Impressions: Changing the fluid in the M5 seems to makes the shifts slightly less "notchy", seems to be meshing a little nicer. Vibrations coming up through the shifter when driving are reduced. Confidence there will be no surprises when I autocross Sunday is high :)

-Jeff

[Dominic]

Yep, changing the fluid out from factory is one of the best things you can do.

[Red V6 Raider]

I'm going to add this to my "to do" list! Thanks for the info and letting us know what you thought of doing it. :D [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Joshua]

Hey Zlexiss I may hit you up when i change mine. I've got 45k miles so it may be a good idea to change the fluid. Where it Tucson are you?

[zlexiss]

I'd definately help out. Need some place to work though, I'm in an apartment so I have to bribe a friend with a house/garage to do some work.

I'm on the far east side (Tanque Verde & Catalina Hwy), but I'm always up for a cruise.

-Jeff

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Joshua:
Hey Zlexiss I may hit you up when i change mine. I've got 45k miles so it may be a good idea to change the fluid. Where it Tucson are you?<hr></blockquote>

[Red V6 Raider]

I have a related question pertaining to manual transmissions. Hopefully Dominic can help me out. I've been reading up on this through past posts and here's my concerns:

1. I read about the unreachable area where the torque converter goes(I'm not stupid, I know we don't have one), is there an area on manuals that we can't reach or if I do it per Dominics walkthrough( http://www.camarov6.com/cgi-bin/ulti...&f=23&t=000973 ), is there still more fluid that I'm not getting to?

2. Do we have a filter to change? ( I don't know why we wouldn't but it wasn't mentioned)

3. Should I change to synthetic tranny oil?

[zlexiss]

To answer from my knowledge:

1. No unreachable area if you get the little hand pump like I did, and use it to drain the last little bit out of the bottom of the pan, right next to the drain plug. Our capacity is rated at 3.4 quarts, and I took just about exactly that much to refill. We're just a fancy gearbox, no torque converters, ATF coolers or other odd fluid passagways and spots that don't drain out well.

2. I don't know, I certainly didn't see anything under there that looked like a panel to get to a filter.

3. Why not? It'll last longer, and feel smoother. For an extra $10-15 every 30-45k miles, it's not an expense compared to synthetic engine oil.

-Jeff

[Red V6 Raider]

I changed my tranny fluid to the D4 ATF. To anyone doing this, be carefull where you place your jackstands. I thought the tranny fluid would just kind of pour out more straight down, not the case! That stuff shot out and my catch pan wasn't even close to where that stuff went, it shot out all over my garage and I couldn't get my catch pan where it needed to be because my jackstand was in the way. Just a warning to those doing this.
That was really my only complication I had(surprisingly!).

I definitely can tell a difference. The shifts are a LOT smoother and easier now.

Oh, I did have a problem actually with my torque settings. My haynes manual said to torque the fill plug to 20 lbs/ft but it said nothing about torquing the drain plug. I torqued it to 20 like the fill plug just as a guess but it seems like it went in pretty far. What did you guys do?

[zlexiss]

I think it's from running the threadlocker gunk they put on the plug further. But yes, my plugs went in a lot further when I torqued them than they used to be.

-Jeff

[OneQuickV6]

I changed my M5 fluid yesterday also...feels better, and shifts a little easier now too. Not a bad way to spend $10 and about an hour.