Hard shifts after tranny and diff fluid change

bwhipp · 11-24-2019, 12:34 PM

Got my tranny fluid and diff fluid changed at 80k miles and now I'm getting a rough at best to super difficult at worst shift from 1st to 2nd when its below freezing outside. I understand this 1st shift is typically rough, however, this never happened before i had the fluids swapped. I had an indy shop do the fluids, maybe they didn't fill tranny all the way? Appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Edit: manual transmission, 2009 335ix

tlow98 · 11-24-2019, 01:35 PM

Make sure they used ATF fluid. Check level.

GTwice · 11-24-2019, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwhipp

Got my tranny fluid and diff fluid changed at 80k miles and now I'm getting a rough at best to super difficult at worst shift from 1st to 2nd when its below freezing outside. I understand this 1st shift is typically rough, however, this never happened before i had the fluids swapped. I had an indy shop do the fluids, maybe they didn't fill tranny all the way? Appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Edit: manual transmission, 2009 335ix

First of all I would ask what kind of transmission oil they used. It can make a huge difference - I have an NC MX-5, which is famous for difficult shifting when cold. The common knowledge is to use a specific oil (suprisingly from Ford) which makes it much better - confirmed personally.

Mantraxalos · 11-24-2019, 02:08 PM

My 07 Z4 was difficult to shift when cold until I switched to Royal Purple fluid. I'm sure other brands will work as well or better.

lab_rat · 11-24-2019, 04:14 PM

Definitely agree about checking fluid levels...always check the simple things first.

Although I have a 330i with manual transmission, I had a difficult time shifting when ambient and/or operating temps were cold. I changed trans fluid from OEM to Redline, and that fixed the issue.

ricx · 11-24-2019, 04:43 PM

most likely they simply added fluid to the pan while it was off without adding fluid at temp with the engine running. which means you could be 3 or 4 qts low. don't blame the cold temps. simply with the engine running tranny at temp remove the fill plug, if no fluid comes out your low. if the shop is a couple blocks away drive it back, if it's not close you risk damage. next I would quiz them on what fluid they used. likely they used what ever they had on hand. before adding fluid your self you need to know what they put in. one you don't want a cock tail of fluids in and two they could've put bad wrong fluid in, which needs to come out asap.

fastboatster · 11-25-2019, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricx

most likely they simply added fluid to the pan while it was off without adding fluid at temp with the engine running. which means you could be 3 or 4 qts low. don't blame the cold temps. simply with the engine running tranny at temp remove the fill plug, if no fluid comes out your low. if the shop is a couple blocks away drive it back, if it's not close you risk damage. next I would quiz them on what fluid they used. likely they used what ever they had on hand. before adding fluid your self you need to know what they put in. one you don't want a cock tail of fluids in and two they could've put bad wrong fluid in, which needs to come out asap.

he has a 6mt, you don't need to have the engine running to fill it. In fact, it might actually splash the fluid all over. And BMW 6mts are hard shifting when cold, especially if OEM fluid is used.
To the OP: get some redline fluid, they now recommend d4 (yes, atf). also, what temperatures are we looking at, 32F, 10F or -10F?

carriermech · 11-25-2019, 09:37 PM

I recently bought a 2011 328i xdrive knowing that I would be in for a ride when it comes to maintenance on this vehicle but I've been a HD Diesel mechanic since 1994 and have always loved the the a BMW looks crouched on the pavement. So after reading all the posts I finally decided to do a drain and fill on my transmission with 103k miles on it. I'm the type of mechanic that will obsess over every vehicle I own and this one is going to be biggest challenge yet. Let's just say if they made a 4wd Kia Forte or Honda wouldn't be having this conversation. I have a GM GA6L-45R transmission. I popped the cork and only got 3.5 liters out of it. My guess is that someone tried to do a good thing ya know... Refilled it the proper way with the valvoline. Fluid was SUPER Black and had some but not a lot of aluminum texture to it. Fingers crossed. Gonna do the same in about 3k. So far it's shifting ok. Will keep you posted.

Mantraxalos · 12-29-2019, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carriermech

I recently bought a 2011 328i xdrive knowing that I would be in for a ride when it comes to maintenance on this vehicle but I've been a HD Diesel mechanic since 1994 and have always loved the the a BMW looks crouched on the pavement. So after reading all the posts I finally decided to do a drain and fill on my transmission with 103k miles on it. I'm the type of mechanic that will obsess over every vehicle I own and this one is going to be biggest challenge yet. Let's just say if they made a 4wd Kia Forte or Honda wouldn't be having this conversation. I have a GM GA6L-45R transmission. I popped the cork and only got 3.5 liters out of it. My guess is that someone tried to do a good thing ya know... Refilled it the proper way with the valvoline. Fluid was SUPER Black and had some but not a lot of aluminum texture to it. Fingers crossed. Gonna do the same in about 3k. So far it's shifting ok. Will keep you posted.

Any update?

mainbearing · 01-01-2020, 02:59 PM

So how many qts did you put back in? 3.5 was what I first drained from the factory and I put in about 4 on subsequent changes.

IMO the 6L45 shifts like a PoS compared to our ZFs, but the fluid is cheap and readily available (Valvoline Maxlife).

Quote:

Originally Posted by carriermech

I recently bought a 2011 328i xdrive knowing that I would be in for a ride when it comes to maintenance on this vehicle but I've been a HD Diesel mechanic since 1994 and have always loved the the a BMW looks crouched on the pavement. So after reading all the posts I finally decided to do a drain and fill on my transmission with 103k miles on it. I'm the type of mechanic that will obsess over every vehicle I own and this one is going to be biggest challenge yet. Let's just say if they made a 4wd Kia Forte or Honda wouldn't be having this conversation. I have a GM GA6L-45R transmission. I popped the cork and only got 3.5 liters out of it. My guess is that someone tried to do a good thing ya know... Refilled it the proper way with the valvoline. Fluid was SUPER Black and had some but not a lot of aluminum texture to it. Fingers crossed. Gonna do the same in about 3k. So far it's shifting ok. Will keep you posted.

11-24-2019, 12:34 PM	#1
bwhipp New Member 0 Rep 12 Posts Drives: 335ix Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	Hard shifts after tranny and diff fluid change Got my tranny fluid and diff fluid changed at 80k miles and now I'm getting a rough at best to super difficult at worst shift from 1st to 2nd when its below freezing outside. I understand this 1st shift is typically rough, however, this never happened before i had the fluids swapped. I had an indy shop do the fluids, maybe they didn't fill tranny all the way? Appreciate any input. Thanks! Edit: manual transmission, 2009 335ix Last edited by bwhipp; 11-24-2019 at 01:35 PM..
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11-24-2019, 01:35 PM	#2
tlow98 Major General 2193 Rep 5,016 Posts Drives: 2009 E91, 2014 F15 x35i Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (2)	Make sure they used ATF fluid. Check level.
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11-24-2019, 02:08 PM	#4
Mantraxalos Second Lieutenant 78 Rep 244 Posts Drives: 2006 330i Manual Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Detroit iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 Z4 3.0i [0.00] 2006 330I [0.00]	My 07 Z4 was difficult to shift when cold until I switched to Royal Purple fluid. I'm sure other brands will work as well or better.
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11-24-2019, 04:43 PM	#6
ricx Private First Class 29 Rep 134 Posts Drives: e93 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: SE iTrader: (0)	most likely they simply added fluid to the pan while it was off without adding fluid at temp with the engine running. which means you could be 3 or 4 qts low. don't blame the cold temps. simply with the engine running tranny at temp remove the fill plug, if no fluid comes out your low. if the shop is a couple blocks away drive it back, if it's not close you risk damage. next I would quiz them on what fluid they used. likely they used what ever they had on hand. before adding fluid your self you need to know what they put in. one you don't want a cock tail of fluids in and two they could've put bad wrong fluid in, which needs to come out asap. Last edited by ricx; 11-24-2019 at 05:00 PM..
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11-25-2019, 09:37 PM	#8
carriermech Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: 2011 328i Xdrive Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Boise iTrader: (0)	Used Valvoline Transmax Full Synthetic I recently bought a 2011 328i xdrive knowing that I would be in for a ride when it comes to maintenance on this vehicle but I've been a HD Diesel mechanic since 1994 and have always loved the the a BMW looks crouched on the pavement. So after reading all the posts I finally decided to do a drain and fill on my transmission with 103k miles on it. I'm the type of mechanic that will obsess over every vehicle I own and this one is going to be biggest challenge yet. Let's just say if they made a 4wd Kia Forte or Honda wouldn't be having this conversation. I have a GM GA6L-45R transmission. I popped the cork and only got 3.5 liters out of it. My guess is that someone tried to do a good thing ya know... Refilled it the proper way with the valvoline. Fluid was SUPER Black and had some but not a lot of aluminum texture to it. Fingers crossed. Gonna do the same in about 3k. So far it's shifting ok. Will keep you posted.
	Appreciate 0 Quote