[danfratamico]

'07 335xi with the ZF 6HP19 that had a cracked Mechatronic adapter (square seal) that I replaced. I had Pentosin ATF1 in the tranny when I did a fluid change about 2 years ago. This time around, I used Valvoline MaxLife which meets the Shell standard needed for the tranny. Read many posts and people did not have issues with it. I properly filled it up (took about 4.5 liters), cycled the gears, drove around, refilled, etc. I know I have the proper level, but ever since the change, I have a jolt in between 1st and 2nd gear, but only between those gears though. Could it be that the oil is too thin at operating temperature but OK when cold? I also only get this issue after the fluid is warmed up, after about 10 minutes of driving. When cold or any other shift above 2nd gear, the shifting is buttery smooth. Any ideas? I know many of you will say to put the right oil in, but looking at other workarounds for now. what's odd is that when the tranny is rough shifting, I perform a tranny reset and all is good after that, but then the issue creeps up again.

[Pladi]

Wrong fluid/wrong qty. These are the two most likely reasons.

I have done this job and had ZERO problems. So before you respnd back really consider what i am telling you because i have succeeded.

[danfratamico]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Wrong fluid/wrong qty. These are the two most likely reasons.

I have done this job and had ZERO problems. So before you respnd back really consider what i am telling you because i have succeeded.

Yes, I understand that this might be the cause. As far as the quantity, I believe I am OK. My INPA isn't communicating correctly with my tranny, so I cannot use it to check my fluid temperature. I did let the car idle for about 2 minutes, then add the remainder of the fluid. Hopefully that was enough for it to reach between 30-50 celsius.

[dave4]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Yes, I understand that this might be the cause. As far as the quantity, I believe I am OK. My INPA isn't communicating correctly with my tranny, so I cannot use it to check my fluid temperature. I did let the car idle for about 2 minutes, then add the remainder of the fluid. Hopefully that was enough for it to reach between 30-50 celsius.

Last time I did mine it was around 34F outside (sorry can't see your location) and it took over 15 mins of idle for it to reach the correct temp in INPA.

[danfratamico]

Originally Posted by dave4

Last time I did mine it was around 34F outside (sorry can't see your location) and it took over 15 mins of idle for it to reach the correct temp in INPA.

That makes sense, I am on the East Coast but I did this job inside my garage where it was about 70F. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fluid expands when it's warm, correct? So if anything, I may have too much fluid as the extra fluid should seep out when warm.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

That makes sense, I am on the East Coast but I did this job inside my garage where it was about 70F. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fluid expands when it's warm, correct? So if anything, I may have too much fluid as the extra fluid should seep out when warm.

It's possible but too much fluid isn't likely to be the cause of that harsh shift. Fluid does expand when warm, that's why you're supposed to allow the fluid to warm up to 40°C (104°F) and let the excess drain out before you replace the fill plug.

Where did you see that MaxLife that meets the Shell M-1375.4 standard? In all of my research, reading online and looking at bottles in several stores, I didn't see any evidence that the MaxLife Multi-Vehicle ATF meets the M-1375.4 standard. I have seen old forum posts from 2010 and 2011 with some claims from individuals that the MaxLife Multi Vehicle ATF is "suitable for applications requiring M-1375.4" but have not found anything from Valvoline stating that. I could be wrong, but I just haven't seen anything.

It's possible that the fluid is not the correct viscosity and the existing adaptations in your car are tailored for the old fluid, causing the harsh shifts. If you cannot confirm that the MaxLife ATF meets the M-1375.4 spec (not 'suitable for use' but actually certified/licensed/etc.) then I would suggest changing to the correct fluid.

Personally I use Mercon SP which does NOT have the M-1375.4 approval, but from all the reading I've done I've determined that it's nearly identical to the ZF Lifeguard 6 fluid. It significantly improved all the shifting in my transmission. I previously had a harsher 1-2 shift as well (only in DS mode when not aggressively accelerating) however that's gone now. I also had a slightly harsh 2-1 downshift when coming to a stop but after a month of driving with the new fluid that is gone.

Another comment on the MaxLife ATF, the bottle claims it's suitable for use in applications requiring Honda ATF-DW1 so I used that recently in my Pilot, however the shifts feel a bit sloppy compared to the original fluid, so I'll be looking for something else next time.

[danfratamico]

Thanks for the reply. I'm surprised the Mercon SP worked for you even though it's a Ford fluid. I personally believe my fluid is too thin and is causing issues. Since I mixed 50/50 MaxLife and Pentosin at this point, I'm going to have to do a full flush...all 9-10 liters and I read that it can get tricky and not advised to empty the torque converter.

Here is the spec sheet for the Valvoline MaxLife. On page 1, about 3/4 page down on the left side, you will see that it meets BMW M-1375.4
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publi...2-ac162d889bd1

[Pladi]

Not filling between 30- 40 is your issue. You have to fill at this temp range. This is a very important part. Overfilling causes heating (transmission damage). Underfilling causes shifting problems.

DO NOT FILL without knowing the transmission temp...

2 minutes waiting means nothing. How is that a reference of any kind ?

Do the job properly do it once.

[danfratamico]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Not filling between 30- 40 is your issue. You have to fill at this temp range. This is a very important part. Overfilling causes heating (transmission damage). Underfilling causes shifting problems.

DO NOT FILL without knowing the transmission temp...

2 minutes waiting means nothing. How is that a reference of any kind ?

Do the job properly do it once.

Yes, I can agree with you here. Do you know of any other PC software I can use to communicate with my car? I have ISTA but you can't check the transmission temp unless you go through the steps. My INPA cannot communicate with my transmission. Also, I do smell a transmission fluid smell after about 20 minutes of driving when I'm stopped at lights. I looked underneath and it's bone dry. It seems like it's leaking somewhere in my engine bay, as when I shut the car off and walk towards the front of my car, I smell it much more.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Thanks for the reply. I'm surprised the Mercon SP worked for you even though it's a Ford fluid.

The only reason I used this fluid is because Ford manufactured and used a transmission based on the ZF 6HP in several of their models for a while, and Mercon SP was the fluid used for that application. ZF doesn't make the transmission, Ford does, but it's the same design. I read about an oil analysis done on Mercon SP and ZF LifeGuard 6 which concluded that the fluids are identical except for one of them (Mercon SP) containing a red dye.

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Here is the spec sheet for the Valvoline MaxLife. On page 1, about 3/4 page down on the left side, you will see that it meets BMW M-1375.4
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publi...2-ac162d889bd1

Just some semantics - that sheet only says "The list below is just a sample of applications where Valvoline supports the use of MaxLife ATF." It's not certified or approved, and none of the bottles of MaxLife that I have seen mention M-1375.4 at all. Even though Valvoline recommends it, it still might not be the correct viscosity. Or it could be just fine and you need to reset your adaptations.

In my case I didn't mess with the adaptations and the fluid change alone showed an immediate improvement in shifting. It only got better over the next month or two, presumably from the adaptions being updated automatically as I drove more.

The harsh 1-2 shift or 2-1 shift is common in these transmissions, even with the correct fluid, and it seems that replacing the solenoids (~$250 for the parts, need to drop the pan to get to them) has a good track record of fixing the problem. If you're going through the effort of doing another fluid change, you might want to order a new pan (has an integrated filter) and a set of solenoids and replace them too.

[danfratamico]

By resetting adaptions, what does that entail? Ignition on, accelerator pedal to the ground for 30 seconds, ignition off? Is there more to it? If not, then I have reset it multiple times and same thing.

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Yes, I can agree with you here. Do you know of any other PC software I can use to communicate with my car? I have ISTA but you can't check the transmission temp unless you go through the steps. My INPA cannot communicate with my transmission. Also, I do smell a transmission fluid smell after about 20 minutes of driving when I'm stopped at lights. I looked underneath and it's bone dry. It seems like it's leaking somewhere in my engine bay, as when I shut the car off and walk towards the front of my car, I smell it much more.

Yes you can check with ISTA, and MHD monitoring, ( 60 bucks but still cheaper than a transmission)

Not sure about how transmission fluid can get in the front of the car..

[danfratamico]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Yes you can check with ISTA, and MHD monitoring, ( 60 bucks but still cheaper than a transmission)

Not sure about how transmission fluid can get in the front of the car..

There's a transmission cooler linked to the radiator in the engine bay, is there not? As I stated earlier, when I changed my fluid, I only flushed about 4.5 liters. Since I don't want to mix (now 3) types of fluids, how can I completely drain the system including the torque converter? I feel as if that is necessary at this point.

[Boland01]

We've been running Mercon SP in our 2007 335i for 2 years and 20,000 miles with no issues. I did a simple drain and fill. I did also replace the transmission pan and filter (they are one) at that time too.

[danfratamico]

I read that the Febi fluid is approved for these trannys. Found a great deal on eBay, 10 liters for $115. Going to order that, a new pan, already have OEM gasket, and see what happens...

[Pladi]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

I read that the Febi fluid is approved for these trannys. Found a great deal on eBay, 10 liters for $115. Going to order that, a new pan, already have OEM gasket, and see what happens...

Your biggest concern should be how to fill at 40 degrees.. Celsius.

If you cannot do that you cannot replace the fluid.. FEbi is what i am running.. no issues.

[danfratamico]

Originally Posted by Pladi

Your biggest concern should be how to fill at 40 degrees.. Celsius.

If you cannot do that you cannot replace the fluid.. FEbi is what i am running.. no issues.

Yes, definitely agree here. Later today I am going to check the tranny temp with Carsoft and check the level. Does the transmission have a breather tube of some sort? Don't have any leaks (I think) so I'm wondering if it's overheating and the burnt oil smell is coming out of the breather tube.

[danfratamico]

Does anyone know where the transmission oil cooler is on my E90 335xi? If I am looking at the diagram correctly, it is on the right side of the radiator when looking at the car from the front.

[Cisco335i]

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Does anyone know where the transmission oil cooler is on my E90 335xi? If I am looking at the diagram correctly, it is on the right side of the radiator when looking at the car from the front.

Originally Posted by danfratamico

Does anyone know where the transmission oil cooler is on my E90 335xi? If I am looking at the diagram correctly, it is on the right side of the radiator when looking at the car from the front.

I believe it's under the passenger side headlight no? I'm looking at it right now but my car is a e90 335i

[danfratamico]

Ok, so I drained about 4.5 L of my red MaxLife fluid and pumped in new Febi oil which was much thicker. I properly topped up the fluid this time when my tranny temp was at 40C. One thing I am noticing now is when the engine and tranny are cold, the tranny flares into certain gears and is a bit jumpy. It will be like that for the whole trip pretty much until I shut my car off. If I turn my car on right away, the shifting is buttery smooth and I have absolutely no issues. Can anyone explain? I reset adaptations via INPA, but maybe I need to just let it learn? If I had an issue in the tranny, I'd think the issue would be evident all the time.

[gamesfrager]

It seems that resetting adaptation requires the very lengthy procedure of relearn.

See https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1536089

And looks like I have the GM not ZF, and now I can't find the proper procedure for it and experiencing harsh shifts on the lower gears.

[Boland01]

As others have said the correct fluid level and temperature 30-50C seem to be critical when filling the ZF transmission. On a past fluid change I was 1/2 a quart low and the transmission shifted like crap. Went back and did the procedure again with the correct level and temp and it shifts like new now.