Approaching 50k and due to the modified nature of the vehicle wanted to get an idea on how the transmission is holding up.
About 2 years ago I did a fluid change, but didn't remove the transmission pan (info and fluid analysis can be found in the link below).
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=657530
This time I changed the pan as well. Attached some pics.
The fluid was darker than what came out during the first change. The 3 clear glass containers are fresh ZF oil, 2012 fluid, and then what came out yesterday. Sampled the fluid and sending it into get analyzed.
There was some "material" contained on the magnets. Not sure how normal the amount is compared to what others have seen.
Also snapped a shot of the old and new pans side by side, and the transmission guts seen when the pan is removed.
Even though BMW calls the transmission fluid "lifetime" ... ZF says otherwise.
http://www.zf.com/media/media/docume...hselkit_EN.pdf
Depending on the driving style, ZF therefore recommends a transmission oil change every 80000 to 120000 km, or after 8 years at the latest.
The above change procedure was helpful. There's also several online links that are helpful as well. This is an example:
http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-...ics-faq-30991/