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      08-23-2007, 08:29 AM   #1
BlackSapphireZ
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DIFF fluid Change

THIS DIY IS FOR 2003 Z4 2.5i MANUAL
do this when the car is fairly warm but not burning hot as you will be working near the exhaust. and again, dont' sue me if you make a mistake..and if you are not mechanically inclined, bring it to me i charge a lot

tools required
1)8mm socket wrench
2)jack
3) FOUR jack stands
4)1 quart of 75w-90 oil of your choice...mine being Mobile 1
5)Hand Pump
6)14mm hex socket. there's a DIY for this instead of buying. Honestly though, i forget if its 12 or 14 lol

My way of jacking up all four tires safely.
1)jack driver side only, put the jackstand under the lower control arm.
2)do the same on the passengerside
3)go to the rear, look at the center where the two bars come together and bolts on. Jack from there to a position and place jackstands under the factory jack location on the sides


1)get the car in the air. all 4 tires off, and in somewhat of a leveled position.


2)notice where you jacked up the car in the rear? well there is the silver covering, you need to remove the rear half of it by using 8mm socket wrench

3)when done, look for the FILL plug, it's kind of slanted...unscrew that with the 14mm hex socket.


4)then unscrew the DRAIN plug...oh don't forget to put something underneath to catch the oil and tighten drain plug

5)using the hand pump, pump diff oil in until it oozes out of the fill hole


6)again, take the car down in a safe manner, use a common sense and you are done!
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      11-07-2010, 08:58 AM   #2
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I just did this for my 07. The steps are exactly the same as your, nothing has change.

I had plan to just change the drain plug out to a new one but before I started, I found this dimple magnetic replacement plug, so I end up using my new drain as my filler and the dimple plug in the drain.

The dimple plug is very very strong, was really hard to get into the hole (insert thats what she said joke). The magnet kept sticking the body of the diff and took a little time to plug it the drain hole and screw in..

I end up using redline gear oil. The dimple plug was pretty expensive.. around 30.

As you guys can see my bottom is pretty rusted.. salt of north east can do that... Not driving it through snow or salt this year Should I sand that off and spray anti rust on that ?







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      09-26-2012, 08:18 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackSapphireZ View Post
THIS DIY IS FOR 2003 Z4 2.5i MANUAL
do this when the car is fairly warm but not burning hot as you will be working near the exhaust. and again, dont' sue me if you make a mistake..and if you are not mechanically inclined, bring it to me i charge a lot

tools required
1)8mm socket wrench
2)jack
3) FOUR jack stands
4)1 quart of 75w-90 oil of your choice...mine being Mobile 1
5)Hand Pump
6)14mm hex socket. there's a DIY for this instead of buying. Honestly though, i forget if its 12 or 14 lol

My way of jacking up all four tires safely.
1)jack driver side only, put the jackstand under the lower control arm.
2)do the same on the passengerside
3)go to the rear, look at the center where the two bars come together and bolts on. Jack from there to a position and place jackstands under the factory jack location on the sides


1)get the car in the air. all 4 tires off, and in somewhat of a leveled position.


2)notice where you jacked up the car in the rear? well there is the silver covering, you need to remove the rear half of it by using 8mm socket wrench

3)when done, look for the FILL plug, it's kind of slanted...unscrew that with the 14mm hex socket.


4)then unscrew the DRAIN plug...oh don't forget to put something underneath to catch the oil and tighten drain plug

5)using the hand pump, pump diff oil in until it oozes out of the fill hole


6)again, take the car down in a safe manner, use a common sense and you are done!
Thank you for the pictures and the information. Mike
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      09-26-2012, 08:21 AM   #4
shakemyhand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lstratos View Post
I just did this for my 07. The steps are exactly the same as your, nothing has change.

I had plan to just change the drain plug out to a new one but before I started, I found this dimple magnetic replacement plug, so I end up using my new drain as my filler and the dimple plug in the drain.

The dimple plug is very very strong, was really hard to get into the hole (insert thats what she said joke). The magnet kept sticking the body of the diff and took a little time to plug it the drain hole and screw in..

I end up using redline gear oil. The dimple plug was pretty expensive.. around 30.

As you guys can see my bottom is pretty rusted.. salt of north east can do that... Not driving it through snow or salt this year Should I sand that off and spray anti rust on that ?







Thank you for the pictures and all the good information. Mike
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      09-26-2012, 08:55 PM   #5
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Nice job! I did my 05 Z4 on a lift a BMW CCA DIY clinic and had a heck of a time getting the right angle on the fill plug with a wrench. I had to move one of the support bars.
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      09-26-2012, 11:35 PM   #6
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I've been dragging my feet on doing this. I have all that I need except for a pump bottle. I was just going w/ the OE fluid. Also have some Synchromesh II that's waiting to go in the gearbox but.....haven't checked locally for a pump bottle.
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      09-27-2012, 10:51 PM   #7
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on amazon they got tons of it.. I was just gonna go to my local costco / bj and see if they got the big shampoo bottle that comes with the pump and use that ill be pouring the shampoo out manually
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      09-28-2012, 09:29 AM   #8
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I saw some stuff up on Amazon when I searched a few weeks back but wanted to check locally as well. I was going to order a suction gun since that seemed to be quicker than a pump top but the one I looked at is out of stock now.
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      09-28-2012, 01:36 PM   #9
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ooh never heard of suction gun, got me interested, i need to change my fluid again
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      09-28-2012, 05:55 PM   #10
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lol I came across them while looking on Amazon for pump bottles.

This is the one I was going to order, but it's out of stock now.

http://www.amazon.com/Lumax-LX-1185-...=pd_sbs_auto_1

Here's another but it's only got one review.

http://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-648...=pd_sbs_auto_2
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      09-29-2012, 03:49 PM   #11
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BlackSapphireZ, great write up, thanks for posting. What was your mileage when you did this?
lstratos, good additional info, complements BlackSapphireZ original post nicely. What was your mileage when you did yours?
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      09-29-2012, 09:40 PM   #12
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I did mine at around 30k, but I read some place every 2 years. I just hit 45k and 2 years now.
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      10-07-2012, 10:18 PM   #13
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Arg....got the Moupe up on stands and found out my 14mm hex driver bit is missing. Moved on to the gearbox......and found that I really do need a stubby 8mm hex bit. Not for torque purposes, but because I'll never fit my torque wrench in there w/ a standard length (Craftsman) bit.....tight fit!
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      11-04-2012, 05:02 AM   #14
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Excellent write up, with wonderful photos, thanks.
Thanks, again.

Last edited by Yeggman; 11-04-2012 at 05:13 AM..
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      11-16-2012, 05:34 AM   #15
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Quick question...

I plan on doing all the fluid changes very soon (once it all comes in the mail!) and am curious...for each oil, transmission, and diff...

Do I need to get new drain and/or fill plugs, or can I resue the old ones? I'd *like* to get all the magnetic ones, but I can't afford all of that right now...

Thanks.
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      11-16-2012, 06:06 PM   #16
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The differential and transmission plugs are one-use o-ring type plugs. You'll need a very stubby 8mm hex bit 3/8ths drive socket to access the transmission fill plug.The Matco BXYS8M does the job:
http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/pr...EX-BIT-SOCKET/



Quote:
Originally Posted by 007MCoupe View Post
Quick question...

I plan on doing all the fluid changes very soon (once it all comes in the mail!) and am curious...for each oil, transmission, and diff...

Do I need to get new drain and/or fill plugs, or can I resue the old ones? I'd *like* to get all the magnetic ones, but I can't afford all of that right now...

Thanks.
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      11-16-2012, 11:22 PM   #17
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Oil drain plugs are reusable, but you need a new crush washer. The washer should come w/ the filter change kit, along w/ a few other bits as well.
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      12-10-2012, 11:51 AM   #18
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This is an awesome write up. Will be doing mine in the near future.
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      12-11-2012, 11:23 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bosstones View Post
Oil drain plugs are reusable, but you need a new crush washer. The washer should come w/ the filter change kit, along w/ a few other bits as well.
On the Z4M there are no crush washers on the transmission or differential fill or drain plugs. They are all one-use plugs with built-in 'O' rings.
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      12-12-2012, 08:49 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerobod View Post
On the Z4M there are no crush washers on the transmission or differential fill or drain plugs. They are all one-use plugs with built-in 'O' rings.
Sorry, should've been more specific since they're all oils. I was referring to the drain plug for the oil pan (engine oil). Trans and diff get new plugs.
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      12-13-2012, 11:51 AM   #21
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Had planned to do this last weekend and quickly saw that my diff does not have a drain plug ('07 Coupe). It's even a different differential casting than the one pictured above, as in there's no boss where the plug should be.
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      12-30-2012, 09:51 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovaltine View Post
Had planned to do this last weekend and quickly saw that my diff does not have a drain plug ('07 Coupe). It's even a different differential casting than the one pictured above, as in there's no boss where the plug should be.
E90 folks seem to use oil extractors for this and do everything through the filler hole. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=385975
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