Gearbox oil change

[Chasdad]

My ls430 is on 93k and I'm wondering about getting the gearbox oil changed a nd maybe the diff oil when I get Cambelt done. What's the general consensus.  Is it worth doing at the mileage or is it too late. Any ideas on the cost if I do

[MLW]

Not sure about the cost but I am a great believer in changing gearbox and diff oil. It seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years.

My old Mercedes W124 needed auto gearbox changes ever18k mikes and an oil change and filter change ever 36K miles.

When I sold it at 147,000 miles the gearbox was silky smooth.

The question is this, The gearbox costs to replace £5,000???. An oil change is peanuts in comparison. Why not change it? What will you loose? 

[Chasdad]

I've had a few old 5 series bmws and the boxes are supposedly sealed for life. From what I've been told if they've not had a change before 100k don't bother as you could do more harm than good.

I was just wondering if the ls owner had the same thoughts 

[royoftherovers]

9 hours ago, MLW said:

Not sure about the cost but I am a great believer in changing gearbox and diff oil. It seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years.

My old Mercedes W124 needed auto gearbox changes ever18k mikes and an oil change and filter change ever 36K miles.

When I sold it at 147,000 miles the gearbox was silky smooth.

The question is this, The gearbox costs to replace £5,000???. An oil change is peanuts in comparison. Why not change it? What will you loose? 

My E class sealed for life box has had oil changes every 40,000 miles. It is now on 211,000 miles and has just brought me back seamlessly from Spain!

 

Regards

 

John

[ambermarine]

If the transmission fluid meets the cherry red, not burnt criteria leave it alone.The diff oil is good for at least 150k .

[lockeyboy]

9 hours ago, Chasdad said:

I've had a few old 5 series bmws and the boxes are supposedly sealed for life. From what I've been told if they've not had a change before 100k don't bother as you could do more harm than good.

I was just wondering if the ls owner had the same thoughts 

That's what my garage told me also

 

 

[Cotswold Pete]

Gear box total change - had mine done at 150K, it was really smelly and in need of change.  Cost was about £180, and made a big difference to the gear changes.  The specialist I went to reckoned a full change every 40K is a good thing, though he said he had seen LS and GS with really old oil and no failures in the auto-boxes (unlike BMW and Audis he had dealt with).

 

Not had the diff done, and various garages say different things, but my view is anything mechanical needs new lubrication at some point, so will be getting diff done some time in next year.

[Spacewagon52]

On Saturday, July 09, 2016 at 8:03 AM, royoftherovers said:

My E class sealed for life box has had oil changes every 40,000 miles. It is now on 211,000 miles and has just brought me back seamlessly from Spain!

 

Regards

 

John

Wish I had done my BMW - the auto gearbox might have lasted longer - but who knows?

[Titch LS]

I don't hold with the latest 'lifetime fill' concept on modern cars. Manufacturers want to replace your gearbox when it fails. The sooner the better as far as they are concerned, preferably, just as the warranty runs out. It's a big con. No ATF can be that efficient that it never needs replacing or replenishing at some point. My neighbour never changed the ATF on her Beemer X5 and guess what? Yep, catastrophic gearbox failure. Cost her a fortune.

[shanra]

I'll soon be doing a gearbox flush and filter (oil strainer) change, the fluid is reddish brown and after 196,000 miles it deserves it. I cannot understand why anyone would not change the fluid and filter after a lot of miles, no filter was built to last 19 odd years, gearboxes wear and the filter does what it says on the box, namely filter! I owned a Toyota Soarer with the same engine and gearbox a good few moons ago and that certainly benefitted from a filter and fluid change. If you're doing it yourself I just think you need to be meticulously clean as those boxes don't like any any little extra bits in them! Oh and from what I've gleaned over the years use the right sealant on the pan which is Loctite 5699 Premium Silicone Grey Gasket Maker/Sealant.

[PCM]

Agree.

Owned a (V8) Soarer too - best car ever!