Some routine service actions such as changing the engine oil may seem obvious and essential, although others such as changing the gearbox oil from its BMW 5 Series may seem to be less automatic. Nevertheless, make no mistake, changing the gearbox is just as important as changing the engine oil. This content will show you the function of the gearbox oil, then, why it is vital to change the gearbox of your BMW 5 Series, and at last, how to change the gearbox oil of a BMW 5 Series .

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Role of gearbox oil on a BMW 5 Series

So we begin our content with the function of gearbox oil on a BMW 5 Series. The objective of this short introduction is to make you understand the interest of this fluid which ensures the good functioning of your motor vehicle. The gearbox of your car has the objective to demultiply the power transmitted by the engine and send it back to your wheels . It is made up of pinions and gears that will allow the wheels to rotate at different speeds depending on the curves and the gear engaged. It will work with the help of an axle and a differential. All these auto parts will need to be firmly lubricate to action properly, limit friction and tolerate the high temperatures built by the engine and friction. Your transmission oil has a high viscosity and will prevent the formation of filings or gear breakage, so it is fundamental to the proper functioning of the gearbox.

Why replacing the gearbox oil from a BMW 5 Series?

Now we’ll see what’s the point of draining the gearbox oil of your BMW 5 Series?

Benefit of gearbox oil changing BMW 5 Series

There are some interests to change the gearbox of your motor vehicle frequently, we will list them and detail them below:

  • Over time, the oil will lose its viscosity due to friction and temperature rise, which will cause less lubrication of the gears and pinions and therefore risk to break some of them.
  • Same as viscosity, time and temperature rise will decrease the oil resistance to the engine temperature, So it will fluidize much more easily when the engine heats up, which is not good for your gearbox.
  • Accumulation of metallic residues: Finally, regardless if you constantly have a quality oil, a gearbox is an element that wears out and creates iron filings with friction, the oil will pick them up and if it accumulates too much these residues can get into gears and break them.

When to do the gearbox oil change on a BMW 5 Series?

Whether you want to do an automatic or manual gearbox oil change on BMW 5 Series or strong> the procedure is not similar, however, dealers do not give mileage suggestions to change the oil in your gearbox, on the other hand when you do an intervention on the gearbox it is beneficial to change it, otherwise here are the reasons to make you take into consideration doing this oil change.

Oil change for manual gearbox BMW 5 Series

  • Gears are jumping: you are most certainly missing oil and you may have a gearbox oil leak, please see our article on gearbox leaks on BMW 5 Series for more info.
  • The gearbox cracks when you change gears: The oil has absolutely lost viscosity and is too fluid, so the gears get stuck.
  • Difficulty to shift gears: Same issue as just before, the oil is absolutely too fluid.

Automatic gearbox oil change

  • A slow begin from the neutral position to the first one: generally a viscosity issue.
  • Difficulty or even impossibility to shift gears: Lack of oil

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How to change gearbox oil of a BMW 5 Series?

At last, to conclude this article, we will show you you how to empty the gearbox oil of your BMW 5 Series , it’s much easier than you might think, here are the few actions to stick to to do it properly:

  • Heat your BMW 5 Series for about 10 minutes to get a fluid oil, place it flat on 4 stands.
  • Install a drain pan under the drain plug, open it, and clean it well because it will most certainly gather filings.
  • Let all the oil run out until it’s all gone.
  • Replace and tighten the cap, then fill with a syringe through the filler cap with the manufacturer’s suggested dose

If you want more guides on the BMW 5 Series, go to our BMW 5 Series category.