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Subject: Transmission Valve Body Removal & Installation, Filter, Fluid Service Author: HighLine740iL : member since February, 2005 : 2241 posts Posted on: 2009-06-17 21:35:33

Once again, this could not have been attempted or completed without the help of my Dad. Thank you very much Dad! I sincerely appreciate your help & the time you spent at the shop with me.

In an effort to assist anyone considering the removal of the transmission valve body for restoration & shippment to their favorite ZF repair shop (Autosports Unlimited, Inc., Attn Mr. Kirt Koeller, 200 N Franklin Zeeland, Michigan 49464. Telephone(800)624-3876 ext 4 Email:kirt@autosportsunlimited.com)

The following write up is a DIY, very easy to do, however you are on your own, this is my own personal experience, and do the following at your own risk.

Here is my pile of parts waiting to be installed on the car.




1) Disconnect battery. Good time to load test, check condition & age of battery.

2) Raise vehicle on lift.

3) Locate transmission pan;



4) Using 3/8 inch ratchet and metric set of drivers, loosen transmission pan drain plug;



5) Drain transmisson Fluid (CAUTION: Hot transmission fluid can burn)



6) After draing transmission fluid, carefully remove transmission pan bolts. T27 torx bit required w/ 1/4inch ratchet.



7) Remove transmission pan, filter and pan gasket.

8) At this point I had fluid all over my hands, neck, shirt and pants. I couldn't take a picture of the next step. I am sorry. Although visually important, if you are doing this DIY project and have got this far, you will see what I am talking about.

9) Disconnect the rear wiring harness. The harness is held in place from the outside of the transmission via a horseshoe metal clip. You will need a long pair of needlenose pliers to slide the clip towards the drivers side of the car, remove and carefully push 1/2 of the harness out of the transmission with the valve body.



10) The transmission valve body is held in place with 12 large torx bolts. The larger diameter torx bolts are very easy to tell apart from the smaller valve body torx bolts. Yes, they use the same T27 torx bit, however if you cannot tell the difference between a large diameter and small diameter torx bolt, maybe this project isn't for you.

11) Remove all 12 larger diameter torx bolts with T27 torx.
In addition, Remove the two pulse sensors attached to the wiring harness via T27 torx bolts at the front & rear of the transmission/car. Carefully watch for more fluid as the valve body/transmission once loose will continue to drain transmission fluid.

12) The valve body as a little guide pin, that will give you some resistance when removing. After I let my valvebody drain for 15-20 minutes, there was no resistance and I could then remove the valve body.

13) At this point, what you have done should look like the following pics;







14) At this point I cleaned up the valve body with a new can of brake cleaner, drained off the excess fluid, boxed up the valve body and shipped it off to Kirt at Autosports Unlimited in Zeeland Michigan. I must say that Kirt was very good about communicating with me throughout the entire process.


15) Since the car was on the lift/in the garage/plenty of down time while the valve body was rebuilt, and the transmission fluid was drained out of the car, I thought it was a good idea to change the transmission cooler lines and clean out the transmission cooler. The cooler lines are very easy to disconnect. With the help of a large size flat blade screwdriver, gently push back the built in plastic clip that holds the line to the cooler as visable in this picture;





16) While I was removing one of the lines, the plastic clip broke off. If this happens to you, remove as much of the plastic clip as you can with a small flat blade screwdriver or pick, etc., and pull straight back on the line to remove the line from the cooler.

17) Each cooler line is attached on the left and right side of the transmission. They are held in place via a dual line plastic clip.

17) With some clean scotch brite pads, clean up the surface area where the lines attach to the cooler;



18) Fast Forward One Week

19) The transmission arrived back from Kirt & his team at Autosports Unlimited. They did a good job cleaning up everything.









20) The next two pictures show the piece of the valve body that Kirt & his team replaced.



21) Old & Worn out piece in my hand; new part fitted to valve body.



22) Install valve body back into transmission. Torque spec is 78 inch pounds for the 12 large diameter torx bolts. Snug them all down, start with the torx bolt in the middle and slowly work your way to the outside edge. Once all of them are torqued, double check each larger diameter torx bolt again.

23) Fit new filter, filter O-ring, pan gasket and install transmission pan.



24) Remove transmission fluid fill pug on right hard rear side.



25) Fill with the transmission fluid of your choice. I choose OEM BMW fluid as I have changed my fluid & filter five times over 200,000 miles. I like the BMW fluid and as the sticker on the transmission pan says...





























Good Luck,
Mike Pack

• Transmission Valve Body Removal & Installation, Filter, Fluid Service (pic) - HighLine740iL 2009-06-17 21:35:33 (9640 views)
  • How much Tranny fluid did it take when you refilled? - boraboy 2009-06-20 20:45:57 (396 views)
    • 10 liters If you don't want to buy the entire 20L you can buy 1 liter bottles - HighLine740iL 2009-06-21 14:50:01 (322 views)
  • where did you get - boraboy 2009-06-20 04:04:04 (270 views)
    • Re: where did you get you pan gasket, only by from BMW dealer the following part - HighLine740iL 2009-06-21 14:51:41 (306 views)
  • excellent -- on to 300Kmi -- what year is your car? (nt) - wcsnyder 2009-06-19 17:23:10 (309 views)
  • Excellent write up. If I ever have to do mine I know where to look for guidance. (nt) - geiser740il 2009-06-19 00:08:40 (240 views)
  • Incredible!!! (nt) - aaron00740il 2009-06-18 23:50:38 (217 views)
  • Impressive stuff and excellent info. You havve been b-u-s-y! (nt) - RobinK 2009-06-18 17:37:01 (222 views)
  • Great gob man! Looks like you did brain surgery (nt) - stas 2009-06-18 13:33:33 (233 views)
  • Great writeup! This is on my list now. Got to figure out the logistical issues - JohnG 2009-06-18 11:15:41 (294 views)
    • John, give Kurt a call, he can send you a rebuilt one and you send yours back as - HighLine740iL 2009-06-18 22:52:42 (354 views)
      • That is my plan. I've got to get a few other things done 1st - JohnG 2009-06-19 11:46:09 (275 views)
  • EPIC...Mike...GFJ.....!!!!!!!!!! (nt) - Snitch 2009-06-18 04:07:00 (205 views)
  • Awesome Pics! TNX for this! OK tell us how does she drive??? Next time - Edwin™ 2009-06-18 02:55:49 (284 views)
    • Thank you Edwin, you were the founder of the valve body rebuild, Thanks for the - HighLine740iL 2009-06-18 13:23:11 (314 views)
      • Didn't WTH rebuild his own valve body once? (nt) - Roy In GA 2009-06-18 21:08:18 (292 views)
    • I replaced them, I had to use the old trans removal post pic as I had fluid - HighLine740iL 2009-06-18 08:51:20 (250 views)
  • Wow! - nbate 2009-06-17 22:54:52 (215 views)
  • Nice work and photos! This is going on e38.org (nt) - DavidC 2009-06-17 22:42:57 (225 views)
    • Thank you David! I'm here to help and I hope my write ups answer questions (nt) - HighLine740iL 2009-06-21 14:53:11 (238 views)