Why it's important to use the CORRECT FLUIDS!

[Kalevera]

Guys...

I've been yammering away on this topic for a while now. Recently, I've heard or seen a lot of instances wherein the wrong fluid was used for a specific application. Some are just plain dumb ass mistakes, like the guy who put ATF in his brake reservoir (thereby blowing out all of the seals and requiring a total replacement).

I saw this on a M50 E34 today. The car is physically presentable, even at 230k. But neglect and time have resulted in it needing about $3000 worth of work. Note the (visible) brand new transmission.








What started out as (probably) a benign PS leak turned into a hellish nightmare. Despite the legible "ATF ONLY" sticker on the PS fluid reservoir, the car received something else. The evidence was in the trunk -- a gallon jug of generic "Power Steering Fluid, for all cars!"

Without even considering the chemical composition: the viscosity is much lower than ATF. This stuff has probably blown every seal and every hose in the system. Notice the location of the leaks.

Moral of the story: use the correct fluid! Don't use cheap, offbrand stuff unless you're willing to assume the risk!


best, whit

[632 Regal]

so what your trying to tell us is, looking under our cars it shouldnt look like them pictures...or am I reading it wrong?

[genphreak]

That's filthy Whit. It'd break my heart to have your job.

I'd probably have to start an orphanage for neglected and abused e34s...

[ryan roopnarine]

i hate to admit it, but my front oil sump looks like that, as i let the valve cover gasket go too long (and i drive 700-1k miles per week, which, at that mileage, even if the leak is small it pumps substantial amounts of oil out), and i have an iddy biddy PS hoseclamp leak. but the light coating of "rustproofing" oil on my bottom comes nowhere near looking that bad. i'd put the thing in mothballs and go over the bottom with a rag and diesel if it were 1/8th that bad.

[liquidtiger720]

Honestly...I have no clue where the oil on mine is coming from. Take a look.

[RobPatt]

...all the filth musta left most of our cars and !#$%^& POOF !!!! went to that guys! :-)

[Kalevera]

Josh, is it engine oil or ATF?

I fixed someone else's hacked pan gasket job last week. There's an O ring on the dipstick tube that can get pinched or cut and leak. It looks like yours is coming from the same vicinity (could also be the seal in the sending unit, but I think it's the O ring -- you may also need a pan gasket). The procedure is relatively simple: pull the dipstick tube and check the O ring. When installing a new one, seat it on the TUBE first! Lube the tube (ha ha) with some oil. It will seat with a "thunk". Clean up any oil residue with brake clean, drive it and see if it still leaks.


Nick -- I can't tell if you're being facetious or not

best, whit

[shogun]

I had a similar problem with my car. While I was on an overseas business trip my wife went to a Esso gas station with a puncture. As she had some business to do, she left the car there.
Got a phone call that they had checked the car and they found out that:
-engine oil very dirty, needs immy flushing and replacement
-transoil very dirty and low and needs immy replacement
-drive shafts leaking, need replacement
-aircon low, needs refill
-coolant very rusty, needs flushing and relacement

Finally the invoice ended up at almost 2000 ! $

When I came back I checked that.
Wrong engine oil (they even did a flushing of engine without changing the filter which they did not have)
wrong trans oil
wrong AC refridgerant (R134a mixture instead of R12 which I still use)
More cans charged than goes into a full empty system
(actually it was running fine)
coolant wrong, not BMW approved
and now the final thing: I was sure that the shaft sealings did not leak and I had pics):
they installed rubber mufflers from a Mazda and fixed it with some clamps (BMW is one piece with 2 metal plates each side)


Their problem was, that they did it on the car of THE E 32 GURU

Alarmed my friends in Germany. They called ZF for evidence that the oil is wrong. Alarmed the E32 Club Japan to help. They checked other Esso stations what they would charge for a refill of refridgerant etc.
Then my wife called the manager of this franchise office of Esso. Asked for a meeting.
When we came there, he was alone with no paper at hand, just thinking that we wanted discount.
We came with Bentley Repair Manual, approved ZF oil list, pics from BMW service which we asked to check the car (coolant was even too low in mixture. Water makes money) and many other documents.
Before we started the discussions we asked if we could record the discussions on tape. O.K.
We never asked for discount or something, only showed evidence. Even the old sealing from the drive shaft I had as evidence, no oil moisture outside at all.
To make the story short:
refunded the whole 2000 $.
Gave us a car free of charge for one week.
Paid 1.200 $ to BMW to replace all liquids and drive shaft seals.
We got a letter of guarantee from them to pay for all cost related to damages occuring within the next 3 months on the trans, no matter if it is from the age of the trans or whatever, as it is difficult to prove anyway and we want to avoid arguing.
Tell you want: now I have a leak on the trans between engine and trans. In case of the V12 the trans has to come out and must be repaired.
Called Esso, they called BMW to confirm the findings.
Next week the car goes to BMW for repair of the trans. Will cost them another 1.500 $ at least.
An expensive lesson they learned from trying to rip people off. A 'normal' customer without knowledge would have never complained and noticed.
4.700 $!

[billb]

[Kalevera]

Jeeze, Erich...I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that. Perhaps next time, the wife should let them fix the tire and authorize nothing else. Stupid service stations...they probably saw that it was a BMW, being driven by a woman, and that got them trolling for money.


best, whit