Originally Posted by boubi

Hi,
is there any official recommendations from Mini about the exact quantity of oil you have to fill the gearbox with ??
Because measuring what comes out is a solution, but is it precise enough.............I'm wondering

I have just seen on the minimania website that it is mentioned that the oil capacity is : 5.8 quarts (5.50 liters).
So, if I understand well, it means that when you change the transmission oil by yourself, only 55% of the oil comes out ( as people says above they got about 3 quarts out ).............!!

Originally Posted by Chazman

you will never extract that exact quantity by simply draining from the drain bolt because torque converter holds about 40-50% of the total.

Originally Posted by limmys10

Hi all,

Not sure if anyone is going to end up seeing this but I went to drain mine today and when I took the first bolt out of the drain plug nothing came out but a single drop... Could mine be low on oil and need some extra put in when I top it up? or should nothing come out?

Also can anyone confirm is it indeed a 17mm hex?

FYI From the UK so I don't know if anything is different but I have ATF6 fluid from Febi Bilstein who said it was the right one and BMW said it was definitely ATF6 fluid for the gearbox.

Cheers

Originally Posted by RB-MINI

Strange, if the fluid level was correct the hot expanded fluid should have drained out more than a single drop after your fun drive.

It’s really important to have the fluid in the correct temp range when checking the fluid. If the level is set when too cold, the fluid will be condensed the trans would actually be overfilled when in the proper temp range. Too hot and you’ll end up underfilled.

On a 3rd gen car you should be able to get a trans fluid temp reading with a scan/diagnostic tool, or on your gauge display when in a diagnostic mode. Same with 2nd gens, but 1st gens need to use a thermometer in the fluid.

Originally Posted by ECSTuning

MINI states per the ETK that the oil is ATF 6 83222355599, the F56 has an updated version of the Aisin 6 speed that the older MINI have.

The JWS 3309 83222220438 is compatible with Redline D4 ATF 70/75w gl-4 which is for the gen 1 and Gen 2 MINI with the Aisin automatic.

So is the ATF 6 compatible redline D6 ATF 70/75w gl-4

D6 is the same but with a lower viscosity shear stable fluid which is what the newest Aisin MINI transmission recommends F56+. Will it do anything if you run JWS 3309 in the F56+, might not. It's hard to tell as it would have to be a long-term analysis.

Originally Posted by RB-MINI

Strange, if the fluid level was correct the hot expanded fluid should have drained out more than a single drop after your fun drive.

It’s really important to have the fluid in the correct temp range when checking the fluid. If the level is set when too cold, the fluid will be condensed the trans would actually be overfilled when in the proper temp range. Too hot and you’ll end up underfilled.

On a 3rd gen car you should be able to get a trans fluid temp reading with a scan/diagnostic tool, or on your gauge display when in a diagnostic mode. Same with 2nd gens, but 1st gens need to use a thermometer in the fluid.

Originally Posted by rockethot

Do you know what the correct temperature range is?

Originally Posted by Chazman

I did the ATF change for the first time on my MCS that has 64000 miles.
To my surprise, I did really feel some difference in shifting quality after the ATF change - smooth!

Here is my summary/tips:
> No metallic particles or anything came out, just plain black/dirty ATF.
> I drained out about 3.1 qts and added exactly the same amount.
> I used JWS 3309 spec ATF (per AISIN recommendation) from Mobil.
> Tools needed - T-55 (filler hole bolt), T-40 (overflow drain screw) and 17-mm Hex (main drain plug).
> Loosen the filler hole bolt first using T-55 so you are sure you can add! Mine was super tight and would not budge even with a 24" breaker bar. More force I applied, I felt like it would strip it. So, I used an impact and the fill bolt came right off easily.
> Loosen the overflow screw using T-40 and let it drain all out if you don't want to get too messy. Or you can just remove the main drain plug using 17-mm Hex right away and expect to get messy.
> Tightening torque spec for the main drain plug is 45 NM or 33 ft.lbs
> Tightening torque spec for the overflow screw is 8 NM or 6 ft.lbs
> Tightening torque spec for the fill plug is 45 NM or 33 ft.lbs
> Manual suggests to replace the O-ring on above each plug.

Originally Posted by Chazman

I did the ATF change for the first time on my MCS that has 64000 miles.
To my surprise, I did really feel some difference in shifting quality after the ATF change - smooth!

Here is my summary/tips:
> No metallic particles or anything came out, just plain black/dirty ATF.
> I drained out about 3.1 qts and added exactly the same amount.
> I used JWS 3309 spec ATF (per AISIN recommendation) from Mobil.
> Tools needed - T-55 (filler hole bolt), T-40 (overflow drain screw) and 17-mm Hex (main drain plug).
> Loosen the filler hole bolt first using T-55 so you are sure you can add! Mine was super tight and would not budge even with a 24" breaker bar. More force I applied, I felt like it would strip it. So, I used an impact and the fill bolt came right off easily.
> Loosen the overflow screw using T-40 and let it drain all out if you don't want to get too messy. Or you can just remove the main drain plug using 17-mm Hex right away and expect to get messy.
> Tightening torque spec for the main drain plug is 45 NM or 33 ft.lbs
> Tightening torque spec for the overflow screw is 8 NM or 6 ft.lbs
> Tightening torque spec for the fill plug is 45 NM or 33 ft.lbs
> Manual suggests to replace the O-ring on above each plug.