2009 BMW 328i xDrive Transmission Fluid Leak

[JGaulard]

I noticed some fluid on the ground under my car a few days ago and discovered that my transmission was leaking. I had no idea where the fluid was coming from, so I jacked the car up and put it on blocks. I used cement blocks that had boards on top of them and then I also placed jack stands under the car at the jack points. Take a look.



I've heard that cement blocks can crumble if not used in conjunction with boards on top, so that's what I used. For the front tires, I used metal plates as opposed to the wood boards.

Because I'm a safety freak, I also added jack stands and on top of that measure, I added some wood chunks under the engine area as can be seen in the above photos.

After removing the protective plastic slash shield, I discovered a very rusty transmission pan. I wiped the oil from the pan and watched it magically reappear within a few minutes. Luckily, the leak stemmed from just the pan and no other area up higher than that.

I removed the pan to find a rusty gasket and a pan with rust holes around the edges. There were no holes on the face of the pan, just along the edges in between the bolt holes.





This is a photo of inside of the transmission. I think this is the valve body.



I knew what I needed to do. I first learned which transmission I had in the car. The 2009 BMW 328i xDrive uses the GA6L45R transmission, so it calls for a metal pan, which has a part #24117581605. I also bought a gasket, filter, and new bolts, which have a part #24117581606. The pan and gasket set were about $140 from Ebay and the bolts were around $22 from FCP Euro. I also bought the filter from FCP Euro for $16. Prices for these parts vary greatly, so if you're looking for them, shop around. Everything I received looked just like OEM, so be careful with your money. The same exact pan from FCP Euro costs around $260.

During the replacement, I snapped one of the bolts, which needed to be drilled out. That drilling messed up the threads, so I drilled a little wider and passed a new bolt through entirely and simply added a nut to the other side. Also, the o-ring that came with the pan was too large, which caused a leaky drain bolt.

 

[JGaulard]

Take a look at the o-ring. You can see it's too large and was being crushed outside of the drain plug groove.





I contacted the company that sold me the pan and they gave me the run-a-round, so I simply bought the correct sized o-ring for $.60 at the hardware store. I replaced the drain plug and now there are no more leaks.

 

[LukeLewis]

I noticed some fluid on the ground under my car a few days ago and discovered that my transmission was leaking. I had no idea where the fluid was coming from, so I jacked the car up and put it on blocks. I used cement blocks that had boards on top of them and then I also placed jack stands under the car at the jack points. Take a look.

View attachment 2204

I've heard that cement blocks can crumble if not used in conjunction with boards on top, so that's what I used. For the front tires, I used metal plates as opposed to the wood boards.

Because I'm a safety freak, I also added jack stands and on top of that measure, I added some wood chunks under the engine area as can be seen in the above photos.

After removing the protective plastic slash shield, I discovered a very rusty transmission pan. I wiped the oil from the pan and watched it magically reappear within a few minutes. Luckily, the leak stemmed from just the pan and no other area up higher than that.

I removed the pan to find a rusty gasket and a pan with rust holes around the edges. There were no holes on the face of the pan, just along the edges in between the bolt holes.

This is a photo of inside of the transmission. I think this is the valve body.

I knew what I needed to do. I first learned which transmission I had in the car. The 2009 BMW 328i xDrive uses the GA6L45R transmission, so it calls for a metal pan, which has a part #24117581605. I also bought a gasket, filter, and new bolts, which have a part #24117581606. The pan and gasket set were about $140 from Ebay and the bolts were around $22 from FCP Euro. I also bought the filter from FCP Euro for $16. Prices for these parts vary greatly, so if you're looking for them, shop around. Everything I received looked just like OEM, so be careful with your money. The same exact pan from FCP Euro costs around $260.

During the replacement, I snapped one of the bolts, which needed to be drilled out. That drilling messed up the threads, so I drilled a little wider and passed a new bolt through entirely and simply added a nut to the other side. Also, the o-ring that came with the pan was too large, which caused a leaky drain bolt.

Why did this pan rust? That doesn't usually happen.

 

[JGaulard]

Why did this pan rust? That doesn't usually happen.

Because I live in the rust belt, roads are sanded and salted quite a bit. The sand and salt made their way up above that splash guard and sat against the pan for years, which rusted it out. From now on, I'll pay better attention to that area to wash the salt out. I would have liked to have painted the pan, but I just didn't get around to it.

 

[LukeLewis]

Because I live in the rust belt, roads are sanded and salted quite a bit. The sand and salt made their way up above that splash guard and sat against the pan for years, which rusted it out. From now on, I'll pay better attention to that area to wash the salt out. I would have liked to have painted the pan, but I just didn't get around to it.

How many quarts of fluid did the tranny take? I hear it's around 6.

 

[JGaulard]

How many quarts of fluid did the tranny take? I hear it's around 6.

I bought eight quarts of Dexron 4 fluid from Walmart for around $50 and used that. I also had a buy a small hand pump to get the fluid in the transmission. There's a whole process for this. With the car off, I added about three quarts. I started the car and with the brake on, I went through the gears. I then added about four more quarts for a total of seven, which is a lot. Good thing I bought eight. As I was adding the fluid with the car running, I could hear it being sucked up through the filter. Because of this, I went back up to the driver's seat and shifted through the gears again, just to make sure the fluid was making its way through the entire transmission. I then continued to add fluid until it began pouring out of the fill hole. When that occurred, I replaced the fill plug and that was that. Job done.