To Flush or Not to Flush - Winterizing

[blue-mw]

Planning to winterize my M3 over the upcoming holiday. Haven't driven her in two months and she's only got 25k on the dash. Before I do, I’m waffling on two possible maintenance items.

1. Do I flush the DCT? I’ve heard very polarizing reviews on whether it’s a good idea to touch auto trans fluids and I’m really hesitant to pull the trigger on this item. And of course, BMW insists it's a "lifetime" fluid (I don't buy it personally).

2. Should I change my oil now? I know it’s ideal to prevent condensation, but this oil only has about 1,000mi on it and was changed in April. When she comes out of storage she'll be due for a free change and will have a ~600mi trip ahead of her.

Thoughts? Any other mechanical factors to consider when storing this beast? Thanks guys and gals.

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by blue-mw

Planning to winterize my M3 over the upcoming holiday. Haven't driven her in two months and she's only got 25k on the dash. Before I do, I’m waffling on two possible maintenance items.

1. Do I flush the DCT? I’ve heard very polarizing reviews on whether it’s a good idea to touch auto trans fluids and I’m really hesitant to pull the trigger on this item. And of course, BMW insists it's a "lifetime" fluid (I don't buy it personally).

2. Should I change my oil now? I know it’s ideal to prevent condensation, but this oil only has about 1,000mi on it and was changed in April. When she comes out of storage she'll be due for a free change and will have a ~600mi trip ahead of her.

Thoughts? Any other mechanical factors to consider when storing this beast? Thanks guys and gals.

Hi Blue, at 25k I'd say you're not anywhere near a need to change DCT fluid. People who have done it at 50, 70 or even 100k+ still have yellow ish proper stuff coming out. (had mine flushed for other reasons at ~20k and the fluid was like new).

I personally like fresh oil prior storage of an motor (although running my M3 year around), but with 1k miles only on the oil I would let it be. Battery charger on is obviously nice if possible. There are a couple if good threads on winter storage for more info.

Sweet Winter rest.

[blue-mw]

Originally Posted by Helmsman

Hi Blue, at 25k I'd say you're not anywhere near a need to change DCT fluid. People who have done it at 50, 70 or even 100k+ still have yellow ish proper stuff coming out. (had mine flushed for other reasons at ~20k and the fluid was like new).

I personally like fresh oil prior storage of an motor (although running my M3 year around), but with 1k miles only on the oil I would let it be. Battery charger on is obviously nice if possible. There are a couple if good threads on winter storage for more info.

Sweet Winter rest.

Great to hear from you Helmsman! Good point about waiting to flush - I read somewhere that 36k was a good milestone (perhaps for 6spd?). Even at that point though, is there a possibility it might do more damage than good? <insert paranoia from BMW tech horror stories>

As for oil, I will take her out a day or two before storing to move the oil around before storage. If I don’t change it then hopefully that burns off any built up condensation. Still on OEM battery so maybe I will pull it and buy & register a new one before taking her out of storage.

My winterizing strategy is to:

1. Wash/wax
2. Set tires to 50 PSI
3. Park w/o handbrake on vinyl sheet to mitigate floor condensation
4. Fill up tank + add fuel stabilizer
5. Check antifreeze
6. Remove battery (above)
7. Place desiccants in car
8. Use form-fitting car cover
9. Lay out anti-mouse measures

Hopefully that helps others but also leaves open the possibility for other suggestions I may have missed.

[Helmsman]

Sounds like a good plan. I wouldn't change the battery if not too old. Changed mine when it was 6 years old to see if it could sort some other issues but it actually still was pulling strong. Smaller fortune though.

[blue-mw]

Fluids taken care of! Now the question becomes how to maintain the battery. I have a tender and a form fit car cover. I've heard mixed reviews on pulling the battery, but I'm not sure how else to keep it charged. Anyone have any success running wires underneath the car and into the engine bay to the battery terminals?

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by blue-mw

Fluids taken care of! Now the question becomes how to maintain the battery. I have a tender and a form fit car cover. I've heard mixed reviews on pulling the battery, but I'm not sure how else to keep it charged. Anyone have any success running wires underneath the car and into the engine bay to the battery terminals?

Sure Blue. If you have access to power just put a tender charger on. For instance a Ctec is small enough to keep under the bonnet while closed. Simply pull the wires up via rhe windscreen and there you are.

Cheers

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by blue-mw

Fluids taken care of! Now the question becomes how to maintain the battery. I have a tender and a form fit car cover. I've heard mixed reviews on pulling the battery, but I'm not sure how else to keep it charged. Anyone have any success running wires underneath the car and into the engine bay to the battery terminals?

You can also charge your battery directly in your trunk .
I have never done it otherwise with my CTEK .

Here are some pics from my CTEK in my trunk # 26 => http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...1#post15488771

[blue-mw]

Thanks for the replies guys. Normally I run the wires past the windshield into the bonnet. My problem is the car cover is form fit and I don't know if it'd be a good idea to have the wires pressed up on the body of the car, especially for when the cover comes off. So I'm looking for ways to keep the tender going without running wires under the cover if that makes sense.

[K-M3]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

You can also charge your battery directly in your trunk .
I have never done it otherwise with my CTEK .

Here are some pics from my CTEK in my trunk # 26 => http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...1#post15488771

Hey .. got a question. When I bought my battery tender from Bmw , I asked for the newer ctek one ($139). However both the dealer and the box (Bmw branded) that it came in specified that it was optimized for use with lead acid (flooded) batteries. They recommended and I bought an older version (made by deltran , $69) that has selectable modes for flooded and AGM batteries. Dealer was adamant that it charges and tends the battery a bit different in agm mode.

Is there any technical truth to this ?

Oh , btw, instructions that came with the tender recommend hooking it up at the terminals in the engine bay and recommend against connecting it directly to the battery if the battery will stay wired in the car.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by K-M3

Hey .. got a question. When I bought my battery tender from Bmw , I asked for the newer ctek one ($139). However both the dealer and the box (Bmw branded) that it came in specified that it was optimized for use with lead acid (flooded) batteries. They recommended and I bought an older version (made by deltran , $69) that has selectable modes for flooded and AGM batteries. Dealer was adamant that it charges and tends the battery a bit different in agm mode.

Is there any technical truth to this ?

Oh , btw, instructions that came with the tender recommend hooking it up at the terminals in the engine bay and recommend against connecting it directly to the battery if the battery will stay wired in the car.

Yeah , I know. The BMW battery tender is actually made by CTEK.
My CTEK came with the central connector to charge directly on the + and - poles on the battery .
In the last 5 years I charge my battery with my CTEK directly on my battery with the snow flake mode . CTEK detects how to charge and what kind of battery it is..(smart charge)
I have zero problems with my battery , because I charge my battery every weekend and during the winter non-stop for months !
CTEK is the nr:1 battery tender , and the best on the market .

Here is Jay-Leno and CTEK ...

[GORDON.M3]

Someone did a blackstone oil test on the DCT fluid at 35k and reported that fluids were still practically new. Don't waste the money unless you are doing it to repair a leak in the transmission.

[blue-mw]

Originally Posted by gordon@

Someone did a blackstone oil test on the DCT fluid at 35k and reported that fluids were still practically new. Don't waste the money unless you are doing it to repair a leak in the transmission.

Thanks for the peace of mind. Yeah, I think I will hold off on that for a while.

Regarding my tender-cover situation, I'm thinking of running my tender wires to the bonnet terminals under the car through the small gap in the engine bay by the windshield fluid reservoir (attached). Thought I would share for anyone else doing the same or for any feedback.