Problems Withfilters

[jonnyblaze]

howdy all,

i bought a 91 525i from an auction. i have no info about the cars maintnence history so i decided to play it safe and change all the filters and fluids. i bought an oil filter and air filter and they are not the right sizes. i looked them up in the book and had the employes check it out in thecomputer. they got the same #s i did. the air filter wasw about 3" shorter then the old one andthe oil filter is the type that is a screw in one with a solidouter shell. this is my first bmw and i didnt even know where to find the oil filter. lol. well i found it and its not therightone either. does anyone know where to go to get the right stuff. besides the dealership? way too expensive there. thanks. also the ownersmanual calls for 80w oil for the tranny but while it was on the lift i noticed there was a sticker on the tranny calling for atf. i cracked open the drain plug and atf came out. im a little confused by all this. if anyone could help set me straight i would greatly appreciate it.

jonny b

[The Deuce]

You can pick up a Bentley Manual from Amazon that will tell you all you need to know about what you actually need to put in the car based on the codes for the transmissions.

Sounds like you have the M50 motor, which will help the parts store people get you the right filter. I use the purolator (or pure one I forget) White box blue writing # L28812. If you change the plugs, make sure you get the Bosch +2 copper plugs. These you will have to special order online or get at the dealer. I didn't and I ended up frying my coil's at the tune of $60 x 6. Ouch.

[billB]

Jonny B Howdy to you too....and this is how I would set you straight:

You sound like you'll be taking some chances getting the proper fluid/s....This is the real deal:
1. When it comes to little things like oil/filter, the difference between dealer price and auto parts store's is not that much....needless to say the extra trip to exchange the wrong filter paid for that much of a difference in TIME/GAS!
2. What you reading as 80W is either for some manual or differential--75W-95W ranges. ATF= Automatic Transmission Fluids is red as you know it.
3. Visit your nearby BMW dealer, show them your VIN number, they will provide you with any data/specs for your particular year/model-for FREE.
4. While at it; don't forget to go through the waiting/show room and grab a cup of coffee--for free. Thus between the gas and the coffee I'll call it even.
Wishing you many good lucks with your car.

regards
billb

[jonnyblaze]

thanks for the help guys. i ended up going to the dealer and picking up the filters.m they werent as bad as i thought. but theres no way i would pay over 100 bucks for an oil change. i pity the people that do. now that i know what the right filters are it will make it much easier to do next time. im also ordering the peake tool to reset the dash lights and check engine codes. forget that $90/ hour dealer rate. i look forward to learning a lot from this site.
im sure im going to need it.
jonny b