How much oil in the FD?

[Dave78]

I've been looking around at various posts on here as I'm about to change the oil in the FD, but how much?

I understand it used to be 220ml, but that was reduced to 180ml. Now today I read on a thread that it's 170ml..


I'm confused

 

[Wapping]

300 gallons.

I do not do metric.

 

[forest biker]

180 ml

 

[fizzer]

well i put 220ml in mine of the new castrol gl5 stuff,its been fine.

 

[JohnU-IOW]

FD oil

I've been looking around at various posts on here as I'm about to change the oil in the FD, but how much?

I understand it used to be 220ml, but that was reduced to 180ml. Now today I read on a thread that it's 170ml..


I'm confused

Hi Dave,

Beemer service disc says;

Initial filling 250m ml.
Oil change 230 ml.

The first time I did it I got approx 250 ml out so I have been putting 230 ml back in as specified. Mine is a 2006, but I believe there have been some changes to specs, drain plugs etc.
Suggest you drain yours into a calibrated cup and see what amount comes out. You`ll want to have a look at the old oil anyway, just to see if there are any bits in there.
Do you want some tips? I expect you have read up on the process, but just in case;
Rotate the propshaft so that the spigot moves vertically, rather than just any angle. You don`t need to be spot on vertical, just close enough. Use a long thin screwdriver through the UJ to hold the prop at approx the right height. Dry run it without the plastic bellows first to get the feel. Then get the missus / small boy / mate to pivot the bevel box up. This lets you compress the bellows back a bit so it doesn`t get in the way. You can do the whole thing yourself but it is one of those jobs that either goes straight in or takes 100 goes - nothing in between.
Be patient when re-filling. I guess the workshops have a proper fitting for this but I always use some folded card, cut almost to a point. Pour slowly - if the air can`t get out the oil can`t get in. Took me about 10 minutes yesterday. You will know when you are about half way because your nose will itch, the phone will ring, the missus will tell you the dinner is going in the cat etc.etc.
Good luck - it is actually an easy job. Promise me you will use a decent torque wrench to do everything up.
Cheers, J

 

[Spike]

I put 180ml into mine and done it twice now with no problems at all.
Another way to get the oil in is to use a big syringe, you can buy them really cheaply on ebay, that way you can measure how much goes in but also control the speed of it going in with no mess at all.

spike

 

[Wapping]

Votes so far:

300 gallons. Rank outsider.

180ml

250 / 230ml

and yourself at 220 - 180 - 170ml

Call BMW dealer in the morning albeit 180mm has near enough two votes, so you never know.

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

My understanding is that BMW reduced the amount of oil in an attempt to prevent excess pressure building up when hot and putting a mist out through the outer seal, at the time they were changing them quite regularly! There is a feeling by people who rebuild final drives on a regular basis that this may starve the pinion bearing in the right circumstances. For this reason I wil never reduce the amount of oil below 240ml which is what it was originally supposed to be I think, the mist through the outer seal is of little consequence in my view.

 

[Wapping]

Updated poll

300 gallons. A ridiculous response or a mistype, who can tell?

180ml

250 / 230ml (service disk figures for 2006 bike)

Yourself at 220 - 180 - 170ml

And now a late entry at never less than 240ml, which fits in nicely with vote three. Though the respondent in giving his minimum number (and a lot of bonus information on what he thinks are reasons for the oil seals blowing) does not add a maximum number, just his minimum.

This useful poll may highlight that nobody seems to know, the numbers fluctuating between 170ml and 250ml, a spread of 80ml. I can tell you that we added about half a small soft drink bottle's worth to Blowzorn's bike on the side of the road in Greece (it being the only measuring device to hand at the time) though that was just a guess in extremis and not very scientific.

 

[Spout]

I recently had to buy a new FD for my 06 HP2.

It was pre filled. I dropped the oil (from cold) to check and 170ml came out.

 

[fizzer]

just out of curiosity does the main f/d bearing run in the oil ,or is it a sealed bearing running away from the f/d oil,sorry dont mean to highjack your thread .

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

I've been looking around at various posts on here as I'm about to change the oil in the FD, but how much?

I understand it used to be 220ml, but that was reduced to 180ml. Now today I read on a thread that it's 170ml..


I'm confused

Me too ..... I didn't realise it had oil in it

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

just out of curiosity does the main f/d bearing run in the oil ,or is it a sealed bearing running away from the f/d oil,sorry dont mean to highjack your thread .

The crown wheel bearing on all but the latest models is an external sealed bearing, only the crown wheel and pinion and pinion bearings run in the FD oil.

 

[twizzle]

1, give bike to Steptoe
2, go home
3, give Steptoe money and his old snotter of a loaner back
4, collect bike and ride it..... simples..

 

[G5RJO]

One hundred and eighty...

so that's 180ml

 

[Buz]

Is it a total of 180 mil but only put 170 in because there's 10 mil still stuck to the inside casing, which makes it 180 mil in total or do you put 180 mil in that could possibly make the total 190 if there's some residue stuck to the casing etc

 

[Spout]

Is it a total of 180 mil but only put 170 in because there's 10 mil still stuck to the inside casing, which makes it 180 mil in total or do you put 180 mil in that could possibly make the total 190 if there's some residue stuck to the casing etc

I don't think it matters - they were originally designed to hold 220/230ml.

I used to split the difference and put 200ml in

but after a long hot motorway blast had a slight leak from the seal. Now put in 180ml from a hot drain. And change every 7500 miles

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Are they not 'sealed for life'

 

[Paul S]

Are they not 'sealed for life'

Oh FFS

the irony

 

[cookie]

why don't you ask a dealer?