E90 E92 E93 M3 DCT Gearbox/Clutch Service

Introduction:
Owners often ask us "When should I change the Gearbox Oil in my M3"?

This is a great questions which is sometimes overlooked as every oil in the vehicle degrades over time as it picks up dirt from the mechanical gear wear process which naturally occurs on a minute scale. (This is why oil goes dark & dirty over time).

As enthusiast M-power drivers we are always servicing our engine oil, spark plugs, air filters, and diff fluid, but what about the gearbox oil?

BMW left it off the service schedule as they believe it to be a 'lifetime fluid' (as well as wanting to market the E9x M3 as an affordable vehicle to service & maintain.

However, with the common DCT leak issue which plagues the Lower Sump Pan, and Right Side Mechatronics Cover it's worth considering the Gearbox Service at least once in the vehicle's life.

We recommend the Gearbox (Manual or DCT) Service is carried out around 60,000 miles.

We offer 2 forms of complex DCT work.
The first one is a straight forward Service, and the next is a more complex reseal & repair.
You can read (and watch a video) about our DCT work below.


DCT Fluid & Filter Change £675
We regularly carry out DCT fluid changes for people wanting the 'lifetime' DCT fluid changed for peace of mind, and/or due to DCT oil leaks and DCT sump gasket leaks.

We offer the following Genuine BMW DCT Parts:
Genuine BMW DCT Intake Filter
Genuine BMW DCT Sump Pan & Gasket Seal
Genuine BMW DCT Fluid
Our labour includes draining the old DCT fluid, removing the old DCT Sump/Gasket/IntakeFilter, installing the new DCT Sump/Gasket/IntakeFilter, filling with DCT Fluid, levelling off, and the important 'oil balancing' service function procedure via BMW ISTA software, all with picture evidence.
(Our price also includes VAT).




DCT Oil Leaks

Some DCT Gearbox can be suffering oil leaks.
It doesn't take much of an oil leak for the Gearbox to get quite messy with leaking oil.
Most of the time it's just unsightly, but left for a while and it will cause low oil level in the DCT Gearbox.
A DCT Gearbox trying to operate on low oil level is a recipe for problems.
Early signs are nearly impossible to detect due to mechanical gear wear occurring inside the gearbox.
Later signs are when the gearbox starts to overheat and the 'Transmission Temperature' warning shows.
In serious cases the M3 can go into 'limp mode' and refuse to change gear until the problem is sorted.

The common areas for the DCT oil leaks are:
  • Lower Sump Gasket
  • Right Side Mechatronics Cover Gasket
  • Left Side Oil Filter Cartridge
  • Left Side Oil Cooler Pipe O-rings
  • Top Oil Cooler Pipes
Without doubt the most common job we have to do for DCT oil leaks is the following 2 components:
  • Lower Sump Gasket
  • Right Side Mechatronics Cover Gasket
These 2 Gaskets are usually the main culprits and typically changed together at the same time due to the labour-saving effect of doing the job once rather than on two separate visits.
That means just 1 workshop visit, 1 labour cost, and 1 set of oil needed.

To carry out the 'Right Side Mechatronics Cover Gasket' the Gearbox needs to be lowered.
This means Exhaust system off, Heatshields off, Propshaft off, to gain access and lower the Gearbox.

For this repair work we supply & install the following Genuine BMW Parts & Fluids:
DCT Lower Sump
DCT Lower Sump Gasket
DCT Lower Filter Assembly
DCT Right Side Mechatronics Cover Gasket
DCT Left Side Oil Filter Cartridge
DCT Fluid (approx 6-7 Litres)

We then clean the external gearbox to remove all traces of the old oil leak.
Then carry out the BMW ISTA Service Function 'Oil Level Balancing' which is paramount to obtaining the correct oil level as it electronically opens the DCT Oil Cooler Circuit to allow accurate gearbox filling.

This work is priced at £995 inc VAT.

We require your vehicle for 1 full day to carry out this work.

To make a booking with us for this job, we require a £100 deposit at the point of booking.