[mlee]

Bought a '07 QP with about 71k miles on it hoping to restore her to her original beauty. After much scrubbing with rubbing alcohol and getting the sticky button issue taken care of it was time to tackle the transmission. When shifting from 1st to 2nd to 3rd on a cold engine, very hard shift and lurching. Went away after warming up. Changed the oil and the magnets had this sticky, almost grease like stuff on them. Less than 3.5L drained out (VERY black oil) but a little over 6L back into it so I'm sure it was low and overheating.

Any worries that severe damage was done to it? The car shifts fine now, like butter...smooth as silk. Amazing difference! Also added a bottle of Lucas xmission fix as recommended by some on here. I had bought the replacement electrical connector sleeve, thinking to also change this out but.....really? I don't see any way to change this out without removing the exhaust pipe here and didn't plan on getting that involved so did not do it this go-round. It does show a little bit of leakage. Maybe the Lucas will seal it up....time will tell.

Last quick question.....Evidently this ZF tranny holds 9L of oil but I only refilled 6L so guessing the rest is in the cooler, lines and torque converter. Should I replace the oil again after about 5k miles to try and get the rest of the burnt oil out? Thoughts?

 

[knoxbroxton]

If you didn't open the cooler lines etc, and you got it up to temp, level, and it's trickling out, I think you're good to go. I've never had engine/trans magnets not look like that, if it's running smooth is probably more of an indicator than anything else.

 

[Tony Montana 1983]

Shifting from 1-2-3rd on a cold engine is a problem in its own, these cars need to have not only the engine oil up to proper temp but so too the gearbox oil (proper temp).
I let it idle for 10 mins prior to driving it, if the needle is not at (or slightly below) the halfway point I do not leave the driveway until the needle moves where it needs to be.

I do not care what brand of car it is, all cars need to warm up prior to getting on the throttle.
You may be able to drive a Toyota cold like that, but not an Italian car.
If you have to drive the car while the engine is cold keep the RPMs below 3,500 until proper temp is reached.
Depending on where you were shifting it at, the issue may not have been the fluid but rather the fluid not being at proper temp.

Even with the engine temperature being "warm" the gear box is still cold, I take it around the block and keep the RPMs below 3,000.
Once 5-10 mins or so has passed then I get her on the highway (moderate acceleration and shifts).
Very rarely do I ever let it shift past 4,000RPM.
About once a month, after the gearbox has had 20M to warm up, I push it to 6,000 but that is something that is done ONCE a month.

This is to be applied to the F1 gear box as well as the ZF, especially the F1, the ZF is more reliable and more forgiving, but the F1 does not have as much room for error.

 

[Catmanv2]

The owners' manuals disagree rather pointedly.....

C

 

[Tony Montana 1983]

The owner's manual clearly states gear box fluid changes are not needed. Jason and several other mechanics have given their opinions on this several times, ZF claims the fluid is "lifetime fluid", every manufacture's definition of "Lifetime" varies but expect about 100,000 miles.
I think it is a good idea to have the fluid change out before 75,000 miles but Maserati dealerships do not offer such service. There are independent shops that can change out the fluid and pan/filter assembly as a ZF 6 speed auto is easy to work on.

I have encountered many BMWs that were driven hard (abusive), the owner did not care about the long term reliability as it was either not a long term car for them (lease) or they were blissfully careless.
Most of which where the fluid was never changed and the gear box failed at 100,000 Miles (or less).

I have also known drivers who are conservative and took care of their car (though they did not change the gearbox fluid as it is "lifetime") and their cars lasted well over 150,000+ miles without any serious issues so I suppose like anything else it depends on how the previous (owners) took care of it and how they drove the car. Given how reliable ZF gearboxes are, one would have to go out of his or her way to do something monumentally stupid to mess it up.

There are some examples of Gen 5 ZF QPs with over 100,000 miles on them and the gearbox fluid was never changed out, still driving down the road just fine, not something I would personally do.

 

[[email protected] Enzo`s Atlanta]

My Range Rover has a ZF6HP and I change the fluid on it..I know they say it is lifetime, but most techs. think it is better to change it at like 75K-100K...I also let a car warm up a touch...I let them idle till the coolant needle move one click or so and don't hammer on a car till warmed up..I don't like the idea of my cold aluminum pistons running in my cold bore...J

 

[OleBah]

Here is the deal on gearbox oil change and the "sealed for life" on ZF gearboxes. The car manufacturer gives a warranty period, within that period they will look after drive train, engine etc. After warranty period.....then of course we will replace but at a cost, our cost and labour charge. So yes I agree do as the manufacture says, absolutely.

The manufacture of the gearbox in this instance is not Maserati but ZF so follow their advice. Transmission oil is a consumable fluid, it degrades over time so do the seals within the gearbox. Bottom line ZF on the 6HP26 every 8 years or 80 000km which ever occurs first change the fluid and whilst you're at it the mechatronic sleeves, bridge seal, filter and connector sleeve.

Should you simply drain and refill? Or drain refill and after say 500 km repeat? Or drain flush lines to cooler and refill? For that there is no clear answer. I prefer option 2 in the above.

 

[Catmanv2]

The owner's manual clearly states gear box fluid changes are not needed. Jason and several other mechanics have given their opinions on this several times, ZF claims the fluid is "lifetime fluid", every manufacture's definition of "Lifetime" varies but expect about 100,000 miles.

I'm not arguing with Jason. I'm merely pointing out the manual (and in fact pretty much every car manual of late) quite clearly says that idling to warm up is not a good idea, nor should it be needed.

I've had 4 cars with ZF 6HPs and none of them had any issues changing from a cold start in sub zero temperatures

C

 

[Tony Montana 1983]

I'm not arguing with Jason. I'm merely pointing out the manual (and in fact pretty much every car manual of late) quite clearly says that idling to warm up is not a good idea, nor should it be needed.

I've had 4 cars with ZF 6HPs and none of them had any issues changing from a cold start in sub zero temperatures

C

Depending on where you are in the world, idling for more than about 30 seconds can result in a fine so most manufactures are going to play by the rules they are told to follow. The tree huggers have too much power and influence.