[wgarrjr]

My indy BMW shop guy (a Certified Master Tech) who has given me great service at a reasonable price, and good DIY advice, recently advised me NOT to change the fluid in my 1997 328iC manual tranny. He said as long as it is full, leave it alone because new fluid in an old tranny (148K miles) is very likely to cause slippage and other problems. I asked what to do if it is low, and he said it was OK to top it off, but that he doubted it was low since he had not observed a leak around it. I have heard about synchro problems with old trannys and high viscosity fluid. It sounds kind of reasonable not to change it if there are no problems, but it also seems a little strange not to replace the old, dirty, fluid. The previous owner changed the fluid regularly according to schedule. I know my shop guy is not trying to drum up tranny business, and he said he would change it if I wanted him to, but he would definitely NOT recommend it. I was going to do this as a DIY, and use the fluid recommended in the Owner's Manual and the tranny label. Has anybody else gotten this advise? Is it accurate? Which is the "worse of two evils - contaminated/old fluid, or possible slippage? Has anybody had problems after changing their fluid on an older car?