stealer for transmission oil? [Archive]

rob101

08-31-2006, 01:26 AM

I have to get some manual transmission oil soon, my gearbox is the s5-310 ZF 5 speed manual.
ZF recommends an Esso oil gear oil 304 which is long life, but i am stuffed if i can't find it around here (from exxon mobil i mean). question is are there good alternatives? or am i just better buying it from the bmw dealership?

myles

08-31-2006, 02:12 AM

I know mines not that same box, but i use redline mtl and it goes really well.

You can get it from coventry.

rob101

08-31-2006, 02:33 AM

I know mines not that same box, but i use redline mtl and it goes really well.

You can get it from coventry.
yeah the problem is the ZF runs on ATF.... also the other problem is i asked redline directly which oil they recommend they told me my tag should be red or yellow. since mine is orange they seemed to lose interest in recommending anything.
AND YES IT IS DEFINITELY ORANGE, otherwise why would mobil and castrol recommend gear oils for a 525i with an orange tag. after that no reply of course......
so......... i am not really inclined to use any redline stuff. they didn't really tell me anything that i could take to the bank.

myles

08-31-2006, 02:36 AM

My getrag is an ATF box too, with an orange sticker.

rob101

08-31-2006, 02:43 AM

My getrag is an ATF box too, with an orange sticker.
which makes me wonder why do they specify ATF fluid. I vaguely remember it being to do with materials they make the synchro rings with.

myles

08-31-2006, 02:44 AM

On the local redline site, select your car as a 520i, and it then displays it as a 2.5l engine, and recommends MTL. I know it wouldnt fill you with confidence that they don't know their arse from their elbow in their catalog, but I can recommend MTL in our climate. D4ATF is for colder climates, dont use it.

Im sure some of the US guys have redline in the ZF manual box.

rob101

08-31-2006, 03:18 AM

On the local redline site, select your car as a 520i, and it then displays it as a 2.5l engine, and recommends MTL. I know it wouldnt fill you with confidence that they don't know their arse from their elbow in their catalog, but I can recommend MTL in our climate. D4ATF is for colder climates, dont use it.

Im sure some of the US guys have redline in the ZF manual box.
ah yeah thats right, so how much did the MTL cost?

myles

08-31-2006, 03:50 AM

It was $110 for 1 quart - 3.9ish litres. Very steep, but I've used it in 2 cars and still got some left over.