Red sticker on manual transmission, gear oil?

[J.DeFeo]

I bought some GL5 gear oil for my rear diff, and I was wondering if I could use it in my transmission as well. It's a 535i with the getrag 260/5 and it has a red ATF sticker on it. Does that mean ATF is required or just a suggestion? I'd really like to use this oil since it gets too cold for whatever fluid is in there now (the car primarily lived in Texas, before coming with me to Worcester).

Thanks in advance.

[Fetch]

Use ATF only

[J.DeFeo]

Use ATF only

Then why do people on this board recommend Redline MTL (a GL4 gear oil) for the 535i? The manual only came with 1 transmission during it's lifetime (Getrag 260/5). Are these people detroying thier transmissions?

The only reason I wouldn't just slap some ATF in there and call it a day (besides the fact that I can't get the damn fill bolt off) is because my transmission has somewhat poor col driving shifting and the 2nd gear synchro is dead slow. Is there a particular ATF in that case that could smooth these problems out a bit?

[colo525i]

Redline MTL is rated as a dexron ATF and also rated as GL-4 gear oil. Redline makes their D4 ATF that is made for manual transmissions that ask for dexron atf. Not sure the difference between the two, but redline recommends D4 in your case. I'm using MTL in my ZF trans, and have had no ill effects even after a 1800 mile trip at a nearly constant 3000rpm. You should be safe using either MTL or D4, MTL should be a bit thicker and make synchros a bit slow when very cold (sub-freezing)

[J.DeFeo]

Redline MTL is rated as a dexron ATF and also rated as GL-4 gear oil. Redline makes their D4 ATF that is made for manual transmissions that ask for dexron atf. Not sure the difference between the two, but redline recommends D4 in your case. I'm using MTL in my ZF trans, and have had no ill effects even after a 1800 mile trip at a nearly constant 3000rpm. You should be safe using either MTL or D4, MTL should be a bit thicker and make synchros a bit slow when very cold (sub-freezing)

Wow, that clears that up very nicely. Thanks for a great post.

The GL5 oil is still good for the rear diff, right?

[Chris'91'525i]

Wow, that clears that up very nicely. Thanks for a great post.
The GL5 oil is still good for the rear diff, right?

Yes, you will want to use GL-5 Hypoid gear oil in your Diff.

BMW's that require gear oil in the tranny, should use a Non-hypoid GL-4 rated gear oil. Or a straight 30 or 40 Wt. Dino motor oil (not synthetic oil)
GL-4 does not contain additives used in most GL-5 gear oils that can corrode brass and bronze parts used in transmissions.

The red tag on your car indicates the use of Dextron II ATF.

http://www.royalpurple.com/techa/tranxref.html

If you use Redline oil in yours, use the D4 ATF product.
The Redline MTL is recommended for BMW trannys that use GL-4 gear oil.
The link below indicates the D4 ATF just might fix your cold shifting problems.

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/redtech4.htm


I've always wondered how a manual transmission is constructed for it to specify the use of ATF fluid over the tried and true gear oil, that has been the standard oil for many years ??
Maybe tighter tolerances in the construction of the tranny ??

[colo525i]

yes, a GL-5 oil is good for the rear diff. Should be 75-90 for non limited slip and 75-140 if you have a limited slip. I'm doing a little experiment with my 525i LSD and using redline's "lightweight shockproof" They say they can rate it as a 75-140 oil. It came recommended by the local race mechanic at the subaru shop down the road. No problems with the diff after my long trip either, so looks good.