transmission oil

[mikedev10]

what do you guys recommend for transmission oil?

[632 Regal]

what trans do you have???

[Tiger]

Depends on what car you have.

[philbyil]

Whatever it is, synthetic is the way to go!

[DanDombrowski]

I use AstroGlide. Says right on the bottle 'Caution: AstroGlide is VERY slippery. Clean all spills immediately'. I figured it would be a good lubricant for the transmission. Boy, the lady at Walmart looked at me like there was something wrong with me when I walked up with the 25 bottles I would need to fill the car.

[PhilipJCaputo]

How do you change/check tranny oil???

[infinity5]

How do you change/check tranny oil???
on your car (mine toooo!) there is no dipstick.. Its complicated. You have to have the ATF fuild at a certain temp to check it using a little drain hole somewheres. Its in the bentley manual in greater detail. i'm thinking i'll just take mine in to get it done.

[mikedev10]

'90 535im - my brother thinks it's time for a change, just dunno what to use

[gale]

The official factory spec for the Getrag 260/6 used in all e34 535i's is Dexron II which is no longer available (at least not that I'm aware of). Dexron III is the replacement and is fully backwards compatible with all automatics that call for Dexron II. I'm a bit skeptical using Dexron III in a manual trans since it is a synthetic blend and synthetics can cause premature syncro wear. Many e34 owners highly recommend Redline MT or Redline ATF or a mixture of both. Redline fluids are high quality fluids but they are 100% synthetic, and I cannot say how they do in the long run.

I'm experimenting with many different types in mine & the jury is still out. I bought a used trans last fall, out of an 88 735i, same Getrag 260/6 trans, with 130k miles on it & it had GL-4 gear oil in it. I changed it to Amsoil ATF, also full synthetic. It did well thru the winter but didn't feel right so switched to Amsoil 80W GL-4 in the spring but toward the end of summer, 2nd gear syncro didn't feel right. It wouldn't grind & it downshifted flawlessly but was very notchy going from 1st to 2nd at higher rpm's. Then I switched it to Swepco 201 80W90 which is a very high quality petroleum gear oil recommended for Porsche 915 transaxles, in the fall & that felt great, but now that colder weather is upon us, it's a b*tch to get it into 1st & 2nd for the 1st 1/2 mile in the morning, shifts fine after 5 miles & shifts great when it's fully warmed up, but it's not going to cut it in the winter so I surfed the web for petroleum manual trans oil recommendations & decided to try Pennzoil Syncromesh, which is an 80W gear oil but not a GL-4 spec. It's a custom formulation for GM to address syncro issues they've been having with their New Venture manual trans & also resolves 3rd gear syncro issues in 90's vingate Mitsubishi manuals & some 2nd gear syncro issues in Toyota 4-runners. It's supposed to be a very high quality fluid & has the consistancy of a 5W30 motor oil & is supposed to retain a low viscousity down to minus 40F.

It's interesting to note that Bentley's e28 repair manual says that 20W or 30W motor oil is perfectly fine in the older Getrag 260, 260/5, & 265 trannies, the only catch is it requires more frequent seasonal changes to keep the right viscosities & temps matched. The preferred fluid for them was 80W90 GL-4 which has the equivalent viscosity of 30W motor oil. It was around 88 or so that Dexron II became the spec for Getrag manual trannies for e28's & e24's, same trans as ours, just different drain & fill plugs to differentiate them & some even had a label on them stating Dexron II.

I just got back from a quick 5-mile drive to work the Pennzoil in & curious to see how it does in the morning after sitting cold overnite. I'll report back Sunday after a long drive, to give it time for a fair assement, so far it shifts very smooth with no syncro issues.

[MBXB]

Here's how you do a 5HP30, in the 540s. Not sure if it's applicable to other models

http://www.e38.org/zf-5hp30-service.html

[Hector]

for those who are keeping an "eyeball" out, like myself, on what tranny fluids to use. I will be done, perhaps this weekend, on putting my m30 engine parts back together (can't wait) and while I'm at it, I'd like to change the tranny fluid. I've been paying close attention to recommendations from you guys on fluids and would like to change mine, and start with a clean slate. I have an automatic tranny so of course it will need an ATF type. Bill R. recommended using Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF a while back but haven't heard anyone using this fluid, and much, much less on its lubricating characteristics. This fluid does have low pouring point and low viscosity which is good for low temp conditions.

I have a Valvoline synthetic blend (I think) 80W-90 in my 5-speed Mazda. I don't like it much... it is similar to what you said about the Swepco 201 80W90, I have a hard time putting it in 1st gear when cold in the morning. (It doesn't even get that cold in the mornings here in SoCal!!) Also, have a hard time shifting down to 1st for the first few minutes during stop-and-go traffic but then afterwards it's ok. This might be old hat to you but check out the link below on manual fluids and ATFs.

http://members.shaw.ca/jbarge/MTF.htm



The official factory spec for the Getrag 260/6 used in all e34 535i's is Dexron II which is no longer available (at least not that I'm aware of). Dexron III is the replacement and is fully backwards compatible with all automatics that call for Dexron II. I'm a bit skeptical using Dexron III in a manual trans since it is a synthetic blend and synthetics can cause premature syncro wear. Many e34 owners highly recommend Redline MT or Redline ATF or a mixture of both. Redline fluids are high quality fluids but they are 100% synthetic, and I cannot say how they do in the long run.

I'm experimenting with many different types in mine & the jury is still out. I bought a used trans last fall, out of an 88 735i, same Getrag 260/6 trans, with 130k miles on it & it had GL-4 gear oil in it. I changed it to Amsoil ATF, also full synthetic. It did well thru the winter but didn't feel right so switched to Amsoil 80W GL-4 in the spring but toward the end of summer, 2nd gear syncro didn't feel right. It wouldn't grind & it downshifted flawlessly but was very notchy going from 1st to 2nd at higher rpm's. Then I switched it to Swepco 201 80W90 which is a very high quality petroleum gear oil recommended for Porsche 915 transaxles, in the fall & that felt great, but now that colder weather is upon us, it's a b*tch to get it into 1st & 2nd for the 1st 1/2 mile in the morning, shifts fine after 5 miles & shifts great when it's fully warmed up, but it's not going to cut it in the winter so I surfed the web for petroleum manual trans oil recommendations & decided to try Pennzoil Syncromesh, which is an 80W gear oil but not a GL-4 spec. It's a custom formulation for GM to address syncro issues they've been having with their New Venture manual trans & also resolves 3rd gear syncro issues in 90's vingate Mitsubishi manuals & some 2nd gear syncro issues in Toyota 4-runners. It's supposed to be a very high quality fluid & has the consistancy of a 5W30 motor oil & is supposed to retain a low viscousity down to minus 40F.

It's interesting to note that Bentley's e28 repair manual says that 20W or 30W motor oil is perfectly fine in the older Getrag 260, 260/5, & 265 trannies, the only catch is it requires more frequent seasonal changes to keep the right viscosities & temps matched. The preferred fluid for them was 80W90 GL-4 which has the equivalent viscosity of 30W motor oil. It was around 88 or so that Dexron II became the spec for Getrag manual trannies for e28's & e24's, same trans as ours, just different drain & fill plugs to differentiate them & some even had a label on them stating Dexron II.

I just got back from a quick 5-mile drive to work the Pennzoil in & curious to see how it does in the morning after sitting cold overnite. I'll report back Sunday after a long drive, to give it time for a fair assement, so far it shifts very smooth with no syncro issues.

[632 Regal]

5hp18 takes dex III

[ryan roopnarine]

I use AstroGlide. Says right on the bottle 'Caution: AstroGlide is VERY slippery. Clean all spills immediately'. I figured it would be a good lubricant for the transmission. Boy, the lady at Walmart looked at me like there was something wrong with me when I walked up with the 25 bottles I would need to fill the car.

when ever i go car racin', i like to prep with a bottle of mad dog 20/20 wine. 1/2 of it in the gas tank, and the other 1/2 in (my) crankcase aka mah belly. i think its either 3/4 or 1 bottle per crankcase as a pre oil change flush.......