what transmission and differential oil should i use?

[träumer]

i drive a 87 325e with a 5 speed, i decoded my vin and it says i have a Getrag 260/5. i think the label fell off my transmission. i heard redline is good where can i get that?or do i have to order it. and what tools do I need to do the change should i use a pump? thanks.i want to change the transsmiision oil and differential oil.

[BMWJNKY]

For the trans you can use 30W oil, AFT with Dextron III, Redline MTF, Redline ATF with Dextron III, or gear oil with a rating of GL-4. For the diff you can use any gear oil with a rating of GL-5. DO NOT use GL-4 rated fluid in the diff or GL-5 rated fluid in a trans. They have very different lubricating properties and will destroy the bearings if used in the wrong part.

[FireDaemon21]

First if you plan on working on the car yourself i suggest that you purchase yourself a how-to book. Haynes books are ok and give you a general perspective of what you are going to do and are only around $15. but if you want a book that explains everything in full detail i suggest a Chilton's manual, the only problem with these books is that they are significantly more then a Haynes book.

When you change the fluid for your transmission you shouldn't need a pump. Because when you replace the trans fluid you should also replace the trans filter. and to do this you have to remove the pan under the tranny. As for the Differential when you do this by hand make sure that you have a cloth with you to wipe off the drain oplug with because differential plugs are ussually magnatized to collect metal fragment created in the differential.

[325eXTATIC]

Daemon, good suggestion on the book, but the one that really REALLY explains every detail of e30 ownership is "THE BENTLEY MANUAL" The bible for your german made cars... I used them for my air cooled VW's, and I am waiting on my Bentley for my e30 right now! By far the best investment of roughly $50 you can make.
And I am no transmission specialist, but aren't transmission filters only used in automatics? I have done service on several auto cars and have replaced the filters every time I take the pan off, but have not actually gone to that level on a manual, so I don't know for sure, but I didn't think manuals had the same type of filtering process because the fluid doesn't have to go through so many small passages in a manual, meaning high level filtration wouldn't be as necessary.

Am I wrong? I would like to know for sure, so don't be affraid to correct me!!

Thanks, and hope this helps!

Josh W.

[FireDaemon21]

Josh you may be right but i have also myself only worked on automatic transmissions (on a Blazer , and my Volvo).. I had just assumed that they were the same.

Alec

[draculia]

you need a 17mm allen key or hex socket to remove the fill and drain plugs on the tranny. if you don't have one you could take a bolt with a 17mm head and weld a nut on it, fit it in the plug, then use a wrench or socket. make sure you're able to remove the fill plug, and also make sure you have some type of transfer pump to get fluid in there before touching the drain plug.

the diff will most likely need a 10mm allen key as well as a transfer pump

pans and filters are only on autos

[Hamfisted]

Sears sells the 17mm allen wrenches in their tool department. Costs about $12 or something like that. Made in the USA too.




Mike