Synthetic oil

[funtoos]

hey guyz,
one of my buddys recommended changing my regular oil to synthetic... i was planning to go buy the oil from a local shop (mobil 1 or something) and changing the filter when i change the oil?

is that all that you need to do or are there any other fluids that needs to be changed as well as the same time? perhaps, gear oil?

can you guyz pleez tell me all the fluids/oils i should change too?

thanx
funtoos

[jllphan]

Changing over to synthetic is fine as long as your car doesn't have very high miles(150K+). An engine can get acustomed to a certain oil, and it is usually better to stick with it. THat being said I recently changed to synthetic at 90K. Mobile1 is good (probably the favorite here) but I decided to go to Redline. Very good stuff from what I've read as well the opinions of a few mechanics I spoke with.

As for the other fluids, it just depends on how anal you want to be.

Technically, they say to change...

Brake fluid every 24 months
Transmission fluid every 12 months
Coolant flush and replacement every 12 months

This is merely a recomedation by BMW, it is probably safe to follow it loosely. Some may suggest intervals based on mileage, but I assume the aforementioned is based on typical driving (12-17K miles/year).

[funtoos]

thanx JILPHAN...
i have about 76K on mine and its a 92..... the guy b4 always to it to manhattan bmw and i have all the records... so the car was well taken care of... my main concern was were they any other fluids that I HAVE to change in conjuction with switching from generic to synthetic.. in other words if everything else meaning the brake fluids and steering and all that is ok, can i just flush my engine oil and pour in the synthetic and i m good to go... or do i have to change the gear oil also (make it synthetic)... i m not sure if there is a direct relation there or not?

thanx
funtoos

[jllphan]

Nope. No relation. The only thing necessary when going to synthetic is to make sure you drain the last bit of organic oil out. I let my car sit with the drain plug pulled, oil cap removed, and filter out for about an hour to try to get as much of the old oil out as possible. Then filler up with synthetic (mine takes 6.9L, I assume this is universal for the I6 cars), and off you go.

BTW, just be sure to get an oem filter. They come with a copper washer for the drain plug and a rubber seal for the filter. Both are necessary for a proper oil change.

[funtoos]

i was thinkin about MAHLE or MANN filters... are they good? last time i bought one for my old bimmer they didn't come with any washers? where can i good filters for a decent price? also what's considered a good price and what brand?

thanx

[jllphan]

I think Mahle is good, I can't remember the name of what I use. I get mine from my mechanic, I'll get ya the info when I get home tonite.

[kestrel325is]

I use both Mahle and Mann, and they've both come with replacement washers, o-rings, etc...