» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 06-01-2024 03:04 PM 7 Replies, 409,918 Views | | My 318ti build 05-21-2024 04:48 PM 05-28-2024 06:42 PM 1 Replies, 3,717 Views | | OMG!OMG! 05-28-2024 08:53 AM 05-28-2024 08:53 AM 0 Replies, 1,512 Views | | | | | 04-14-2015, 05:24 PM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: NYC Queens Posts: 225 | shall we talk about transmission AND diff oil.... i know this has been discussed all over this forum as well as Pelican and bimmerforums.com but THIS is for my own purposes of knowing because this is such a widely discussed and a little confusing topic. I've changed the tranny and diff oil on both my 91 Miata and 96 RAV4 with just regular conventional Valvoline manual transmission/gear oil from Autozone and both have been running fine for 2 yrs now. i have a manual 97 318ti with 122k miles which i daily now instead of my manual 96 2dr RAV4. I know the owners manual says to use "ATF" for the tranny and "Brand name hypoid gear oil" for the diff. So my here are my following question.... - why ATF and not MTF? I found that rather weird and opposite. - when they say " Brand name hypoid gear oil" do they mean Valvoline, Castrol, Lucas, Mobil, Red Line, and/or Swepco?! - i noticed Pelican sells both Red Line D4 ATF and Swepco 201 but Pelican recommends Swepco 201. What's the difference between the two? Red Line is synthetic and Swepco is more thicker oil? Can i just go with a conventional ATF or even a high mileage ATF for the tranny? - same goes for diff oil.... i see a lot of people recommending Red Line 75W90. Can i just go with a conventional brand name 75W90? mind you.... i don't race/track any of my cars and don't plan on to. Don't much care for it. Just daily driving and occasional spirited driving. Nothing crazy. I don't need high performance expensive brand name oil. Just oil for daily use BUT if the Red Line and/or Swepco stuff is worth it then i guess why not? So with that said what are your suggestions, recommendations, advice, and experiences? I'm honestly just thinking of going with conventional or even high mileage tranny/diff oil rather than spending more for the Red Line stuff. Call me conservative or frugal but not cheap. EDIT: the last post in this thread talks about Jim Blanton using Red Line D4 ATF for the tranny and Red Line 75W90 for the diff in ALL YEARS of BMW. Who is Jim Blanton? Seems like a well known mechanically inclined guy in the BMW world. Any feedback on this? THIS is making me lean towards Red Line. http://forum.roadfly.com/threads/944...al-fluid-specs __________________ 92 Nissan Stanza - Backseat Shenanigans and Tom Foolery - sold and would pickup another 94 Del Solo SI - The Go Get Her - sold 94 auto Prelude "S" for slowww - Daily schmaily - sold 91 MX-5 Miataz - Silversurfer - Weekend Bandicoot 96 5-speed 2dr RAV - Purple baby monster - New Daily Last edited by handballallday; 04-14-2015 at 05:31 PM. | | | 04-14-2015, 08:00 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 373 | No offense, but if you search this forum, you can easily find your answers. Your owner's manual will state whether to use MTF or ATF. If no, the tranny will have a sticker that specifies. Use brand name gear oil. 75W-90. __________________ 2000 M5 -> 1996 318ti -> 1997 328i Instagram: ndrewchow YouTube: MINIzguy | | | 04-14-2015, 08:33 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: NYC Queens Posts: 225 | Quote: Originally Posted by MINIz guy No offense, but if you search this forum, you can easily find your answers. Your owner's manual will state whether to use MTF or ATF. If no, the tranny will have a sticker that specifies. Use brand name gear oil. 75W-90. | none taken brother. But my questions are meant for those willing to share their personal opinion, advice and suggestions on the topic. After all this is my first BMW so i'd like to hear/read about YOUR experiences and recommendations first hand. what brand oil do YOU use for your tranny? And what brand name gear oil do you use for your diff? Thanks. __________________ 92 Nissan Stanza - Backseat Shenanigans and Tom Foolery - sold and would pickup another 94 Del Solo SI - The Go Get Her - sold 94 auto Prelude "S" for slowww - Daily schmaily - sold 91 MX-5 Miataz - Silversurfer - Weekend Bandicoot 96 5-speed 2dr RAV - Purple baby monster - New Daily Last edited by handballallday; 04-14-2015 at 08:36 PM. | | | 04-15-2015, 05:11 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 373 | __________________ 2000 M5 -> 1996 318ti -> 1997 328i Instagram: ndrewchow YouTube: MINIzguy | | | 04-15-2015, 06:21 AM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: norcal - 94590 Posts: 3,186 | James; I have one thing to say - "Red Line" That is all... __________________ James 95 active w/leather interior and sport interior conversion, Vaders, full M-Tech exterior conversion. Now m50 swapped* Eibach sway bars, D2 Coilovers, Depo's w/AE's, blacked-out sides and grills, LeatherZ console and door armrests, 1 series starter button mod, and custom finished Style 5's <--- in this color! Named "Roddy": *M50 6 cyl. swap with fan delete, S50 cams and chip, AFE stage 2 intake, M3 clutch and 11.5 lb Fidanza flywheel, 3.15LSD, battery relocated to rear and complete custom exhaust. Sweet! 97 318ti sport, Alaska Blue, Contours, coilovers, Dove Vaders and custom black/grey interior named "Max" 95 318ti Active in Cosmos, S50 swap in progress... named "Pit" SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | 04-15-2015, 06:46 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,451 | Redline in the tranny, Redline in non-LSD diff, BMW LSD fluid in the LSD. __________________ 1998 318ti Sport - "Cali" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, Cali top 1998 318ti Sport - "Max" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, S52 1997 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior 1995 318ti Active - "Blanca" Alpineweib III/Schwartz leather interior Other Current Bimmers: 2006 530i / 2000 2.3L Z3 / 1997 1.9L Z3 / 1999 540it 1997 318ti Sport - "Huera" - RIP 1995 318ti Active - RIP 1995 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Sold 1994 325i Sedan - "Jade" - Sold 1991 318ic - "Bert" - Sold 1985 635csi sold 1984 533i "Max" Sold 1984 318i sold BMWCCA #160411 SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | 04-15-2015, 02:25 PM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: NYC Queens Posts: 225 | Quote: Originally Posted by MINIz guy | thank you brother. Just read through both posts. A lot of good info. Quote: Originally Posted by wolferj James; I have one thing to say - "Red Line" That is all... | James; I have two things to say - "Thank you" and "friend request sent on FB" That is all... for now. Quote: Originally Posted by BlackBMWs Redline in the tranny, Redline in non-LSD diff, BMW LSD fluid in the LSD. | hmmm you two are the best. I'm assuming i have the base model since i have the regular 3-series front/rear bumper and side moldings which means non-LSD diff so Red Line it is. Thank you Rich. Btw, do i need to get crush washers for both the tranny and diff? __________________ 92 Nissan Stanza - Backseat Shenanigans and Tom Foolery - sold and would pickup another 94 Del Solo SI - The Go Get Her - sold 94 auto Prelude "S" for slowww - Daily schmaily - sold 91 MX-5 Miataz - Silversurfer - Weekend Bandicoot 96 5-speed 2dr RAV - Purple baby monster - New Daily Last edited by handballallday; 04-15-2015 at 04:44 PM. | | | 04-16-2015, 04:30 AM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,451 | Yes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ 1998 318ti Sport - "Cali" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, Cali top 1998 318ti Sport - "Max" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior, S52 1997 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Schwartz II/Schwartz sport interior 1995 318ti Active - "Blanca" Alpineweib III/Schwartz leather interior Other Current Bimmers: 2006 530i / 2000 2.3L Z3 / 1997 1.9L Z3 / 1999 540it 1997 318ti Sport - "Huera" - RIP 1995 318ti Active - RIP 1995 318ti Sport - "Tiny" Sold 1994 325i Sedan - "Jade" - Sold 1991 318ic - "Bert" - Sold 1985 635csi sold 1984 533i "Max" Sold 1984 318i sold BMWCCA #160411 SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |