Gearbox and diff oil??

highway1

Member
Hi all,

I have recently purchased a 2007 Coupe ( 3.0si) which can be seen in the newbie section! I am planning on renewing the gearbox oil next week. I understand that the oil is supposed to meet GL5 spec so was wondering which Redline or other oil people would recommend?

The owners handbook says the capacity is 7.6 litres- I didn't think it was that much so will have to buy 8 litres then!

Also, would you recommend changing the diff oil as well? My car is on 60,000 now so not sure if I really need to although I think the capacity of the diff is only 1.2 litres according to tech at Powerenhancer ??

If so, which diff oil do people recommend- Redline synthetic 75w 90??

Thanks. Matt.
 
Ope oils are your friend. Gearbox oil is only 1.5 lt or around that mark. Engine is 6.5 I think but can't quite remember.

P.s welcome to the forum and well done for buying the correct z4. :poke: :fuelfire: :thumbsup: :driving:
 
Unless you have the auto, in which case it's significantly more but I can't remember what. I simply went down the Castrol route for both.
 
Then you'll need about 1.6L for the box, 1L for the diff and EXACTLY 6.5L for the engine, on the two occasions a 'professional' has changed my oil they didn't put enough in. Every time I've done it no issues.
 
For the manual transmission you either need bmw MTF-2 spec or MTF-3 spec, or atf oil, and that is defined by the sticker on the side of the transmission. Both in color and what it says on the sticker.
High grade gear oils usually have both mtf-2 and mtf-3 spec but ATF spec (so automatic gearbox oil; sometimes also used in manual gearboxes) is something totally different.
You need to buy 2L.
My guess is you need mtf-2/3 (and that is 75w80 grade)

For the diff you need 75w90 gear oil. BMW has a list of manufacturers and types that comply in their standards.
 
I used redline ATF for my manual gearbox box and normal gear oil from ECP fro my diff think it was 75w90
 
I used Red Line MTL in my manual box. Better designed for manual synchromesh and the only reason I could find not to use it was a heavier shift when cold compared to ATF but I have not found this to be an issue at all. Certainly feels smoother but then it would with any new oil.
 
Well, having done a bit of research and spoken to the chap at Opie Oils, I have gone with the Castrol Syntrans-B 75w for the gearbox ( the Redline oil is a bit thicker so "might" make changes not so smooth in cold weather), its also BMW specific, and for the diff, Fuchs Titan Sintopoid 75W-90.

Hope to get changed next Wednesday, and will hopefully quieten down the clutch chatter and make the box even smoother!
 
You should be more concerned with mechanical sympathy. The only effect I'd expect you to notice is a slightly smoother shift action.
 
My Redline MTL has remained much smoother and is fine in the cold too. Changing our e91 330 to the same stuff shortly.
 
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