Gearbox oil changed
- Thread starter maxman
- Start date
Just in the process of doing my g/box oil, plus the engine oil and the diff. The old oil filter's out and the drain plugs are out of the engine & g/box which I'll leave draining overnight but I'm buggered if I can find my 14mm Allen key bit to get the diff plugs out. Probably lent it to someone and forgotten who It was, so looks like a trip to Machine Mart tomorrow morning. The car's only done just short of 20k miles but it's an 8 year old car with 8 year old oil so despite what BMW say, it'll need changing. The stuff that came out wasn't too bad as it happens, just a little discoloured but I'll feel happier with new oil in there.
Opie is your friend. The oil spec depends on the year of the car and the gearbox it uses, you should have a label near the filler plug, it'll be either yellow, blue or green. it's all a bit of chinese puzzle to say the least. You can of course just go to a BMW dealer and they'll probably sell you the right gearbox oil you need or you can research and find out alternatives.They keep it all a big secret so you have to take it to get it serviced at the dealer. 
Castrol website shows your car as needing the Castrol Syntrans B 75w for the gearbox. I mailed Opie last week and this was the oil they recommended for my g/box - 2.5si Sport - apparently it covers the MTF-LT1 MTF-LT2 & MTF LT-3 oils. TIS shows your car as requiring MTF-LT-1 and mine as MTF-LT-3 which is what the Syntrans B 75w (API GL-4 spec) covers.
Lots of people change out completely to other makes like Redline or Royal Purple without any probs but I prefer to keep within makers specs, your choice. The only thing most people agree on is the "filled for life" thing is a load of bollox!
For diff oil, which you should also change, you'll need Castrol Syntrax Longlife 75W-90 and engine oil you'll need any good make but it must conform to BMW specific LL04 or LL01 ACEA A3 / B3 - it's says on the bottle.
Castrol website shows your car as needing the Castrol Syntrans B 75w for the gearbox. I mailed Opie last week and this was the oil they recommended for my g/box - 2.5si Sport - apparently it covers the MTF-LT1 MTF-LT2 & MTF LT-3 oils. TIS shows your car as requiring MTF-LT-1 and mine as MTF-LT-3 which is what the Syntrans B 75w (API GL-4 spec) covers.
Lots of people change out completely to other makes like Redline or Royal Purple without any probs but I prefer to keep within makers specs, your choice. The only thing most people agree on is the "filled for life" thing is a load of bollox!
For diff oil, which you should also change, you'll need Castrol Syntrax Longlife 75W-90 and engine oil you'll need any good make but it must conform to BMW specific LL04 or LL01 ACEA A3 / B3 - it's says on the bottle.
Dewi said:
Hi Dewi, A little trick is to use a 14mm bolt. In the past I've welded things on to make a handle or you can just tighten to nuts against each other and put a spanner on them. Not as satisfying as having the right tool but might save you a trip to the shops...
Dewi said:Opie is your friend. The oil spec depends on the year of the car and the gearbox it uses, you should have a label near the filler plug, it'll be either yellow, blue or green. it's all a bit of chinese puzzle to say the least. You can of course just go to a BMW dealer and they'll probably sell you the right gearbox oil you need or you can research and find out alternatives.They keep it all a big secret so you have to take it to get it serviced at the dealer.
Castrol website shows your car as needing the Castrol Syntrans B 75w for the gearbox. I mailed Opie last week and this was the oil they recommended for my g/box - 2.5si Sport - apparently it covers the MTF-LT1 MTF-LT2 & MTF LT-3 oils. TIS shows your car as requiring MTF-LT-1 and mine as MTF-LT-3 which is what the Syntrans B 75w (API GL-4 spec) covers.
Lots of people change out completely to other makes like Redline or Royal Purple without any probs but I prefer to keep within makers specs, your choice. The only thing most people agree on is the "filled for life" thing is a load of bollox!
For diff oil, which you should also change, you'll need Castrol Syntrax Longlife 75W-90 and engine oil you'll need any good make but it must conform to BMW specific LL04 or LL01 ACEA A3 / B3 - it's says on the bottle.
Thanks that's a massive help. I will let you know how I get on.
I always like to use the proper tool, Newbers so went and bought a new 14mm hex this morning. coming from an engineering background I've seen far too many problems caused by using wrong tools or "making do". It must be said though, that I am guilty of using the bolt head thing to get hex head bolts undone in the past. 
In fact I used a bolt head to ascertain the hex bit size I needed, popped one in that was a good fit then verniered it, better than measuring the actual drain plug socket.
Stevo - yes let us know how you get on.
In fact I used a bolt head to ascertain the hex bit size I needed, popped one in that was a good fit then verniered it, better than measuring the actual drain plug socket. Stevo - yes let us know how you get on.