Ah, OK. I was checking the error codes on the advice of the forum, but if the code readers
joe public has aren’t up to much (these results came from Carly), perhaps I’ll leave it to the “professionals” – or at least hear what they have to say before I waste too much time digging around.
The car is booked into the garage later this week. The current to do list for the garage is an
“Inspection II service+” [The “+” being a few extra things the forums have suggested]
- OBD fault check - see what they have to say about any errors
- Air Filter
- Oil Filter
- Pollen Filter
- Replace Spark Plugs
- Inspect coils
- Coolant change
- Engine Oil change
- Gearbox Oil change
- Diff Oil change
- Brake fluid change and bleed
- Inspect suspension (bushes, top mounts, control arms, etc).
- Inspect timing chain tensioners
- Inspect aux belts
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RE Lubricants
I thought I’d share my thoughts / findings on this in case it’s helpful for anyone else. Personally, I knew nothing about this topic!
Millers comes up as the recommended oil in many threads here, and also Opie Oils have been recommended as a good supplier and a general source of good info...
ENGINE OIL
@skelters suggested a thicker oil due to mileage. Having spoken to Opie, I was informed I needed an oil that meets BMW LL01 or LL04 spec. They recommended sticking with 5w-30 unless the engine is burning excessive amounts of oil, which I’ve not noticed. According to the experts:
The difference is 5w-40 remains thicker when hot, but because it’s thicker, it reduces oil flow, thus providing less protection and putting more strain on components, and reduces power/mpg. If it’s not burning oil, stick with 5w-30.
Millers Oils NANODRIVE EE LongLife 5w-30 Full Synthetic Engine Oil it is then. I think I’ll need about 6.5 litres
GEAR BOX OIL
For a straight swap I was recommended
Castrol Syntrans B 75W Fully Synthetic Car Gearbox Oil.
The other way is to mix two oils. Red Line MTL and ATF D4, Amsoil ATF and MTF, or Fuchs Sintofluid 75w-80 and ATF 5005 are the ones that people commonly mix together in those gearboxes.
Opie’s recommendation: A 50:50 mix of:
RED LINE Synthetic Manual Transmission Lubricant MTL 75W-80 GL4
RED LINE D4 Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
According to the expert:
An ATF is basically a thin gear oil, so reduces the viscosity slightly, making the gear shifts easier… even though the oil is a little thinner, there should be no reduction in protection. It may sound weird to put a ATF product into a manual car but a lot of manual cars use ATF and BMWs are one of the most common ones to do it. It's basically a thin gear oil.
I think I’ll need about 1.5 litres.
DIFF OIL
The car has a normal diff, not a LSD or anything fancy.
Opie’s recommendation: Use a
75w-90 GL5 oil for the diff.
The Fuchs Syn 5, Millers CRX, Red Line 75w-90 GL5, Motul Gear 300, Amsoil Severe Gear and Gulf Competition are ideal. The Fuchs Sintopoid, Castrol Syntrax Longlife, Millers TRX, Motul Motylgear, Mobil SHC and Gulf Syngear are also good choices.
I think I’ll go with
Millers Oils CRX 75w-90 NT+ Competition full synthetic transmission oil. I think I’ll need about 1 litre.
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Post-service jobs
• Wheel balancing (Hunter Roadforce) and 4 wheel Hunter alignment + reset steering angle sensor
• Treat it to a wash!
these
