[gt902]

Checked gearbox oil on my 1997 e36 and it is low but i find out that it has this lifetime oil that does not need changing but i dont like that idea is there any oil alternatives to use in there as the bmw oil MTF LT2 is a fortune. Any ideas?

 

[RYM]

IIRC there is no alternative because of the fact it is life time:thumbsup

I know how expensive it is because when I received my M3 donor parts the gearbox and diff had been drained:eek

I shall now retitle your thread so it complies with the forum posting rules:thumbsup

 

[steve23002]

There should be a coloured sticker above the fill/level plug. If you find the colour of the sticker we can give you the correct spec oil. The sticker might be hard to see because they get covered in dirt. :thumbsup

 

[Ronnie]

Royal Purple Syncromax is a option for the box

 

[xXNealXx]

There should be a coloured sticker above the fill/level plug. If you find the colour of the sticker we can give you the correct spec oil. The sticker might be hard to see because they get covered in dirt. :thumbsup

Orange label = Dexron III ATF
Green label = special oil from BMW
Yellow label = needs no change (lifetime fill)

 

[gt902]

cheers guys, it defo a yellow label, just seems a very expensive way to top a gearbox up as bmw seem to only want to sell 5 ltr packs, it worth it on a fancy m3 or something like that but on a 318i!,has anybody had bad effects from putting normal semi synth in one of these boxes?

 

[badj]

Wouldn't recommend it, you'll just damage the gearbox. If you've reconditioned a gearbox before you'd see just how important fluid is when you see what the bad stuff does to the bearings and syncro's