gearbox oil

[richone55]

can someone tell me what oil and how much will i need to fill my gearbox on my z3 3.0 please

 

[David]

This is @Southernboy 's area of expertise, I'm sure he'll be along shortly with some advice.

 

[t-tony]

To be honest Richard, you are best served to go to your local retailer be it Andrew Page, Euro Car Parts or whoever and ask them what grade oil and what volume you need. This subject has been covered on here several times this last year and will only confuse the issue IMHO.

Tony.

 

[richone55]

will do thank you

 

[jonco]

The TIS usually quotes gearbox fill as 1.1 litre but I have seen 1.3 quoted on some sites. There should be a coloured label on the gear box showing oil type required.
Opie oils are very good for brand recommendations. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/

 

[Brian H]

+1 for opie oils, give them a call and they will see you right.

 

[vintage42]

Gearbox does not take oil. It takes ATF-based fluids, often called MTFs, with a viscosity of around 7.5, of which there are several.

 

[vintage42]

The TIS usually quotes gearbox fill as 1.1 litre but I have seen 1.3 quoted on some sites. There should be a coloured label on the gear box showing oil type required.
Opie oils are very good for brand recommendations. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/

My box shows oil on the fingertip at 1 quart so I don't buy a second quart. I looked at http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-1432-atf-automatic-transmission-fluid.aspx and did not see anything of an MTF nature.

BMW specifies a fluid a viscosity around 7.5.
Here's a list of fluids meeting the viscosity specs, available in the US. Links are provided only to show the products. Pentosin is a German company so I assume it markets to the UK.

BMW MTF-LT-1 (stock original fluid, replaced by BMW MTF-LT-2, made by Pentosin)
Viscosity at 100C = 7.5 cSt

Dexron III (an original replacement fluid)
Viscosity at 100C = 7.4 cSt

BMW MTF-LT-2 75W80
Viscosity at 100C = 7.7 cSt
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-Z3-2.8-...rain/ES197386/

Pentosin MTF 75W80 (same fluid as BMW MTF-LT-2)
Viscosity at 100C = 7.7 cSt
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-Z3-2.8-...ain/ES1893847/

 

[richone55]

thanks for all your help

 

[Rudyrov]

I used Royal Purple Synchronous Synthetic Transmission fluid a while back, worked great and helped to improve the smoothness of the shifter. I believe I bought 2 quarts.

 

[t-tony]

How much actually went in Rudy? According to Carweb a 3.0 manual gearbox should hold 1.2 ltr.

Tony.

 

[Rudyrov]

A little over 1 bottle. The calculation says 1.3 qts. I gave ha friend the balance of the second quart, so cant go back and look...Sorry.

 

[t-tony]

No worries thank you.

 

[vintage42]

I used Royal Purple Synchronous Synthetic Transmission fluid a while back, worked great and helped to improve the smoothness of the shifter. I believe I bought 2 quarts.

I replaced the 17-year old original "lifetime fill" with RP Synchromax and the fresh clean fluid was an improvement. I am sure any of the other MTFs of the same viscosity would feel the same.
The Bentley Manual says the transmission will hold 1.1 quart. I bought two quarts, but after feeling with my finger tip that the first quart brought the level up to the filler hole, I didn't open the second quart.
I suppose the 1.3 quarts figure is a result of people measuring .7 quart left in their second bottle, after the transmission takes the .1 quart and the other .2 quart flows out before it can be stopped.

 

[richone55]

thank you i will get it done this weekend and thank you all for your help