Manual Transmission Fluid Type

78715 Views 72 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Yourrid, Sep 18, 2014

Yourrid

Discussion Starter · Jul 24, 2014 (Edited)

New Edit
I hate digging up old threads, but as I am the OP, I guess I'll let it slide :hi:

I'm finally getting around to changing out the manual transmission fluid and can't find the capacity ANYWHERE. Even the owner's manual doesn't list the capacity as it says it's a "Lifetime Fluid." I know I just need to fill it until it slowly drips out of the fill hole (being level of course), but for purchasing purposes, how much does it take?

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I'm beginning to feel some "notchy-ness" in my 1st and second gear, so I'm going to replace the fluid next week. I've heard of people using Royal Purple and saying it is a bad choice, so I'm looking to use the tried-and-true Redline fluids.

Here is my question. Some people recommend the MT-90 (along with pelicanparts.com) while I read a lot of places that say the 75W90 GL-5 Gear Oil is correct. The Redline application guide recommends D4 ATF and doesn't even list the MT-90! :facepalm:

What have you guys had success with?

Edit: 2004 E46 325CI coupe M54 5-speed manual

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jdstrickland

· #13 · Jul 25, 2014

Yourrid said:
I'm beginning to feel some "notchy-ness" in my 1st and second gear, so I'm going to replace the fluid next week. I've heard of people using Royal Purple and saying it is a bad choice, so I'm looking to use the tried-and-true Redline fluids.

Here is my question. Some people recommend the MT-90 (along with pelicanparts.com) while I read a lot of places that say the 75W90 GL-5 Gear Oil is correct. The Redline application guide recommends D4 ATF and doesn't even list the MT-90! :facepalm:

What have you guys had success with?

Edit: 2004 E46 325CI coupe M54 5-speed manual

The manual transmission of the E36 takes automatic transmission fluid, not gear oil.

You should do some more homework before you put in 75w90. If the manual of the E46 is the same as that of the E36, then the oil you are thinking of is way too heavy. That's W-A-Y too heavy.

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jdstrickland

· #14 · Jul 25, 2014

You're gonna regret gear oil when the mercury falls next winter, and all other winters when you have that in your transmission.

ATF, automatic transmission fluid, is light weight and has excellent sheer qualities, gear oil is heavy weight and the sheer qualities are not nearly so critical. When it turns cold outside, the heavy gear oil will turn to goo and your transmission will be all but impossible to get along with.

I do not have an Owner's Manual handy and I do not know that the fluid used in the E36 and the E46 are the same (although if the transmissions are the same then I see no reason to think the fluids would be different), and the E36 specifies ATF (Dexron II) or MTF-LF (manual transmission fluid, long life). If you were going to deviate from Dex II, then use Dex III, or whatever ATF is called for in your model car that is equipped with an automatic transmission.

Your idea to use 75W90 is a bad one, I think.

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jdstrickland

· #17 · Jul 25, 2014

Isn't D4 just a marketing term for Dexron IV? If so, it is automatic transmission fluid.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=51&pcid=9

I'm not gonna weigh into the swamp about whether Redline is good or not, but D4 is ATF. You do not want to mix a heavy gear oil with your ATF, and you absolutely do not want to replace your ATF with gear oil.

The discussion here, that the OP presented, is about putting in 75w90 gear oil in a manual transmission. Grandpa might have done that in his Model T, but you seriously do not want to do this in any modern manual transmission that I know of. There may be a few manual transmissions that want 75w90, but your BMW does not have one.

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jdstrickland

· #20 · Jul 25, 2014

WDE46 said:
Dexron IV does not exist. Redline D4 ATF only meets/exceeds Dexron III specs. Their marketing is that it's "one" better.

Deron VI is the next step up from Dexron III. And it's backward's compatible.

Okay, so Dex 4 does not exist, but D4 is a replacement for Dex II and Dex III, which is the fluid called for in the manual transmission of the 3 Series cars -- and others but we only care about the 3s here.

D4 is ATF, and ATF is the specified manual transmission fluid for the 3 Series. That's the bottom line.

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jdstrickland

· #22 · Jul 25, 2014

LeMansteve said:
hold on - automatic transmission fluid in a manual transmission? That's confusing as hell.

I guess any synthetic MTF should be fine. For reference, the Genuine BMW fluid is a symthetic 75W-80 GL-4. Redline is popular and also check out Pentosin. The Genuine BMW MTF-LT-2 fluid is pretty expensive and typically only sold in a 5L jug for like $125.

MTF-LT is lifetime fluid. You should never need to replace it unless you are doing transmission service and have to take it out. Assuming the transmission does not leak, you should never need to add any once it is full.

I resist the urge to accept the idea of lifetime transmission fluid for an automatic, but I have much more room for acceptance in a manual. Mostly because the manual is not prone to malfunction due to debris in the fluid, and the fluid is only there to provide the lubrication needs of the drive mechanism. In an automatic transmission, the fluid is part of the drive mechanism and therefore subjected to harsher operating parameters. The manual is entirely gear driven and there are no valves or solenoids that can be clogged by crap that might build up in the fluid, but the automatic transmissions have dozens of passages that the fluid has to go through that can become clogged. Not to mention that the parts fitment between one another is integral to the fluid going where it is expected, but in a manual the parts do not play a role in the integrity of the fluid and where it flows. Basically, I see no problem with lifetime fluid in a manual transmission, but I also see no reason to not replace it at 100k to 150k if you wanted to do that. In an automatic transmission, I'd suggest that the think the fluid will last a lifetime is folly, but again a 100k change interval seems sufficient since the maker thinks the stuff should last forever.

So, put ATF in your manual transmission.

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