Changing Tranny Fluid

[carguy200550]

I think I am going to change my tranny fluid. Right now I have Redline ATF(13,000 miles old), but it seems like the smoothness in the transmission has taken a dive lately. I want it back so I'm thinking about going to RP Synchromax, what do you guys think? Good move? Bad move?

[MauiM3Mania]

Ditch the ATF and do a fill of MTF, Redline is what I have in the two older M3s.

Good stuff. Shifting is slick in both my 99 with the euro six speed and the stock five speed in the E30.

Ignore that tag on the side of the trannie.

http://mauiscca.net/miscpics/20090614-IMG_6770.jpg

[desynch]

Interesting how your tranny says ATF only. Mine says MTF and the stock fill was the BMW life time fluid as written on the sticker.

I've been using RP Synchromax and it works great.

[MauiM3Mania]

The pic in my first post is of ~98 euro six speed.

I can't explain why BMW suggested the lubes/oils they have over the years. :eyecrazy

[turbosporttsi]

Interesting how your tranny says ATF only. Mine says MTF and the stock fill was the BMW life time fluid as written on the sticker.

I've been using RP Synchromax and it works great.


That's because you have a 98. My stock trans (98) says MTF, while the 95 M3 trans I just installed says ATF. I'm not sure when they switched.

[das borgen]

Ditch the ATF and do a fill of MTF, Redline is what I have in the two older M3s.

Good stuff. Shifting is slick in both my 99 with the euro six speed and the stock five speed in the E30.

Ignore that tag on the side of the trannie.

http://mauiscca.net/miscpics/20090614-IMG_6770.jpg


Interesting how your tranny says ATF only. Mine says MTF and the stock fill was the BMW life time fluid as written on the sticker.

I've been using RP Synchromax and it works great.


either or is fine
no big difference
matter of fact, the parts diagram shows this (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BG93&mospid=47488&btnr=23_0121&hg=23&fg=05)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/b/r/198.png

[Badgtho is back]

That's because you have a 98. My stock trans (98) says MTF, while the 95 M3 trans I just installed says ATF. I'm not sure when they switched.

they switched because MTF is thicker, longer lasting and less detergent. In and around 98 they were competing with Benz for a lower total cost of ownership. They removed the suggestion to replace the tranny fluid frequently (and subsequently made the cost of maintaining the car lesser) and went with a thicker fluid so that the trannies wouldn't just start popping left and right from old ATF.

the highly detergent nature of ATF means that it cannot last as long. it absorbs paritcles from the fiber based blocker rings (synchros) and turns black pretty quickly. the MTF allows these particals to just float around in the tranny.

if you change the fluid alot the MTF is fine. The tranny was originally designed for the highly detergent ATF.

the choice is yours.

[hc1001]

Maui how long have u been using redline in the 6 speed?

in the past there was a lot of discussion on which fluid to use with the getrag 6 spd euro tranny from the e36 m3 evo. i've been using only BMW LTF1 and then i think two years ago they switched it to LTF2. i havent had any problems and i change my fluid every 2-3 years. i only put 5 or 6K miles a year.

i've had mine since 2004 and no problems at all.

[MauiM3Mania]

Not even a year and a half and not a load of miles. :confused

[hc1001]

i was just curious.

thanks.

[MauiM3Mania]

FWIW, Redline MTF was my trannie lube of choice for the original 5 speed in the E36.

My usage is relatively low, so my experience may not be much to base decisions on.

[carguy200550]

Changed the fluid to RP Synchromax today. It feels slicker, it didn't solve all of my problems, but definitely feels better. Also, on a side note it feels much lighter than the redline. Best way I can describe the feel is moving through water compared to syrup. There is much less effort required to shift which may come in handy when I put my M roadster shifter in next week. I will also be putting in new bushings so I hope they will cure the rest of my problems. Thanks for the help.

[Volf]

Haven't there been a few threads recently about synchromesh being a bad choice?