BMW 2002 Fluids and Oils

This question is asked enough, I've just made an article here with the basics.

Whut I dun:

1- a slurry of GL4 and 00 'grease' so that at least SOMETHING stays in the box.

2- 75-90LS Redline

3- Redline MTL.  Add some Redline D6 if you REALLY want to shift fast.

4- Mobil 1 15-50.  Shell Rotella T6.  

5- Any name brand, but always the same.  Recently, Prestone, because the local place has it.

6- Castrol GT-LMA.  Used to be because the local place had it, but after using other things,

     I came back to it.  And still like it in everything I drive.

t

in for a good e46fanatics- style oil thread!

Do E21 LSDs require GL5?

^ yes, yes they do.  As recommended by factory repair manual.  Updated

coolant (inc. heater unit) 7 L

engine 4 L + 0.25 L (filter)

diff 0.95 L

s.box 0.3 L

g.box 1.0 L (4 speed), 1.5 L (5 speed)

from owners manual

Elbow grease: "Sufficient amount". Approved additives: Ginger

No Swepco fanboys in here?

I was somewhat curious regarding the brake fluid recommendation of DOT 4 rather than DOT 3.  So I got educated with a google search.  They are interchangeable and mixable, so that's not a concern.  However the tradeoff is that DOT 4 has a higher boiling point while DOT 3 absorbs less water.  DOT 4 would be better for racing or other high brake temperature uses, but DOT 3 would need to be flushed less often.  Now knowing this, I think I'll stick with DOT 3 - but it's kind of a coin toss. 

12 minutes ago, danco_ said:

No Swepco fanboys in here?

Given that the 2002 was designed (well) in the age of standard dead dinosaurs,

generic synthetic dead dinosaurs are seriously over- specified in it.

Now, you're trying to race a 2 bar turbo with a 168 diff? 

SWEPCO may actually let

you run 30 minutes without slagging it.

t

Ace

Suggest an additional line for limited slip diffs...

And for Toby, with the (apparently) leaky steering box:  the two seals are the usual culprits, and can be had from Advance/Autozone/O'Reillys for less than $10.  Once the box is out of the car, replacement is easy.  My would leak all its lubricant out overnight, so I was surprised to find upon dismantling there was a fair amount of lube still in the box--probably enough to keep from damaging bearings or the steering gears themselves, as both were in nice shape after 270k miles.

mike

You are probably aware, but thought I might share - In my research of this site and others this was the most often recommended fluid for the differential -