A few newbie questions

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey guys,

I've been reading for a while here and just decided to start posting. I bought a pile of rust that was once a 1975 2002 and I'm trying to bring it back to life. I have a few questions that I thought you guys could help with.

First I can seem to register on BMW mobile tradition, I never get the e-mail they say I will receive with the registration and etc... Anyone else has experienced the same problem?

Also wich oil do you put in your tranny? I think I will be going with Motul but I'm clueless about the grade I should use. What's been tryed and prooved to work well? Same qustion for the diff oil and spark plugs with the stock ingnition system.

Thanks, Alex

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm still an '02 baby myself, but regarding the oil/plug questions:

For the oil, go synthetic in both places and check 'em often enough so that leaks don't get ahead of you (I think almost all the 2002 trannies and diffs leak some). Redline is kind of the gold standard, but Amsoil is also good, and there may be many others. If you have weak synchros, a gear oil (75w90 or similar) may help. Otherwise, go Redline MTL or the equivalent in the tranny and gear oil in the diff. You may need a 17mm inside-hex socket or key to remove the drain plugs on either or both units, and they can be hard to find. Check a place that stocks VW bug stuff, make your own from some hex stock/threaded-rod connector, or choke the $25 and get a spiffy socket from one of the catalog places (BavAuto, et al.).

For plugs, Bosch works well -- just the regular copper jobs, not Platinums, which can foul easily on older cars. W7DC or W8DC are recommended with stock wires.

Hope that helps; others may have different opinions, and mine is not necessarily the best!

-Dave

Colorado '71

[Guest Anonymous]

I use Sta-Lube GL4 non-hypoid gear oil (75W-90) in my VW's and BMW manual transmissions. It is much cheaper than synthetics and available at NAPA. I avoid using GL5 (modern spec) oil because it can degrade old brass syncros (in VW's especially, I am not sure if BMW has brass parts-anyone?).

Some folks swear that the synthetics are best (if you have good seals) and I hear allow for smoother shifting--Redline is popular, and some even use redline ATF in manual transmissions.

For the differential and steering box you must use a different, hypoid gear lube, perhaps higher viscosity.

[Guest Anonymous]

i have been very pleased with Synergyn II racing lubricant in my transmission and differential. Quieted down gear noise signifigantly and improved gear shifting. Hope that helps.

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

It has no-guessing answers to all the questions you just posted.

[Guest Anonymous]

URL: http://www.geocities.com/karlkarlb/BMW.html

I registered 3 times before I realized that the German junk message I kept deleting was my user ID and password. It has to be translated. Keep an eye out for it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Just wipe it up every time you move the car out. If you don't see a drop or two on the floor, check your oil level!

Seriously, for tranny and diff oils, I like Redline. You don't change that oil all that often, make sure it's a good one. For motor oil, I like to use Valvoline racing 20/50. When I had an oil pressure guage in one 02, the Valvoline gave me the most consistant #s. Castrol was good, Pennsoil I think was the one that gave really low pressure.

[Guest Anonymous]

...not dangerously so, just lower than what most people report here. The car has run Pennzoil since new (big ol' Pennzoil sticker under the hood my dad put there), and it hardly burns any oil after 130k miles, so I hate to mess up a good thing. But I was always impressed with the cleanliness of the oil on my old GTI at oil-change time, and that car had had Valvoline in it since new.

-Dave

Colorado '71

[Guest Anonymous]

Could have been your dad wanting to buy local stuff maybe, but I would leave it until you do your rebuild. It would be interesting to see if the Pennsoil ages faster and thins out or something. Either way, if you change your oil regularly(most of us do), you shouldn't have a problem.

Heck, all this low oil pressure could of been from me using the CHEAPEST Pennsoil out there. I was in the Navy at the time.

[Guest Anonymous]

Already done,

It's not as detailed as I wished for (My dads Saab factory manual has 6 binders of more page than the haynes) but for the price I don't think I could have gotten better. And for tranny oil they don't specify any grade. I was just wondering what gave best results out there. I will be using Motul, should be similar to Redline.

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)