Driveline fluids

[Mpower]

i have an 1988 325ix (allwheel drive ) 5 spd and i was wondering what i should use in my driveline such as my rear diff ,tranny,transfer case , front diff , and how would i go about doing that ,,/. ... and is a friction ruducing coolant additive okay to run in my car or is it a bad idea it is called water wetter if anyone is familiar please get back to me thanks



either post here or email me direct at nikcon1167@hotmail.com

 

[Lowen]

I'm a 100% Redline Fluid guy myself.

 

[vlad]

Redline's great stuff! And they make the Water Wetter. It can be tricky to locate though, you can see their Dealer List here.

 

[325eowner]

i just recently put redline in my differential and it's started to make a loud whine when accelerating in the lower gears. i've been told this happens sometimes but that it doesnt damage anything. i've also heard people say that the noise drove them crazy, and they removed the stuff. it's supposed to make your diff last a lot longer though, so i'm leaving it in.
i've also used "water wetter", and it did seem to make the car run slightely cooler, not a huge amount but noticeable on the gauge.

 

[Kether]

I'm a believer in synthetic gear oil to make old syncros happy. As for diff, I'd use redline too. For engines, I'm a huge fan of BG products, especially MOA. http://www.bgprod.com/ I've heard more devout anti-additive people swear by BG's stuff, especially lots of older mechanics with decades of experience. I've used it for a couple of cars now, and I can say it does keep things nice and clean (within reason of course). They also make a radiator additive, which I have yet to use however. Also, try Lubro Moly's Ventil Sauber valve cleaning treatment, I used it on a few cars when I was a mechanic, and coupled with a good "italian tuneup" it works great to clean deposits and general junk out of the engine. Last but not least, Bosch recommends Chevron's Techron product for all of their fuel injection systems. So use their gas, or just buy a bottle of Techron at the local auto parts store. It's a little expensive but worth it, to me at least. Sorry I went on about engine additives... just getting some info on the board.

 

[325eowner]

i forgot to mention "techron", too. great stuff. you can by it walmart, too, usually a little cheaper than the auto parts places.

 

[rjp325i]

To 325eowner,

If you have a copy of the June 2003 Roundel (The BMW CCA publication) the Tech Talk column may address what you are hearing. On page 106 it states "If you fill the differential with Red Line 75W-90 and the rumbling is still there, buy some GM Posi-Lube differential oil additive at any GM dealership, drain off a bit of the Red Line, and add the bottle of Posi-Lube. This product is rarely necessary, but I have used it in persnickety differentials in the past." You may want to contact Mike Miller at the Roundel (techtalk@roundel.org) or through Bimmer magazine (bimmertqa@aol.com) I have found Mike very helpful in the past. I too have Red Line in my 89 325i diff but it is not noisy.

Bob

 

[325eowner]

thanks rjp, i'll take your advice and contact mike. the noise doesnt bother me at all, as i'm almost always listening to my stereo anyway. as long as the redline is doing it's job i'm not worried about it. it is strange, though. ray