Changing Tranny & Diff Fluids

[kinvodA]

I've got an '89 325i and want to change my fluids. I checked this morning and I don't have a green or red tag on my tranny, and I don't have an LSD.

As such, I think I will go with Red Line 50204 (MTL) Synthetic Manual Transmission Lubricant. I am hoping that it causes my transmission to shift a little smoother, especially on cold mornings. Is it true that it is ok to "flush" the old fluid with ATF, if so, does it matter what kind?

For the gear oil, I believe I want to go with Red Line 57904 (75W90) Synthetic Gear Oil

I can get 2 quarts of MTL and 2 Quarts of Red Line Gear Oil for ~ $60 on Amazon, since they qualify for super saver shipping.

Lastly, I saw a $7 "fluid transfer pump", and thought I'd add it to my order.

If there is anything wrong with my plans, let me know, specifically, running synthetic MTL in my tranny.

Thanks guys,

Ryan A

[Keith M]

I paid $12 per quart for the same fluid at napa. Remove the fill plugs before you drain and you are golden.

[u3b3rg33k]

If you want to "flush" your trans, change it now, and change it again in a month. consider it flushed. Don't use ATF if your trans doesn't ask for it.

the fluid pump lets your re-fill it without dropping the trans or diff. you want it. Redline MTL is good stuff. My trans seems to like it better in the dead of winter than whatever it had before.
Do you have an LSD? if so, you might want the LSD additive, or oil for LSDs (i don't remember how redline sells it, can't be bothered to google it).

[reelizmpro]

Changing trans and diff fluids is just as easy as doing an oil change once you have the fluid transfer pump. You will need to find a container that will work with the pump though. I found some .99 cent store degreaser bottles around the house that worked well for me. I use one for my trans and one for the diff. As for flushing, I drove the car around a bit to heat the fluids up before changing them. I also pumped some fresh fluid in the fill hole with force and let it run out through the drain hole. Then put the drain plug in and topped off. Trans and diff each take a little under 2 bottles.

The top fill plug of the trans can be tricky to get to. I ended up using an allen socket with a box wrench since there wasn't enough clearance to get my ratchet in there. Autozone also sells a VW trans plug tool that works with a ratchet (it's very short) for $3.99 or so.

[kinvodA]

I got that autozone tool for the tranny, it took off the fill plug just fine, but my drain plug was very tight and stripped. Anybody have any ideas on how to get the drain plug off? I checked the tranny and it was actually pretty low - If I can't get the drain plug off, I'm just going to top off my tranny with the MTL. However, I couldn't do that last night since the little fluid pump I bought broke, gotta get another one tonight. Anybody have any tricks for draining the fluid out the fill hole? I dont have access to a pump...

[FLG]

If you can't get the drain plug off autzone and them sell a small hand pump with a hose on it...could try sucking most of it out.

How badly stripped is it? Could also find a bit bigger size and hammer it in for a final attempt

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[jlevie]

A stripped drain plug is the easiest of the two to deal with. Stick a section of 14mm hex in the socket and weld it to the plug. I've heard of folks JBWelding a section of hex into the fill plug to get it out. That might also work on the drain plug.

[kinvodA]

I think I will try to pump it out, if the other pump that NAPA sells has a flexible hose on both ends, the crappy one that broke had a hard hose, and was unusable. I may end using the JB Weld/17mm bolt-nut trick, just for kicks.

[Jaxx_]

I've never used a hand pump to change diff or trans fluids. Use some vac hose on cap of the trans fluid bottle and hold it next to the transmission and squeeze. It takes some time but it was faster for me than deal with a shitty $5 pump that didn't want to have fluid flow.

[jeffnhiscars]

This works like a charm, NO pumping & I don't spill a drop. Set the bottle in the engine compartment against the firewall

[JinormusJ]

Whatd you end up doing to get the Tranny drain plug off?

Mine is crazy stripped and I was just wondering if there is any other way to get it out without dropping the tranny and draining it from the fill plug?