What type of transmission oil to use (pics)

[Panda]

I'm going to be changing my transmission oil tomorrow. I've been reading about how theres three different kinds of oil to use depending if you have a red, green or no sticker at all on the side of the transmission. I got a chance to get under my car today and I think theres a red sticker and took some pictures because I'm not exactly sure because the sticker is pretty worn out.

And if it is red that would me I use ATF?






thanks,
Dan

[Mike325]

That looks like the Getrag 260 (manual) tranny. You see that kinda pinkish sticker in the frist pic? You can't really read it anymore, but it says to use atf fluid. And yes, it would be read but there are different colors depending on manufactuer. A lot of people like the redline fluids. You can find them a Turner Motor Sport.

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/show_category.asp?txtsearchParamCat=RED%20LINE%20FLUIDS#RedLineSyntheticGearLubricants

[trent]

I run 80W-90.

[Panda]

So just to make it clear that is the red sticker meaning I use ATF?

by the way here is a little info I found that might help other people;

FLUIDS CHANGE
- rear diff drain/fill (1.7 liters hypoid)
***
ALL BMW differentials use 75W-90 Gearoil. This is ideal for open or factory limited-slip units, as well as the torque-sensing type if you are lucky enough to have one of those.
***

- tranny drain/fill (1.25 liters non-hypoid)
***
In the gearbox (manual transmission), some BMW's made between 1986 and 1992 had "labeled" gearboxes with a red or green label on the passenger side of the bellhousing.
These had 17mm EXTERNAL wrenching oil plugs. If the label is green, use Redline MT90. If the label is red, use Redline D4 ATF. If there was no label,
the gearbox will have 17mm INTERNAL wrench oil plugs, and should use Redline MTL GL-4 70W-80.

[AdamF 88iS]

Wipe the crud off of that label. It will say right on it in plain English.

[Mike325]

Yes, atf

[Panda]

Wipe the crud off of that label. It will say right on it in plain English.

Tried that and the sticker just started falling apart.

So I put in some ATF but heres the question I got now. At the store all of the bottles of ATF said for automatic transmission including the one I picked up...do they make ATF specially for manual transmissions? Is it going to be a problem?

[backtrail69]

ATF stands for automatic transmission fluid... You put in your power steering as well.

[Mike325]

It is made for auto trans yes, but it is used in manual trans as well. You did good

[RobertK]

Actually.. there is just ATF and then there is Mercon III crap. Make sure you get the bottle that just says ATF in big letters.

I recommend Royal Purple ATF over Redline. The only real difference between the two is the price. Both are made from Group 4 oil.