Gearbox and oil

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Gearbox and oil

Post by Zedbedee »

I'm sure it's somewhere on the forum but I'm struggling to find it. I want to know which gearbox my manual 2000 2.0 litre Z3 has. Is is Getrag or ZF or WHY? Following this I would like to know the correct spec for the oil, there seems to be endless opinions on which is the best oil.
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by Del »

As far as I have been able to find out, the BMW E36 range (including the Z3) fitted a similar Getrag manual gearbox in vehicles up to 2.5 litre after which they fitted a bigger ZF gearbox.

In the unlikely event that you have a specific label on your gearbox saying to fill only with Automatic Fluid/oil (as did some older E36s) it is likely to have a yellow label indicating BMW fully synthetic GL4 gearbox oil. Typically, they called it MTF-LT-1 and towards the end of the Z3 era this may have been updated to MTF-LT-2. The only difference is that LT-1, I suspect, was a mono viscosity 75W whilst the updated LT-2 increased the heat range to 75W-80. I believe that LT-1 is now obsolete.

Once you get the basic parameters e.g. GL4 and fully synthetic, the rest is really just subjective based on whether a modern (and slightly thicker when cold) 75W-90 gear oil is irritating to you when cold because of stiffer gear changes. Conversely, a thinner mono 75W might be great when cold but cause slightly more (normal) gear noise when hot. Many manufacturers have played around with their recommended gearbox oils over the years because of these considerations which can vary from country-to country.

As you say, you find endless threads on most forums about gearbox oil which is not helped by manufacturer secrecy. You are likely to be happy with 75W, 75W-80, 75W-85 or 75W-90. I have a latter in my gearbox and on the very coldest days it can feel a little stiffer until warmed up. If you are sensitive to the feel of a cold gearbox you might want one lower down this list. The people at Opie Oils are helpful.
Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by Zedbedee »

Thanks for that Del. I had almost convinced myself that the 75W was the way to go then I found a video on Youtube (can't find it now!) of the gearbox oil change procedure but the oil they were putting back appeared to be very thin so that confused me again. I've looked again and have a yellow label which is hard to read. I think I'll go for the 75W rather than the automatic fluid.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by pingu »

BMW Service Department (not Parts Department) sell the approved stuff. You will need to provide a container(s) to hold 2 litres and it's not cheap.

You can get an oil that has been recommended from the internet much cheaper elsewhere.
Pingu
Zedbedee
Joined: Sun 15 Mar, 2009 20:04
Posts: 157

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: Yeovil

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by Zedbedee »

I always remind myself that none of the car makers produce oil themselves but have probably got a nice deal so that they recommend an oil and get a good deal on the oil they buy to put in new cars. For many years I have used Triple QX 5W40 fully synthetic which they say is approved to BMW LL01 or whatever. Never had a problem with it and it's not expensive so it gets changed every year. Although BMW say the gearbox and final drive are lubed for life I'm sure that after 17 years a fill with new oil has to be a good thing.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by pingu »

Zedbedee wrote:I always remind myself that none of the car makers produce oil themselves but have probably got a nice deal so that they recommend an oil and get a good deal on the oil they buy to put in new cars. For many years I have used Triple QX 5W40 fully synthetic which they say is approved to BMW LL01 or whatever. Never had a problem with it and it's not expensive so it gets changed every year. Although BMW say the gearbox and final drive are lubed for life I'm sure that after 17 years a fill with new oil has to be a good thing.
100% agree, but (to my knowledge) BMW have never approved any commercially available manual gearbox oil.

They have approved commercially available oils and fluids for everything else, including oil for auto-boxes.
Pingu
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Gearbox and oil

Post by Del »

You don't get quite the same level of heat as in the engine and the oil is not contaminated with combustion gases/acids - so a synthetic oil can probably last around 10-years in a manual gearbox. But as you say, many Z3s are now moving towards 15-20 years and so a change can only be a good thing. My Getrag box in my 1.9 holds a holds around 1.1 litres, the ZF box in the bigger engine cars holds more.
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