Common Lubricants / Fluids Used

#1

I felt “dirty” after writing that subject line. :laugh:

As I will be going through the LSD, and draining the trans. lube, etc. I wonder what type/brand/weight of fluids you Spec E30s guys commonly use?

I’m looking for:

Engine Oil - brand, grade, synthetic or “Dino”

Trans. Lube - “”, “”, “”

Differential Lube - “”,"",""

Also, how common is it for the CV joints/axles to give you guys issues? These appear to be the originals, I figure I will, at a minimum clean them up, re-grease and replaced the boots/clamps…is this pretty much what I need to do?

Any advice, comments, criticism is welcome, of course.

I could not find a “catch all” post with regards to the lubricants ya’all use…FWIW, the Search function on this board SUCKS…

#2

Engine will depend largely on the condition of your oil pump I guess.:wink:

Trans I run MT90, MTL will work well too.
Diff 75/90, some are using 75/140
Axles I used Swepco because I had it laying around. I used factory stuff and had issues with it bleeding out because of heat.
Wheel bearings are off the shelf SKF rear and FAG front no changes.

#3

Yeah, I meant to mention I commonly use Mobil 1 75w-90 in my differentials, off the shelf at Pep Boys, Autozone, etc. so would this work well in the E30 Diffs?

On the transmission, you say MT90 or MTL? …is that a manufacturer/weight then? Where do I source that?

In the engine, I was just going to run a decent “Dino” oil, 20w-50 grade, is there any reason NOT to use synthetic other than it’s been said older engines are prone to leaks when changing over to synthetic and worn components don’t seem to hold up as well?

This is a 120,000mi. engine by the paperwork, it was changed in 2002 with a 62,000mi. unit and runs quite well…compression checks out 150-something across all six cylinders.

Should I perform a valve adjustment? …I hear little talk of it on here but did catch a thread where they were discussing using an allen wrench to hold the cam lobes, etc. any other tips on this?

Sorry to have so many questions, never worked on or with a BMW before. :unsure:

#4

MT90 and MTL (manual tranmission lubricant) are RedLine products, available from most sponsors. We run either 5W-50w Castrol Syntec or Mobil 1 20W-50 in the engine. Some advocate petroleum based due to problems with leaking - we have not had problems - 200K motors.

Would definitely check valve clearances. Heavy coat hanger wire bent in a loop works well for the hole in the eccentric - 0.010 cold clearance, although some have gapped at 0.012. I do a loose 0.010, so that 0.011 will fit, but tight. You can find a description of the procedure at Pelican parts.

Ed