Red Line oils

[Original Owner]

1993 owners manual says to use Mercon in the transmission. I've been to a few driving schools with the BMW club and many are talking about Red Line oils. Anyone have any experience with these oils? Which grade would I need for a T5? I'm also thinking about replacing the rear-end gear oil with Red Line's stuff. Any suggestions on what weight oil to use in the rear-end? Thanks.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

The T5 does require Ford Mercon (or equivalent) auto trans fluid. Not sure off the top of my head what weight gear oil the rear takes, it's been a while since I looked at it. Red Line or Royal Purple are good quality oils though, so you should be safe in using them.

 

[HISSIN50]

I run D4 in the T5. I wanted to use MTL but RL was against it (Hanlon or someone like that doesnt mind seeing folks use MTL though, as I recall. Check it out yourself for confirmation). The D4 seems to do fine, even in 110*F.

For the rear, check out Redline's site. I recall a chart showing that their 85W-140 flowing better when cold than standard 75W-90! Also note that in some later 8.8's, Ford recommended an 85W-140.

When I do the 94's rear, I'm going 50/50, I think (I need to double check that Redline chart). Make sure you get the stuff for LSD's.

Good luck.