Transmission fluid/notchy gear

[Ephe]

So looking into replacing all the fluids in the car, oil and diff fluid being first on the list. But I'm a little confused about the car, as I know a lot of people say the gear boxes are notchy. My car has a notchy feel sometimes when I go into third. It does not make any audible noise, it just feels like a little grind. Looking up a lot on the forums people say that its a synchro problem, but they also say it would make a noise. So is this just old tranny fluid or should I be concerned about this?

[kamber]

No sure way to tell besides just going for it. Could be a variety of things, but from what I've gathered you shouldn't be worried about a small amount of notchiness/grindiness in 2nd, as it's very common with MT BMW's.

I will say this, I had some notchyness/resistance/slight grind when going into 2nd when I first bought my 2008 M3 (used, 90K mileage). I've changed over to an F10 M5 shift knob and swapped whatever transmission fluid was in there at the time to Redline MTL (this and Redline D4 ATF seem to be very popular fluids amongst the 6MT E9X M3 crowd), and it feels worlds better. Still havn't had time to install the AutoSolutions SSK + misc. OEM shifter assembly parts I have waiting on the shelf, probably because I'm too lazy to do it since the fluid and shift knob swap has pretty much satisfied my discontent with how shifting felt when I first bought the car.

Luckily, replacing the transmission fluid is an absolute breeze and super inexpensive, so you can't really go wrong by doing so!

I say just go for it and see if it feels any different to you after. Be sure to drive it around a fair amount after swapping the fluid before you come to a conclusion though; it took me a few days of commuting before I really noticed a perceivable difference in how shifting felt.

Goodluck!

[Ephe]

Thanks for the info. Was just looking into what MTF I should get. Lots of options. And as you said the redline's are the ones I see show up the most, although I don't see the D4 ATF on ECS, only the MTL. I'll try it out. I see some complaints about the fluid in the cold though? How does it fair?

[AustinMsport]

I need to do this change soon so

[Denk]

Learn it, love it, live it. BMW manuals are notchy as hell but hey, you're rowing your own gears.

[kamber]

Originally Posted by Ephe

Thanks for the info. Was just looking into what MTF I should get. Lots of options. And as you said the redline's are the ones I see show up the most, although I don't see the D4 ATF on ECS, only the MTL. I'll try it out. I see some complaints about the fluid in the cold though? How does it fair?

Both will be just fine, you can't really go wrong.

There are various threads across the Bimmerpost forums regarding MTL vs D4 ATF; bottom line is that Redline's official recommendation for the 6MT E9X is D4 ATF. However, many enthusiasts, well regarded race shops, and well known industry personalities tout MTL as being the superior fluid in terms of stoutness and protection. I can't find the thread right now, but there was a post from someone claiming they spoke to a Redline representative about it and was told that the reasoning behind the D4 ATF recommendation as opposed to a universal recommendation for MTL in 6MT E9X M3 applications, on paper at least, is to avoid complaints from customers in super colder environments. D4 ATF is thinner than MTL, thus it is more compliant upon cold-start in lower temperature environments. I've also seen a few posts made by people who have tried both fluids on the same car stating that they prefer MTL due to less notchyness at operating temperature.

After looking into it, I myself decided to go with MTL. For what it's worth, I daily drive my M3 and i've commuted at least 25+ days in 15 to 35 degree fahrenheit temperatures since switching to MTL; no complaints whatsoever. I intend to continue using MTL for the remainder of my ownership, which I hope is forever =)

Here are some threads regarding the MTL vs D4 ATF discussion for your browsing pleasure (there are many more out there):
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=878766
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1016051
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=765175
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397926
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...Number=2101361

Here is a DIY 6MT fluid change guide for the E9X M3, with part numbers conveniently listed in the OP (note that I have yet to encounter someone who actually had to replace their 6MT oil strainer, so its up to you if you want to replace it. Even though I had a new one on hand when I did my fluid swap, I didn't replace it; it was that clean still. Seems like this has been the case with every single post I've seen online so far):
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=720669

[Ephe]

Originally Posted by Denk

Learn it, love it, live it. BMW manuals are notchy as hell but hey, you're rowing your own gears.

Oh I don't mind the notchyness, I was just wondering if I was hurting the transmission. I know my e46 330 has a bad synchro on the reverse and it actually makes a loud grind sometimes. But at 250000 miles it has served me well. The m3 is only at 70k miles so was just concerned the grinding was coming.

Originally Posted by kamber

Both will be just fine, you can't really go wrong.

There are various threads across the Bimmerpost forums regarding MTL vs D4 ATF; bottom line is that Redline's official recommendation for the 6MT E9X is D4 ATF. However, many enthusiasts, well regarded race shops, and well known industry personalities tout MTL as being the superior fluid in terms of stoutness and protection. I can't find the thread right now, but there was a post from someone claiming they spoke to a Redline representative about it and was told that the reasoning behind the D4 ATF recommendation as opposed to a universal recommendation for MTL in 6MT E9X M3 applications, on paper at least, is to avoid complaints from customers in super colder environments. D4 ATF is thinner than MTL, thus it is more compliant upon cold-start in lower temperature environments. I've also seen a few posts made by people who have tried both fluids on the same car stating that they prefer MTL due to less notchyness at operating temperature.
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I found the exact thing you were talking about. Guy named Michael something I believe was explaining it, quite a long explanation. Read through all of it and already ordered my MTL. Thanks for the DIY. Supposed to heat up a bit next week, so if everything comes by them I'll be changing all of it sooner rather than later.