drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 Hey everyone, I'm about to do a trans fluid change (as well as filter, gasket and shift selector seal) on my '98 E36 328. With a ZF 5HP18 / A5S310Z transmission. I'm currently trying to figure out the right fluid to use. On the Penrite website, there's a note: Quote For transmissions fitted with green rating plate, refer Dealer And what do you know: So, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on fluid - or am I stuck going to the dealer? (I've sent Winger BMW an email asking for price and availability). Thanks, Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 (edited) A5S310Z should be DEXRON 3/MERCON. See attached. This should do: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Castrol-Auto-Transmission-Fluid-Dex-III-4-Litre/309868 Or Penrite https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/atf-dx-iii-mineral meets the spec too, and sold here: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Penrite-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-DX-III-4-Litre/342303 BMW Trans Oil Chart.pdf Edited February 18, 2018 by Gabe79 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 Here's my problem tho. In that PDF there are two oils specified for the same transmission. One is the Dexron III, but the other one seems more obscure. Unless when BMW decided the "lifetime transmission oil" was no longer "lifetime", they also decided that Dexron III is OK. TBH, it'll probably depend what Winger quote me for their special one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 There is no such thing as "lifetime" oils. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 Technically the correct fluid is ZF Lifeguard 5. Most seem to put in some sort of Esso LT 71141 equivalent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 47 minutes ago, Gabe79 said: There is no such thing as "lifetime" oils. My understanding is that there was a (short) time-frame where some manufacturers thought they could make a transmission with a lifetime oil. Then a few years later they said "oops". What I'm guessing is that the later oil for the transmission is the "lifetime" oil - but it's probably OK to use the "non-lifetime" oil and change it every so often. Which you have to do with the lifetime oil too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 39 minutes ago, Eagle said: Technically the correct fluid is ZF Lifeguard 5. Most seem to put in some sort of Esso LT 71141 equivalent. Cheers! I'll see if I can find this oil Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 41 minutes ago, Eagle said: Technically the correct fluid is ZF Lifeguard 5. Most seem to put in some sort of Esso LT 71141 equivalent. That sounds off. That's the fluid we use for newer transmissions, and doesn't meet the old standard. For LT 71141 you can buy the full synthetic penrite https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/atf-fs-full-syn which Supercheap also sells here: http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Penrite-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Full-Synthetic-4-Litre/342304 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 Hi Tim FWIW, my e46 also has ZF 5HP19 (A5S 325Z variant). It was fully rebuilt by Hutt Automatics, reinstalled by Page European with Penrite ATF Full Synthetic (ATF-FS). It's running like a swiss watch 5 years later. Sorry, I forget if mine has the Green rating plate! You might consider a pre filter change drain and fill... run it for 500-1000kms then do the full dump and filter change. Buying the Penrite in volume (e.g. 20L pack) brings the price down, esp during sales weekends. HTH. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZ00Z3 187 Report post Posted February 18, 2018 After a lot of research on ATF for BMW E36 and E46, I found that Valvoline Max Life Multi Vehicle covers many of the BMW Lifetime ATF's. Here are a couple of links Spec https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2017/08/131427_US_VAL_ML_ATF_EN.pdf N.Z. supplier https://www.partmaster.co.nz/valvoline-maxlife-multi-vehicle-atf-4l-413815 HTH Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zero 1162 Report post Posted February 19, 2018 15 hours ago, drtimwright said: My understanding is that there was a (short) time-frame where some manufacturers thought they could make a transmission with a lifetime oil. Then a few years later they said "oops". What I'm guessing is that the later oil for the transmission is the "lifetime" oil - but it's probably OK to use the "non-lifetime" oil and change it every so often. Which you have to do with the lifetime oil too. It was a sales gimmick to try and make it sound like the car required less maintenance and service costs. No oil is life time, and bmw even stated later that 'lifetime' meant 100,000 miles (160,000 kms). Most people recommend changing the oil before this. Every 100,000 kms is a good interval. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 19, 2018 6 hours ago, NZ00Z3 said: After a lot of research on ATF for BMW E36 and E46, I found that Valvoline Max Life Multi Vehicle covers many of the BMW Lifetime ATF's. Here are a couple of links Spec https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2017/08/131427_US_VAL_ML_ATF_EN.pdf N.Z. supplier https://www.partmaster.co.nz/valvoline-maxlife-multi-vehicle-atf-4l-413815 HTH Awesome thanks! The fluid from BMW costs $750 + GST for a 20 litre container (BMW Car Club members get a discount, but it still makes the fluid quite expensive). Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 19, 2018 1 hour ago, zero said: It was a sales gimmick to try and make it sound like the car required less maintenance and service costs. No oil is life time, and bmw even stated later that 'lifetime' meant 100,000 miles (160,000 kms). Most people recommend changing the oil before this. Every 100,000 kms is a good interval. This is just the Valvoline equivalent of the Penrite offering. Both meet the same standards. Penrite is $175/20L from Repco right now. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 19, 2018 19 hours ago, Gabe79 said: That sounds off. That's the fluid we use for newer transmissions, and doesn't meet the old standard. For LT 71141 you can buy the full synthetic penrite https://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/atf-fs-full-syn which Supercheap also sells here: http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Penrite-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Full-Synthetic-4-Litre/342304 Lifeguard is specified for many ZF 5HP models (look it up). It probably made by Pentosin along with the BMW labeled stuff. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 So, I just bought some oil Supercheep and Repco were about $220 for 20L of Penrite or Gulf Western but didn't have any in stock. So I went to BNT in lower hutt and tried there. They did the computer lookup of my car and transmission and recommended a Fuchs ATF one. 20L of that from Supercheap was about $400. But at BNT it cost < $100. BNT for the win! (although I go there quite often - and they give me a trade discount because the recognize me now - helps to have a big beard). Tim 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 Yep Fuchs is my goto thru BNT also. Ive used Penrite stuff in a pinch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 2 hours ago, drtimwright said: So, I just bought some oil Supercheep and Repco were about $220 for 20L of Penrite or Gulf Western but didn't have any in stock. So I went to BNT in lower hutt and tried there. They did the computer lookup of my car and transmission and recommended a Fuchs ATF one. 20L of that from Supercheap was about $400. But at BNT it cost < $100. BNT for the win! (although I go there quite often - and they give me a trade discount because the recognize me now - helps to have a big beard). Tim 59 minutes ago, Eagle said: Yep Fuchs is my goto thru BNT also. Ive used Penrite stuff in a pinch. I've always used Penrite, but is Fuchs really all that? THat's a bit of a huge price difference. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 41 minutes ago, Gabe79 said: I've always used Penrite, but is Fuchs really all that? THat's a bit of a huge price difference. It's also possible I misread the price at supercheap. Oddly, the guys at BMW came back to me when I said "sorry, but that price is out of my range" and suggested going to BNT and see if they have a listing for my car for Fuchs oil. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe79 410 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 Just now, drtimwright said: It's also possible I misread the price at supercheap. Oddly, the guys at BMW came back to me when I said "sorry, but that price is out of my range" and suggested going to BNT and see if they have a listing for my car for Fuchs oil. Tim No, your price for Supercheap is about right. It's about $175/20L when they have their sales, but even then, your price for Fuchs is near half that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 Last Fuchs i got was ATF 3353 20L and was about ~$230 something. Non-trade Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted February 20, 2018 18 hours ago, drtimwright said: They did the computer lookup of my car and transmission and recommended a Fuchs ATF one. 20L of that from Supercheap was about $400. But at BNT it cost < $100. BNT for the win! (although I go there quite often - and they give me a trade discount because the recognize me now - helps to have a big beard). Tim BNT are really good to deal with. Do tell us which Fuchs ATF you got. This will help others in future seeking the same solution, via the Search bicycle. Re big beard; is this what you tell your wife? "no darling, I can't go back to being clean-shaven, I'll lose my parts discounts!" 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted February 21, 2018 9 hours ago, Olaf said: BNT are really good to deal with. Do tell us which Fuchs ATF you got. This will help others in future seeking the same solution, via the Search bicycle. Re big beard; is this what you tell your wife? "no darling, I can't go back to being clean-shaven, I'll lose my parts discounts!" Actually, that is what I tell her! BNT looked the car up in their computer and told me the best fluid is Fuchs Titan ATF D3 Semi Synth. So it was a Dextron III rated fluid in the end. To be honest, I've come to the conclusion that any fluid mentioned in this thread is probably OK. Tim 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swapsndeals 108 Report post Posted May 12, 2018 Mobil 220 is the stuff. This is manufacture specified. When changing you can tell its the same as the stuff that comes out to Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cammsport 390 Report post Posted January 18, 2022 Thread update for those with the ZF 5HP18/A5S310Z transmission. Trade price for the Fuchs Titan ATF D3 Semi Synth is now $57+GST for 4L or $288+GST for 20L, @drtimwright got a bargain back in 2018. These are the oils I'm currently looking at. The FCP products are obviously in NZD. I'm leaning towards getting 8L+ of the Castrol ATF Dex III locally unless anyone has any better recommendations? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted January 18, 2022 Penrite ATF FS. Far superior to that Castrol. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
