RE: 2ND TRY *** Transmission hard to shift --> OIL??

["Fadeev, Alex" <alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michel Drainville [mailto:MDrainville@domain.elided] wrote:
> 
> Car: 1991 318ic ; 106000Mi
> 
> My tranny has always been hard to shift since I have the car (4
> years). When I bought the car, I flushed the tranny and filled it 
> with Castrol ATF DextronII as per BMW instructions.  Last year I
> tried another car identical to mine, and the shifter was moving
> like in soft butter. [...]
> I was wondering if some specialized oil, friction modifier 
> stuff, could help my tranny. Do I need something to reduce 
> friction of the synchro or raise the friction rate of the synchro
> so they spin less?? 

Michel,
I've had great luck with RedLine MTL. Come winter time you will not believe
how smooth your shifter will be no matter how cold the weather gets. 

> Hopefully I'm not due for a rebuild.  If it's the case, is it 
> better to rebuild (synchro only?) or buy a used one from a more
> recent car? (models???) What is the lifespan of these tranny? 

Can't help you with rebuild questions since my 193K E30 is till on the
original tranny (knock on wood). 
Some digesters are into 250+K range on original trannies, while others had
already replaced theirs by 150K. I think transmission life span has
everything to do with proper maintenance and usage.

alex f
'89 325i
'95 M3

------------------------------