Liqui moly for transmission fluid?
 

Have a 2008 N52



I've use liqui moly 5w40 Leichtlauf for the engine, used gear oil to replace both diff fluids and have used various other products (engine cleaner, injector etc)


How does everyone feel using the 1800 product in the transmission?


I was also planning to change the transfer case fluid, but have BMW OE 1L product for that already so will use that


Car is at 165k miles


PS can anyone remind me, do i need 6 or 7 liters?

I don't know exactly how much fluid you'll need. I always have at least 7 liters on hand for my zf 6hp services. But I have used the Liqui Moly 1800 in multiple zf transmissions with no issues. Still, at your mileage, I'd probably use Valvoline MaxLife Multivehicle. It's thicker and helps the trans maintain pressures.

Has the trans been serviced before? If it's been regularly serviced, the Liquid Moly will do fine. But if this is the first service, could be in for trouble and I'd stick with the Valvoline.

I use only the OE fluid as it is part of the overall design of the transmission. That is not to say other options are better or worse, seems logical. I change fluid and filter every 50,000 miles or so.

LG6 (5 in your case I think with the 4.6) works great when the trans is serviced as you have. :thumbup:

Unfortunately, not many owners did that. And it's not their fault either. It's BMWs, "lifetime fluid" my @$$. ZF recommended 65-80k mile services depending on driving habits.

My info is from an owner of transmission shop that does tons of BMW repairs. His input was there is no such thing as lifetime trans fluid. Also there is no reason to use other than OE fluid. I was there to get his advice about changing the 5 speed out for a 6 speed to increase performance. He convinced me that was a bad idea.

Disagree with them. But we all have our opinions. The shop I worked at wouldn't even touch the transmissions with any brand fluid without a disclaimer. No matter the fluid the customer wanted or mileage it was going in.

BTW, it was also our experience that transmissions shops, no matter their position in the market, are equivalent to going to the dealer. Easier and cheaper usually (often times more reliable too) to get a used low-mileage trans, service it, and toss it in than ever have one rebuilt at a trans shop.

My personal experience has told me the fluid can matter. Though that is with the limited experience I have (6 different ZF 6HP trans) so a relatively small sample size. But my wallet, my experiences, my lessons. I just pass that on as I have more of that experience with these trans than the typical board member. As with anything said on the internet, take it for what it's worth, and any decision should be researched thoroughly.

Must be missing something, what fluid do they use?

Our shop? Depended on the customer. We used whatever they preferred. But always with the disclaimer, including when using zf fluids. Unless, like your situation, the trans was regularly serviced.

The trans shops we used? Who knows what they used. I'm sure the "high end" jag place used zf lifeguard only. The others...? :dunno:

I think there was a point where Valvoline changed their formulation for their MaxLife MV product, as I used it years ago when I wanted a slightly more viscous fluid (than Dex VI) for my older E53 GM trans. Looking at the current published data, it's now actually very slightly LESS viscous than their own Dex VI product (though slightly more viscous than Mercon SP/LG 6:

https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publi...0-ac162d889bd3

https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publi...0-ac162d889bd3

The LM 1800 product is here:

https://pim.liqui-moly.de/pdf/en_US/liqui/91/P000243

When I got my 35D, I used Mercon SP which is widely believed to be re-packaged Lifeguard 6 fluid:

https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubrican...ERCON%20SP.pdf

It has worked fine so far, but I may go to something a bit more viscous as my mileage increases.

AM.

Pentosin atf1 is 7.6 at 100c
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7668716

Redline d4 is 7.4 at 100c
https://www.redlineoil.com/d4-atf