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330xi transfer case fluid question

120K views 136 replies 43 participants last post by  lovesm3s 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Recently purchased a 2003 330xi and I am in the middle of accomplishing all the great DIY maintenance items associated with our cars.

I have already changed the automatic transmission fluid and filter using several posts as my guide and I thank you all for your insight.

My question is about the transfer case oil. Although I have read several posts about changing the oil most had to do with manual transmissions. Is the oil the same for automatics as well as manuals or is there a difference?
I have seen that redline d4 has been recommended is this the oil I should use?

I absolutely love my car and I am driving at least 100mi. a day to and from work plus whatever else my busy day requires. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Tommy T
 
#90 ·
I'm going for my second "full driveline oil change"
Last time I used the Redline Turner-pack.

But after reading this tread, I decided to go with Pentosin for my transfer case.
So I searched a place that begins with e and ends with bay for Pentosin MTF-2 and found it.
So I bought that.
But, I just received a can of Pentosin FFL-4 SAE 75W
Labeled (among other) "BMW approval" and "Double Clutch Transmission Fluid"

So my question for you guys; is that the correct oil for my TC??
I've also sent a message to the seller about this, but I trust your opinion more!
 
#93 ·
I'd use the Pentosin MTF2 since it matches the original BMW part number 83220309031 for what seems to have been the original fill, MTF-LT-1, now superseded to MTF-LT-2. I use MTF2 in my TC but have also used Red Line D4 ATF. I'm comfortable, after reading fairly extensively, with both products. I did contact the Magna Powertrain company who acquired New Process Gear, the maker of the NV124 transfer case in the E46. They told me to use BMW MTF-LT-1, which I believe is the same as the Pentosin MTF2 you have in hand.

If I were you I wouldn't use the double-clutch fluid.
 
#94 · (Edited)
Thanks for answers guys!
I also heard back from the seller, and yes; they have given me the wrong oil and will give me a full refund.

So I will be buying the OEM fluid (part nr: 83220309031) instead! :D

Just checked whit my dealer :shhh: ;) and they had it in stock; $210 for 5 liters.
But then I have enough for about three oil changes on the manual transmission and the transfer case.
 
#99 ·
Currently it only comes in 5 liter jugs, it's a lot of fluid but well at least you have enough! And if you don't want to deal with convincing a dealer you need it we have it available HERE.



Quick question - going to be flushing out the TC while I do my axles and diffs.

A quick call to the dealership and they told me that the TC fluid recommended is the LT-3 Part No. 83 22 0 406 584

They said that the LT-3 has superceded the LT-2 now - has anyone else heard this? Any issue with going with the LT-3 in the TC?

Thanks!
Correct the old part number has been superseded to the new one which is a different fluid. We have the current genuine BMW fluid which is "good to go" in the Xi case HERE.




ECS Tuning
 
#96 ·
Greetings everyone. I am a new member and this is my first search for information about my 2004 330xi automatic, as well as my first post. I recently purchased this car (from a BMW dealership, it was a Certified Used trade-in) and decided to begin the process of checking it over before winter, as well as maintaining the consumeable maintenance items such as: oils, filters, fluids, etc. I know from my experience with my 2001 E39 530i automatic that buying the "original" BMW fluids can be very expensive, and that finding the best alternative requires research, and then a decision based on a price comparison and a belief that the "non BMW dealer original" fluid will be an adequate substitute.
When I asked the local independent BMW repair technician the question about draining and refilling the transfer case on the 330xi, he replied that I must use the original BMW fluid that that is sold in 1 liter bottles for about $60.00. It was after this discussion that I began my research, which included this forum. I would like to share my experience and decisions.
When I recently drained the transfer case, the odometer registered approx. 85K. I do not know if the fluid had ever been changed. It was very black in color. IMO, it was thinner than "gear oil" and thicker than Dexron. I read every post in this thread, and followed many of the links, and this is what I decided to do. I refilled with an inexpensive Dexron for a quick flush. I drove it for about 50 miles, on dry and wet roads, and did not notice any change in performance. I drained the Dexron, and it was a very dark red color now. Obviously the Dexron flush removed more of the old black fluid. While I was at the BMW dealership buying more of the copper sealing ring washers for the fill and drain plugs, (at only 24 cents each, list price, why not!) I inquired about the type and cost of the "factory original" transfer case fluid. The parts man asked for the VIN and then printed a single page BMW document titled, Operating Fluids-Transfer Case, dated September 2011. It listed the E46 325xi/xit, and the 330xi, as well as all models from the E30ix all the way through the F25 vehicles. As listed, the "approved" fluids are: E30, Dexron lll. E46(all), MTF-LT-1 (now MTF-LT-2). E53 with NV125 transfer case,Dexron lll. All other models to present, use TF0870. I asked him the cost of the BMW MTF-LT-2. He replied that the BMW list price for a 1/2 liter of BMW MTF-LT-2 (BMW part # 83 22 0 004 008) is $15.42, my cost as a commercial customer was $10.10. He then filled a new, empty container from a 5 liter pail of BMW MTF-LT-2, and said that he would give me enough fluid to drain and refill the case twice. I refilled the transfer case, spun the shafts by hand several times to disperse the fluid, confirmed that I did indeed have enough fluid to drain and refill again. IMO, the new, original BMW MTF-LT-2 fluid was thinner than "gear oil" and thicker than Dexron. I drove the car several miles and rechecked the fluid level. It was still full.
To summarize, I purchased enough of the BMW original transfer case fluid from the BMW dealership (and enough copper sealing ring washers) to drain and refill the transfer case twice, for less than $11.00 my cost, less than $17.00 list price. I plan on performing this transfer case fluid service again in about a year.
I would like to thank the authors of the previous posts for sharing their information and experiences.
 
#97 ·
... I recently drained the transfer case, the odometer registered approx. 85K. ... It was very black in color. ...
I refilled with an inexpensive Dexron for a quick flush. I drove it for about 50 miles, ...
I drained the Dexron, ... I refilled the transfer case, spun the shafts by hand several times to disperse the fluid, confirmed that I did indeed have enough fluid to drain and refill again. ...

I plan on performing this transfer case fluid service again in about a year.
When you part-out this car I want your transfer case.:thumbup:

Good research. Thanks.
 
#98 ·
Quick question - going to be flushing out the TC while I do my axles and diffs.

A quick call to the dealership and they told me that the TC fluid recommended is the LT-3 Part No. 83 22 0 406 584

They said that the LT-3 has superceded the LT-2 now - has anyone else heard this? Any issue with going with the LT-3 in the TC?

Thanks!
 
#100 ·
SaturnX,
If your BMW dealership is stating that the factory is now recommending a new fluid, MTF-LT-3 an upgrade from MTF-LT-2, then certainly you should consider it. You didn't mention the cost or the minimum purchase quantity. As I mentioned in this thread several days ago, you can purchase enough BMW MTF-LT-2 at the dealership to drain and refill twice for $15.42 list price. If this new fluid is extremely expensive, or you have to buy more than you will ever use, then I would opt for the MTF-LT-2. Good luck, and let us know what you finally decide to do.
 
#101 ·
I'm mildy concerned since the LT-3 has been out for a while.. why the sudden switch now?

Ideally I'd like to go with LT-2 since it's officially superseded the LT-1. Just need to a find a good price. One Dealership I called only sold it in the 5L jugs, another quoted my $45 / L Canadian.

Also one of the other dealerships I called told me to use the X-Drive fluid for my TC :facepalm:
 
#102 ·
I just did the transmission fluid, in a 2003 325 xit. I'm about to do the transfer and differentials. After reading as much about this as I could handle for months, I finally did the following.

For the transmission I know from the label on the transmission I needed part number 83220024359 which is Texaco ETL-8072B. Seems to be a misprint on this on page 020-8 in the Bentley manual. I ended up getting the Fuchs Titan ATF 6000SL. There are several choices which show a cross reference with the 8072B.

For the Transfer there is no info on what type of fluid to use in the Bentley manual. I found part # 83220397244 after lots of web research. Crazy expensive at $53/Liter but I could not find any other 75W80 GL4. Only .2 liter needed. It arrived today. It says Power Divider Oil TF 0870 SAE75W GL4. On back it says for systems specifying TF 0870 which mine does not. There are German labels underneath the US ones.

For the Diffs I ordered part # 83220002094. This is supposedly the required SAF-XO which is supposedly 75W90 GL5, Non Liimited-Slip, Full Synthetic. Also crazy expensive at $12 / half liter, 4 needed for 2 liters.
 
#104 · (Edited)
Quick update, after searching for hours and several performance shops telling me you can't find Pentosin MTF-2 in Canada I managed to find a local shop that carried it.

Managed to grab it at $25 CAD/L which is still cheaper than what dealership quoted.

So I'll be going with Pentosin MTF-2 75w-80 in my TC.

For any Canadians looking to get a hold of MTF2, and if you're in the Greater Toronto Area give Jeff at QMR Motorsports a call, (905) 453-5040. They charge $25.99/L, still cheaper than buying the 5L jugs from the dealer!

Their supplier has about 500 L coming in over the coming weeks.
 

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#105 ·
Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and as you can tell from my user name I have a '02 330xi. I checked on AllData for some additional info. It lists, as stated before, MTF-LT-1 or MTF-LT-2 for E46. E30 325xi & E53 all models up to 2/2005 uses ATF Dexron III (or higher). After that, models with x-drive uses "gear oil" (it didn't list weight).

I think I'm going to BMW to get the OEM fluid since it only uses 160cc of fluid.
 
#106 ·
I think I'm going to BMW to get the OEM fluid since it only uses 160cc of fluid.
The only catch with that is whether or not the dealer you go to will split out the 5L jugs that the MTF normally comes in.

All the dealers in my area would only sell the MTF in the 5L jug at $120+ :excited:

That's why I jumped on the 1L of the Pentosin MTF-2 when I came across it.
 
#107 ·
Dave,

If the fluid in your tc is as dirty as the fluid was in mine, you should consider the drain, fill, drive, drain, fill procedure. You can use dexron as the flush, or buy enough of the MTF-LT-1 at the dealer. For less than $1.00 US you can buy new sealing washers for the drain and fill plugs, at the dealership, as well.
 
#115 ·
I used OEM #83220397244 for my transfer and was able to get it. I used Fuchs Titan ATF 6000SL for my transmission which required 8072B. I have been waiting two months for the diff fluid I ordered, oem #83220002094. It may never come.
There is not longer any stock of 83220002094 in the states or Europe :( so you might want to go ahead and just cancel that order.
 
#112 ·
I use Supertech Dexron VI from Walmart in both my transmission and t-case. There is no need to spend extra money on "racing oils" as it is synthetic and transmission fluids have adequate cleaner packages. I do a filter and flush on the transmission every two or three oil changes. I flush and fill the transfer case every oil change, the fluid in our transfer cases gets dirty (or disappears) relatively quickly and they don't use much. I run the 15k oil change interval, but it typically is closer to the 12-13k mark.

I have been doing this since 68,000 and have 117,000 on my car now.
 
#119 · (Edited)
Lol MrGone, you've made your way onto here too? Hehe maxima.org for life!

edit: btw, dont you think 15k is a bit long? have you sent your oil to get checked by blackstone labs? the BMW synthetic they checked for me after only 5k wasn't worn out that much but it would have been pushing it around the 7k mark. I dont know how your safely making it to 15k without any worries.
 
#113 ·
Thanks for the info MrGone. My main concern is the viscosity of the fluid. I know some "auto" transfer cases use fluid more like trans fluid due to different output torques, but some use thicker fluid as in gear lube. I suspect BMW uses thinner synthetic fluid since the output, front/rear, is constantly different.
 
#125 ·
Replaced my 75W90 Oil, which i've changed at 45.000 mls with Dexron VI at 80.000 mls. Fluid looked like new. Got a second NV124 Transfer Case and tested the following:

- opened the transfer case and cleaned all of the planetary gears
- filled in 75W90 Oil Castrol
- mounted the transfer case into a electric-motor with 3500 RPM rotation speed and switched it on
- hear the noise like *rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrwrwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrwrrrrr*
- changed the oil to Dexron VI
- same test as above, with 3500 RPM
- transfer case is runs mutch smoother, without any noises like 75W90..
 
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