Per page 104 of the bmw e36 m3 owner s manual oil sae viscosity rating is based off the average seasonal air temperature of the climate in which the vehicle is driven.
E46 m3 transmission oil capacity.
Repair summary this article gives detailed instructions on servicing the transmission in a bmw e46 3 series vehicle.
You should warm up the transmission fluid before draining it.
A bmw branded 10w60 is not a bad oil and we won t discourage you from using it.
Following the introduction of the e90 3 series sedans in late 2004 the e46 began to be phased out.
However the e46.
On tracked m engines e46 m3 e9x m3 the red line products have greater shear strength low evaporation and high zddp.
The m3 was introduced in late 2000 and was produced in coupé and convertible body styles only.
The e46 m3 is powered by the bmw s54 inline six engine with either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed smg ii automated manual transmission.
What viscosity oil should i use in my bmw e36 m3.
20 30 minutes of free time.
Getting started under the car.
Even though we used a 2004 325ci to perform this repair this article can be applied to any 1998 2006 3 series vehicle with minor modifications to the repair steps.
This also applies to the manual and automatic transmission the differential and power steering system.
Drive the car around enough to warm things up don t just let it sit and idle.
Just found this in total bmw magazine page 21 sept 2012 on manual gearbox cars the gearbox and final drive oil used to be changed every 30 000 and this was changed again to a lifetime fill oil by the time the e46 was launched you need to look at the gearbox for the orange sticker but the m3 is certainly not a lifetime oil.
But there is so much more happening below the surface that we can toss out the viscosity and recommend an oil that is simply better in all respects.