Hi, I'm Joe Parr and have been a club member for a few years now. I have a 2003 530i that i bought in 2006 with 10,400 miles. It now has 92,000 miles. I have just had the cooling system replaced to prevent future problems and now I am going to change the rear differential oil. My indie BMW shop guy says they use Valvoline 75w145 in all applications. The Old School Maintenane guide and BMW recommend 75w90. Is it okay to use the 75w145?
Seems a bit high but I'm an E36 guy. What does the manual say? Everything I'm googling says 75w90 also.
Welcome from another e39er! My diff has the 75w90 redline juice. It is a bone stock pegleg diff and has never made itself noticed, other than in every accelerating turn I take (got to look into that Quaif...)! Sounds like you're on the right track with precautionary cooling system replacements.
I used Mobil 1 75w90 based on manufacturer recommendation. The other stuff is for the M5 if I remember right. I would also do transmission fluid.
BMW recommends 75-90 in all e39's besides the M5. M5 gets 75-140. I recommend either Redline- best, mobil 1, castrol-better. Also look into redlines water wetter cooling system addative, I use in my M5 it helps the cooling system get rid of heat and lubricates the parts better. ND4SPDLSC is right you should look into doing your transmission fluid and filter if auto. Your almost to the mileage of no return where I wold suggest not doing a flush because it could cause transmission issues. 100,000 miles and above is normally when I don't suggest doing it if its never been done before.
