Guinnea pig for Swepco 201 gear oil in the 5-spd

[gale]

I changed the trans fluid a few days ago to Swepco 201 petroleum base 80W90 GL-5 gear oil, based on its high regards from the boys with 911's with the 915 trans. Now that I have 100 miles or so on it for the fluid to work in, I must say it shifts noticeably smoother. It was a very quiet trans before but is completely silent now. My only complaint before was that with the short throw shifter, the shifts were notchy at times, particularly going into 2nd & that is now much improved.

I started out with synthetic ATF in the winter, then switched to synthetic GL-4 80W90 for the spring & summer. The latter had about a 5 mile warm-up period on colder mornings but my gut feel is synthetics are too slippery for the syncro's to do their job properly, and now with the Swepco, there is hardly any feel of the syncro's engaging and the notchiness that remains feels like the detent balls in the shift shafts. Normally one should not use a GL-5 spec fluid in a manual trans that has bronze syncro's for corrosion reasons (GL-4 is formulated for them) but the Swepco is formulated with anti-corrosive additives & is not a problem.

I'll update in the winter when it starts getting cold if I notice any warm-up issues. So far it's not cold enough to notice. The Swepco 201 80W90 is much thinner than any hypoid 80W90 I've used in the past in differentials. It has the consistancy of perhaps a 10W30 motor oil at room temp. I tied off a funnel under the hood & poured it in thru a 1/2" tube from above, much easier than pumping it in from underneath.

The Swepco retails for $39/gal, the lowest price I found was at Einmalig's for $34 & fast shipping.

[Adnan]

Hi,

I have Swepco in my 5-speed. It was put in to quiet the gearbox, which it did, although the dual-mass still clatters during shifts. The odd thing is that the gearbox apparently interacts with the flywheel, cuasing either increased gearbox noise or flywheel clatter.

Don't ask how I know...

Since I'm in CA, I can't really comment on cold-weather behavior. Otherwise, I've been pleased with it.

Regards,
Adnan

[gale]

I started out from the beginning (conversion) with an e28 535i non-dual mass flywheel. The donor trans has a bunch of ding marks on the inside of the bellhousing like something grenaded in there in a past life, so I didn't want anything to do with a dual mass, besides, parts are cheaper for the non-dual components by about 50%.

If you have occasion to remove the trans, check to see if the clutch disk center splines slide freely on the input shaft, and that there aren't any wear ridges on the shaft that the disk might hang up on, and that the clutch disk surface is oil-free. You also have to use special grease on the splines so the disk can translate freely. Also, there is a plastic pivot ball behind the throw-out fork that gets mashed down to a nub, replace it (why didn't BMW make it metal?) Do entertain the prospect of converting to non-dual mass if you have to replace anything. As you probably already know, the clutch surface on dual-mass flywheel can crack and cannot be re-machined, whereas the conventional flywheels can be machined and usually don't develop heat/stress cracks unless they get slipped alot. I had mine blanchard ground & balanced to within +/- 1/4 gram since it was 8 grams out, and the clutch action is smooth as silk. You can also use an e12 flywheel for lighter weight.

About the only advantage with the dual-mass is that you can dump the clutch without sending the driveshaft/drivetrain into spastic harmonics. Mine will get funny acting with the cruise set at low speeds in 4th or 5th, & a dual-mass unit will eliminate that, but I usually only set the cruise on the highway & it behaves nearly the same as it's former automatic self.