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Looking for the Final drive oil? Spine lube? Gear box oil?


Rob Gomez

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Need help on oils and lubes for my 08 RT. Finall km drive? Spline lube? Gear box oil? Any help would be greatly appreciated 

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16 hours ago, Rob Gomez said:

Need help on oils and lubes for my 08 RT. Finall km drive? Spline lube? Gear box oil? Any help would be greatly appreciated 

 

Morning Rob Gomez

 

This is a motorcycle forum so asking about what oil to use is like asking what woman to marry, or what underwear  to buy.  There is no one specific product but many that will meet the BMW specifications. 

 

As long a the oil or grease meets BMW specs then you have many/many choices

 

Let's start with the final drive splines--  The BMW manual calls for  Optimoly TA, unfortunately  Optimoly TA is difficult  (almost impossible)  to find any more so you will probably have to substitute. The common substitution seems to be Honda Moly60. But about any high moly content spline lube will work (there are number on the market). 

 

Personally I still use the Optimoly TA as I have good amount remaining but when I run out I will probably just switch to the  Honda Moly60 or a Loctite equivalent (TBD).

 

Just clean the spline joint thoroughly before wiping on new grease.

 

On the transmission gear oil-- The service manual calls for a Brand name hypoid-gear lubricant SAE 90 API GL 5, unfortunately finding a straight SAE 90 API GL 5 is very difficult as most are rated 85-90 or 75-90. Most of us use a brand name 75-90 or 75-140 GL5 gear oil. Most bearings in the trans are sealed so the important thing is the GL5 part. On the 75-90 or 75-140 thing, some BMW 1200 hexhead motorcycles shift better for longer with the 75-140 & others  shift better for longer with the 75-90. 

 

Try one the then the other next gear oil change then use the one that shifts best for the longest.  On the BMW hexhead about ANY good quality 75-90, 75-140, 80w90 GL5 gear oil will work OK it is just the shifting that can get better or worse  depending on gear oil choice.

 

On the final drive gear oil you are more limited--  The BMW manual calls for (used to anyhow) Castrol SAF-XO gear oil, that gear oil is very difficult to find in the US. You can use about any good quality 75-90 GL5 gear oil as long as it doesn't contain harmful additives. My one recommendation here is to NOT use a gear oil that is rated LS (Limited Slip) as LS gear oil contains a wicking additive to migrate into posi-traction clutches. Your BMW hexhead uses a sealed crown bearing ( sealed with it's own internal grease). You don't want to take a chance that the gear oil will migrate in & pollute that sealed-in grease.

 

There are quite a few  gear oil's that qualify as good up level final drive gear oil but my personal favorite is the  Castrol Syntrax long life NON LS 75-90 gear oil as that is basically the same as the SAF-XO (not easy to find the 'non LS' in the US though). 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

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Mods....the above questions get asked a lot.  DR gives a thorough explanation.  Maybe this should be captured and posted....

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szurszewski

That's a great idea - can we do sticky/pinned threads with the new software? It would be really convenient to have a "Welcome to your new Cam/Oil/Hex head - basic maintenance" post up at the top of the relevant forum.

 

 

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I've been using this for years on my 07. Same thing as the SAF-XO but half the price:

  • Castrol Syntrax Long Life 75W-90

2003-2009 Land Rover Range Rover Differential Oil - Rear Differential - Castrol LRN7591 - Syntrax Long Life; Equivalent to: Castrol SAF-XO)

 

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  • 2 months later...

does the non-LS oil conjunction apply to the oilheads as well?

(if so, oops, mobil-1 LS is just too convenient to find..)

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6 hours ago, bacos said:

does the non-LS oil conjunction apply to the oilheads as well?

(if so, oops, mobil-1 LS is just too convenient to find..)

Morning  bacos

 

Yes, it won't kill your final, drive just a better chance of a pinion seal leak. 

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