BMW F31/F30 328d xDrive Differential Oil

[Trix]

Tried finding clear answers to this with site:bobistheoilguy.com or f30.bimmerpost.com . In any case my BMW has xDrive with an open front and rear differential and a transfer case in between.

For the sake of this discussion I am only interested in the rear and front differential. Using RealOEM I see the front differential apparently uses
Hypoid axle oil G2 BMW Part No 83222413511. The rear specs Hypoid axle oil G1 BMW Part Number 83222295532, which I believe is a GL-4 oil.

Redline Oil Selector recommends their 75w90 gear oil (with friction modifiers) for both the front and rear. Motul recommends GEAR 300 LS 75W-90 for front and rear as well. Amsoil does not provide a recommendation at all. I would have just gone straight Delvac 1 if I could.

I'd rather not go OEM - the price is ridiculous. As I understand it, mixing GL-4 and GL-5 probably isn't recommended. The differentials are supposedly lifetime fill, but if they have a fill bolt I would rather change them at 60k or 100k intervals. Can anyone provide more clarity here or guidance as only the internet can? I'm pretty brand agnostic.

 

[nascarnation]

My awd Caddy has a front diff from Getrag, not sure if BMW uses similar or not.
It's run many miles on Valvoline 85W90.
The only reason it got changed in the first place was on the initial engine oil change I mistakenly took out the drain plug for the diff.
Both are finned aluminum castings with similar looking drain plugs.
I added some color code to make sure I didn't screw it up again.

 

[working_title]

I have put 40k+ miles on the diffs of a 2013 F30 Xdrive using Liqui Moly 75W90 Fully Synthetic Gear Oil (1 Liter) part # LM2048. No issues here. Changed fluid at around 60k.

I did the transfer case at the same time using RAVENOL J1C1125 fluid, also no issues other than it being a pain since there is no drain plug.

 

[The Critic]

If you want to play the "recommended" game, BMW #83222413511 is supposed to be covered by Motul Motylgear 75W-85.

Redline 75W-85 is also "recommended" for BMW #83222295532.

 

[MCompact]

Any 75W90 synthetic should work. I never touched the diffs in my E83 X3- and at 210k miles in the hand of its second owner the diffs are fine. I still change it every 40k miles in my track rats.

 

[Trix]

Originally Posted by The Critic
If you want to play the "recommended" game, BMW #83222413511 is supposed to be covered by Motul Motylgear 75W-85.

Redline 75W-85 is also "recommended" for BMW #83222295532.



I'm looking for any guidance that works. Is there a reason G1 and G2 are recommended for rear and front respectively? Redline technical support suggested 75w90 for both diffs with the friction modifier which "helps reduce friction and temperatures, rather than the NS" supposedly.

Originally Posted by MCompact
Any 75W90 synthetic should work. I never touched the diffs in my E83 X3- and at 210k miles in the hand of its second owner the diffs are fine. I still change it every 40k miles in my track rats.


Shoot lifetime eh.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by Trix
Tried finding clear answers to this with site:bobistheoilguy.com or f30.bimmerpost.com . In any case my BMW has xDrive with an open front and rear differential and a transfer case in between.

For the sake of this discussion I am only interested in the rear and front differential. Using RealOEM I see the front differential apparently uses
Hypoid axle oil G2 BMW Part No 83222413511. The rear specs Hypoid axle oil G1 BMW Part Number 83222295532, which I believe is a GL-4 oil.

Redline Oil Selector recommends their 75w90 gear oil (with friction modifiers) for both the front and rear. Motul recommends GEAR 300 LS 75W-90 for front and rear as well. Amsoil does not provide a recommendation at all. I would have just gone straight Delvac 1 if I could.

I'd rather not go OEM - the price is ridiculous. As I understand it, mixing GL-4 and GL-5 probably isn't recommended. The differentials are supposedly lifetime fill, but if they have a fill bolt I would rather change them at 60k or 100k intervals. Can anyone provide more clarity here or guidance as only the internet can? I'm pretty brand agnostic.



83222413511 is a 75w85 GL-5
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/hypoid-axle-oil-g2/83222413511/

83222295532 is 75w85 GL-4 for non-Limited Slip Differentials.
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/hypoid-axle-oil-g1/83222295532/

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by Trix
Tried finding clear answers to this with site:bobistheoilguy.com or f30.bimmerpost.com . In any case my BMW has xDrive with an open front and rear differential and a transfer case in between.

For the sake of this discussion I am only interested in the rear and front differential. Using RealOEM I see the front differential apparently uses
Hypoid axle oil G2 BMW Part No 83222413511. The rear specs Hypoid axle oil G1 BMW Part Number 83222295532, which I believe is a GL-4 oil.

Redline Oil Selector recommends their 75w90 gear oil (with friction modifiers) for both the front and rear. Motul recommends GEAR 300 LS 75W-90 for front and rear as well. Amsoil does not provide a recommendation at all. I would have just gone straight Delvac 1 if I could.

I'd rather not go OEM - the price is ridiculous. As I understand it, mixing GL-4 and GL-5 probably isn't recommended. The differentials are supposedly lifetime fill, but if they have a fill bolt I would rather change them at 60k or 100k intervals. Can anyone provide more clarity here or guidance as only the internet can? I'm pretty brand agnostic.


Per dealership catalog on my E90 with xDrive it is 75W90 GL5.

 

[Lead Shoes]

I ran into the same confusion and lack of information regarding the F30 diff fluid weight and capacities and figured I would share what I found for future searchers.

On Redlines site they switch their recommendation from 75w90 to 75w85 for both after 2015 for my F30 trim.... Yet on Bimmerworld they seem to lump all post 6/2011 open rear diffs to get 75w85 Redline instead of the 90wt... yet the xdrive front diff is still supposed to get 75w90. https://www.bimmerworld.com/About-Us/BMW-Transmission-Differential-Oil/#rear-diff

I also found If you zoom in closely on a picture of the BMW G1 75w85 OEM bottle on FCP Euro you can actually read "for post 6/2011 rear open differentials" on the front label. All the fluid part numbers were superseded to the new BMW G1(GL-4) rear and G2(GL-5) front 75w85 gear oils on the RealOEM site diagrams.

I had some left over Redline 75w90 from a friends car cutting my cost to just 1qt. I run a BMS tune and other go fast bits to support it so it wasn't a hard sell for me on a thicker gear oil. It took around 1.5 qts (eyeballing level in the bottle with no sight line on the side) between the front and rear diff on my '13 328ix... also gotta love the no drain plug on the transfer case/rear diff for these things...