New to her 2004 BMW 325i.. which oil and filter?

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My sister in law's new ride. 2004 BMW 325i, 75,000 miles, taken care of for the most part.

I'd like to throw a decent cleaning oil in there to be on the safe side.

What is the recommended weight? Which oil should I use as her first OCI? And from then on? Which filter?

Also, which coolant, PS, ATF?

Thanks!
 
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^^ What Trajan said.

Any oil with BMW LL-01 approval will work. Weight doesn't matter so much; it mostly depends on your climate, but yours is pretty moderate so the world is your oyster, as they say.

If you're looking for something off-the-shelf, you're looking at BMW's "house brand" synthetic 5w-30, Castrol Syntec 0w-30, Mobil 1 0w-40, and I think one or two others. All great oils.

Mobil 1 oils are generally very good at cleaning and deposit control. I'd use Mobil 1 0w-40 and stick with it. No need to use something now and switch to something else later. It's fairly potent stuff.

For filters, BMW is one of the brands for which the OEM filter is about as good as it gets. Same goes for oil, air, fuel, and cabin. Plus, the oil filters at the dealers come with o-rings and gaskets for the filter housing and drain plug.

For coolant, be careful... BMW's coolant is matched to their radiators, and not all coolants will work. I and everyone I know use the BMW coolant; I've heard that there are alternatives but I'm not sure.

Power steering, use something Dexron-III or equivalent. For ATF, check and see if you got one of the "lifetime fill" units; if so, get it changed at 100,000 miles with the factory stuff.

For fuel, of the options you mentioned, definitely 93. Shell if possible; BP, Chevron, or any other Top Tier Gas station if Shell is not available.
 
Filters: Mann, Mahle or Hengst (all OE brands) from a parts house like autohausaz.com (same as dealer for a fraction of the price). Don't stray from OE.

Oil: GC and M1 0W40 should be good. My M52 was really noisy with M1 and has remained quiet with GC. That alone is reason enough for me to steer clear of M1 in BMWs while other options are out there. On the slightly heavier side there's Rotella T6 5W40, Amsoil AFL 5W40.

If you're out of warranty and/or don't plan on running full OLM length intervals, ACEA A3 is of most importance while BMW LL-01 plays a lesser role.

PS: I'm using Redline D4ATF already on hand in my E39. The esters should keep the seals in good shape but any syn ATF will probably be fine. (assuming they didn't change the spec from ATF on the new 3 - the cap should say)

Coolant: BMW OE or Zerex G-48 (OE) if you can find it

Brake Fluid: I'm partial to ATE Typ200/Super Blue (same stuff, but the latter has a blue tint - alternate to confirm full bleed)

Diff: Redline 75W90 or Amsoil SVG 75W90

Manual Trans: Redline MTL or Amsoil MTF

Auto Trans: I love Amsoil ATF is E39 5-series. Not sure what the newer gen 3-series needs though.

I use LCD FP+ in my fuel and it seems to keep carbon under check compared with using any brand of premium alone. Lucas UCL did NOT work well in my M52, causing a sluggishness at low throttle angles (WOT was fine).
 
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