[JimD]

This may only add confusion but I decided to send a note to Mike Miller who writes the column for the Roundel magazine asking which red line fluid to use. Mike's response is that he always uses MTL for his vehicles. Then I read the old school maintenance guide he also sent with his response. It adds some detail. The maintenance guide says:

"All the BMW gearbox rebuilders I know use Red Line MTL exclusively, regardless of model year or gearbox. The general consensus is that MTL is the better lubricant.

However, Red Line D4ATF will require less shifter babying during cold operation. I use Red Line MTL in manual gearboxes except where I can't trust the driver to shift properly when the gearbox is cold, in which case I use Red Line D4ATF."

I live in SC, it doesn't get very cold here, and have liked MTL in the two other vehicles (a Suzuki SUV and Mazda 626) I've used it in so I plan to put it in my 128i soon.

I also went out yesterday and got a set of hex sockets at Harbor Freight. The 8mm doesn't look like the photo here and may need to be cut down, we'll see. Maybe I will order up the lubricant from JEGS tonight and change the fluid next weekend.

Jim