1998 E55 oil and Hydrolic Fluid

[daniel3v6]

Hi all,

sorry if this has been asked before but as I haven't had the car long I want to make sure it stays in top condition and had a good "MOT" so to speak.

I didn't get a manual so I have a couple of questions.

Whats the best engine oil to use? I was looking at Castrol Edge 0W-30 (but its expensive!) or castrol magnatec 10w40 (which isn't bad)

I have a tank labled hydraulic fluid which is near the water bottle which is on minimum but I have no idea a) what its the fluid for or b) what type of fluid to put in.

I was also going to change every service Item (as I said I wanted to give it a good health check) so what else would need changing or could be changed?

Spark plugs - is there any particular kind to use?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Daniel

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Mobil 1 0W-40 fully synthetic, available from Costco for £5 a litre.

The hydraulic fluid is very likely power steering. Look on the cap, see what it says. Is it black?

 

[daniel3v6]

thanks, so its not worth paying the extra for the Castrol??

I thought in the oil help guide it was worth paying more??

All it says is Hydraulic fluid, its a black cap and you have to unscrew the outer ring before the cap comes off.

Someone said it could be autobox fluid? also the car has the button to adjust the damper settings so I wasn't sure if it could also be for that.

Thanks for the help, I will try and take a pic of the tank and hopefully that will help.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Erm you'll find that Castrol is a lot cheaper than Mobil 1. Costco is the cheapest place, anywhere else and its about £10 for a litre. Magnatec is semi-synthetic and isn't really all that great, mine didn't even last 10,000 miles before it needed changing when I used Magnatec.

The gearbox fluid should be a long dipstick tube at the back of the engine bay (driver's side), with a cap on. There won't be a dipstick.

Go to the dealer, for parts they're actually very reasonable.

 

[daniel3v6]

thanks parrot, ill get myself down when I finish work

and Mobil1 it is then

 

[television]

On a 1998 car he should have a dip stick, as the deletion was at the same time as the torque converter drain plug

 

[daniel3v6]

wow Mobile1 really is expensive

Found that Halfrauds have a sale on this oil at the minute if anyone is interested.

5ltr for £36.79 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...151&storeId=10001&partNumber=431585&langId=-1

still means I am going to have 2.5 litres I don't really need but never mind.

 

[daniel3v6]

never mind halfords, just seen 10 litres on ebay factory sealed for £60!

Guy is called mattlewis100 fyi

 

[television]

Thats nice to know thanks

 

[Parrot of Doom]

On a 1998 car he should have a dip stick, as the deletion was at the same time as the torque converter drain plug

The dipstick pokes out the top by about 12 inches on mine, I would have thought it would be a shop tool only? Presuming the E55 has the same gearbox that is.