Royal Purple Transmission Fluid Change - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

tigerwong58 · 06-20-2011, 05:54 AM

Just changed the transmission oil in my 2008 with 40,000 miles and my 2009 Brabus with 20,000 miles with Royal Purple. The old oil came out dark bronzy color. It took 3 liters of Royal Purple 75-90w for each transmission.

It's very easy to do, just drain by releasing the 8mm hex drain plug on the bottom right and fill by the 8mm fill plug on the upper left side. The bottle with the cut nipple fits fine to fill it back up.

Initially I can tell the shifting is alot smoother. Just looking at the color of the fluid I would recommend every 30,000 miles.

WhiteNBlack08 · 06-20-2011, 07:02 AM

Wow, you're really going to shake the hornet's nest with this post.

I find it really interesting that the guy that works for a smart center service department puts Royal Purple in his transmission, even when smart & Getrag specifiy Castrol BOT 328. Maybe I need to go buy some Royal Purple.....

I wasn't going to use the Castrol anyway, just nice to see a guy who has been factory trained using something else as well.

Thanks for the post.

kennyrayandersen · 06-20-2011, 08:00 AM

LOL let the fireworks begin!

BARNEY O · 06-20-2011, 08:08 AM

You betcha' Why wait 30 K miles to change the tranny oil? Do you really want that slurry recycling thru the bearings and components that long? Damage has already been done... Might as well save your money ...

**jwight** · 06-20-2011, 08:16 AM

Are you advocating regular transmission oil changes at something under 30K miles? 20K? 10K? Why not monthly just to be safe? (kidding on that last one.)
Just checked the service manual for the Corvette and there's no manual transmission oil change required (a Tremec gearbox.) Nothing wrong with being conservative but is there any evidence sticking with the manufacturer's guidance is a problem.

kennyrayandersen · 06-20-2011, 08:22 AM

Honestly, you'd probably be better off to change it after the first 1K and then never again (synthetic).

BARNEY O · 06-20-2011, 08:23 AM

With that line of logic why bother changing engine oil for that matter??
Or why do we need oil filters ?

WhiteNBlack08 · 06-20-2011, 08:40 AM

Told ya!!

**jwight** · 06-20-2011, 08:45 AM

I'm more and more convinced those Daimler/Mercedes engineers know nothing about designing automobiles...

BARNEY O · 06-20-2011, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwight

I'm more and more convinced those Daimler/Mercedes engineers know nothing about designing automobiles...

Nah, those guys are sharp as a tac... they know exactly how long those parts will last.
I guess my line of thinking is how I can make it last longer and keep money in my pocket... or something like that....