Dear All, Greetings!I'm new to this club, hope I'm welcomed by each and every one of you here.I would like to request for favour on advise due to my E46 Lifestyle 318i having problems with its engine oil consumptions.The engine oils warning pops up (orange) even before I hit 5,000KM and my recent consultation with a mechanic in subang jaya gave me headspin. It is believed the problem is due to the engine seals and they are advising me to overhaul the engine.They cant give me an exact budget as they said, it could only be determined once the engine is opened.The cost as they advise will be roughly MYR 7,000 for top overhaul and MYR 15,000 for a complete overhaul if it is necessary.I was also told that the engine has been replaced,I was not aware of this until i double confirmed it on the grant, that i believe was an act of foolish of me for not checking when i bought the car.I hope all of you would be able to share some insights and guidance to help me... Thank You, Sunil
BMW E46 Lifestyle Edition Consuming Engine Oil
- Thread starter sunilram
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Alex5522
Club Guest
- Joined
- May 28, 2010
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Trying help you to find some info about the Engine Oil Consumption from website and hope it might be help;
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/Borrowed/mult_engine_rebuild-1.htm
Oil Consumption & Smoking
As your engine ages, it will consume more oil. When the engine is brand new, all of the clearances inside the engine are easily filled with a thin film of oil. As the surfaces wear, the clearances enlarge, and oil begins to slip by them. This oil is then burned in the combustion chamber, as it seeps past the valve guides and piston rings. The wider the clearances, the more oil will be burned away. Also, some oils have different viscosities, and tend to burn at a higher rate than others. In general, thinner, lighter-weight oils have a tendency to flow more easily past worn parts in the engine. Use of a heavier weight oil in a tired engine may help to slightly reduce oil consumption.
In addition, excess clearances mean that the oil films that float the crankshaft bearings require more oil to work properly. Looser gap clearances between bearings means that oil flows more easily around the bearing journals. The result is that more oil is required to do the same task, and there is a corresponding drop in oil pressure and an increase in wear. This small drop in oil pressure can sometimes be seen if careful observance to oil pressure readings are taken over the life of the engine. In general, an increase in oil consumption, coupled with a decrease in oil pressure, is a sure-fire sign that the clearances in the engine have increased, and the engine needs to be rebuilt. In addition, the presence of oil in the combustion chamber may have an adverse affect on the combustion process. Oil tends to lower the effective octane rating of the fuel mixture, thus making the engine a bit more prone to harmful detonation.
So how much oil should your engine be consuming? One quart per 1000 miles is about the standard amount for most engines, as quoted by BMW. Newly rebuilt engines with about 5,000 miles on them will usually burn this amount. If your engine is consuming significantly more oil than this, you have a problem. Consumption of two quarts per 1000 miles is certainly cause for concern. Check your owner's manual for information about how much oil your particular model and year car should use.
There are two places that the oil can be lost, either past the piston rings, or the valve guides. If the car is excessively smoking, then there is significant oil being burned in the combustion chamber. Engines expand significantly when they are run. It’s not uncommon for some engines to expand more than 1/8 of an inch side-to-side when heated from stone cold to operating temperature. This means that certain clearances that are designed to be optimum at operating temperature are sometimes not ideal when the engine is cold. Oil seepage when the engine is cold is considered normal. For example, just about every older engine smokes when it’s started, primarily because some oil has seeped into the combustion chamber when the engine was cold. This smoking is not necessarily a sign that the engine needs to be rebuilt. A more accurate test would be to check for significant smoke when the car is completely warmed up.
What smoke should you look for? White smoke is typically caused by condensation in the engine, and is generally harmless when seen on an air cooled engine. Black smoke means that there is a lot of unburned fuel in the combustion chamber that may be a sign that the car is running too rich. In general, blue, sooty smoke is burning oil. If your engine puts out a big puff of bluish smoke when pulling away from a stoplight, it’s probably a sign that the rings are significantly worn.
Worn rings also produce what is known as blow-by. Just as oil can enter into the combustion chamber, exhaust gases can also be blown into the crankcase when the piston fires. Such blow-by, as it is called, often comes out of the crankcase through the crankcase breather hose on the top front of the engine. This hose connects to the oil tank, and the exhaust gases are recirculated back into the engine through the filler neck on the oil tank. On some cars, blow-by is typically funneled back into the air filter through the positive crankcase ventilation valve (PCV).
Worn valve guides can also contribute to oil loss, although typically less than worn rings. In the mid-1970s, manufacturers sometimes experimented with new types of valve guides that did not last long at all. As a result, many of the engines had to have their guides replaced at about 60,000 miles. Most of these engines have had this repair done, however, if you find that your engine has not, then you can expect that your guides will be well worn. Worn guides not only leak compression, but also can cause the heads of valves to overheat and break off. This is because close valve guide clearances are necessary for proper cooling of the valve. It should be noted that puffs of smoke on deceleration are usually a sign of worn guides and valve seals.
In addition to the oil burned naturally by the engine, your engine can also lose a lot of oil due to leaks. Many oil leaks drip onto the exhaust pipes and are burned off by the high heat. As such, sometimes it’s very difficult to gauge exactly how much oil is being burned by the engine, and how much is actually being lost to oil leaks.
Air-cooled engines in particular, are infamous for oil leaks. Whether it’s a Porsche 911 engine or a Volkswagen engine, air-cooled owners will fondly describe that burning oil smell that is characteristic of these cars. To be fair, the air-cooled cars must get their passenger compartment heat from heat exchangers that wrap around the exhaust pipes. If there is an oil leak onto these pipes, then the smell of burning oil will waft up into the passenger compartment. This is the reason why many air-cooled owners diligently try to chase down and repair oil leaks in their engines.
Your engine can leak oil from one of many different places. Fortunately, many of these oil leaks can be repaired without tearing down and rebuilding the engine. See the upcoming book, “101 Projects for Your BMW 3-Series” for details on all of the common leaks that can be easily fixed without engine disassembly. If your main goal of rebuilding the engine is to fix some of these major oil leaks, I suggest that you read that section first.
There are a few major leaks that cannot be fixed without major engine work. Crankcase parting line leaks require disassembly, as do leaks between the heads and the cam towers or engine cases. Many times a leak will appear to be coming from one of these places when in fact it is leaking from a different point that is significantly easier to fix. Wash the underside of the car and track down all of the easy oil leaks before you decide that it’s time for a rebuild.
Compression Tests
One of the most common tests that can be performed on a engine is the standard compression test. This particular test measures the amount of pressure that is built up inside the combustion chamber when the engine is turned over. The typical compression tester is a pressure gauge that is attached via a short hose to a plug that is screwed into the spark plug hole. As the engine turns over, the compression gauge will read the maximum pressure exerted within the combustion chamber. The overall value is one method of testing your engine to determine the condition of the rings or valves.
Your engine needs to be setup before you can start the compression test. With the car cold, loosen the spark plugs with a spark plug socket and extension. Then tighten them up very lightly. You want to test the engine when it’s warm, yet if the spark plugs are very tight in the heads, you can damage the threads in the heads by removing them when the engine is hot. Loosening them up a bit when the engine is cold will minimize any damage you could possibly do to the threads in the heads. Although you might think that it’s good practice to use anti-seize compound on the plug threads, one manufacturer, Porsche, specifically recommends against this. The anti-seize compound seems to interfere with the proper grounding of the plugs. Also, temporarily remove any heater hoses that might get in the way of removing the spark plugs.
Warm the car up to operating temperature and then turn it off. Wait about 5 minutes or so, as head temperatures tend to spike right after you turn the engine off. At this point, the engine fan has stopped, and the heat tends to build up with no place to dissipate to. Removing the spark plugs right after turning off the engine can cause the threads in the aluminum to gall. After about five minutes, remove the spark plugs from their holes. If you’re working on an early car, then simply disconnect the power line (+) from the coil. If you’re testing a car with the Motronic Engine Management System, then remove the small square DME relay that powers the system. Doing this will disable the car’s ignition system, and prevent the spark plug wires from firing. It’s also a wise idea to remove the fuel pump relay at this time, if your car has one. You are going to be cranking the engine over several times, and you don’t want raw fuel to be dumped into the system.
Having a helper around is useful, as you can watch the gauge while he or she cranks the engine. I recommend that you attach a battery charger to your battery to avoid running it down. Don’t fire it up at 50 Amp, but instead leave it on about 10 amps, which should help it recover when it’s not cranking.
With the engine warm, install the compression tester into the spark plug hole. A bit of patience and skill are required in order to properly manipulate and screw in the compression tester so that you don’t cross thread and damage the threads in the cylinder heads. With the compression tester installed, crank the engine over 12-16 times. Make sure that you place your foot all the way down on the throttle. This will allow maximum air flow into the engine, otherwise your compression readings will be off. The engine should make six to eight full complete compression strokes (12-16 turns of the crankshaft). You can tell when the engine is on a compression stroke because the compression gauge will jump and show an increase when the cylinder is compressed. Carefully watch how the compression tester gauge increases, and record the maximum value when you have completed the last compression stroke. The gauge will jump at first, and then increase slowly until cranking the engine over more and more has no additional effect on the reading. Remove the compression tester and repeat for each of the other cylinders.
So what to do with the results? In general, compression tests are limited in what they can tell you. It is important to remember that different compression testers may give different readings as well. Cranking the engine faster (with a stronger battery or high powered starter) may also skew readings. The most useful piece of information that you can glean from them is how each cylinder compares to the others. All of the cylinders should give readings that are very close to each other. This would generally indicate an engine in good health. A good rule of thumb is that each cylinder should read a minimum of 85% of value of the highest cylinder. So, if the highest reading is 150 psi, then the minimum acceptable reading would be about 128 psi.
It is important to note that this would be an acceptable figure, but not necessarily ideal. In all practicality, all of the cylinders should be very close to each other (within about 5-10 psi). On a newly assembled and run-in motor, compression numbers are usually within this range. As the engine ages and certain parts wear faster than others, one or more cylinders may experience a bit more wear than the others. This will definitely show up in the compression tests. Needless to say, if you have all of your cylinders in the 150 psi range, and one cylinder is down around 120 psi, that should give you cause for concern. The important thing is to remember is that you want to gather consistent readings across all of the cylinders, without focusing on the actual values. If a reading is significantly off, go back and test that cylinder again to make sure that the measurement was not caused by some sort of fluke, which is often the case.
So what causes variations in compression tests, and why can’t they be used as the final word on engine rebuilds? The problem is that there are several factors that effect the final pressure read by the tester. Engines running with very aggressive camshafts have a tendency to give low compression readings. This is because there is significant overlap between the intake and the exhaust stroke on the cam. During high-rpm operation of the engine, this overlap works to give the engine more power. However, when turning the engine at a low RPM, as with a compression test, the overlap causes some of the pressure in the combustion chamber to leak out before the valve is closed. An early 911S engine, for example (with its high-overlap cams ) has a tendency to give lower compression readings than the 911 CIS engines (1974-83), despite having a higher compression ratio. This is caused by the aggressive overlap of the camshaft.
Altitude and temperature also affect the compression readings. Manufacturer’s specifications are almost always given at a specific altitude (14.7 psi at sea level), and 59° Fahrenheit. Both temperature and barometric pressure change as you go up in altitude, so you will need to correct your measurements if you wish to compare it with a factory specification. The following chart provides conversion factors for correctly compensating for changes in altitude:
Compression Test Altitude Compensation Factors
Altitude Factor
500 0.987
1500 0.960
2500 0.933
3500 0.907
4500 0.880
5500 0.853
6500 0.826
7500 0.800
8500 0.733
A standard compression reading of about 150 psi at sea level in Los Angeles would measure significantly less in the surrounding mountains. For example, at an elevation of 6000 feet, the expected reading would be 150 psi X .8359 = 125 psi. The cylinders would be reading low if compared to sea level measurements, yet perfectly fine at this altitude.
Another factor that can alter compression test readings are incorrectly adjusted valves. If the valves are not opening or closing at the correct time, then one cylinder may read vastly different than another. Make sure that your valves are adjusted properly prior to performing the test. Along the same lines of thought, premature camshaft wear can also lead to variances in compression readings.
You can determine if the rings are causing low compression readings by squirting about a tablespoon of standard 10-30W engine oil into the cylinder. Crank the engine 2-3 times to spread the oil around inside the combustion chamber. Then retest the compression. If the readings shoot up significantly (45 psi or so), then the problem is most likely with the piston rings seating to the cylinders. Squirting the oil inside the combustion chamber in this manner allows the rings to temporarily seal quite a bit more than they would dry. If the compression readings do not change, then most likely culprit is a leaky valve.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/Borrowed/mult_engine_rebuild-1.htm
Oil Consumption & Smoking
As your engine ages, it will consume more oil. When the engine is brand new, all of the clearances inside the engine are easily filled with a thin film of oil. As the surfaces wear, the clearances enlarge, and oil begins to slip by them. This oil is then burned in the combustion chamber, as it seeps past the valve guides and piston rings. The wider the clearances, the more oil will be burned away. Also, some oils have different viscosities, and tend to burn at a higher rate than others. In general, thinner, lighter-weight oils have a tendency to flow more easily past worn parts in the engine. Use of a heavier weight oil in a tired engine may help to slightly reduce oil consumption.
In addition, excess clearances mean that the oil films that float the crankshaft bearings require more oil to work properly. Looser gap clearances between bearings means that oil flows more easily around the bearing journals. The result is that more oil is required to do the same task, and there is a corresponding drop in oil pressure and an increase in wear. This small drop in oil pressure can sometimes be seen if careful observance to oil pressure readings are taken over the life of the engine. In general, an increase in oil consumption, coupled with a decrease in oil pressure, is a sure-fire sign that the clearances in the engine have increased, and the engine needs to be rebuilt. In addition, the presence of oil in the combustion chamber may have an adverse affect on the combustion process. Oil tends to lower the effective octane rating of the fuel mixture, thus making the engine a bit more prone to harmful detonation.
So how much oil should your engine be consuming? One quart per 1000 miles is about the standard amount for most engines, as quoted by BMW. Newly rebuilt engines with about 5,000 miles on them will usually burn this amount. If your engine is consuming significantly more oil than this, you have a problem. Consumption of two quarts per 1000 miles is certainly cause for concern. Check your owner's manual for information about how much oil your particular model and year car should use.
There are two places that the oil can be lost, either past the piston rings, or the valve guides. If the car is excessively smoking, then there is significant oil being burned in the combustion chamber. Engines expand significantly when they are run. It’s not uncommon for some engines to expand more than 1/8 of an inch side-to-side when heated from stone cold to operating temperature. This means that certain clearances that are designed to be optimum at operating temperature are sometimes not ideal when the engine is cold. Oil seepage when the engine is cold is considered normal. For example, just about every older engine smokes when it’s started, primarily because some oil has seeped into the combustion chamber when the engine was cold. This smoking is not necessarily a sign that the engine needs to be rebuilt. A more accurate test would be to check for significant smoke when the car is completely warmed up.
What smoke should you look for? White smoke is typically caused by condensation in the engine, and is generally harmless when seen on an air cooled engine. Black smoke means that there is a lot of unburned fuel in the combustion chamber that may be a sign that the car is running too rich. In general, blue, sooty smoke is burning oil. If your engine puts out a big puff of bluish smoke when pulling away from a stoplight, it’s probably a sign that the rings are significantly worn.
Worn rings also produce what is known as blow-by. Just as oil can enter into the combustion chamber, exhaust gases can also be blown into the crankcase when the piston fires. Such blow-by, as it is called, often comes out of the crankcase through the crankcase breather hose on the top front of the engine. This hose connects to the oil tank, and the exhaust gases are recirculated back into the engine through the filler neck on the oil tank. On some cars, blow-by is typically funneled back into the air filter through the positive crankcase ventilation valve (PCV).
Worn valve guides can also contribute to oil loss, although typically less than worn rings. In the mid-1970s, manufacturers sometimes experimented with new types of valve guides that did not last long at all. As a result, many of the engines had to have their guides replaced at about 60,000 miles. Most of these engines have had this repair done, however, if you find that your engine has not, then you can expect that your guides will be well worn. Worn guides not only leak compression, but also can cause the heads of valves to overheat and break off. This is because close valve guide clearances are necessary for proper cooling of the valve. It should be noted that puffs of smoke on deceleration are usually a sign of worn guides and valve seals.
In addition to the oil burned naturally by the engine, your engine can also lose a lot of oil due to leaks. Many oil leaks drip onto the exhaust pipes and are burned off by the high heat. As such, sometimes it’s very difficult to gauge exactly how much oil is being burned by the engine, and how much is actually being lost to oil leaks.
Air-cooled engines in particular, are infamous for oil leaks. Whether it’s a Porsche 911 engine or a Volkswagen engine, air-cooled owners will fondly describe that burning oil smell that is characteristic of these cars. To be fair, the air-cooled cars must get their passenger compartment heat from heat exchangers that wrap around the exhaust pipes. If there is an oil leak onto these pipes, then the smell of burning oil will waft up into the passenger compartment. This is the reason why many air-cooled owners diligently try to chase down and repair oil leaks in their engines.
Your engine can leak oil from one of many different places. Fortunately, many of these oil leaks can be repaired without tearing down and rebuilding the engine. See the upcoming book, “101 Projects for Your BMW 3-Series” for details on all of the common leaks that can be easily fixed without engine disassembly. If your main goal of rebuilding the engine is to fix some of these major oil leaks, I suggest that you read that section first.
There are a few major leaks that cannot be fixed without major engine work. Crankcase parting line leaks require disassembly, as do leaks between the heads and the cam towers or engine cases. Many times a leak will appear to be coming from one of these places when in fact it is leaking from a different point that is significantly easier to fix. Wash the underside of the car and track down all of the easy oil leaks before you decide that it’s time for a rebuild.
Compression Tests
One of the most common tests that can be performed on a engine is the standard compression test. This particular test measures the amount of pressure that is built up inside the combustion chamber when the engine is turned over. The typical compression tester is a pressure gauge that is attached via a short hose to a plug that is screwed into the spark plug hole. As the engine turns over, the compression gauge will read the maximum pressure exerted within the combustion chamber. The overall value is one method of testing your engine to determine the condition of the rings or valves.
Your engine needs to be setup before you can start the compression test. With the car cold, loosen the spark plugs with a spark plug socket and extension. Then tighten them up very lightly. You want to test the engine when it’s warm, yet if the spark plugs are very tight in the heads, you can damage the threads in the heads by removing them when the engine is hot. Loosening them up a bit when the engine is cold will minimize any damage you could possibly do to the threads in the heads. Although you might think that it’s good practice to use anti-seize compound on the plug threads, one manufacturer, Porsche, specifically recommends against this. The anti-seize compound seems to interfere with the proper grounding of the plugs. Also, temporarily remove any heater hoses that might get in the way of removing the spark plugs.
Warm the car up to operating temperature and then turn it off. Wait about 5 minutes or so, as head temperatures tend to spike right after you turn the engine off. At this point, the engine fan has stopped, and the heat tends to build up with no place to dissipate to. Removing the spark plugs right after turning off the engine can cause the threads in the aluminum to gall. After about five minutes, remove the spark plugs from their holes. If you’re working on an early car, then simply disconnect the power line (+) from the coil. If you’re testing a car with the Motronic Engine Management System, then remove the small square DME relay that powers the system. Doing this will disable the car’s ignition system, and prevent the spark plug wires from firing. It’s also a wise idea to remove the fuel pump relay at this time, if your car has one. You are going to be cranking the engine over several times, and you don’t want raw fuel to be dumped into the system.
Having a helper around is useful, as you can watch the gauge while he or she cranks the engine. I recommend that you attach a battery charger to your battery to avoid running it down. Don’t fire it up at 50 Amp, but instead leave it on about 10 amps, which should help it recover when it’s not cranking.
With the engine warm, install the compression tester into the spark plug hole. A bit of patience and skill are required in order to properly manipulate and screw in the compression tester so that you don’t cross thread and damage the threads in the cylinder heads. With the compression tester installed, crank the engine over 12-16 times. Make sure that you place your foot all the way down on the throttle. This will allow maximum air flow into the engine, otherwise your compression readings will be off. The engine should make six to eight full complete compression strokes (12-16 turns of the crankshaft). You can tell when the engine is on a compression stroke because the compression gauge will jump and show an increase when the cylinder is compressed. Carefully watch how the compression tester gauge increases, and record the maximum value when you have completed the last compression stroke. The gauge will jump at first, and then increase slowly until cranking the engine over more and more has no additional effect on the reading. Remove the compression tester and repeat for each of the other cylinders.
So what to do with the results? In general, compression tests are limited in what they can tell you. It is important to remember that different compression testers may give different readings as well. Cranking the engine faster (with a stronger battery or high powered starter) may also skew readings. The most useful piece of information that you can glean from them is how each cylinder compares to the others. All of the cylinders should give readings that are very close to each other. This would generally indicate an engine in good health. A good rule of thumb is that each cylinder should read a minimum of 85% of value of the highest cylinder. So, if the highest reading is 150 psi, then the minimum acceptable reading would be about 128 psi.
It is important to note that this would be an acceptable figure, but not necessarily ideal. In all practicality, all of the cylinders should be very close to each other (within about 5-10 psi). On a newly assembled and run-in motor, compression numbers are usually within this range. As the engine ages and certain parts wear faster than others, one or more cylinders may experience a bit more wear than the others. This will definitely show up in the compression tests. Needless to say, if you have all of your cylinders in the 150 psi range, and one cylinder is down around 120 psi, that should give you cause for concern. The important thing is to remember is that you want to gather consistent readings across all of the cylinders, without focusing on the actual values. If a reading is significantly off, go back and test that cylinder again to make sure that the measurement was not caused by some sort of fluke, which is often the case.
So what causes variations in compression tests, and why can’t they be used as the final word on engine rebuilds? The problem is that there are several factors that effect the final pressure read by the tester. Engines running with very aggressive camshafts have a tendency to give low compression readings. This is because there is significant overlap between the intake and the exhaust stroke on the cam. During high-rpm operation of the engine, this overlap works to give the engine more power. However, when turning the engine at a low RPM, as with a compression test, the overlap causes some of the pressure in the combustion chamber to leak out before the valve is closed. An early 911S engine, for example (with its high-overlap cams ) has a tendency to give lower compression readings than the 911 CIS engines (1974-83), despite having a higher compression ratio. This is caused by the aggressive overlap of the camshaft.
Altitude and temperature also affect the compression readings. Manufacturer’s specifications are almost always given at a specific altitude (14.7 psi at sea level), and 59° Fahrenheit. Both temperature and barometric pressure change as you go up in altitude, so you will need to correct your measurements if you wish to compare it with a factory specification. The following chart provides conversion factors for correctly compensating for changes in altitude:
Compression Test Altitude Compensation Factors
Altitude Factor
500 0.987
1500 0.960
2500 0.933
3500 0.907
4500 0.880
5500 0.853
6500 0.826
7500 0.800
8500 0.733
A standard compression reading of about 150 psi at sea level in Los Angeles would measure significantly less in the surrounding mountains. For example, at an elevation of 6000 feet, the expected reading would be 150 psi X .8359 = 125 psi. The cylinders would be reading low if compared to sea level measurements, yet perfectly fine at this altitude.
Another factor that can alter compression test readings are incorrectly adjusted valves. If the valves are not opening or closing at the correct time, then one cylinder may read vastly different than another. Make sure that your valves are adjusted properly prior to performing the test. Along the same lines of thought, premature camshaft wear can also lead to variances in compression readings.
You can determine if the rings are causing low compression readings by squirting about a tablespoon of standard 10-30W engine oil into the cylinder. Crank the engine 2-3 times to spread the oil around inside the combustion chamber. Then retest the compression. If the readings shoot up significantly (45 psi or so), then the problem is most likely with the piston rings seating to the cylinders. Squirting the oil inside the combustion chamber in this manner allows the rings to temporarily seal quite a bit more than they would dry. If the compression readings do not change, then most likely culprit is a leaky valve.
Vincent Hor
Club Guest
- Joined
- May 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,363
- Points
- 0
In my opinion it's actually good news that the engine has been replaced. I guess the previous owner had it replaced due to too much oil sludge. Do a search, many N42 engines especially the CKD models suffers oil sludge problem due to the 25k service intervals.
Based on your oil consumption at 5K mileage it is not so alarming. I believe you are right that valve oil seals could be the problem. This job should not cost you much. Some mechanics can perform this valve seal replacement without removing the cylinder head.
Btw what is the basis for your mechanic to suggest a top or complete overhaul? Any compression test done? Is your car puffing blue smokes? Has your car performance been poor lately?
Based on your oil consumption at 5K mileage it is not so alarming. I believe you are right that valve oil seals could be the problem. This job should not cost you much. Some mechanics can perform this valve seal replacement without removing the cylinder head.
Btw what is the basis for your mechanic to suggest a top or complete overhaul? Any compression test done? Is your car puffing blue smokes? Has your car performance been poor lately?
e46_UDM
Club Guest
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2010
- Messages
- 329
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1st of all, welcome to the club bro. Hope you can gain valuable experiences and knowleadge like what I did from joning this club. Pls correct me if I'm wrong, old engine like N42 is considered common with the engine oil consumption. Do a quick search and you can find loads of threads in this club discussing about the oil consumption especially for N42 engine. Am facing the same problem as well with my N42 engine. No leak whatsoever, but still have to top up 0.5 liter of oil after every 4-5K. Some sifu here suggested that I use higher grade oil like 10-40 instead of 0-30 caused it is thicker.... Regarding the top overhaul with a RM7K pricetag, mind share with us on which workshop in Subang Jaya that you went to? It seems to me that the price its a bit steep...
Wow.. I juz love you guys..
so much care and attention is provided here..
I can't thank you all enough..
Due to engine oil consumption, i got concerned as the workshop mechanics keeps reminding about going for an overhaul..
whether top or complete.. they are unable to confirm until they pop the engine open..
as what i have been advised too, they said that will be the only way to actually stop the engine from further damage which could
lead white smoke billowing from the exhaust.
at the moment .. i dont have any issues with the smoke.. looks absolutely normal to me..
the performance of the car is absolutely normal and there was no compression test being carried out..
there is no visible oil leak aswell, the mechanic i went to suggested the engine oil could be leaking into the exhaust system upon
enquiring him.
can someone recommend me a workshop i could go to? atleast for a second opinion...
i'm hearing some talking about mspeed...autobahn..
btw, what is the average price for a top overhaul?
another recent issue.. is a funny noise that comes everytime i fire up the engine after a very long stop.. its only there for a second or two.. i guess its something to do with the ignition..
do advise..
so much care and attention is provided here..
I can't thank you all enough..
Due to engine oil consumption, i got concerned as the workshop mechanics keeps reminding about going for an overhaul..
whether top or complete.. they are unable to confirm until they pop the engine open..
as what i have been advised too, they said that will be the only way to actually stop the engine from further damage which could
lead white smoke billowing from the exhaust.
at the moment .. i dont have any issues with the smoke.. looks absolutely normal to me..
the performance of the car is absolutely normal and there was no compression test being carried out..
there is no visible oil leak aswell, the mechanic i went to suggested the engine oil could be leaking into the exhaust system upon
enquiring him.
can someone recommend me a workshop i could go to? atleast for a second opinion...
i'm hearing some talking about mspeed...autobahn..
btw, what is the average price for a top overhaul?
another recent issue.. is a funny noise that comes everytime i fire up the engine after a very long stop.. its only there for a second or two.. i guess its something to do with the ignition..
do advise..
Vincent Hor
Club Guest
- Joined
- May 28, 2005
- Messages
- 1,363
- Points
- 0
What you should be concern should be BLUE smokes not the white smokes. Whites smokes is vapour/steam usually happens in the morning when the car is cold. BLUE smokes from your tail pipe is the sign of engine oil burning in the engine combustion chambers. This is usually associated with bad piston rings or to certain extend bad oil seals.
Honestly, if this is my car I wouldn't be too concerned as the rate of the oil consumption is not at alarming level. Just make sure you do routine oil & coolant check. As long as the oil level on the dip stick is between min & max you are fine. As for the rad. Coolant watch out for oil stains or milky sludge. If you see that then engine is in trouble
As for the noise you hear after long stop, it could be the air pump working. Next time pop up the hood before you start the engine then listen where the noise is coming from. If I am right it should be from the black cylinder box on the left of the engine.
Do keep us updated.
I have known M Speed for more than 10 years. Ah Meng is good & he knows BMW very well. Another good workshop I could suggest is Motoren in Sunway. They are good & very clean workshop.
Honestly, if this is my car I wouldn't be too concerned as the rate of the oil consumption is not at alarming level. Just make sure you do routine oil & coolant check. As long as the oil level on the dip stick is between min & max you are fine. As for the rad. Coolant watch out for oil stains or milky sludge. If you see that then engine is in trouble
As for the noise you hear after long stop, it could be the air pump working. Next time pop up the hood before you start the engine then listen where the noise is coming from. If I am right it should be from the black cylinder box on the left of the engine.
Do keep us updated.
I have known M Speed for more than 10 years. Ah Meng is good & he knows BMW very well. Another good workshop I could suggest is Motoren in Sunway. They are good & very clean workshop.
