engine oil mysteriously disappearing....

[kayzhen911]

to all the tai kors....my E39's engine oil is mysteriously disappearing.no white smokeno leakage, nothing on floor.it happens every 1500 miles or so.i have to top up nearly 1 lt .been scratching my head over this.used a russian metal filler (RESUR) but problem still prevails.appreciate some feedback.my ride is M54 00/05

 

[johnj]

it may be your valve seals and requires a top overhaul.

 

[kayzhen911]

was afraid of that
top overhaul will cost a bomb
any alternative before opening the top?

 

[330Ci]

Older cars - Use a thicker engine oil.

As it happened to me before - i used Petronas Syntium 5000 and it all dissapeared too.

Dont get me wrong, its not that Petronas is no good... just the grade of oil not suitable for certain cars and of certain age

Hope your problem is as minor as mine

 

[kayzhen911]

i use bardahl semi.
is it thick enuf?
wat did u use 330?

 

[astroboy]

1. Engine what mileage?
2. What engine oil viscosity u use?

 

[evilnickwong]

IMHO a leak is a leak and using a thicker oil isn't a proper fix.
Don't deprive your E39 of synthetic oil, just find the leaking seal/gasket and fix it.

 

[kayzhen911]

easy for u to say evil....
top overhaul is really expensive.
if we can patch a leak, then why not?
btw, astro....
my mileage is 100K miles.
using bardahl 10W/40 semi

 

[astroboy]

miles? so its 160k km lor... quite high and possible engine wear that causes engine oil consumption. 15w-40 or 20w-50.

Check coolant see got oil stain or not? can be worn gasket, allowing oil to seep into the cooling system. Tail pipe no wet ya?!

 

[kayzhen911]

use 20/50?
wat brand carry that?
how to see if coolant got stain or not bro?
tail pipe not wet dude...
if u say gasket, which one?
sorry im a bit "dungu"
u guys seems so superbly technical.
thumbs up

 

[astroboy]

If I add oil to your drinking water, would it be visibly noticeable? U will see oil floating on top la. You would see the same from your coolant reservoir. Open the reservoir cap and check. If see oil there, in the coolant, leak is usually from the head gasket.

 

[kayzhen911]

oh...
hehehe
wat an idiot am i
hey astro...
will using single grade lubricant help?
SAE 40?

 

[astroboy]

Nope.. best not do that.

Just testing la, since u can't find the leak. Pour in 20w-XX in your coming oil change and see if the vanishing act still persist. If no more than good lor. If still got, then back to the drawing board again..

 

[kayzhen911]

my drawing board is full of scratches liao...
disappearance of1lt is a lot bro....

 

[kayzhen911]

where could 1lt of engine oil go to in such a short time?

 

[IanDaddy]

Could it be due to faulty/failing oil separator (CCV) ?

 

[astroboy]

U have oil catch tank? Does the engine breather flow back to the crank case or into the intake manifold? If intake manifold, then burn into the exhaust lor. Can leak into the cooling system as what I explained earlier. The N52 Magnesium engine is famous for this magic as well but they running 5w-30 la, and its 1L every 6~8k km.

 

[moots]

bro...cud be the drain tube (rubber),the one that drains back oil to the oil sump from the CCV,is blocked.

 

[cRen]

Bro, try Lucas oil stop leak..and they have 20w-50 fully synthetic only..very few company has it..www.lucasoil.com .if u wanna get it call me 0167333353

 

[kayzhen911]

dude astro....
my ride is E39, M54
btw, how much does an oil separator costs?
my mechanic says it might be the problem coz the oil will get burnt in the manifolds...hence disappear.