Engine Oil

[t2ribena]

astroboy...one observation i made on the N52 and other BMW performance engine that could also contribute to the engine oil missing...

since the engine runs at high temp, oil gets evaporated and circulated in the valve cover case...and this valve cover case is ventilated or has a breather hose with oil separator to the intake manifold...by design the evaporated oil that escapes thru this hose is cooled at the oil separator where the oil is condensed and return to the oil sump...but with our weather here and the engine runs very hot, this evaporated oil has very little chance to be converted back to liquid and it travels all the way to the intake manifold and into the combustion chamber...in gas state, the engine oil is easily burned...after a prolong period this contributes to significant loss of engine oil...

with this method of controlling emission from the engine, it causes loss of engine oil and loss of power...

 

[BlackE90]

I need to contact BMW AG la. Anybody has their contact with regards to after sale complain. I have an issue here where BMW Malaysia tai-chi to the SC and vice versa..

Astro, here's your required contact person;


Dr. Ing. Norbert Reithofer is the current CEO of BMW AG as well as Chairman of the Board of Management.

Address: AbteilungTM-K, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Phone Number: 49 0 89-3 82-2 58 78


Sorry bro, don't have his email address.

 

[astroboy]

..since the engine runs at high temp, oil gets evaporated and circulated in the valve cover case...and this valve cover case is ventilated or has a breather hose with oil separator to the intake manifold...by design the evaporated oil that escapes thru this hose is cooled at the oil separator where the oil is condensed and return to the oil sump...but with our weather here and the engine runs very hot, this evaporated oil has very little chance to be converted back to liquid and it travels all the way to the intake manifold and into the combustion chamber...in gas state, the engine oil is easily burned...after a prolong period this contributes to significant loss of engine oil...

with this method of controlling emission from the engine, it causes loss of engine oil and loss of power...

Confirm! I have check both N46 and N52, the valve cover breather hose is connected to an oil separator. Oil separator has top outlet and bottom outlet, bottom outlet is connected back to the oil pan while the top outlet is connected back to the intake manifold.

But if the oil in gas state is fed back into the combustion chamber, the tail pipe should have lots of carbon deposit or oily as byproduct of burning oil, even in gas state, we are talking about 1L every 7~8k km which is a lot!

If the above is true, adding an oil catch tank after the oil separator should prove something..

 

[t2ribena]

Confirm! I have check both N46 and N52, the valve cover breather hose is connected to an oil separator. Oil separator has top outlet and bottom outlet, bottom outlet is connected back to the oil pan while the top outlet is connected back to the intake manifold.

But if the oil in gas state is fed back into the combustion chamber, the tail pipe should have lots of carbon deposit or oily as byproduct of burning oil, even in gas state, we are talking about 1L every 7~8k km which is a lot!

If the above is true, adding an oil catch tank after the oil separator should prove something..

considering the oil we use xw-30 is abit on the 'thin' side coupled with the hot weather, it is a good environment for the gas state oil to be burned almost perfectly and one of the main by product is carbon particles, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and etc etc...very small chance of getting a wet exhaust in this case...not like the condition where liquid oil got burned and produce blue smoke and 'wet' exhaust...

in US they tried the oil catch tank instead of the oil separator but very little effect...most of them use blow off instead...hehehe not to reduce engine oil consumption but to increase a lil bit of power...

 

[bsoosay]

Hi Guys,

If the reduction in engine oil is due to evaporation, then why is it not happening to all E90 cars? For example schwepps and ebby37 have stated that they've never had this problem.

So Rachel, does your engine oil still reduce considerably? Or has it been solved? From time to time, I would expect it to reduce, but a large amount with a low mileage is unacceptable.

 

[Schwepps]

From time to time, I would expect it to reduce, but a large amount with a low mileage is unacceptable.

It's also environmentally unsound and I'm sure, not how BMW intended it to be. Something out-of-line in a lux car should be fixed, not just accepted as ok for a +1/4 mil car.

 

[astroboy]

Schwepps, are the Merc using 5w-30 as well? I will have to assume they don't have this oil loss issue.

 

[Schwepps]

Yes, the Merc dealer oil is Helix AB 5W-30. In fact, I think their 1l packs are cheaper than BMW's Syntium packs.

I've never had an oil burn issue in any of the cars I've known, Merc, Alfa and Perodua included. Last oil burn issue I remember was in my dad's MG too long ago in history Oil burn should be a 20th century issue shouldn't it? With 6 million vehicles here, it can't be ok to spew 6 million litres of engine oil into the atmosphere every 10,000km travelled...

 

[astroboy]

Yes, the Merc dealer oil is Helix AB 5W-30. In fact, I think their 1l packs are cheaper than BMW's Syntium packs.

I've never had an oil burn issue in any of the cars I've known, Merc, Alfa and Perodua included. Last oil burn issue I remember was in my dad's MG too long ago in history Oil burn should be a 20th century issue shouldn't it? With 6 million vehicles here, it can't be ok to spew 6 million litres of engine oil into the atmosphere every 10,000km travelled...

Then next question, is Merc engine operating temperature cooler than BMW? If same, then it's down to the oil separator efficiency. In a way the oil separator is designed to operate like an oil catch tank. So I can unplug the vent hose from the intake manifold and replace the point with an end cap on the intake. Then add a K&N breather to terminate the oil separator vent hose.. cool mod hor?!

Need to examine how the Merc oil separator works to prevent oil loss.

Farnee though, if a liter of oil fume is fed into the intake manifold every 7~8k km and combusted along with air fuel mixture, the exhaust emission should have evidence of high carbon content which should not qualify for places with stringent emission law. How they pull it off?! :smokin:

 

[Schwepps]

Then next question, is Merc engine operating temperature cooler than BMW? If same, then it's down to the oil separator efficiency. In a way the oil separator is designed to operate like an oil catch tank. So I can unplug the vent hose from the intake manifold and replace the point with an end cap on the intake. Then add a K&N breather to terminate the oil separator vent hose.. cool mod hor?!

Need to examine how the Merc oil separator works to prevent oil loss.

Farnee though, if a liter of oil fume is fed into the intake manifold every 7~8k km and combusted along with air fuel mixture, the exhaust emission should have evidence of high carbon content which should not qualify for places with stringent emission law. How they pull it off?! :smokin:

Bro, we need to be mechanics to own a BMW? What kind of deal is that? Pound for pound, a BMW is more expensive than a Merc wor. If we need to examine a Merc to see how to prevent oil burn, then we should examine VWs, Toyotas, Hondas, Peroduas and Protons too huh?

Burning 1 litre of motor oil into the atmosphere every 7-8k km would not qualify for ANY emission standards, not even in the third world

 

[astroboy]

...Burning 1 litre of motor oil into the atmosphere every 7-8k km would not qualify for ANY emission standards, not even in the third world

That's precisely my point.. but since we already bought the car, how? Hate to see polar ice cap melting too.. We are so good in warming things up, maybe Mars is a good place for us since its so cold there..

Toyotas, Peroduas and Protons no need to check, their engine is running a full time chain driven oil pump and plenty of oil is circulated to cool down the engine. Moreover, they only use 5W-40 max and even that, not many Toyota owners are ready to part with RM181 to get the Toyota fully synthetic..

You open the OIL cap of a hot JDM engine, very little oil fume noticeable compare to our E90 engines.

How about E90 1JZ?? :wink:

But I thought Merc is running Bardhal yankee oil? C&C distribute ma..

 

[davidtch]

This is my guess. The reason why BMW run at hi temp is to vaporise water condensation. Accordingly, water condensation in engine oil resulted in oil loss for 30wt oil.

The global trend is going towards thinner oil for enviro purpose. Toyota JP is using 20wt oil.

 

[Schwepps]

Why do you guys say that BMW engines run hotter? Do you know this for a fact? I thought all auto engines run at the same temp of 93C determined by the thermostat in the cooling system. Does BMW use a hotter thermo than the industry standard?

 

[astroboy]

Nissan 300ZX thermostat opens at 76C
NISMO thermostat opens at 62C

Quoted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermostat

A thermostat is used in internal combustion engines to maintain the engine at its optimum operating temperature by regulating the flow of coolant to an external heat sink, usually an air cooled radiator.

This type of thermostat operates mechanically. It makes use of a wax pellet inside a sealed chamber. The wax is solid at low temperatures but as the engine heats up the wax melts and expands. The sealed chamber has an expansion provision that operates a rod which opens a valve when the operating temperature is exceeded. The operating temperature is fixed, but is determined by the specific composition of the wax, so thermostats of this type are available to maintain different temperatures, typically in the range of 70 to 90°C (160 to 200°F). Modern engines run hot, that is, over 80°C (180°F), in order to run more efficiently and to reduce the emission of pollutants.


Just to prove a point, I was scanning the N46B20 parts catalog for a Malaysia CKD E90 2007 and surprising was shown this:
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E...uly/browse/engine/cooling_system_water_hoses/

But I'm running an electric on-demand water pump, do I need a thermostat? for what

Moments later...

This is more like it.. from N52..

Item 2 is a thermostat 11 53 7 549 476, USD$126.31

Number 5 and 6 are both electric socket to POWER the water pump!.. :rock: still there's a thermostat.. but tak tau buka at what temperature le..

 

[Schwepps]

Bro, without a thermostat, how would your on-demand water pump know when it's in demand?

I believe all current engines run at 93C. I may be wrong, so why don't you use your Google/Bing to prove me wrong for once?

 

[Spaceman]

Toyota 2.4 churns out 170ps +-
BMW 325 pushes out 218 bhp

i think that basically explained why BMW eat oil..:tongue:

 

[davidtch]

Why do you guys say that BMW engines run hotter? Do you know this for a fact? I thought all auto engines run at the same temp of 93C determined by the thermostat in the cooling system. Does BMW use a hotter thermo than the industry standard?

My M54 is confirmed to be running > 100 deg C. I broke bleeding screw b4 & steam shoot up. Check wif my mechanic that it is running around 100 deg C.

 

[BMWs]

Bro, without a thermostat, how would your on-demand water pump know when it's in demand?

I believe all current engines run at 93C. I may be wrong, so why don't you use your Google/Bing to prove me wrong for once?

Thats why AB decided to change both my water pump and thermostat cause they didn't know which one kong.

 

[Schwepps]

My M54 is confirmed to be running > 100 deg C. I broke bleeding screw b4 & steam shoot up. Check wif my mechanic that it is running around 100 deg C.

Bro, above boiling point is too hot. You'll need to be on 70/30 coolant to water mix and above, or the pressure will be too high and you'll pop something in your cooling system. Not fun when on the road. Happened to me before: parked the car and FWOOOM! It was like a pregnant car breaking it's water bag No choice but to call a tow truck.

Perhaps your thermo or temp sensor needs changing? Those things are regular replacement items.

 

[IsaacVky]

Coolant increases the boiling point(>100) of water/coolant mixture as well as freezing point(