Extremely dirty oil when drained. Engine condition
- Thread starter Clean_Engine
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it does seem like every time a person mentions sludge or ugly oil at least one person mentions a head gasket or coolant.
if you blow a head gasket your USUALLY gonna know it symptoms are USUALLY too big to over look such as:
misfire
overheating
milky oil
lost coolant
white smoke from tail pipe (steam)
if a man is driving around with a blown head gasket or cracked head and doesnt know anything is wrong he needs to seek public transportation for his next commute. just my opinion
if you blow a head gasket your USUALLY gonna know it symptoms are USUALLY too big to over look such as:
misfire
overheating
milky oil
lost coolant
white smoke from tail pipe (steam)
if a man is driving around with a blown head gasket or cracked head and doesnt know anything is wrong he needs to seek public transportation for his next commute. just my opinion
Sorry for the lack of information.
The vehicle's a '08 X5 3.0si. The odometer reads 5600 miles. Yes I drive extremely little, and when I do, it's a very short trip, so the engine has almost no chance to warm up in many cases. So I understand this is not the ideal condition for the engine to work in. The first and last oil change was at 3200 miles in March 2010. I'm not sure what kind of engine oil BMW dealers use but I think it must be a synthetic.
I drained the old oil about an hour after the driving the vehicle and having it fully warmed up. So the oil was warm, but not hot. I did it in the basement so the the ambient temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius.
Hope I didn't forget anything else.
The vehicle's a '08 X5 3.0si. The odometer reads 5600 miles. Yes I drive extremely little, and when I do, it's a very short trip, so the engine has almost no chance to warm up in many cases. So I understand this is not the ideal condition for the engine to work in. The first and last oil change was at 3200 miles in March 2010. I'm not sure what kind of engine oil BMW dealers use but I think it must be a synthetic.
I drained the old oil about an hour after the driving the vehicle and having it fully warmed up. So the oil was warm, but not hot. I did it in the basement so the the ambient temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius.
Hope I didn't forget anything else.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
Originally Posted By: Clean_Engine
Sorry for the lack of information.
The vehicle's a '08 X5 3.0si. The odometer reads 5600 miles. Yes I drive extremely little, and when I do, it's a very short trip, so the engine has almost no chance to warm up in many cases. So I understand this is not the ideal condition for the engine to work in. The first and last oil change was at 3200 miles in March 2010. I'm not sure what kind of engine oil BMW dealers use but I think it must be a synthetic.
I drained the old oil about an hour after the driving the vehicle and having it fully warmed up. So the oil was warm, but not hot. I did it in the basement so the the ambient temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius.
Hope I didn't forget anything else.
Do you have a receipt with the oil change on it? Was that the sole reason for going to the dealer?
How short of trips does this thing normally see; 5-6 miles/day, every single day, with no highway miles? If the oil never gets up to temp or even close, I can see excess fuel dilution causing excessive oil degradation. However, I don't think there's an oil out there that would be used up after 2400 miles of use, even under the most severe circumstances.
If you weren't only at the dealer for an oil change, then maybe it was never performed, though probably either due to miscommunication or an error on their part. I agree with a previous poster that the chances of the BMW charging you for an oil change and not doing it are nil. It's either that or the oil isn't as bad as you make it seem. Unless it's really bad or you have a problem, most oil will shear down and come out as dark and runny rather than dark and thick when we're talking about the miles you are. The chances of it oxidatively thickening to the point where it comes out noticeably thicker, IMO, are slim to one with only 2400 miles on it.
Sorry for the lack of information.
The vehicle's a '08 X5 3.0si. The odometer reads 5600 miles. Yes I drive extremely little, and when I do, it's a very short trip, so the engine has almost no chance to warm up in many cases. So I understand this is not the ideal condition for the engine to work in. The first and last oil change was at 3200 miles in March 2010. I'm not sure what kind of engine oil BMW dealers use but I think it must be a synthetic.
I drained the old oil about an hour after the driving the vehicle and having it fully warmed up. So the oil was warm, but not hot. I did it in the basement so the the ambient temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celsius.
Hope I didn't forget anything else.
Do you have a receipt with the oil change on it? Was that the sole reason for going to the dealer?
How short of trips does this thing normally see; 5-6 miles/day, every single day, with no highway miles? If the oil never gets up to temp or even close, I can see excess fuel dilution causing excessive oil degradation. However, I don't think there's an oil out there that would be used up after 2400 miles of use, even under the most severe circumstances.
If you weren't only at the dealer for an oil change, then maybe it was never performed, though probably either due to miscommunication or an error on their part. I agree with a previous poster that the chances of the BMW charging you for an oil change and not doing it are nil. It's either that or the oil isn't as bad as you make it seem. Unless it's really bad or you have a problem, most oil will shear down and come out as dark and runny rather than dark and thick when we're talking about the miles you are. The chances of it oxidatively thickening to the point where it comes out noticeably thicker, IMO, are slim to one with only 2400 miles on it.
Whats your location?
Short trips cause excessive moisture and is what I would worry about. Water+oil is bad and creates another type of sludge.
So, you need to either drive more, or practice more sensible TIME based oil changes. Mileage based oil change intervals won't work for you.
Another quick fix would be to use an oil pan and engine block heater. This way, when you start your vehicle, its already at temp reducing the excessive fuel and moisture building up in your oil.
Short trips cause excessive moisture and is what I would worry about. Water+oil is bad and creates another type of sludge.
So, you need to either drive more, or practice more sensible TIME based oil changes. Mileage based oil change intervals won't work for you.
Another quick fix would be to use an oil pan and engine block heater. This way, when you start your vehicle, its already at temp reducing the excessive fuel and moisture building up in your oil.
Do a UOA.
The last oil change was done in March 2010 and was covered by the BMW Maintenance warranty. So basically I didn't have to pay anything at the time. The second oil change was done yesterday, and I did it myself since the next oil change indicated by the maintenance reminder is either 9300 miles or in year 2012 which ever comes first.
So basically first oil change is done a year and eight months after I purchased the vehicle and the second oil change is done nine months after the first oil change.
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
So basically first oil change is done a year and eight months after I purchased the vehicle and the second oil change is done nine months after the first oil change.
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
Changes are you've got some issues going on. Possibly running BMW recommendation with dno oil. You need synthetic. What does it look like under the oil cap?
Doesn't BMW include synthetic from the factory?
You need to change your oil once per year with a quality synthetic, but only after you get the engine a bit cleaner.
I would run some short oil change intervals like 6 months if you can afford it.
If you put a quality cleaning oil in there like Pennzoil Ultra and take a nice long highway trip for many hours it would likely do some good cleaning.
The oil not getting up to temp and being in there for x amount of months is probably whats killing you.
Remember there is always Auto RX if you want to clean it up a bit, but it isn't likely that dirty yet unless you saw actual chunks in the oil.
You need to change your oil once per year with a quality synthetic, but only after you get the engine a bit cleaner.
I would run some short oil change intervals like 6 months if you can afford it.
If you put a quality cleaning oil in there like Pennzoil Ultra and take a nice long highway trip for many hours it would likely do some good cleaning.
The oil not getting up to temp and being in there for x amount of months is probably whats killing you.
Remember there is always Auto RX if you want to clean it up a bit, but it isn't likely that dirty yet unless you saw actual chunks in the oil.
For the new oil, I used Castrol Edge Sport 0w40. I plan to do another oil change in less than 6 months. Hopefully it'll clean up the engine nicely by then. I thought about using the Pennzoil Ultra but it's not approved for any BMW, at least not yet.
Castrol Edge is good for running extended drains with higher than average miles, but even so you want to stick to the 12 month rule with any quality synthetic and change it regardless of mileage, whether you do 5000 or 15000 i wouldn't keep it in there more than 1 year.
Give a try to some German Castrol Syntec 0w-30 if the weight is right for your engine and it can help clean it up a little. Pepboys usually sells 5 quarts and filter for under $30 at various times.
I believe Pennzoil Platinum Euro formula is also approved for your engine.
Mobil 1 0w-40 would be on my list if i could find it cheaply enough.
Give a try to some German Castrol Syntec 0w-30 if the weight is right for your engine and it can help clean it up a little. Pepboys usually sells 5 quarts and filter for under $30 at various times.
I believe Pennzoil Platinum Euro formula is also approved for your engine.
Mobil 1 0w-40 would be on my list if i could find it cheaply enough.
Originally Posted By: abycat
Originally Posted By: Artem
Eh, i'm bored and i know some smileys may make people LOL when reading my post's so, i put in the effort.
Thanks for the smiley effort. They always make me laugh.
Off topic but I need to nip this quickly.
Do NOT link smileys from other forums.
Bill
Originally Posted By: Artem
Eh, i'm bored and i know some smileys may make people LOL when reading my post's so, i put in the effort.
Thanks for the smiley effort. They always make me laugh.
Off topic but I need to nip this quickly.
Do NOT link smileys from other forums.
Bill
I've used GC on my 2002 530i since purchasing it 5.5 yrs ago at 39,000 miles. I recently did a valve cover gasket change (81,000 miles). The camshafts were nice and silver--no varnish, certainly no sludge. I do an oil change every 6 months since this car is 95% city driving, although it is my daily driver. You need to drive more. I suggest a 6 month OCI with GC. You know how to change oil so you are saving labor cost. Watch for oil sales and purchase oil filter on-line. I can find my filter for just a little over $5. All this will keep expense reasonable.
Originally Posted By: Clean_Engine
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
In almost 50 years of changing oil I've never seen oil that was thicker at the bottom of the pan, just ain't possible if it all drained from the same engine...
Possibly the pan was sitting on cold concrete which cooled the oil in the bottom but AFAIK that's the only explanation...
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
In almost 50 years of changing oil I've never seen oil that was thicker at the bottom of the pan, just ain't possible if it all drained from the same engine...
Possibly the pan was sitting on cold concrete which cooled the oil in the bottom but AFAIK that's the only explanation...
Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: Clean_Engine
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
In almost 50 years of changing oil I've never seen oil that was thicker at the bottom of the pan, just ain't possible if it all drained from the same engine....
so is that the answer? hes either lying of mistaken because its just ain't possible?
makes me think twice about posting stuff i have seen and question........
Originally Posted By: Clean_Engine
When I looked at the drained oil in the can, the bottom of the oil, or what's left at the bottom, moved very slow, thus thick. Is this normal though? To have such oil at the bottom?
In almost 50 years of changing oil I've never seen oil that was thicker at the bottom of the pan, just ain't possible if it all drained from the same engine....
so is that the answer? hes either lying of mistaken because its just ain't possible?
makes me think twice about posting stuff i have seen and question........
The plastic draining pan was sitting on a concrete and the ambient temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celcius, which isn't freezing cold. And it was the basement of a building so the temperature was constant. Given that the drained oil is a synthetic, could the temperature possibly have thickened the oil? It wasn't that cold and synthetics are supposed to be flowing well even at low temperatures.
All oil thickens when cold, at 50* even synthetic won't flow like it did when first drained...
You need to read Oil 101 here on BTOG...
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/
You need to read Oil 101 here on BTOG...
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/
Originally Posted By: Clean_Engine
For the new oil, I used Castrol Edge Sport 0w40. I plan to do another oil change in less than 6 months. Hopefully it'll clean up the engine nicely by then. I thought about using the Pennzoil Ultra but it's not approved for any BMW, at least not yet.
Where are you?
We don't get Edge Sport 0W-40 in North America.
For the new oil, I used Castrol Edge Sport 0w40. I plan to do another oil change in less than 6 months. Hopefully it'll clean up the engine nicely by then. I thought about using the Pennzoil Ultra but it's not approved for any BMW, at least not yet.
Where are you?
We don't get Edge Sport 0W-40 in North America.
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