BMWNA have a lot to answer for. My owners manual states ACEA A3 oil. Note there is no 'BMW 5W30' here, as there isn't in most countries.
My E46 323i using non-synthetic: sludge fest 2010!
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Very true, I feel in the USA there is a lot of mis-information going around, and that even though people use 5w30, it is not approved by BMW for extended interval use, so they use that oil plus change it whenever the car tells them to, which results to a dirty engine.
Funny story, my female friend got a 03 3-series coming off a Civic beater she bought new and brutalized on 1q of old oil most of it's life. I cautioned her and the husband that they could run into problems with BMW extended changes. They lived in Boston, bad conditions, and at almost 2 years, the car was still onit's original oil. What I offered was 6 month changes, alternating DIY with the dealer freebies.
Well, the funny part of the story is the reaction from her husband, a lawyer. He said if anything happened to the car, he'd sue BMW. That cooled my interest. No need to explain how a clean engine runs better and has less long-term issues. I'm sure that car is well destroyed now. I'm waiting to hear the engine siezed up...the day WILL come. The irony is that it'll be after the warranty period. Not much recourse after the $3k rebuild bill.
Well, the funny part of the story is the reaction from her husband, a lawyer. He said if anything happened to the car, he'd sue BMW. That cooled my interest. No need to explain how a clean engine runs better and has less long-term issues. I'm sure that car is well destroyed now. I'm waiting to hear the engine siezed up...the day WILL come. The irony is that it'll be after the warranty period. Not much recourse after the $3k rebuild bill.
Word from dealer here via my indy shop was that a BMW rocked up stuffed. 40,000kms on the clock and no oil change from new. Owner was apparently shocked that "BMW required an oil change like ordinary cars". Also many sludge monsters after following the 25,000km factory oci with short city trips.
I see this somewhat often on luxo cars. People buy them, or lease and can barely afford the payment, let alone taking care of the car. When they learn that an oil change is $100, they just put it off.
No wonder some luxo brands are including maintenance on their lease vehicles, tons were ending up like this.
No wonder some luxo brands are including maintenance on their lease vehicles, tons were ending up like this.
Originally Posted By: sprintman
BMWNA have a lot to answer for. My owners manual states ACEA A3 oil. Note there is no 'BMW 5W30' here, as there isn't in most countries.
The 'BMW 5w-30' mentioned in here is simply the oild sold at BMW dealerships. Are you saying that the dealerships in AUS don't sell oil???
BMWNA have a lot to answer for. My owners manual states ACEA A3 oil. Note there is no 'BMW 5W30' here, as there isn't in most countries.
The 'BMW 5w-30' mentioned in here is simply the oild sold at BMW dealerships. Are you saying that the dealerships in AUS don't sell oil???
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Originally Posted By: JustinH
I see this somewhat often on luxo cars. People buy them, or lease and can barely afford the payment, let alone taking care of the car. When they learn that an oil change is $100, they just put it off.
No wonder some luxo brands are including maintenance on their lease vehicles, tons were ending up like this.
Well in their defense, for the first 4yrs/50k miles the owners go by the onboard computer and maintanance is at no charge.
I see this somewhat often on luxo cars. People buy them, or lease and can barely afford the payment, let alone taking care of the car. When they learn that an oil change is $100, they just put it off.
No wonder some luxo brands are including maintenance on their lease vehicles, tons were ending up like this.
Well in their defense, for the first 4yrs/50k miles the owners go by the onboard computer and maintanance is at no charge.
Originally Posted By: oliverr871
Very true, I feel in the USA there is a lot of mis-information going around, and that even though people use 5w30, it is not approved by BMW for extended interval use, so they use that oil plus change it whenever the car tells them to, which results to a dirty engine.
There's a huge amount of mis-information in brand-specific auto forums. Each one seems to develop a favourite of its own, be it Royal Purple, GTX, Mobil1, whatever. Of course this competes with the auto knowledge passed down from their grandfathers who used ATF for just about everything except inside automatic transmissions.
[ as an aside, back in their grandfathers' day there may have been something to the use of ATF for all kinds of things. Back then weren't the friction modifiers made from sperm whale oil or something, which was very high in natural esters? Now it's all different and doesn't work the same magic. ]
Then when someone comes along and says "use whatever you want that's ACEA A3" they poke fun at you and continually quote "ACEA A3" like it's some kind of made up term. Look at the back of the bottle, guys.
OK, rant done
Very true, I feel in the USA there is a lot of mis-information going around, and that even though people use 5w30, it is not approved by BMW for extended interval use, so they use that oil plus change it whenever the car tells them to, which results to a dirty engine.
There's a huge amount of mis-information in brand-specific auto forums. Each one seems to develop a favourite of its own, be it Royal Purple, GTX, Mobil1, whatever. Of course this competes with the auto knowledge passed down from their grandfathers who used ATF for just about everything except inside automatic transmissions.
[ as an aside, back in their grandfathers' day there may have been something to the use of ATF for all kinds of things. Back then weren't the friction modifiers made from sperm whale oil or something, which was very high in natural esters? Now it's all different and doesn't work the same magic. ]
Then when someone comes along and says "use whatever you want that's ACEA A3" they poke fun at you and continually quote "ACEA A3" like it's some kind of made up term. Look at the back of the bottle, guys.
OK, rant done
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imo, Mercedes owners are the worst believing their cars are "special" or immune from failure from basic issues, like low oil or sludged engines.
"The 'BMW 5w-30' mentioned in here is simply the oil sold at BMW dealerships. Are you saying that the dealerships in AUS don't sell oil???"
They sell oil but not BMW 5W30. It doesn't exist in most countries. Dealers used M1 0W40 until changover to Castrol Edge 0W40 (no CAFE here).
They sell oil but not BMW 5W30. It doesn't exist in most countries. Dealers used M1 0W40 until changover to Castrol Edge 0W40 (no CAFE here).
Alright, lets save this baby!
Going to flush out the oil and put new filter and oil in. What oil should I use, the HDEO stuff or Mobil 1 High Mileage Oil? Or just some cheapo synthetic to promote more flushing?
Going to flush out the oil and put new filter and oil in. What oil should I use, the HDEO stuff or Mobil 1 High Mileage Oil? Or just some cheapo synthetic to promote more flushing?
Originally Posted By: finalyzd
I guess you really have to use a synthetic in a vehicle that requires it. Especially since most mercedes benz owners extend there oci. I wonder if conventional was changed at short intervals. But yea scrap as much as u can as tig said then do a couple of short OCI. That's nasty
Uh, it may be that most MB owners extend their OCIs, but the car the OP is working on is a BMW.
I guess you really have to use a synthetic in a vehicle that requires it. Especially since most mercedes benz owners extend there oci. I wonder if conventional was changed at short intervals. But yea scrap as much as u can as tig said then do a couple of short OCI. That's nasty
Uh, it may be that most MB owners extend their OCIs, but the car the OP is working on is a BMW.
Originally Posted By: oliverr871
Alright, lets save this baby!
Going to flush out the oil and put new filter and oil in. What oil should I use, the HDEO stuff or Mobil 1 High Mileage Oil? Or just some cheapo synthetic to promote more flushing?
If it was my engine I would use cheap dino or HDEO with 25% MMO in several 2-3k OCI's to clean it out as much as possible, then probably Amsoil engine flush or Lubeguard engine flush but run the engine at twice the recommended interval (instead of 15 minutes run engine flush for 30 minutes).
After the engine flush run cheap dino or HDEO for a 2-3k OCI then drain. After this drain use quality syn with normal OCI.
Alright, lets save this baby!
Going to flush out the oil and put new filter and oil in. What oil should I use, the HDEO stuff or Mobil 1 High Mileage Oil? Or just some cheapo synthetic to promote more flushing?
If it was my engine I would use cheap dino or HDEO with 25% MMO in several 2-3k OCI's to clean it out as much as possible, then probably Amsoil engine flush or Lubeguard engine flush but run the engine at twice the recommended interval (instead of 15 minutes run engine flush for 30 minutes).
After the engine flush run cheap dino or HDEO for a 2-3k OCI then drain. After this drain use quality syn with normal OCI.
Alright, so I got myself two oil filters, some Mobil 1 5000 dino oil, and some Marvel Mystery Oil. I will flush out the old oil and then fill it up, put MMO and replace oil filter and see what happens. Next run will be with HDEO.
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Perfect.
I still think it's cool you used sludge and fest in the same sentence.
BMW dealers and independent shops know all about 'sludge fest', they see it all the time.
Get more than two filters... Genuine Mann is fairly inexpensive from places like autohausaz.com (great prices and service - no affiliation).
Since it's so easy to pop the housing open and check the cartridge you don't want to find yourself with a filter full of sludge and no new element handy while you're embarking on this.
Since it's so easy to pop the housing open and check the cartridge you don't want to find yourself with a filter full of sludge and no new element handy while you're embarking on this.
I think Pablo's advice was the best. If it was my engine, I would either:
a. put the cover back on and continue GC oil changes with 10k OCI with frequent filter changes; or
b. go with Pablo's advice.
The choice would depend on the level of sleeplessness at night.
a. put the cover back on and continue GC oil changes with 10k OCI with frequent filter changes; or
b. go with Pablo's advice.
The choice would depend on the level of sleeplessness at night.
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