bmw oil

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Originally Posted By: lilrobo
thanks guys ,, good info there

its git 120k on it now hope to see many more

wow 8 qts thats a lot of oil


A few more tips:

1. Plan on replacing the radiator/expansion tank/water pump/t-stat within the next year/10k miles- and refill with a 50/50 mix of BMW coolant and distilled water.

2. Have a good dealer or a good indie BMW tech check the condition of the vapor separator system(BMW's fiendishly complex PCV system)- if it clogs it can hydro-lock the motor with oil.

3. I'd change the diff oil and transfer case oil as well. If you have an automatic it's a toss-up as to changing the ATF if it has never been changed before. I probably would but there is the chance that a change will kill the tranny.
 
Originally Posted By: lilrobo
i need to change my oil in my 05 bmw 325xi ,, for first time ,, i bought it used .. could someone help me with this ,, do i need to run synt oil and what weight

thanks

Stick to LL-01 High-SAPS oil. You do not need in that car LL-04.
Get GC, M1 0W40, Castrol 0W40, Pentosin 5W40, Pennzoil Ultra 5w40.
 
As a collector, builder, and racer of BMW's, I've spent a lot of time working on figuring out what the best oil is formy needs and usage patterns wwhich range from varied driving DD to dedicated track cars.

The absolute best has been Redline, 0/5w30/40 depending on the location, and Royal Purple has been very good as well.

The M54 engines tend to sludge if the CCV/PCV system is not operating properly, which on most cars it's not.
Using just RL oil, I have not only kept my cars free from any sludge, but I (and the people who help me with my cars), have never seen an engine w such little visible wear as I saw after doing a teardown and inspection 20k miles after a bottom up build and FI install, literally zero camshaft wear!

It's not a cheap oil, and the OCI is going to be 5-7.5k, but if you're a new owner than I highly recommend doing a few OCI's w the stuff to help clean up anything left from the PO. The extended OCI a la BMW warranty has resulted in a lot of cars that look pristine but which have some nasty build-up inside the motor.
 
fwiw, we had a bmw 4.4L for 170k miles. after dealer maintenance expired I started using amsoil, mobil one, etc. about 80k miles in I said what the heck and started using rotella T5 ( or whatever version it was at the time). at 170k we got rid of it for a newer 4.8L version of the same model.

it still had the original trans. I started to drain/refill with quakerstate multi trans fluid at 60k.

I dont think we will get another bmw V8. way too many cooling parts/seals going bad even at 70k miles. I am not looking forward to doing the valley pan, coolant pipes, timing chain cover gasket after the warranty expires next year.

on our 2006 325i (n55 engine) I started using rotella T5 after 40k. at nearly 70k now.
 
Just buy the cheapest LL01 oil (dealerships oil is usually < $ 8 / bottle) IF you intend to follow the OLM. Otherwise you can buy just about any 5w40 or LL04 oil for short OCI.

Your I6 is very easy on oil.

Note. Due to inconsistent sulphur levels the LL04 is not suitable for the factory OCI on gasser cars in the US. You can use LL04 but I would not exceed 7.5k miles with it.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
^ You own a 2003 M5? I am jelly.


Yup. Fun car, expensive to modify but came as a Dinan Stg2 (replaced the struts w KW V3's).
 
Castrol 5w40 can be found at certain parts stores, and it also meets BMW needs. Sometimes Autozone will have a "Buy X quarts get a filter free" with the Castrol 5w40. Advance does that sometimes, and they have Castrol 0w40.
 
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