Oil Question for 2000 BMW 323i

[demarpaint]

Hi and thanks in advance,

My son is stationed on the other side of the country WA, and recently bought a 2000 BMW 323i. He is trying to learn how to do routine maintenance on the car to save some cash. He never had an interest in auto repair while home I always did his work.

Anyway he changed the oil and filter and used Mobil 1 10W-30, he said the oil filler cap didn't list what viscosity oil to use. I am thinking he should have used 5W-20? What is the recommended oil for his car, and will the 10W-30 Mobil 1 be a problem if he leaves it till the next change?

Thanks and Happy holidays,
Frank D

 

[Quattro Pete]

M1 10w-30 doesn't meet the BMW oil specs, but for one oil change it shouldn't be a problem.

Out of the over-the-counter stuff, M1 0w-40 would be better. Also, GC (German Castrol Syntec 0w-30) would be a good choice if he can find it. Lastly, the BMW 5w-30 oil (also a Castrol product in a BMW bottle) that is sold by BMW dealership would also be a good choice.

 

[JAG]

I'll let the BMW gurus tell you precisely what the owners manual says but don't get concerned when they tell you a thicker oil is recommended than the M1 10W-30 your son used. It doesn't matter for street driving usage. My brother had the same engine and he used M1 10W-30 plenty of times...it won't hurt the engine so tell your son to keep it in use for the full interval.

 

[FowVay]

In 2000 the 323i specified BMW LongLife 5W-40. There should be a decal on the injector cover specifically stating: "Use only BMW longlife oil P/N 07 51 1 470 407".

In 2001 BMW changed their LongLife specification to a 5W-30 viscosity. Note that not many/any off-the-shelf synthetic 5W-30 oils meet the BMW specification.

I have used and sampled many oils in my 1999 model 323i and have had the best luck with Castrol Syntec 0W-30. None of the oils that I have tried ever gave poor analysis results but they all left brown deposits on the plastic valve cover. The German Castrol 0W-30 has cured this problem completely.

Using the oil that your son put in his engine will cause absolutely no damage to his car. However, the oil life monitor in the car is set to count down from 15,000 miles. I have NOT found a oil that performs to my personal satisfaction at these intervals. If your son changes his oil in a conservative 5,000 to 7,500 mile interval using a quality name brand synthetic oil he will get good service from his car.

I personally use only ACEA A3 rated oils but that's just me. I don't know of any person that has burned a M52 engine up using a quality synthetic at conservative drain intervals in normal use.

 

[JAG]

Originally Posted By: FowVay
I have used and sampled many oils in my 1999 model 323i and have had the best luck with Castrol Syntec 0W-30. None of the oils that I have tried ever gave poor analysis results but they all left brown deposits on the plastic valve cover. The German Castrol 0W-30 has cured this problem completely.

Sorry to hijack but what oils did you use that left brown deposits on the plastic cover? I made a thread a while back about this and maybe you even responded to it...my brother's engine had a lot of brown deposits on that plastic. My coworker's same BMW engine has even more deposits but he is one of the nuts who does 15K mi. OCIs on the BMW 5W-30 oil!

 

[demarpaint]

Thanks for the replies. The few things I told him about car care (old school) was to change the oil every 3,000 miles, which is over kill. I think he will probably leave that oil in for 3000 miles and then hopefully locate the recommended oil for his car. I didn't realize BMW OC intervals were 15,000 miles.

Thanks,
Frank D

 

[gtx510]

The only off-the-shelf BMW LL-98 oil that I can think of is Castrol Syntec 5W40. Maybe there's also a Pennzoil or Valvoline 5W40 but I haven't seen it in socal.
Mobil1 5W40 TDT (Delvac1) would work ok, but Rotella 5W40 will be cheaper and you should get less engine wear with it.
http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html some "euro" oils

I wouldn't use the M1 10W30 for more the 5-6k, it's kinda thin and shears fairly easily. Tell him if the engine sounds really clattery to change the oil, leave the filter if he wants.

Auto-RX works great on those 15k OCI BMW's....