I have a 2002 BMW X5 3.1 with 120000 miles. It runs great and it usese a qt of oil every 1200 miles. Most of its life it has seen only m1 ow/40 EF. thinking that the oil consumption has increased should I be changing to a thicker oil?
High Mileage BMW x5 3.1 which oil?
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Originally Posted By: GhostFlame
I have a 2002 BMW X5 3.1
3.1? Do you mean 3.0i maybe?
Quote:
thinking that the oil consumption has increased should I be changing to a thicker oil?
How about M1 HM 10w-30 or 10w-40? I'm actually contemplating doing something similar, although I'm only at 71K miles and my oil consumption isn't as bad as yours.
A quart every 1200 miles is almost at the max limit allowable by the manufacturer, which is kind of high to begin with. Is everything OK with the engine? No leaks? No clogged CCV?
I have a 2002 BMW X5 3.1
3.1? Do you mean 3.0i maybe?
Quote:
thinking that the oil consumption has increased should I be changing to a thicker oil?
How about M1 HM 10w-30 or 10w-40? I'm actually contemplating doing something similar, although I'm only at 71K miles and my oil consumption isn't as bad as yours.
A quart every 1200 miles is almost at the max limit allowable by the manufacturer, which is kind of high to begin with. Is everything OK with the engine? No leaks? No clogged CCV?
"A quart every 1200 miles is almost at the max limit allowable by the manufacturer, which is kind of high to begin with. Is everything OK with the engine? No leaks? No clogged CCV?"
yes 3.0i
Had the ccv replaced 18 months ago and serviced at 12 months dealer says it's fine.
Engine runs like new, quiet and really strong when I step on the gas.
No leaks that I know of
what do you mean mazimum allowed by the manufacturer... this engine has 120K on it?
yes 3.0i
Had the ccv replaced 18 months ago and serviced at 12 months dealer says it's fine.
Engine runs like new, quiet and really strong when I step on the gas.
No leaks that I know of
what do you mean mazimum allowed by the manufacturer... this engine has 120K on it?
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I mean that according to BMW, oil consumption up to 1qt per 1000 miles is still considered "normal."
Had you still been under warranty and the consumption was worse than that, you could have asked them to do something about it.
Had you still been under warranty and the consumption was worse than that, you could have asked them to do something about it.
I see what you are saying.
It looks like Valvoline Synpower 5/30 and 5/40 meets the LL-01 spec. anyone ever try these.
Does the M1 HM 10/40 meet the LL-01 spec
It looks like Valvoline Synpower 5/30 and 5/40 meets the LL-01 spec. anyone ever try these.
Does the M1 HM 10/40 meet the LL-01 spec
The Synpower HST (5w-30 or 5w-40) is basically impossible to find in bottles. I believe it is only sold in bulk to shops. Don't confuse it with the regular Synpower 5w-30/5w-40 which meets LL-04 - you don't want that.
M1 HM 10w-40 does not list LL-01 spec, but it does list ACEA A3 on which the LL-01 spec is based.
How often do you change oil? With such high oil consumption, you could almost get away with not changing it at all... within 8k miles you would have added the equivalent of your entire oil sump capacity.
M1 HM 10w-40 does not list LL-01 spec, but it does list ACEA A3 on which the LL-01 spec is based.
How often do you change oil? With such high oil consumption, you could almost get away with not changing it at all... within 8k miles you would have added the equivalent of your entire oil sump capacity.
To be clear, regular SynPower 5w-30 does not meet any Euro specs except A5 and is too thin for the BMW specs.
The M1 5w-30 High Miles SL is a closer match to the thick BMW 5w-30 SL and would be my first pick for your engine for winter. Any of the HM line is well suited to Euro engines. If you are driving in moderate temps, the 10w-30 HM is excellent all around.
The M1 5w-30 High Miles SL is a closer match to the thick BMW 5w-30 SL and would be my first pick for your engine for winter. Any of the HM line is well suited to Euro engines. If you are driving in moderate temps, the 10w-30 HM is excellent all around.
At 120k miles, I can almost guarantee that you have a leak at the valve cover if it hasn't been changed at some point. The oil filter housing gasket is probably leaking as well. Look carefully around the front of the engine above the air conditioning compressor, and from below as well.
This X5 has the M54 power plant. I have read a LOT of threads in many forums over the last couple of years about M54s with oil consumption. For some lucky people it's the usual culprit - the CCV. If it's not the CCV and it's not leaking, a whole lot of people never figure out what it is. I've also seen posts indicating that it's a valve guide problem, but that may be limited to certain production date ranges.
I'm personally concluding that a lot of M54s have oil consumption problems despite running well and there may be nothing that can be done to help the situation. It's a shame since the M54 is a refined performer. I haven't seen any data on how the N52 is faring. My M52 and my dad's M62TU engines don't consume any detectable oil in ~10k km.
I'm personally concluding that a lot of M54s have oil consumption problems despite running well and there may be nothing that can be done to help the situation. It's a shame since the M54 is a refined performer. I haven't seen any data on how the N52 is faring. My M52 and my dad's M62TU engines don't consume any detectable oil in ~10k km.
Originally Posted By: GhostFlame
I have a 2002 BMW X5 3.1 with 120000 miles. It runs great and it usese a qt of oil every 1200 miles. Most of its life it has seen only m1 ow/40 EF. thinking that the oil consumption has increased should I be changing to a thicker oil?
If I read for clarity, I would have pointed out the magic of Mobil 1 0w-40 re: consumption.
I have a 2002 BMW X5 3.1 with 120000 miles. It runs great and it usese a qt of oil every 1200 miles. Most of its life it has seen only m1 ow/40 EF. thinking that the oil consumption has increased should I be changing to a thicker oil?
If I read for clarity, I would have pointed out the magic of Mobil 1 0w-40 re: consumption.
Originally Posted By: 02Pilot
At 120k miles, I can almost guarantee that you have a leak at the valve cover if it hasn't been changed at some point. The oil filter housing gasket is probably leaking as well. Look carefully around the front of the engine above the air conditioning compressor, and from below as well.
I looked everywhere. Wouldn't you think that with a leak that uses 5 qts in 6000 miles I would see a spot in the driveway?... no spots.
I have heard that other owners of the M54 engine are experiencing anywhere from 1 qt in 1000 to 1 qt every 3000 when the engine gets older.
I'm not going to incure any repair cost that I can tolerate with a few qts of oil unless it becomes excessive.
Is there something wrong with M1 0w-40, It's spec-ed for this car?
At 120k miles, I can almost guarantee that you have a leak at the valve cover if it hasn't been changed at some point. The oil filter housing gasket is probably leaking as well. Look carefully around the front of the engine above the air conditioning compressor, and from below as well.
I looked everywhere. Wouldn't you think that with a leak that uses 5 qts in 6000 miles I would see a spot in the driveway?... no spots.
I have heard that other owners of the M54 engine are experiencing anywhere from 1 qt in 1000 to 1 qt every 3000 when the engine gets older.
I'm not going to incure any repair cost that I can tolerate with a few qts of oil unless it becomes excessive.
Is there something wrong with M1 0w-40, It's spec-ed for this car?
Hi,
Ghostflame - Some Euro engine makers accept your oil consumption as quite normal - Porsche for instance accepts 1.5ltrs per 1kkms - and MB does too in most cases
That said, some engines seem to have a "sweet spot" in terms of the operating oil level. This can affect oil consumption. It may be worth keeping the level at the half way mark (running from mid point to low before topping up - Low-High - cold of course) and see if this makes a difference
Ghostflame - Some Euro engine makers accept your oil consumption as quite normal - Porsche for instance accepts 1.5ltrs per 1kkms - and MB does too in most cases
That said, some engines seem to have a "sweet spot" in terms of the operating oil level. This can affect oil consumption. It may be worth keeping the level at the half way mark (running from mid point to low before topping up - Low-High - cold of course) and see if this makes a difference
I have heard that before. My engine keeps consuming oil past the mid point on the stick. Just as an experiment I left it go an extra 1000 miles and it went well into the lower extremes of the stick below the lowest hash mark.
Thanks
Thanks
Could the oil consumption be the result of "easy" break-in of the engine?
Originally Posted By: GhostFlame
I have heard that before. My engine keeps consuming oil past the mid point on the stick. Just as an experiment I left it go an extra 1000 miles and it went well into the lower extremes of the stick below the lowest hash mark.
Thanks
I would do that, but that annoying yellow light comes on every time I shut it down,
I have heard that before. My engine keeps consuming oil past the mid point on the stick. Just as an experiment I left it go an extra 1000 miles and it went well into the lower extremes of the stick below the lowest hash mark.
Thanks
I would do that, but that annoying yellow light comes on every time I shut it down,
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