07 mini cooper s - long oci, possible sludge

[milaut]

bitogers, I’m looking for some ideas on how to clean up a possibly sludged mini cooper s (turbo charged). This car belongs to my gf. gf followed mini’s oci and got her first oil change at 15,000 miles. The second oil change was done at 30k miles. I did the following 2 oci’s for her car. I used mobil1 5w30 and castrol edge 5w30 respectively.

I got into bitog not too long ago, and found out:

1. should have changed her ff earlier and shortened the oci (15k miles is too long)
2. The mini cooper s requires a acea a3/b3 bmw long life rated oil
3. This car consumes a lot of oil
4. From reading another forum, these cars are known for carbon buildup, b/c of direct injection

During the first 2 years of ownership, her car maintenance was covered by mini, so gf got the first 2 oil changes for free (every 15k miles or 1year). Since it was under warranty….i didn’t want to touch the car. My question is, what would be the result of these long oci’s? increased engine wear? Sludge build up?

After the 2 years were over, I started doing the oci. The first time I used mobil1 5w30, which was probably at 45k miles. the second time I used castrol edge 5w30 at 49k miles. I now know that both these oils are not acea a3/b3 rated. What damage could I have done w/ running mobil1 5w30 (which I believe is acea a1/b1) for 4k miles? the castrol edge 5w30 has only been in the car for 1k miles. she was low ½ a quart the other day, so I put in some mmo for some cleaning. After driving for a week, the car was ½ low again. this time, I topped off w/ mobil1 0w40. oil cap had thick black build up on it that i was able to wipe off. I will be dumping the current castrol edge.

My question is….how can I clean up this mess? Currently I have 10 bottles of mobil1 0w40, 3 bottles of redline 10w30 and 5 bottles of synpower 5w40. I was thinking of using 1qt of redline 10w30 and 3.5qts of mobil1 and run that for 5k oci. Do you think that is better for clean up? Or should I use some auto-rx (which I have 3 bottles) w/ synpower 5w40 and run that for 5k?

Also, since the car is known for carbon buildup, I’ve ran some seafoam though the pcv and got some crazy smoke. I’ve done the seafoam twice and she noticed better response. I just dumped a bottle of redline sl-1 in the gas tank. Once she runs the tank empty, I will change the oil.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Pennzoil Ultra in the required grade, for 3k OCI's for a bit. I know it will be expensive but it should work.

 

[05foresterXT]

First of all, I don't think you did that much damage running non acea a3/b3 oil for those short OCIs. The big problem, as you found, is that you will get a lot of oil consumption if you don't stick to that recommendation. Second, I would wait until down a full quart before topping off, and never add more than 1/2 quart at a time. A lot of cars that consume oil will consume more if you continually keep it topped off.

The acea a3/b3 requirement is more important than the 5w30 requirement. I'd keep running short OCIs and a stout synthetic oil. Turbo engines can really eat up oil like crazy. I'm not a fan of oil additives like seafoam, mmo, etc. I have tried autorx, and I don't believe it does a whole lot of good other than get you to change your oil and filter more often.

 

[bepperb]

I'd stop with MMO and wouldn't use autorx.

Shorten things down to a 5000 mile OCI with the M1 or the synpower or the redline, it doesn't have to be a witch's brew of them. Let things clean themselves up.

1/2 quart in 1000 miles isn't ideal, but how sure are you that it was right on the full mark after the change? MMO has a lot of volatile distillates which will burn off relatively quickly (ideally cleaning the PCV system though I'm not very optimistic about how this would work) so it's not surprising you're back down.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Amazon has a 6-quart case of Pennzoil Ultra L Euro 5w30 for $54, eligible for free shipping w/Amazon Prime. That oil meets most Euro specs, including ACEA A3/B3 and BMW LL-01.

I'd get a UOA after 6-8k to make sure it can handle a 15k OCI.

 

[OVERKILL]

Run the M1 0w40 for a short (5K?) OCI. Repeat.

 

[rjacket]

 

[milaut]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Pennzoil Ultra in the required grade, for 3k OCI's for a bit. I know it will be expensive but it should work.


i haven't found pu 5w40 euro locally. i've gotten good deals for the mobil1 and synpower. is pu that much better at cleaning?

 

[milaut]

Originally Posted By: 05foresterXT
First of all, I don't think you did that much damage running non acea a3/b3 oil for those short OCIs. The big problem, as you found, is that you will get a lot of oil consumption if you don't stick to that recommendation. Second, I would wait until down a full quart before topping off, and never add more than 1/2 quart at a time. A lot of cars that consume oil will consume more if you continually keep it topped off.

The acea a3/b3 requirement is more important than the 5w30 requirement. I'd keep running short OCIs and a stout synthetic oil. Turbo engines can really eat up oil like crazy. I'm not a fan of oil additives like seafoam, mmo, etc. I have tried autorx, and I don't believe it does a whole lot of good other than get you to change your oil and filter more often.


yeah, the car runs fine. actually, she says it runs better since the seafoam. will stick w/ a short oci with no additives.

 

[milaut]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
I'd stop with MMO and wouldn't use autorx.

Shorten things down to a 5000 mile OCI with the M1 or the synpower or the redline, it doesn't have to be a witch's brew of them. Let things clean themselves up.

1/2 quart in 1000 miles isn't ideal, but how sure are you that it was right on the full mark after the change? MMO has a lot of volatile distillates which will burn off relatively quickly (ideally cleaning the PCV system though I'm not very optimistic about how this would work) so it's not surprising you're back down.

i've heard good things about m1 0w40 and 1qt of redline mix. both are acea a3 rated. at about 800 miles, it was half way on the dipstick. 16oz of mmo brought it to full. 400 miles later, it was half again. i did top off w/ mobil1 0w40. i'll stop using mmo.

 

[OldCowboy]

First, I wouldn't necessarily assume there is anything wrong with the engine. Does this vehicle have an intelligent oil life monitor (IOLM) like BMWs have had for a couple of decades?? If it does and the IOLM did not indicate an OC before the 15,000 mark, then everything will be fine. BMW LL01 oils are designed for extended drain intervals and hundreds of millions of miles in Europe show they work. We Americans have been brainwashed into unnecessary 3000 mile oil changes.

Botom line? Use the manufacturer recommended weight of BMW LL01 certified oil and follow BMW's recommendation on OCIs.

 

[abycat]

Do you really know its sludged or not?. I want to see a pic of under the valve cover. Id have to say you should cut open your filters through your process to see if there is any sludge, assuming the valve cover didnt come off.

Other than that I would put in a good speced oil for it and monitor with a couple UOA's and some visual help. And post pics.

Is this one the longest factory run here as of now? I would have dumped it at 3000km but would start sweating at 1500km.

Above post snuck in before me. I agree totally.

 

[milaut]

Originally Posted By: OldCowboy
First, I wouldn't necessarily assume there is anything wrong with the engine. Does this vehicle have an intelligent oil life monitor (IOLM) like BMWs have had for a couple of decades?? If it does and the IOLM did not indicate an OC before the 15,000 mark, then everything will be fine. BMW LL01 oils are designed for extended drain intervals and hundreds of millions of miles in Europe show they work. We Americans have been brainwashed into unnecessary 3000 mile oil changes.

Botom line? Use the manufacturer recommended weight of BMW LL01 certified oil and follow BMW's recommendation on OCIs.


yes, she followed the olm. i've been hearing horror stories about 15k mile oci's that is why i am worried. the only sludge i could see was on the oil cap. i had to wipe if off a few times to get the thick black sludge off of it.

 

[milaut]

Originally Posted By: abycat
Do you really know its sludged or not?. I want to see a pic of under the valve cover. Id have to say you should cut open your filters through your process to see if there is any sludge, assuming the valve cover didnt come off.

Other than that I would put in a good speced oil for it and monitor with a couple UOA's and some visual help. And post pics.

Is this one the longest factory run here as of now? I would have dumped it at 3000km but would start sweating at 1500km.

Above post snuck in before me. I agree totally.


i will take a picture of the filter when i change it.

 

[Bladecutter]

Honestly, unless you're willing to pop off the valve cover and have a look, you will never truly know if there's a problem going on under there.

If it were my car, or my gf's car, I would pop off the valve cover, and see what's going on. You will either be able to breathe a sigh of relief, or be able to show your gf why 15k mile oil change intervals aren't the best idea.

As for the oil consumption issue, to me it would be worth it to perform a compression check on the cylinders, and if one shows low, perform a hot soak on that cylinder with something like Chevron Complete Fuel System Cleaner overnight, with all the engine oil drained out of the engine, and a clean empty oil catch pan under the open oil drain hole.

If there's deposits on the oil control rings that are causing the oil burning, this might clean them out.

BC.

 

[LineArrayNut]

dude! no wonder hyundai backlashed w/ the 3K mile severe, 4.8K mile normal OCI (and basically mandating a good synthetic by saying 5W40 would add performance)! 15K on regular oil in a turboed DI motor! I freak oooouuuttt when I see/smell mine at 3.7K mile changes, lol!

 

[rjacket]

Is there a chance that the dealer used the wrong oil?

 

[tig1]

M1 5-30 is A1 B1 A5 B5.

 

[rjacket]

The OP used M1 5-30 and expressed concern at his choice.

However, we don't know what the dealer used.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

LL04 should slow built up rate of intake deposits. Run on 5-7k mi OCI. LL04 are A3/B4/C3. Castrol SLX @ BMW dealerships for $7 fits the bill. Could also use M1 ESP 5W30 too!

Drive more, worry less.