Oil Changes

[jmillet]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Interesting and i makes some senses. However, my buddy uses Mann filters for his e46 M3 and the 5series but we never seen the sleeve on any of the filter. Must be BMW OEM thing?

The filter pictured above is made by Mahle and is sold by BMW under P/N 11 42 7 833 769. This same part number will get you a Mann HU 925/4X.

[zer0xity]

i miscalculated... i'm approaching 9K since service one. anyhow, went to the local dealership on saturday and bought 7 quarts of the castrol tws 10w60 and filter. having my buddy do it later today, he's a certified bmw tech. also bought a cool but certainly overpriced gray t-shirt with the ///M badge on it. had to have it.

[gatorfast]

I do an extra one in between the service intervals so i guess thats approx every 7,500 miles.

[Jbs]

every 7.5k miles.. almost 60mi/day daily driver

[hogzilla]

Originally Posted by wassup61

DIY, super easy!!! I can help if need be, I have an oil change coming up

Thanks! The only thing that kept me from doing it on my own was the need to jack up the car to drain it. When I got it done it was just before winter and I didn't want to mess with it. I'll change it on my own around early-mid summer I'd guess. It is really easy, I love the filter being on the top. That is brilliant design!

Thanks for the offer!

[Jbs]

just did the oil change myself last wednesday. I ordered the parts from tischer and went to my friends house to do the change. Having never jacked the car up before, it was quite an experience trying to get the front to lift up without having any alternate points on the car for jackstands. I had to jack up the right rear, place a jackstand on the right front, then jack up the left rear and put a jackstand on the left front afterwards... there has to be an easier way lol

[oj]

The oil change is a pretty nice & smooth process on the M. I do not have a low profile jack, just the regular orange jack from Harbor Freight. I just drive over a 2X4 to get some clearance for the jack jack.

I also find that dealerships are willing to give a good rate on oil and filters if you buy a bunch at a time. Last time I bought 9 cartons oil he tossed in the filter for free. It doesn't hurt to ask

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Jbs

front, then jack up the left rear and put a jackstand on the left front afterwards... there has to be an easier way lol

There is. Get a top-sider or an oil extractor and suck out the oil from the dipstick tube.

[ricanbandit]

I take mine to a local indy and change it out every 3000 miles. I have been doing this to all my cars since back in 99 when I got my first Miata. The price of a sushi dinner and while it might not really help much, it certainly doesn't hurt.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by The HACK

There is. Get a top-sider or an oil extractor and suck out the oil from the dipstick tube.

^^^This. The oil change I did in October was the easiest ever with a Top-Sider extractor. If you want a good deal on oil for the M go here:

http://www.shopgreddy.com/gr-full-sy...ngine-oil.html

$40 for 6 qts of 10W60 syn shipped! Amazing price.

[Jbs]

hmm the top sider oil extractor is an interesting idea; i did not know one could do that.

when i changed my oil it was pretty dark, i ran some spare oil from my friends 330 through my engine till the stream coming out of the bottom was gold again (then waited for it all to flush through and stop dripping), then filled it up w the castrol oil i got. I feel that if i used an extractor, all the contaminants/old oil would stay in the engine and it wouldnt be a complete flush..? maybe i should just change the oil more often haha

interestingly enough, the oil level never changed, but it did get very dirty (i waited 10k before this last one).

[puciorek]

just got an advertisement from one of the BMW dealers offering the oil change for only $79.95....when I looked at the bottom small text, it stated the "M" cost "slightly" more.
He, he...when I called and asked how much that "slightly" is, she said only $120.00
is that "slightly" or significantly more?

how much do you pay for oil change?

[KevinM]

Originally Posted by puciorek

just got an advertisement from one of the BMW dealers offering the oil change for only $79.95....when I looked at the bottom small text, it stated the "M" cost "slightly" more.
He, he...when I called and asked how much that "slightly" is, she said only $120.00
is that "slightly" or significantly more?

how much do you pay for oil change?

That is still very inexpensive for an oil change with TWS...jump on it, if you trust the dealer!

Based on used oil analyses (Blackstone labs) I'm in the 7,500 miles/once per year camp.

Weird how sometimes old threads are bumped in the same month as previous years!

[Jmanscotch]

7.5K intervals here. Synthetic oils can last it, and more, it's the paper filter that proves to be the weak link that spurs more often changes.

I know a few who run 15K oil and just swap the filter every 7.5K.

Originally Posted by puciorek

just got an advertisement from one of the BMW dealers offering the oil change for only $79.95....when I looked at the bottom small text, it stated the "M" cost "slightly" more.
He, he...when I called and asked how much that "slightly" is, she said only $120.00
is that "slightly" or significantly more?

how much do you pay for oil change?

Non-M at the local dealer is $105.xx out the door, which I find not to be too bad as I can only DIY for ~ $65, so during winter when I don't want to bother, I don't mind visiting the stealer.

[tekmoe]

Just changed my oil yesterday (3rd time to change it since I bought her). Super easy just like the first 2 times. Took no longer than 30 minutes and almost half that time was waiting for the oil to drain. BTW I was pushing 8k miles on the oil I drained out - probably could have went longer. I also replaced the Vanos filter for peace of mind. She's going in for her valve check/adjustment within the next week or two. Still can't complain though, she runs about as perfect as could be.

[tekmoe]

Originally Posted by puciorek

just got an advertisement from one of the BMW dealers offering the oil change for only $79.95....when I looked at the bottom small text, it stated the "M" cost "slightly" more.
He, he...when I called and asked how much that "slightly" is, she said only $120.00
is that "slightly" or significantly more?

how much do you pay for oil change?

I pay about $100 shipped for the oil change kit from Tischer (oil, oil filter, o-rings, and drain plug washer) but I also prefer to do it myself to ensure it is done correctly. Too many stories about people taking their cars to the dealership for a simple oil change and drive away with it being under/over filled.

[Beedub]

i do 3-5k changes....... my engine is heating its oil easier so i change early, however under 98% circumstances the car runs slightly cooler oil temps....... so i probably dont need to but it makes me feel better.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Jbs

hmm the top sider oil extractor is an interesting idea; i did not know one could do that.

when i changed my oil it was pretty dark, i ran some spare oil from my friends 330 through my engine till the stream coming out of the bottom was gold again (then waited for it all to flush through and stop dripping), then filled it up w the castrol oil i got. I feel that if i used an extractor, all the contaminants/old oil would stay in the engine and it wouldnt be a complete flush..? maybe i should just change the oil more often haha

interestingly enough, the oil level never changed, but it did get very dirty (i waited 10k before this last one).

The "color" of the oil is irrelevant, within 500 miles of driving your "pristine" oil will look rather dark simply because of the by-products of combustion. There's no way to do any sort of real "visual" analysis of quality of oil, to really determine if your oil is clean or dirty, the ONLY way to do it is through a used oil analysis lab where the used oil can be broken down and studied for the contaminants within the oil.

And I've probably posted this at least 100 times, we've conducted relatively scientific study of draining the oil via the dipstick vs. the drain plug. The difference is a mere 120 ml out of 6.5 liters on a standard inline 6. The amount of oil left in the pan when draining via the topside is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

And before you argue, well, the stuff left on the bottom of the pan...Again, if you drain your oil when it's warm, any and all particulate that is not trapped within the filter should be suspended within the warm oil and therefore sucked out along with the used oil. There's really no practical difference between draining from the plug vs. draining from the tube.

[tekmoe]

Old bastards may prefer the topside oil change method. I'm a young buck and have no issue crawling underneath the car to pull the drain plug.

[330indy]

Consider the critical pathways of the high-pressure oil system for the S54's VANOS engagement. Not to mention the camshafts "roll" on hard tappets not roller bearings, the oil sprayers for the pistons, and the lower capacity oil well (not 7 quarts, 5.5).

Clean oil serves the S54 well!
change it often
sleep like a baby

[Swashplate]

Peace of mind. Worth every penny, every time.

[tekmoe]

Often enough in the sense that the oil you are running is not protecting the engine any longer. I've seen some blackstone reports showing S54's with 10k miles on the TWS10w60 and they said it was still good. Amazing. I feel safe at 7,500 but nice to know you could probably go longer, all depending on your driving conditions of course.