N52B25 Oil Consumption

[Mr Tidy]

Oops, slipped up then - I've just taken a deposit on my Z4C with the N52 engine and mine hasn't needed a top-up in 10K miles!

I knew I shouldn't have let my head rule my heart!

[Acidrop]

Just put thicker oil in it! BMW engines are known to use a bit of oil, some more than others. If it's burning oil too quickly and you can't see any apparent reason, a thicker oil will definitely help.

My 530i Sport used around a liter of oil every 1000-2000 miles so I changed it to 5w50 which has improved things considerably.

I'm thinking of using 10w60 with the next oil change to see if I can eliminate the oil consumption completely.

[E-bmw]

tonymor said:

I've always been told that most BMW s like oil . Had this conversation before with my very trusty indi .

You will hear plenty of stories both agreeing & disagreeing with this, there lies the truth.

As in, yes & no, some do some don't & whether there is an identifiable trend I doubt has been confirmed.

My personal experience:

2 x M50 engined BMWs owned by me, one did one didn't.
2 x M52 engined BWMs owned by me, one did one didn't.
1 x M54 engined BMW that did.

Those that did went through 1 litre every 1000 miles approximately.
Those that didn't used precisely zero between oil changes, one was & still is a track day car.

[bmwmike]

I owned an m52tu engine from 109k to 178k and it never needed a drop between oil changes.

Current n53 is on 40k, had it for 4000 miles and idrive showing full on the electric dip stick.. not added a drop yet.

[mon the fish]

I'd change to 5w-40 and see what difference that makes - it made a difference for me on a different car; it started to use oil at 75k miles with the original 5w-30, no issues now with 5w-40

[With these feet]

Having found traces of oil in the inlet manifold, it's clear to me it can only get there via the pcv. It would be easy to put £50 worth of 10w 50 in it but if the valve is fecked it's not going to get much better.

[viperbluecerb]

With these feet said:

Having found traces of oil in the inlet manifold, it's clear to me it can only get there via the pcv. It would be easy to put £50 worth of 10w 50 in it but if the valve is fecked it's not going to get much better.

I found traces on the intake side of the PCV when I replaced the rocker cover on my N53. After taking the old one apart to find all was well with the valve and oil separator, I can only think that there is a level of oil mist which doesn't get caught by the separator and instead condenses downstream in the breather and intake. If it is just traces then this could explain it.

[With these feet]

I fitted the part yesterday,once the manifold was off it more than a trace to be fair, there was a good coating on the DISA valve and back 3 cylinders. Bit fiddly not having done one before, had hoped to move the manifold out of the way but not a chance. Trickiest bits were disconnecting the breather pipes and then 4 small connectors that are heater wires?. Took 3 and a bit hours in total but that did include taking my dogs for a quick walk! .

Edited by With these feet on Tuesday 10th May 08:15

[gizlaroc]

Definitely move to a thicker oil as the car gets older.

I would try 5w40 next, your indi garage was right, he think he knew what he was talking about far more than BMW.

Alpina even tell owners to change viscosity at certain mileages. At 120k KM they recommend 10w60 on many of their engines.

[wax lyrical]

My 2008 N54 335i (currently at 116k miles) uses approx 1 litre of oil every 10k miles.