[IRON]

Hi Yet another prob with my car,just bought it on sun :frown

When i bought it i checked the oil which was at the max level,i have done around 200 miles since then.The oil light (yellow)appeared on the dash today so i checked the level again and its under the minimum:jaw-dropping

I have read back posts that they can use 1 litre per 1000 miles

But this seems major excessive to me, there is no signs of any oil leaks and no sign of blue smoke from the exhaust either :confused
It has to be going somewhere:confused

 

[mikaveli]

Hi Yet another prob with my car,just bought it on sun :frown

When i bought it i checked the oil which was at the max level,i have done around 200 miles since then.The oil light (yellow)appeared on the dash today so i checked the level again and its under the minimum:jaw-dropping

I have read back posts that they can use 1 litre per 1000 miles

But this seems major excessive to me, there is no signs of any oil leaks and no sign of blue smoke from the exhaust either :confused
It has to be going somewhere:confused

Remember to leave you engine for 5 minutes after running, or there may still be a lot of oil in the upper part of the engine - given you a false low reading. Also, were both oil tests done on flat, level ground?

How many mile has your car done? It might be worn rings/cylinder bores - the smoke isn't always that noticeable while you're driving.

 

[IRON]

Yes the engine was left for 10 mins to let the oil run back down into the sump
And was also checked on level ground

It has done 94k miles and has fsh

I have topped it back up to the max mark (litre)

I guess il have to do some more miles and keep an eye on it see how much it uses

I hope its not burning oil, thought a bmw 6 cylinder engine with this amount of miles wouldnt be worn already:confused

 

[steve_nurburgring]

Shouldnt be worn out at that mileage, should see easy 200k miles with regular service.

 

[IRON]

UPDATE

I filled it to the max level(cold engine on level ground) i drove 200 miles and the oil light came on again checked dipsick and sure enough its on the minimum mark.
Thing thats bothering me is- there is no signs of an oil leak

And there is no blue smoke coming out of the exhaust,even when starting 1st thing in the morning or at full throttle

I am totally stumped it must be going somewhere
I would have thought at 1 litre per 2-250 miles it would have been visible and smelling from the exhaust?
If it is burning oil what would the prob be?valve stem seals,piston rings?

Any ideas/thoughts much appreciated

 

[Slacker-ray]

UPDATE

I filled it to the max level(cold engine on level ground) i drove 200 miles and the oil light came on again checked dipsick and sure enough its on the minimum mark.
Thing thats bothering me is- there is no signs of an oil leak

And there is no blue smoke coming out of the exhaust,even when starting 1st thing in the morning or at full throttle

I am totally stumped it must be going somewhere
I would have thought at 1 litre per 2-250 miles it would have been visible and smelling from the exhaust?
If it is burning oil what would the prob be?valve stem seals,piston rings?

Any ideas/thoughts much appreciated

What I would do is:

jack the car up, remove the splash guard from below and take a good look around the underside of the engine. See if you can spot anything.

 

[IRON]

Thanks

Have put it up on ramps and removed the guard-everywhere is bone dry absolutley no leaks :mad

Whats next get a compression test done to see if its worn bores/rings/valve stem seals?

Have read somewhere about an oil valve that can dump oil straight into the inlet manifold?

 

[IRON]

I have been told that fully synthetic oil when being burned will not be visible or smell??

Is it possible that the pcv valve(crankcase ventilation valve) is causing it to burn oil?

Thanks

Jason

 

[Slacker-ray]

I have been told that fully synthetic oil when being burned will not be visible or smell??

Is it possible that the pcv valve(crankcase ventilation valve) is causing it to burn oil?

Thanks

Jason

But are you saying that you dont get any blue smoke at all??

 

[IRON]

I cannot see any smoke of any colour coming out of the exhaust,whether its idling or at full throttle,or in gear under load etc

There is no smell either

I used to have an old xr3 which burned oil and there was clouds of smoke coming out of that and it stank

Cannot understand this unless its right enough that synthetic is not visible when burning?

Cheers for your input Ray :thumbsup

 

[Mighty_5series]

that works out at around a teaspoon of oil every mile... If you burned a teaspoon of oil you would notice the burning and smell it....

As ray says are you not noticing any smoke at all??

also thoroughly check around you sump and engine for leaks as mentioned, it could be that it is only dripping when load is put on the engine....

If you are unsure as to whether you are burning smoke have someone follow you down a stretch of road, drive it hard in the first two gears... if you are burning oil at the rate you say... it will become apparent then.

 

[IRON]

ps

I also paid close attention when starting it in the morning(when a cloud of smoke would point to valve stem seals) But there was nothing:confused

 

[Slacker-ray]

Do you know what grade of oil is in the car mate?

 

[IRON]

The last service in nov was done at quick fit, i dont know which grade of oil they put in

The 1st time i topped it up with a litre i used comma 10w40 full synth(bmw approved) from dingbro motor factors who looked up the oil guide .
Then yesterday i used valvoline 5w40(from a petrol station that had a oil guide for diffirent cars. The 40 may have beeen 30 i cant remember as i dont have the empty tubs.

 

[IRON]

Also after i top it up to max it seems to stay there for approx 60-90 miles, then goes to under minimum in the next 110-160 or so miles

 

[Slacker-ray]

Also after i top it up to max it seems to stay there for approx 60-90 miles, then goes to under minimum in the next 110-160 or so miles

hmmm..........and there are no visible oil leaks anywhere:confused

If you are confident that it is not burning oil...........I would try a slightly thicker oil perhaps. if you are thinking that Kwik fit dumped a ??w/30 in- I would change the oil to a 5w/40 fully syn.

I have come across a few beemers that have been filled with too thin a grade of oil and the owners complain about excess oil usage. We switch to a thicker grade- to be honest that usually sorts the problem out if the cars no other symptoms.

 

[IRON]

Just took the car out and got my old man to follow me in his,i took it to the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd, then i tried slow speed in 3rd gear with full throttle and there was no smoke and no smell
To double check i got him to drive my car and i drove his and there was nothing

Which would make any one say its leaking from somewhere, but i had the splash guard off and theres def no oil leaks and no signs of there ever being one either.

Is it possible it just dumps it all of a sudden now and again?

This is weird

 

[Slacker-ray]

Just took the car out and got my old man to follow me in his,i took it to the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd, then i tried slow speed in 3rd gear with full throttle and there was no smoke and no smell
To double check i got him to drive my car and i drove his and there was nothing

Which would make any one say its leaking from somewhere, but i had the splash guard off and theres def no oil leaks and no signs of there ever being one either.

Is it possible it just dumps it all of a sudden now and again?

This is weird

Ron, when you took the splash guard off, was there any signs of oil on the guard at all?

 

[IRON]

No m8 it was bone dry,dusty and some small stones that was it,
I checked around the sump and looked up from the botom all around the engine and i cannot see anything anywhere,.
Thanks for all the input your giving me, im totally stumped and appreciate any help

 

[Slacker-ray]

No m8 it was bone dry,dusty and some small stones that was it,
I checked around the sump and looked up from the botom all around the engine and i cannot see anything anywhere,.
Thanks for all the input your giving me, im totally stumped and appreciate any help

In that case dude:


Drain out the oil, use a 5w/40 and see how you go from there.