bjarnimaron

I've got a 2004 BMW E60 530i with 157k KM (97.5k miles) on it. It has a 6 cylinder M54B30 engine. Winter has recently arrived in Iceland so there's been a lot of snow and cold air.

Like any proper BMW owner I've been having fun in the snow with the DSC off. Fun comes with a price though, so I've recently had a lot of fault codes come up on the iDrive.

I feel like I'm missing some but the ones that I've seen are (in chronological order):

I haven't driven the car a lot for the past days, since it's been acting strangely and I've been studying for my final exams. But I topped off my power steering fluid two days ago along with coolant. I also checked the oil level and it appeared to be fine.

About 2 months ago I put on the winter tyres and replaced the rear brake lines along with the rear brake calipers. Coincidentally I started getting the errors shortly afterwards.

I live in a small town (population 5000) north of the capital, which means an hour long trip to the nearest BMW specific auto shop.

Searching the internet has been fairly inconclusive, with possible explanations pointing in opposite directions. I've checked the spare wheel well for water and it's completely dry, albeit dirty.

Any help with this would be well appreciated.

Redtwin

Did you remove or damage any wires while doing the brake lines?. DSC and cruise control errors could be due to a wheel speed sensor that may have been disturbed during the work.

Did you start the car for a short period then switch off before the engine was warmed up?. The plugs can get fouled by the rich cold start mixture. Next time you start you can get a rough idle. I had this happen on a 520i and other petrol cars.

Chamoh78

I have a very intermittent "Low Oil Pressure" warning indicator... I've replaced the Oil Pressure sensor with no change. I've changed the oil at the dealership which helped a lot, but I still get it every now and then, only when it's really warm outside... Like above 60 degrees F and the car is warmed up... The only other thing is the Oil Level Sensor, which is $$$...

I only got the fault after the car was warmed up and I came to a stop. At idle. When I push on the gas, the warning immediately goes away. My indy told me as long as the car isn't driving badly and the warning disappears when I press on the gas, that it's ok to drive, just an annoyance cause he's looked everything over and everything is good. Not sure how similar your issues are to mine, but figured I'd give the info and experiences and let you figure out if any of it applies... Good luck!

Chamoh78

So, A recent visit to the dealership a non-related maintenance issue, I had a oil pressure test done because the "Low Oil Pressure Warning" started coming back. Turns out the pressure inside the engine is 2.2 bars. The standard is apparently 4 bars... This is obviously not at all times as it is an intermittent fault. So, I have on order a new oil pump/oil pan gasket. I certainly hope this is the last thing I need to put into this vehicle, I just want to drive it and have everything work and not have to keep putting money into it the way I am...

BADxASSxBubbles

I want to say that I hope the new pump will solve your issue but I am most likely going to say it won't. The reason I say that is because the tolerances inside your engine, more specifically the gap between the crankshaft and your connecting rod bearings are more warn than normal and the head pressure isn't there to maintain a high(er) oil pressure. To fix this, the right way would be to machine crank and replace connecting rod bearing with connecting rods and if you are in that deep, replace rings too. The key to oil pressure is not the pump, but rather the pressure of oil against the outlet of the oil. Simply think about your finger over the opening of a water hose. I wouldn't be too worried about it as long as you have some oil pressure, especially with load/revs above 1000. I wouldn't idle for too long if it were mine though. Good luck Chamoh

FormerE30Owner

Also, try using a thicker oil. A 5W40 oil should help and still allow good starts in the cold weather. If you can keep the car in a warm place or keep the oil warm (block heater), then switching to a 10W40 or 50 oil might be all you need.

I don't see an oil pump going with only 100k miles, but the engine lower bearings going at 100K is possible.

Salut, Bob P.

Chamoh78

You guys are scaring me with these recommendations... They sound like VERY costly repairs...

BADxASSxBubbles

They are only recommendations and you don't have to do anything if you don't want to. The oil suggestion is what I would do but without the block heater. A little thicker oil might do the trick but don't over do it. If it were my car, I would do a little thicker oil at the next oil change and that is it. If it comes back, v10 time

Chamoh78

Is it normal for those bearings to wear down with 114k miles? It seems like that is a mini engine re-build without replacing pistons... I would think these engines would last a lot longer than that if taken care of...

sanjsanj

I like that prognosis!