Oil Level... Again...
12-26-2010, 01:30 AM
#1
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My Ride: 2006 530i
Merry Christmas and here we go:
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
12-26-2010, 03:11 AM
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Merry Christmas and here we go:
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
12-26-2010, 07:41 AM
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Merry Christmas and here we go:
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
103k 2006 530i
Bought with 99k, Dealer said he did an oil change, drove it for 400miles, it asked for oil twice (both times I added). Decided to just do an oil change myself. 2000 miles later, its saying its at the minimum oil level. ive ruled out the oil level sensor, but i cannot see any oil leaks. its not the oil level cap because it's driving fine/no SES light.
Mine is doing 3000 miles before asking for oil. No oil leak. Should it be considered a problem? What could be the cause?
12-26-2010, 07:53 AM
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Normal for high mileage and even lower mileage BMW. I add about 1/2qt full synthetic after every 4k miles driven - sometimes almost a full quart. I do a full oil change after about 7500 miles.
12-31-2010, 04:57 PM
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happy new year everyone:
just changed the oil again, measured up to 5.5 quarts and that's being generous. that rules out the oil sensor. i noticed a small leak coming from the oil pan drain and it turns out the o-ring was bad. drove the car around for 30mins and let it run on the lift, no more oil leaking. idrive says oil is full.
also switched from mobil 0-40 to bmw oem 5-30, seemed to quiet the lifters a bit.
just changed the oil again, measured up to 5.5 quarts and that's being generous. that rules out the oil sensor. i noticed a small leak coming from the oil pan drain and it turns out the o-ring was bad. drove the car around for 30mins and let it run on the lift, no more oil leaking. idrive says oil is full.
also switched from mobil 0-40 to bmw oem 5-30, seemed to quiet the lifters a bit.
02-13-2023, 10:33 AM
#7
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The previous photos show the classic signs of oil filter / cooler housing gasket failure. Maybe nothing was cleaned up when that job was done, so it could be old, old oil. But if it's not dry and crusty (doesn't look like it...) my guess is that it's that same leak. Any chance that anything other than OEM-quality seals / gaskets were used?
In the end, you just can't tell where oil is coming from unless you clean up everything and look for fresh oil. Then again, it is also possible to add some UV dye to the oil, and then look for the "new leak" with a UV light, but hey - you gotta clean that thing up anyway, right?
In the end, you just can't tell where oil is coming from unless you clean up everything and look for fresh oil. Then again, it is also possible to add some UV dye to the oil, and then look for the "new leak" with a UV light, but hey - you gotta clean that thing up anyway, right?
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