Oil consupmtion

[airforce7882]

My 99 M3 is consuming about a quart of oil every 1k miles. Is this normal? My 325 didn't consume nearly this much, but they are diferent motors so I wasn't sure if I should be worried.

[CMG]

That's way too much

[ezbmr]

My car doesn't consume any, but then again, I never check.

[Spyke]

Have you done an oil change yet Andrew? Curious where you're getting the 1 quart/1000 miles figure from, are you going from actual volume measurement or just the dipstick? When I first got my e36 I could have sworn it was losing oil too. I had no leaks, but then I did an oil change and the same amount I put in came out. Almost like the car was hiding oil somewhere like a squirrel hides nuts for winter lol. Just a thought.

No blue smoke from the exhaust right?

[slocar]

Is it a lot? Yes, but even on new cars they say up to a quarter for every 1k miles is normal so take it for what it's worth.

With age and miles, things wear and it starts to use oil ... nothing short of a rebuild is going to cure that.

[airforce7882]

I've only done one, but it was right after I bought the car, so I have no way of knowing how much was put in before i owned it. however here is what I am basing it off of:

1) Oil change right after buying car, fill it up to full line on dipstick (2nd/top line)
2) 2K miles later, engine starts making a loud ticking noise
3) check oil and its dangerously low, barely on the dipstick
4) add two quarts to put it back to second line again
5) 1K miles later (now) its down closer to the first line again

I'm baffled because my engine bay is bone dry, not even the power steering leaks ;) (I'm amazed). No smoke of any sort from the exhaust, and it JUST passed a smog pre purchase. The car runs perfectly so there is no indication of any major mechanical problem.

Car is at 168,000 miles, for reference.

[jmo69]

CCV would be a place to start, more prevalent on M54s and newer, but a place to start.

[Spyke]

Another thing to consider is the weight of the oil you're using, more because you mention the infamous lifter ticking. I think you need to drain the oil before making an assumption that something's wrong, just to be sure. You don't want to go chasing ghost problems. Check all the boxes off first and rule out all the possibilities.

No blue smoke from the exhaust means it's doubtful you're burning oil. Not to say you may be loosing it other ways, but no leaks/mess means even that may not be the case. Like I said when I first had mine I could swear oil was disappearing, but it wasn't... just wasn't getting an accurate read at all from the dipstick. Mileage is reasonable and pretty low considering what these cars can do, so that's a good thing...

Lastly, I'm sure you're on this but initial fill for my 2.5L M50 is 7-7.2 quarts with an oil filter change (which I do every time no matter what). Yours should be around that as well.

[shoman24v]

I have 178k and I change the oil when the car tells me. After about 8k miles or so I can check the dipstick and the oil level is still full. I've never had my car consume a drop.

[Beitie]

I'm with Spyke on this. It would help to know how much oil was put in when first changed. Up to the second line doesn't mean much, you have to use an exact 7 (or 7.2) quarts, and forget the line. The dipstick is a nice tool, but it is not precise, and the angle your car is parked at could have altered the result.

If it passed a pre purchase smog, that should have picked up burning oil also on that test. One thing that dramatically helped my car was doing the valve cover gasket, even though mine never used oil significantly.

While Slocar is right that manufacturers say up to 1 quart is normal for a 3,000 or so mile range, the only reason they say that is so they don't have to fix their f' ups. My Dad bought a brand new 2001 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with the 6.0 V-8. It was awful, used about 1 quart of oil per 1,000 miles like talked about here. GM didn't want to warranty or fix it, well my Dad didn't want to add oil every 1,000 miles, and I don't blame him on a brand new truck. Eventually GM re-built the entire engine on it, and gave him a 100,000 mile warranty. Still, no properly built engine should consume that much oil. If it's consuming that much there's an issue, despite what the manufacturer says.

[JDStrickland]

There are many factors that feed into Oil Consumption, some of them are the behavior of the right foot. If the car is driven to a high rpm and then the foot is lifted, this can draw oil into the combustion chambers, where it burns and comes out the tail pipe. You may or may not see the smoke -- as the driver it is almost impossible that you would see the smoke until shortly before the engine lets go, but people following you would see the smoke early enough that you could repair the problem before the engine turns itself into an anchor. Your early signs of a problem would be oil around the tip of the exhaust pipe, and/or an oil film on the back of the car (although you might have to let the car go a few weeks without washing before you see this).

Oil can be sucked past the rings at high engine speeds under deceleration. Oil can also be drawn past the valve seals. These forms of oil consumption can be directly related to driver behavior in an otherwise strong motor. As the motor becomes more and more worn, then the same kind of consumption can be "normal", that is the consumption is not tied to driver behavior -- at least not the current driver, but it can still reflect on previous drivers.

A quart per 1,000 miles is higher than most would like. The BMW Owner's Manual from 1994 says, "Engine oil consumption, like fuel consumption, depends on the way in which the car is driven and the operating conditions." There is no mention of the rate of oil consumption to cause you alarm, but as a general rule of thumb, a quart per 1,000 miles is acceptable.

Your M3 wants heavier oil than a mere mortal M50/M52 of the 323/325/328. If you are using 5w30, then you will see it leave the engine faster than the oil that the engine really wants. I don't have the oil spec for the M3, but I recall that it should be something like a 20w50. You should look up the proper oil, but 5w30 or 10w30 that you would normally use is not the correct weight for the S52 engine. THE S52 TAKES 6.3Q OF OIL, the book does not say what weight. The S50 takes 7Q (6.9), but you do not have the S50, you have the S52.

[sjpgoalie]

My 99 M3 is consuming about a quart of oil every 1k miles. Is this normal? My 325 didn't consume nearly this much, but they are diferent motors so I wasn't sure if I should be worried.

That's a bit much. Every 1500 miles is acceptable in S52s and M54b30s. Idk about the 2.8 and 2.5.


I wouldn't run anything thicker than 5w40 in an S52. There is no need. 20w oils are too much on cold starts for sure. 50 on the high end is not as bad.

[Spyke]

Found this for you:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1003372-The-Ultimate-Engine-Oil-Guide-for-E36-M3-First-stop-for-any-information-questions

[airforce7882]

Thanks for the info guys. And great link there gregg. Here is my plan for the next oil change coming up, before I start worrying to much.

-Switch to a slightly higher weight oil due to how hot it has been this summer and my slightly more "spirited" driving style. (5W-40 instead of 5W-30) It is also according to the link the original weight oil my car is sold with.
-Put in exactly the amount of oil the manual says to and not base it off of what the dipstick says.

I'll see how things go from there and keep you guys updated.

[JDStrickland]

Before you settle on 5w40, you should find out what the demand is for. I read somewhere that the S52 wants heavier oil than the M50/M52, or even the S50. I think you have no problem with 10w40 in your car, and I think the demand is for 20w50. Don't use 20w50 because I said, but you should find out because you are having a problem that might be 100% because the oil you are using is too light. Your election to use 5w40 is not gonna fix your problem, you will want to look at 10w40 or 15w40, but my fuzzy recollection is that these are too light also.

Sadly,my Bentley manual does not talk about the oil weight for the M3, and my '94 Owner's Manual does not talk about the M-cars at all (makes me wonder if there is an M for '94, or if the '94 M just gets its own Owner's Manual). My Owner's Manual covers the 318/320/325, but not the M3. My Bentley does say that the S52 takes less oil than the other motors, I can look it up if you would like but my memory is that the S52 gets 6.3Q, not the 6.9Q (7Q) that the other motors take.

[shiftmygears]

When I first bought my car (97 328i m-sport) it ate about a quart in 5000 miles or so.. Not sure what oil the previous owner used, but guessing 10-30, being the common oil from where I used to live

Now I am on royal purple 15-40, and 5000 miles later the oil level has been exactly the same

[slocar]

Before you settle on 5w40, you should find out what the demand is for. I read somewhere that the S52 wants heavier oil than the M50/M52, or even the S50. I think you have no problem with 10w40 in your car, and I think the demand is for 20w50. Don't use 20w50 because I said, but you should find out because you are having a problem that might be 100% because the oil you are using is too light. Your election to use 5w40 is not gonna fix your problem, you will want to look at 10w40 or 15w40, but my fuzzy recollection is that these are too light also.

Sadly,my Bentley manual does not talk about the oil weight for the M3, and my '94 Owner's Manual does not talk about the M-cars at all (makes me wonder if there is an M for '94, or if the '94 M just gets its own Owner's Manual). My Owner's Manual covers the 318/320/325, but not the M3. My Bentley does say that the S52 takes less oil than the other motors, I can look it up if you would like but my memory is that the S52 gets 6.3Q, not the 6.9Q (7Q) that the other motors take.

I'm curious to know, but I believe it takes the same amount of oil as the others ... the oil pan is the same as the m52. :dunno

[Eric93se]

For the warm climate of Antioch, CA you can go with 15W40. That way on cold start up the oil won't be too thin to burn off. 30W oil was way too thin for your climate and if your lucky the heavier oil will fix your problems. 20w50 would be okay too but only if your going to beat on the car, for normal driving the 15w40 is the way to go.

edit: if you want you can try a high detergency 15w40 to start with, the Shell Rotella T 15w40 is not synthetic but it will help clean your piston rings. Also its cheaper and won't hurt anything to try for a while.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shell-Rotella-T-15W40-Motor-Oil-1-Gal/14958327

[JDStrickland]

I'm curious to know, but I believe it takes the same amount of oil as the others ... the oil pan is the same as the m52. :dunno

I was shocked when I saw that the S52 does not take the same amount of oil as the others. I would not have thunk it true. I also expected it to take the same amount of oil as the other motors. Perhaps there is an error in the manual. I never paid it much attention because I only looked at the oil demand for my motor, the M50.

[brice017]

I'm at 1 qt every 1K on 10w-30 too on my M3. guess I will try different weight.

[jmo69]

I must be too easy on my cars. I've run 5w-40 and 10w-40 Syntech, 5w-30 BMW oil and 5w-40 Rotella t6 in my M52 with almost no oil consumption. In my M54 I've been using M1 0w-40 European formula and after 5000+ miles it hasn't dropped a bit.

[airforce7882]

I just did a bunch more research on engine oil. Greggs thread is actually from the M3 specific forum. Due to the fact that Antioch gets so hot, but still has moderately cold winters I am going to modify my selection to 10W-40. And work from there. If I still see oil Burn off I may try a 10W-50 during summer time.

[Eric93se]

I just did a bunch more research on engine oil. Greggs thread is actually from the M3 specific forum. Due to the fact that Antioch gets so hot, but still has moderately cold winters I am going to modify my selection to 10W-40. And work from there. If I still see oil Burn off I may try a 10W-50 during summer time.

It doesn't look like it was talked about yet, but you have to make sure you crank case vent is clear, and then the hose that goes from the oil seperator down to the dip stick has to be clear, if they clog your engine will suck oil vapor and the oil usage will be very high. Its not easy to get at the lower hose, but you've got to do it. I have 106k on my engine and it doesn't use a drop!

[Cobra1956]

Just for grins pull your plugs. If they are wet you are loosing oil into the cylinders. Just went through this on one of my cars an 4 of 6 were wet and the gasket wast like hard plastic instead of soft rubber. have no idea when it was done last.