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Thread: 2005 325xi burning excessive oil

  1. #1
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    2005 325xi burning excessive oil

    My car has been burning alot of oil lately.
    Changed PVC valve (installed kit from BMW)
    replaced valve cover gasket, performed light tune-up (changed oil, spark plugs, filter and ignition coils)
    I am still topping off with a quart of oil every couple of days.

    Please help.
    My mechanic told me it may be valve seals and another said I may have a leak in the oil dipstick which may need to be replaced. Not sure what it could be.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    Burning or leaking? Blue smoke out the tailpipe? Can you actually smell the oil burning out the exhaust? Oil drips on your parking spot? How much oil in how many miles? Did you also change to the updated oil dipstick tube when you did the crankcase ventilation valve? If not, do so now. Are you absolutely positively certain the CCV valve & tubes were installed correctly? It's a difficult job and likely very easy to not get it right. Also, the oil filter housing gasket is a common leak point. Change that out. Cheap & easy. Replace the VANOS oil hose when you do the oil filter housing gasket as well.

    Only things left that I can think of are valve stem seals, front & rear crankshaft seals, and oil pan gasket. Those rarely leak enough to be a nuisance, and are big jobs. Don't worry about those unless they're leaking like a sieve. Last but not least, you could have blown a headgasket or the piston rings are just plain worn out or seized or you have ovalized cylinders due to a bent connecting rod. Check your oil & coolant for cross contamination. Give your upper radiator hose a squeeze when the engine's cold to see if it's soft. Hard means pressurized, and is one of the signs of a failed headgasket.

    But don't worry about those last serious ones, I'm just going through all I could think of that could be the cause of your oil consumption issue. Do the easy stuff first. If I had to make a guess and reassure you now, I'd say your oil filter housing gasket ($6 at the dealer) is leaking badly. No biggie.

  3. #3
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    Quote: Give your upper radiator hose a squeeze when the engine's cold to see if it's soft. Hard means pressurized, and is one of the signs of a failed headgasket.

    Wrong! Coolant hose are always hard on a hot engine. The system is under pressure. That's what the radiator cap does. It is not a sign of a bad headgasket.

    There is an update oil dipstick tube. The original ones can plug up and cause issues.
    Last edited by bmwbob89; 09-17-2013 at 04:13 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmwbob89 View Post
    Quote: Give your upper radiator hose a squeeze when the engine's cold to see if it's soft. Hard means pressurized, and is one of the signs of a failed headgasket.

    Wrong! Coolant hose are always hard on a hot engine. The system is under pressure. That's what the radiator cap does. It is not a sign of a bad headgasket.

    There is an update oil dipstick tube. The original ones can plug up and cause issues.
    Yes they are always pretty hard on a hot engine, but if the head gasket is blown it can pressurize the cooling system. If a blown head gasket is pressurizing the system the hoses will be ROCK hard.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmwbob89 View Post
    Quote: Give your upper radiator hose a squeeze when the engine's cold to see if it's soft. Hard means pressurized, and is one of the signs of a failed headgasket.

    Wrong! Coolant hose are always hard on a hot engine. The system is under pressure. That's what the radiator cap does. It is not a sign of a bad headgasket.

    There is an update oil dipstick tube. The original ones can plug up and cause issues.
    Um, hey Bob. Read my post again. But I'm glad you got the opportunity to feel good about yourself by loudly proclaiming me Wrong! with an exclamation point. I'm sure that made your day. No thanks are necessary LOLOL

    BTW my tongue was in my cheek, just teasing.
    Last edited by hitbyastick; 09-17-2013 at 05:44 PM.

  6. #6
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    Soooooooooo ..................... getting past the pissing match, let's see what the OP has on his plate.

    How many miles on the engine?
    How much oil is being consumed? (Miles per quart.)
    Have you done any recent repairs to the engine?
    Have you done any visual inspections?

  7. #7
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    Get use to it OP.

    These cars burn oil.


    2015 M235i 6MT

  8. #8
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    Yeah but a quart every two days is not normal nor acceptable.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by nike001 View Post
    Get use to it OP.

    These cars burn oil.
    Some do, mine just leak it

  10. #10
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    Hey Hit, I was just pointing out a mistake that might make the OP think he has a bad headgasket when its normal. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. It's not all about you.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by FinnNiks View Post
    Yes they are always pretty hard on a hot engine, but if the head gasket is blown it can pressurize the cooling system. If a blown head gasket is pressurizing the system the hoses will be ROCK hard.
    A blown headgasket will blow the coolant right past the cap not just make the hoses hard. There is nothing in the OP post about losing coolant.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmwbob89 View Post

    A blown headgasket will blow the coolant right past the cap not just make the hoses hard. There is nothing in the OP post about losing coolant.
    I've seen both happen. There are many factors that come into play...

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by nike001 View Post
    Get use to it OP.

    These cars burn oil.
    SOME do, and as said some Leak. Many do neither. I have a (E46) burner - and a quart every 250 miles is a LONG way from normal, especially at 130k miles. In my case, the engine is absolutely leak free, the car almost NEVER emits ANY smoke, but the tail pipe has oily build up in it. So, after ALL efforts to repair, the head has to come off to see how bad the walls look. Unfortunately, M52s are either really good, or real bad. I have a bad one. The last one was oil tight and consumed oil at the rate oil a quart every 3000 miles.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by KB99 View Post
    My car has been burning alot of oil lately.
    Changed PVC valve (installed kit from BMW)
    replaced valve cover gasket, performed light tune-up (changed oil, spark plugs, filter and ignition coils)
    I am still topping off with a quart of oil every couple of days.

    Please help.
    My mechanic told me it may be valve seals and another said I may have a leak in the oil dipstick which may need to be replaced. Not sure what it could be.

    Thanks!
    IS your mechanic experienced with E46s? If not, it may be worthwhile to visit one. Not a dealer, but an independent specialist with a good reputation. Example - one could REMOVE the exhaust valve seals and not consume THAT much oil, unless you are driving 200 miles a day !!!!!!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmwbob89 View Post
    Quote: Give your upper radiator hose a squeeze when the engine's cold to see if it's soft. Hard means pressurized, and is one of the signs of a failed headgasket.

    Wrong! Coolant hose are always hard on a hot engine. The system is under pressure. That's what the radiator cap does. It is not a sign of a bad headgasket.

    There is an update oil dipstick tube. The original ones can plug up and cause issues.
    I think the important word is "cold." If the upper hose is hard and the engine is COLD, then the problem is most likely a bad head gasket.

  16. #16
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    Guys - the OP posted about oil consumption.

  17. #17
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    I know. It's amazing how off track these things can get.

  18. #18
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    Hey,
    Thank you. I will use your response as a check list and as a process of elimination. sorry for the late reply

  19. #19
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    I'm having somewhat of the same issue. You can check and see if it relates to you. But my oil filter housing gasket seal is leaking like crazy. It didn't leave oil spots in my parking space because it only leaks when the car is driving. I'm not as experienced as others on the forum so I can be completely wrong but can't hurt to check. Good luck !

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