06'E90 330i N52B30 HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION

[AlecBMWfan]

Hi all, I'm new the bimmerforums as this is the first BMW forum I've ever joined. I would like to ask your alls advice on my high oil consumption on my 06' 330i I have owned since March of this year and have drove 21K miles. The car was a one owner 04/2005 build, with 71K miles, bought new in Scottsdale, AZ until 2010-11 when the owner relocated to Louisville, KY and I purchased it from BMW of Louisville. The car runs very well aside from the fact is consumes/burns 1qt every 300-600 miles depending on how hard it's driven et. WOT, highway cruising, or a back road run. Since I've had the car I've replaced both VANOS solenoids, and all sparkplugs and coil packs, and had an indy replace the starter. I plan on replacing the electric water pump as preventative maintenance as well as having the Auto (don't laugh at me my E46 was a 5-spd, I just couldn't find a clean 06-08 3er 3.0 in manual) trans flushed, filter/pan replaced and adaptations reprogrammed before 100K. Car runs very well other than a misfire I get on cylinder #5 due to a leaky fuel injector (CONFIRMED from spark plug removal, only happens under heavy load when humidity is high or raining. I plan to replace all 6 with new ones or at least the #5 a reman until I have the $1200-$1300 to diy it. Sorry to ramble, back to oil consumption. I've noticed sometimes when I accelerate in my mirror I see black dust "very light smoke" which is fuel as the inside of the exhaust tips are coated in black and sometimes runny soot. But when I accelerate hard and look in the rear view at about 4-5000K rpms all you can see is smoke in the mirror, it's not blue can't see a deep tint but whitish just smoky? Doesn't smoke under any other circumstance such as startup or even high rev in park or neutral. Only smokes in gear while under load and past 4000rpms. Idk all I can say is my coolant is clean and stays at the same level as to headgasket failure. I've check below for the oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, and oil filter gasket NO VISIBLE leaks. Very minuscule leak on my oil cap probably leaks less than an ounce a week, removed engine covers and it hasn't filled the coil wells or covered the valve cover. My thought is hopefully the PCV needs replace as excess vacuum or a stuck open PCV causes excess oil to be slung into the intake and out the exhaust as to the smoke under WOT. I can go on a 10 mile back road and play around and find I'm down 1/4-1/2 a quart afterwards or just cruise at 90-120 on the interstate for about 5 miles. I've tried the see if it's hard to remove oil cap while running but it's not hard to remove and makes the normal "putting"? noise. I'm very worried the car was abused by a teen or not driven properly as to running easy until op temp is sufficient pointing that possibly valve guides or piston rings are shot...car is currently getting 27.3 MPG often driven spiritedly but usually easy. Was running Castrol Edge Extended 5w30 but switched to Mobil1 Euro 0w40. Car has the infamous ticking noise but has been more quiet since switching to 0w40 especially since I never take my car on short drives where it doesn't get to warm up and let moisture burn off inside the engine. Any thoughts or suggestions? I've read many N52 oil consumptions causes but cannot figure out why it's burning SO much oil and running perfectly at idle has lots of torque and power. Hoping it is faulty PCV system part somewhere and not major labor intensive. But can't justify how everyone says if your PCV/CCV is faulty the oil cap is always hard to remove and makes slushing sounds. Mine is not. I hope my details are informative and someone can offer advice, maybe a BMW tech! Thanks!

[shadowpuck]

Hi all, I'm new the bimmerforums as this is the first BMW forum I've ever joined. I would like to ask your alls advice on my high oil consumption on my 06' 330i I have owned since March of this year and have drove 21K miles. The car was a one owner 04/2005 build, with 71K miles, bought new in Scottsdale, AZ until 2010-11 when the owner relocated to Louisville, KY and I purchased it from BMW of Louisville.

The car runs very well aside from the fact is consumes/burns 1qt every 300-600 miles depending on how hard it's driven et. WOT, highway cruising, or a back road run. Since I've had the car I've replaced both VANOS solenoids, and all sparkplugs and coil packs, and had an indy replace the starter. I plan on replacing the electric water pump as preventative maintenance as well as having the Auto (don't laugh at me my E46 was a 5-spd, I just couldn't find a clean 06-08 3er 3.0 in manual) trans flushed, filter/pan replaced and adaptations reprogrammed before 100K. Car runs very well other than a misfire I get on cylinder #5 due to a leaky fuel injector (CONFIRMED from spark plug removal, only happens under heavy load when humidity is high or raining. I plan to replace all 6 with new ones or at least the #5 a reman until I have the $1200-$1300 to diy it.

Sorry to ramble, back to oil consumption. I've noticed sometimes when I accelerate in my mirror I see black dust "very light smoke" which is fuel as the inside of the exhaust tips are coated in black and sometimes runny soot. But when I accelerate hard and look in the rear view at about 4-5000K rpms all you can see is smoke in the mirror, it's not blue but whitish? Idk all I can say is my coolant is clean and stays at the same level as to headgasket failure. I've check below for the oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, and oil filter gasket NO VISIBLE leaks. My thought is hopefully the PCV needs replace as excess vacuum or a stuck open PCV causes excess oil to be slung into the intake and out the exhaust as to the smoke under WOT.

I can go on a 10 mile back road and play around and find I'm down 1/4-1/2 a quart afterwards or just cruise at 90-120 on the interstate for about 5 miles. I've tried the see if it's hard to remove oil cap while running but it's not hard to remove and makes the normal "putting"? noise. I'm very worried the car was abused by a teen or not driven properly as to running easy until op temp is sufficient pointing that possibly valve guides or piston rings are shot...car is currently getting 27.3 MPG often driven spiritedly but usually easy. Was running Castrol Edge Extended 5w30 but switched to Mobil1 Euro 0w40. Car has the infamous ticking noise but has been more quiet since switching to 0w40 especially since I never take my car on short drives where it doesn't get to warm up and let moisture burn off inside the engine.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I've read many N52 oil consumptions causes but cannot figure out why it's burning SO much oil and running perfectly at idle has lots of torque and power. Hoping it is faulty PCV system part somewhere and not major labor intensive. But can't justify how everyone says if your PCV/CCV is faulty the oil cap is always hard to remove and makes slushing sounds. Mine is not. Thanks!

added paragraphs to make this easier to read...

[02Pilot]

You need to do some proper diagnostics. Check crankcase vacuum at idle with a slack-tube manometer for starters and report here. If it's out of spec, PCV is the likely fault. If not, well, then you'll need to do more testing.

[bmwdirtracer]

+1.

And, from 02 Pilot's own epic oil consumption thread, here's a link on how you can make your own manometer at home to test the crankcase vacuum:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...lacement/page8
(see post 183)

Or, you can buy a tester that measures vacuum in INCHES OF WATER (NOT MERCURY). You should see 3-6" of water.


Now, as for that "misfire caused by a leaky fuel injector that only happens under heavy load when humidity is high or it's raining". These items don't correlate. An injector isn't going to leak under heavy load, or because it's raining. What's more likely is that you've got an electrical misfire, perhaps a failing solder joint or failing coil driver inside the DME. THIS would correlate with a misfire in high humidity conditions. A failing coil might well do the same, especially under high loads, but you said you replaced the coils. (Did you buy OEM quality coils, or Chinese stuff from Autozone?)

(If a cylinder is misfiring, you will get lots of unburned fuel out the tailpipe, until the DME shuts down the injector.) Were you very careful to push the coil's plug firmly into the coil, as you clasped it? These coil clasps do not adequately pul themselves into place. Did you use factory /OEM correct sparkplugs, or what an Autozoo guy said would work?

[ross1]

That's a painful read.
Your fuel economy tells me it's probably not a worn out engine. PCV is the first place to start looking.
BTW oil smoke isn't blue like the sky, it will sometimes have a blue-ish haze but the white smoke you are seeing combined with your consumption is certainly oil smoke.
Best to settle this sooner rather than later or you'll be buying cats too. Buckle up for that one.

[02Pilot]

Related to this, a question for the pro techs here: have you been seeing N52 PCV issues starting to crop up more lately? I've seen a few mentions of them starting to go bad - nothing like the M54, mind you, but it seems like they might be starting to age out and require repair.

Personally, I'm hoping that if mine's going to go that it does so in the next few years so I can exploit my remaining N51 SULEV 15/150k warranty and let BMW give me a new valve cover.

[AlecBMWfan]

Yes I got Bosch Coils and the correct spec double platinum Bosch sparkplugs and checked the gap, about the misfire, I just noticed it only happens if it's humid I assume offsetting the fuel to air mixture due to the leaky injector on cyl #5. I put one of my old Coils in #5 to test but it still misfired usually on 1/10 50% or more accelerations. Not to often but frequent enough. I just pull over shut off for 10 secs restart and all is good service engine light disappears. Coil Plugs are firmly plugged into the electrical and Coils are properly seated on sparkplugs.

I buy all of my parts for diy projects on ECS or FCPeuro. Just the other day when I decided to swap the "old" original #5 coil back for the new one I had is when I decided to pull the spark plug out and at the very end of the threads it had very little fuel on it, enough to point to the leaky injectors. Car has a stumble on coldstarts and on idle while cold. From cold starting and moving it into my garage ran for a minute so fuel was fresh and smell was spot on. I will be replacing all injectors thankfully I found them on GetBMWparts for just a little under $1100, about $175 a piece.

I just NEED to figure out my oil consumption issues and am relieved that many ppl say it may be the PCV and not a worn out engine. Just fyi to save a bit of money every 2-3 weeks I buy the 5qt container of Mobil1Euro0W40 and refill the 1qt cont. I keep in the car at all times. Driving over 21K miles the car had a fresh oil change from start, I've changed it twice now at 3k on the current change. I have 7-8 empty 5qt containers of Edge and Mobil 1 in my garage...

[bmwdirtracer]

Well, actually, the correct spark plugs for that engine are NOT Bosch "double platinum"; that's a generic "gimmick" spark plug.

Either an NGK or Bosch is original equipment for this engine, but if you choose to use Bosch, you need this exact one:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ug-fr7npp332-1

You'll note that it has a single electrode.

I HIGHLY recommend that you do NOT buy a new $1100 set of injectors, but that instead, you send yours off to RC Injection in California. They will computer test your injectors (which will confirm or deny whether that's really your issue), and then ultrasonically clean them, replace all replaceable parts, refinish them, and retest them. All this, for $25 per injector. Best of all, you'll know EXACTLY whether this was the issue, and exactly what your injectors are doing after the service. (They can do a one-day turnaround, by the way, if you pay the FedEx)

A "leaking" injector just drains the fuel rail pressure into that one cylinder when the engine is off. It does not cause high-load issues.

When you drain the oil, does it smell like gasoline? Can you light it on fire with a match?

Now, if indeed injector #5 is LEAKING badly, then it will cause the ring seal on that cylinder to wash out, for those cold starts, which will make all the compression go away, and wash the oil off the cylinder walls, allowing blow by , Which would cause excessive oil burning, and would possibly ruin the engine, if it went on long enough. However, you'd see and smell a ton of oil smoke (blue/white), enough to hide any fuel smoke, completely.

The misfire is likely much more frequent than you believe, but it's only becoming blatantly obvious when the DME shuts off the injector. The DME does this when it counts TOO MANY misfires in "X" amount of time. Restarting the engine resets the injector pulse, and restarts the misfire counting.

[bmwdirtracer]

02 Pilot, you'll know that I don't often recommend Chinese parts, but you can fix an N51 CCV issue with a $28 diaphragm unit, instead of buying a new valve cover:

https://smile.amazon.com/Cylinder-Va...+N51+diaphragm

Alec, I don't think they're any different, but here's one for an N52:
https://smile.amazon.com/Cylinder-Va...Y0DVPHDNC8452A

There is also the associated hose, and you should definitely do a crankcase vacuum test and a smoke test first.

Oh, and 02 pilot, yes I have seen the diaphragms tearing fairly frequently, and the hoses usually break at the crap clip at the back of the valvecover, or inside the insulation where you can't see.

[02Pilot]

Thanks, Chris. I haven't seen any signs of mine failing, but if it's common I want to be prepared for it. I'd seen the replacement part you linked to, and if I have to do it that's definitely the way I'll go, but really the only plus of happening to have an N51 car in a state where the SULEV warranty applies is that BMW is on the hook for anything emissions-related for the next 30k miles or so. If that means they have to give me a whole new valve cover, then so be it.

Am I assuming correctly that the signs of failure are similar to other engines: oil consumption, rough idle, possibly a whistling noise? Do you know the crankcase vacuum spec on these offhand? Might throw the manometer on it just for kicks.

[bmwdirtracer]

I believe it's 3-6 inches, same as the M54. Symptoms are the same, but on the N5x engines with this diaphragm, if it's ripped, it will leak smoke with a smoke test.

[Breeze1]

About the injectors, you don't have to replace them. You can have them cleaned and calibrated for $150:

https://www.rcfuelinjection.com

[02Pilot]

I believe it's 3-6 inches, same as the M54. Symptoms are the same, but on the N5x engines with this diaphragm, if it's ripped, it will leak smoke with a smoke test.

Great. Thanks, Chris.

[AlecBMWfan]

Well, actually, the correct spark plugs for that engine are NOT Bosch "double platinum"; that's a generic "gimmick" spark plug.

Either an NGK or Bosch is original equipment for this engine, but if you choose to use Bosch, you need this exact one:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ug-fr7npp332-1

You'll note that it has a single electrode.

I HIGHLY recommend that you do NOT buy a new $1100 set of injectors, but that instead, you send yours off to RC Injection in California. They will computer test your injectors (which will confirm or deny whether that's really your issue), and then ultrasonically clean them, replace all replaceable parts, refinish them, and retest them. All this, for $25 per injector. Best of all, you'll know EXACTLY whether this was the issue, and exactly what your injectors are doing after the service. (They can do a one-day turnaround, by the way, if you pay the FedEx)

A "leaking" injector just drains the fuel rail pressure into that one cylinder when the engine is off. It does not cause high-load issues.

When you drain the oil, does it smell like gasoline? Can you light it on fire with a match?

Now, if indeed injector #5 is LEAKING badly, then it will cause the ring seal on that cylinder to wash out, for those cold starts, which will make all the compression go away, and wash the oil off the cylinder walls, allowing blow by , Which would cause excessive oil burning, and would possibly ruin the engine, if it went on long enough. However, you'd see and smell a ton of oil smoke (blue/white), enough to hide any fuel smoke, completely.

The misfire is likely much more frequent than you believe, but it's only becoming blatantly obvious when the DME shuts off the injector. The DME does this when it counts TOO MANY misfires in "X" amount of time. Restarting the engine resets the injector pulse, and restarts the misfire counting.

I didn't mean double platinum my mistake that Bosch FR7NPP332 finewire IS the spark plugs I'm running. I will definitely look into sending my injectors off for diagnostics and repair. I just noticed on the #5 spark plug at the end of the threads the last two or three had visible moisture on them and smelt like fuel. My car doesn't smoke upon startup in any scenario, cold or warm, it only smokes under heavy to wide open acceleration above 4000K-5000Krpms. I have before seen in my mirror whenever I accelerate onto an on ramp light black dust indicate fuel and the source to heavy soot sometimes liquidy to the touch inside my exhaust tips. Every time I wash my car even if it hadn't rained I have to take the 0000 fine steel wool to the tips.

Back to the smoke, I've seen many old beater cars with the stereotypical blue tint smoke coming out the exhaust at stop lights and accelerations, my car now in the winter has vapor coming out the exhaust but under acceleration in daylight the smoke visibly looks clear or whitish "of course" blue isn't noticeable but I know it's oil. Another time I can REALLY notice it is when another vehicle is behind me at night with its headlights on. I get on it and leave them in the dust. Last night it was an Alfa Romeo Giulia Q4.

Im sure of the random misfires that aren't enough to throw a code or make any difference in power but when it does misfire and the service engine light comes on the car runs rough and the tach shakes noticeably 200-300rpms.