New E90 Owner

[drewusmaximus]

Hi all, 2011 328xi 107k

I just picked up the car yesterday and I'm looking to perform a full maintenance, i.e., serpentine, pulleys, VG, OFHG, spark plugs, fluids, water pump, etc. Not sure where to buy the parts because there is so much Chinese knock offs. Pelican and FCP i believe are legit. I've been on this forum for many years, but I had a 525i and an E30 way back. Now I'm back into the BMW family (which I missed very very much). I want to make sure I buy the correct parts for the right engine. I've read my car has the N54, but when I go to RealOEM, it states N51. I'm hoping someone can confirm what engine I have and recommend the best route to take as far as fluids (Synthetic or conventional) and parts. I already know to stick with the MANN filters.
Next Spring, I'll start throwing on bolt-ons to increase the power, but my priority is to refresh the engine for reliability, since I don't know how well the engine was maintained by the PO.

Thanks in advance!

[drewusmaximus]

Quick question. Does anyone have the service repair manual PDF?

Thanks!

[kybmw12]

If you have a 328i, your engine should be N52 or N51. If you pop the hood and look up at the label on the backside of your hood, you should see a sticker with “ULEV” or “SULEV.” I believe ULEV indicates N52 and SULEV indicates N51.

For parts, I like FCP, Rock Auto, and Amazon. Just depends what it is I’m buying.

Are all those parts you’re planning to replace failing on your car (water pump, OFHG, etc)? If not, I would just keep an eye on them and do oil, coolant, transmission fluid, serpentine belt, and investigate any leaks, codes, and driving flaws.

There are others on here with more expertise and better recommendations.

Good luck! Enjoy the car


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dworthy]

Welcome back!

I would focus more on the brand name vers where you buy it from as each place will charge differently. I tend to stick with a couple of places:

OEM - www.thebmwminipartstore dot com
OE - www.pelicanparts dot com; www.rmeuropean dot com; www.fcpeuro dot com

I would also look at your suspension components for I am sure they are getting tired.

[drewusmaximus]

If you have a 328i, your engine should be N52 or N51. If you pop the hood and look up at the label on the backside of your hood, you should see a sticker with “ULEV” or “SULEV.” I believe ULEV indicates N52 and SULEV indicates N51.

For parts, I like FCP, Rock Auto, and Amazon. Just depends what it is I’m buying.

Are all those parts you’re planning to replace failing on your car (water pump, OFHG, etc)? If not, I would just keep an eye on them and do oil, coolant, transmission fluid, serpentine belt, and investigate any leaks, codes, and driving flaws.

There are others on here with more expertise and better recommendations.

Good luck! Enjoy the car


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did some research and I have the SULEV N51, which also comes with the 3 stage intake (future project soon). I also learned the car comes with a 150k, 15 year emissions warranty, which is nice to know. I want to replace the parts because I don't have any service records. It looks good in the bay, but it seems everything is OEM, which is concerning at 107k. Every bolt, screw and clamp looks original. No leaks, gaskets look great, but at 107mk miles, I think it's time to do some PM. Just for sanity, I would like the car to have a fresh start with me. Then I don't have to worry for the next 60k miles. I know there are a lot of Chinese knockoffs, which is why I'm looking for suggestions. It's been over 5 years since I bought a BMW part, so I want to make sure I don't buy knockoffs. Thanks for the advice. I'll stick with the still reputable FCP, Pelican and rmeuro.

[drewusmaximus]

It's good to be back. It's been too long. I've heard about the mounts, which I'll look into. I had the E34 (Moroza was a huge help), several E30s and an E46. but this is my first E90. Based on my research, I've read conflicting recommendations about what type of oil to use; 5W-30 and 5W-40. BMW Doctor recommends only 5W-40, yet Nathan recommends 5W-30. Not sure which route to take and with Winter months right around the corner, I've also read 0W-30 is the type to use and your M535i still running at 400k!!!, you definitely know what oil is best. LOL

[dworthy]

As you happen to be from upstate NY, I would recommend 0W-30 or 5W-30 as I am sure it will driven in the winter time. Now the tough part will be to find LL-01 or LL-04 oil if you plan on following the service indicator. If you don't want to be bothered, then I would find a quality synthetic oil and change it every 10k or once a year if you drive less than 10k a year.

The old M535i lives in Texas, so it get 5W-50 for it's year round. On all the other BMW's I have, since I am living in Germany gets the following: 325it 0W-40; M3 10W-60; F-45 0W-20; F-20 5W-30.

If you want what BMW recommends for that motor see the attached, as well as the "approved" oils.

[drewusmaximus]

As you happen to be from upstate NY, I would recommend 0W-30 or 5W-30 as I am sure it will driven in the winter time. Now the tough part will be to find LL-01 or LL-04 oil if you plan on following the service indicator. If you don't want to be bothered, then I would find a quality synthetic oil and change it every 10k or once a year if you drive less than 10k a year.

The old M535i lives in Texas, so it get 5W-50 for it's year round. On all the other BMW's I have, since I am living in Germany gets the following: 325it 0W-40; M3 10W-60; F-45 0W-20; F-20 5W-30.

If you want what BMW recommends for that motor see the attached, as well as the "approved" oils.

Since I will keep this car until I leave this Earth, I will stick to BMW's guidelines, except changing the oil every 5k instead of 10k. Audi made that mistake with their engines and thought by putting a huge oil filter, the engine would survive at 10k intervals. Sadly, Audi has to replace their blown engines. But, we're discussing BMW, which is a different animal. LL-01 Castrol EDGE, Pennzoil Platinum are available to me. Although it will be costly changing the oil every 5k, the car needs to be in the same caliber as Grandpa M. LOL Maybe I'll use 0W-30 during the winter and 5W-30 the rest of the seasons.

I appreciate the info.. Very helpful in my decision making process..

[drewusmaximus]

As you happen to be from upstate NY, I would recommend 0W-30 or 5W-30 as I am sure it will driven in the winter time. Now the tough part will be to find LL-01 or LL-04 oil if you plan on following the service indicator. If you don't want to be bothered, then I would find a quality synthetic oil and change it every 10k or once a year if you drive less than 10k a year.

The old M535i lives in Texas, so it get 5W-50 for it's year round. On all the other BMW's I have, since I am living in Germany gets the following: 325it 0W-40; M3 10W-60; F-45 0W-20; F-20 5W-30.

If you want what BMW recommends for that motor see the attached, as well as the "approved" oils.

Thanks for the files... Very informative and helpful. Didn't know LL-04 can't be used in the US, at least for the N51.. You learn something new everyday!

[dworthy]

Depends on location I do believe, like the fuel in California is supposed to be lower in sulfur. You can change your oil however you so desire, as it's your money. What I do every couple of years is run a motor flush thru the engine to get any of the crud out that is caused by extended oil changes.

[drewusmaximus]

Depends on location I do believe, like the fuel in California is supposed to be lower in sulfur. You can change your oil however you so desire, as it's your money. What I do every couple of years is run a motor flush thru the engine to get any of the crud out that is caused by extended oil changes.

Which flush do you recommend? I've used Gummout in the past for the engine and injectors.

[dworthy]

Old School ATF, drop about 1/2 a quart in about 100-150 miles before I change the oil and it make the motor nice and clean, attached is my 150k M-54 as an example.

[drewusmaximus]

Old School ATF, drop about 1/2 a quart in about 100-150 miles before I change the oil and it make the motor nice and clean, attached is my 150k M-54 as an example.

That's right! I completely forgot about ATF.. Stupid me. I used to do that with the M50. I'm getting old. I would drain a quart and add a quart of ATF, but instead let the car idle for 20 minutes instead of driving it, because I didn't want to risk hurting the engine on load with a quart. The oil would be a bit too thin for my nerves.

[dworthy]

It's thin to get in all the nooks and crannies, plus packed full of cleaners. There's a reason why it call "Shade Tree", and back in the day you could add it to the fuel tank to clean the carb and combustion chamber before there were catalytic converters.

[drewusmaximus]

It's thin to get in all the nooks and crannies, plus packed full of cleaners. There's a reason why it call "Shade Tree", and back in the day you could add it to the fuel tank to clean the carb and combustion chamber before there were catalytic converters.

Ahhh the good olé days.. lol

[JDStrickland]

Hi all, 2011 328xi 107k

I just picked up the car yesterday and I'm looking to perform a full maintenance, i.e., serpentine, pulleys, VG, OFHG, spark plugs, fluids, water pump, etc. Not sure where to buy the parts because there is so much Chinese knock offs. Pelican and FCP i believe are legit. I've been on this forum for many years, but I had a 525i and an E30 way back. Now I'm back into the BMW family (which I missed very very much). I want to make sure I buy the correct parts for the right engine. I've read my car has the N54, but when I go to RealOEM, it states N51. I'm hoping someone can confirm what engine I have and recommend the best route to take as far as fluids (Synthetic or conventional) and parts. I already know to stick with the MANN filters.
Next Spring, I'll start throwing on bolt-ons to increase the power, but my priority is to refresh the engine for reliability, since I don't know how well the engine was maintained by the PO.

Thanks in advance!

With the 328, you have the N51 or N52. The N54 is the twin turbo found in the 335, and the N55 is the single turbo 335. if RealOEM says you have the N51, then that's the engine you have -- assuming you have the engine that came with the car. (Given the relative low miles, I would assume you have the factory engine.)

The N51 is the SULEV variant.

- - - Updated - - -

If you have a 328i, your engine should be N52 or N51. If you pop the hood and look up at the label on the backside of your hood, you should see a sticker with “ULEV” or “SULEV.” I believe ULEV indicates N52 and SULEV indicates N51.

For parts, I like FCP, Rock Auto, and Amazon. Just depends what it is I’m buying.

Are all those parts you’re planning to replace failing on your car (water pump, OFHG, etc)? If not, I would just keep an eye on them and do oil, coolant, transmission fluid, serpentine belt, and investigate any leaks, codes, and driving flaws.

There are others on here with more expertise and better recommendations.

Good luck! Enjoy the car


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is correct. Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, or Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle.

[drewusmaximus]

With the 328, you have the N51 or N52. The N54 is the twin turbo found in the 335, and the N55 is the single turbo 335. if RealOEM says you have the N51, then that's the engine you have -- assuming you have the engine that came with the car. (Given the relative low miles, I would assume you have the factory engine.)

The N51 is the SULEV variant.

- - - Updated - - -




This is correct. Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, or Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle.

I do have the N51 SULEV, which comes with the stage 3 manifold, but the manifold is for another time. I ordered a new belt, VCG, OFHG, transmission gasket and filter and two 5G jugs of Valvoline Maxlife Multi-vehicle ATF. I can tell the transmission is due for a flush. I changed the oil this weekend. When I checked the oil level prior to the change, the level was at max. After changing the oil and driving it for several days, the level is at 75%. I added 6.9 quarts of oil but it reads at 75%. Not sure if that reading is normal or the PO threw in a bunch of oil and maxed the level. Threw in a half quart of ATF, drove it for a couple of days, drained the oil, let it drain for about 45 minutes until the last drop came down. This weekend..., transmission/diffs flushes.

[JDStrickland]

I do have the N51 SULEV, which comes with the stage 3 manifold, but the manifold is for another time. I ordered a new belt, VCG, OFHG, transmission gasket and filter and two 5G jugs of Valvoline Maxlife Multi-vehicle ATF. I can tell the transmission is due for a flush. I changed the oil this weekend. When I checked the oil level prior to the change, the level was at max. After changing the oil and driving it for several days, the level is at 75%. I added 6.9 quarts of oil but it reads at 75%. Not sure if that reading is normal or the PO threw in a bunch of oil and maxed the level. Threw in a half quart of ATF, drove it for a couple of days, drained the oil, let it drain for about 45 minutes until the last drop came down. This weekend..., transmission/diffs flushes.

The engineers think that the transmission should never need to be flushed. I would not say that they are right, but assuming a lifespan of 300,000 miles, I would suggest that even if they are wrong you should not need a flush now. Spend your time and money somewhere else. As far as the oil level goes, I miss my dipstick. I like the check that I can make while driving, but I think that the manual method (dipstick) as a backup/verification is a good thing. Your xi takes more oil than the RWD cars. I have the 328 in the E93 chassis, I use 7 quarts. I think the xi takes 8 quarts, which would explain the discrepancy with the Full Indication that you are experiencing.

[drewusmaximus]

The engineers think that the transmission should never need to be flushed. I would not say that they are right, but assuming a lifespan of 300,000 miles, I would suggest that even if they are wrong you should not need a flush now. Spend your time and money somewhere else. As far as the oil level goes, I miss my dipstick. I like the check that I can make while driving, but I think that the manual method (dipstick) as a backup/verification is a good thing. Your xi takes more oil than the RWD cars. I have the 328 in the E93 chassis, I use 7 quarts. I think the xi takes 8 quarts, which would explain the discrepancy with the Full Indication that you are experiencing.

Interesting. BMW recommends 6.9Q. I added about a half quart more and that topped it. It seems I need 7.5 quarts. That's a lot of oil. The transmission is acting funny. It shifts hard from second to third sometimes. When going up hill, the car stutters during acceleration. If I make a hard right turn, the car will stutter during acceleration. When I come to a stop, I feel the tranny do a slight bump to first or on first gear. The slight stuttering occurs when going up hill and if I make a hard right and accelerate, it'll stay in second gear until I let go of the gas and the same while going up hill. Left turns, no issues at all. On leveled ground, it shifts great and sometimes I'll get the slight stutter on level ground, but it's intermittent. I tried to reset the tranny by holding the gas pedal down for a minute so the tranny can relearn, but those symptoms are still there. I did some research and changing the oil and filter will fix those issues, at least I hope.

[JDStrickland]

Interesting. BMW recommends 6.9Q. I added about a half quart more and that topped it. It seems I need 7.5 quarts. That's a lot of oil. The transmission is acting funny. It shifts hard from second to third sometimes. When going up hill, the car stutters during acceleration. If I make a hard right turn, the car will stutter during acceleration. When I come to a stop, I feel the tranny do a slight bump to first or on first gear. The slight stuttering occurs when going up hill and if I make a hard right and accelerate, it'll stay in second gear until I let go of the gas and the same while going up hill. Left turns, no issues at all. On leveled ground, it shifts great and sometimes I'll get the slight stutter on level ground, but it's intermittent. I tried to reset the tranny by holding the gas pedal down for a minute so the tranny can relearn, but those symptoms are still there. I did some research and changing the oil and filter will fix those issues, at least I hope.

In previous models, the AWD cars took a quart more than the RWD cars. I assume this to be true for the E90, but I do not know. Given your experience of putting in 7 quarts and not getting a full indication, I think that I will be right. Instead of doing what I say, let someone else confirm or deny what I am telling you. I think you need 8 quarts to fill the xi, I only need 7 quarts to fill my RWD car. The extra oil that you need goes into the front diff.

[dworthy]

At 107k miles, I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't been changed. Now there is nothing wrong with changing the fluid and filter, just don't do a flush. I would ride it until 150k miles and see about having it done again. After that you can look at 75k or so less if you do mainly city driving.

Another thing to look at when you are getting the transmission serviced, is ask for a software update, this can fix several of the problems of hard shifting.

[drewusmaximus]

In previous models, the AWD cars took a quart more than the RWD cars. I assume this to be true for the E90, but I do not know. Given your experience of putting in 7 quarts and not getting a full indication, I think that I will be right. Instead of doing what I say, let someone else confirm or deny what I am telling you. I think you need 8 quarts to fill the xi, I only need 7 quarts to fill my RWD car. The extra oil that you need goes into the front diff.

Interesting. I didn't know the front diff uses the same oil as the engine oil. I thought diffs use 75w90. I did see the fill and drain plug on the diff. Thankfully, I decided not to change that diff oil, because it would have been a huge mess, expecting a quart of oil to come out. The oil level is at the max line after throwing in that half quart.

- - - Updated - - -

At 107k miles, I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't been changed. Now there is nothing wrong with changing the fluid and filter, just don't do a flush. I would ride it until 150k miles and see about having it done again. After that you can look at 75k or so less if you do mainly city driving.

Another thing to look at when you are getting the transmission serviced, is ask for a software update, this can fix several of the problems of hard shifting.

So don't do an entire flush? Just drain, replace filter and fill until it seeps and drive it for another 45k? Then change oil again? Thanks for letting me know. I was going to do a complete flush. I live in the suburbs. My commute to work is 16 miles round trip, all highway.

[JDStrickland]

Interesting. I didn't know the front diff uses the same oil as the engine oil. I thought diffs use 75w90. I did see the fill and drain plug on the diff. Thankfully, I decided not to change that diff oil, because it would have been a huge mess, expecting a quart of oil to come out. The oil level is at the max line after throwing in that half quart.

I could be wrong about the diff, but the M54 is the engine used in the 3- 5- and X5 Series (E46, E60, and E53) cars with AWD, the oil capacity is a quart higher than in the RWD cars (the X5 only has the AWD, but the engine is the same). Maybe in the AWD versions, the crank case is larger because of the diff, and the oil does not go to to the diff it just fills the case. I cannot tell you why the M54 engine in the AWD configuration takes more oil, I only know that it does, and now I carry that tidbit forward to the N51/N52/N54/N55 engines, and this makes me jump to an assumption that might not be true. If it is true, then it affects your experience, you short-filled and the display is correct. I have the Owner's Manual for the E90/E91, but it does not give the oil capacity. For a car without a dipstick, seems like the correct fill level would be important information to include in the Owner's Manual.

PS
My X5 manual states 8.0/7.5 (qt/L). It does not give oil capacity for non-AWD because there is no such thing. But the 3.0L E46 (same engine) gets 6.9 qt, so most people just round up to 7.

[drewusmaximus]

I could be wrong about the diff, but the M54 is the engine used in the 3- 5- and X5 Series (E46, E60, and E53) cars with AWD, the oil capacity is a quart higher than in the RWD cars (the X5 only has the AWD, but the engine is the same). Maybe in the AWD versions, the crank case is larger because of the diff, and the oil does not go to to the diff it just fills the case. I cannot tell you why the M54 engine in the AWD configuration takes more oil, I only know that it does, and now I carry that tidbit forward to the N51/N52/N54/N55 engines, and this makes me jump to an assumption that might not be true. If it is true, then it affects your experience, you short-filled and the display is correct. I have the Owner's Manual for the E90/E91, but it does not give the oil capacity. For a car without a dipstick, seems like the correct fill level would be important information to include in the Owner's Manual.

PS
My X5 manual states 8.0/7.5 (qt/L). It does not give oil capacity for non-AWD because there is no such thing. But the 3.0L E46 (same engine) gets 6.9 qt, so most people just round up to 7.

That half quart bought it right next to the max line. You're right. It takes over 7Qts. I'm used to turbo cars taking more oil. I think that N51 takes more oil than a 5.7L HEMI. LOL

[dworthy]

The reason for not during a flush, just drop and replace, is you have gunk in the trans that is holding stuff in place. I only recommend a flush if it's at 75k miles, and even then it's really not needed. So main reason for a "short" change, is it's one way to flush the trans, but the fluid is rather expensive. When you drop the pan and fluid, only about half will come out, the rest is still in the torque converter.