S54 Oil Cooler Questions

[///MTV]

a) Where is it located and can it only be seen from under the car.


b) Someone stated that the S54 engine has a semi-dry sump lubrication system with pressure and scavenging pumps to minimize oil starvation. Is this true? And if so, is it bad to overfill the S54 motor by 1/2 to 1 quart to eliminate common BMW valve ticking that occurs when tracked, autox'ed, driven hard.

c) How high have any S54 owners seen the oil temp go? Ive seen on a day with 100 degree temp about 220ish level, otherwise 200 most of the time, slightly under on very cool days.


Thanks for the help.

[bimmerpwr]

Hey, Tommy.
I am not sure about number one. I was told that it has a small one but don't know where it is located.

I do know that S54 engines come with semi-dry sump according to an ariticle that I have. My previous 2000 M Roadster used to burn about 1 qt every 1000 miles or so. But current S54 does not burn any oil at all. I have not taken my car to any tracks yet but I drive hard everyday (consistenly bring her up to 8k). But my car does not have that "ticking" problem yet.

I just got my second oil service with 10w60. The temperature sometimes goes up to 260 when it's 100+ outside and the car is driven hard(bring the tech up to 8k a few times, it will be at 260). But usually it stays around 220-240. When it's really hot outside, drive your car real hard (up to 7600 for your car) for a few times and see where your temperature is. If it's still at 220, then something must be wrong with my car...

[///MTV]

Thanks Sean.

By the way, I have 4K on the engine and have burned about a quart, maybe a quart and a half, of oil. Anyone else have this....? Heard it goes away usually by 5K....Anyone have any experience...

[QikSilver]

220 to 240 seems hot to me, mine rarely gets above 200 even with hard driving in S. FL....it hasn't used any oil at all after 3600 mi (changed at 1200, TWS). I'm curious about the sump set-up on the S54, too. There is no separate oil tank, but I've heard about multiple pick-ups and pumps, too. It might be similar to my Kawasaki ZRX 1100 which has a small deeper sump within the sump to insure oil pick-up at lean angles or wheelies.
John

[MDork]

im usually a bit under 200---never seen above 230ish---

no oil burn at all...which is surprising---

[bimmerpwr]

Maybe something is wrong with my car then...
I usually see about 200-220 when it's driven normally. 240-260 when it's driven to 8k a few times. If I don't take her up to 6k, it stays around 200-220 though...

Is there anyone who takes his/her car up to 8k (7.6k for stock) and still stay around 220???
If so, I guess I need to have my car checked...could be the Dinan upgrade cause I don't remember being anywhere near 260 when my car was stock (even when it was driven hard).

[badbadm]

Originally posted by 00MRoadster
I do know that S54 engines come with semi-dry sump according to an ariticle that I have. My previous 2000 M Roadster used to burn about 1 qt every 1000 miles or so. But current S54 does not burn any oil at all. I have not taken my car to any tracks yet but I drive hard everyday (consistenly bring her up to 8k). But my car does not have that "ticking" problem yet.

The S54 has solid lifters, so it will not develop "that ticking problem" at all. If it does, something has broken.

[phil76]

hi,
have no tor rather no oil burning! which surprised me

but my damn bmw garage put in my car SLX oil, which is fu... no good for this engine! oil temp goes up to 125 C !!!
and this after driving 20min with 200 km/h !!

have fun wiv your car

[Esteves]

On the S54 engine, your oil cooler looks like this

<img src="http://www.unofficialbmw.com/images//oilcool3.gif">

Diagrams courtesy of Ron Stygar.

If you open up the hood, and look down, you should see the oil cooler in front of the bumper grill. You may not see it from the bottom because of the oil cooler duct (but I'm not sure).

Don't know about the S54 engines, but the S52 engines will burn oil quickly the first few thousand miles. I would recommend keeping an eye on the dipstick until you reach Inspection 1 (Yes, the one AFTER the first oil change).

I have never heard of a semi-dry sump lubrication on the S54, but who knows. Perhaps the E46 people may know.

Good luck.

[///MTV]

Thanks for all the help guys. Glad to know that I dont have to add extra oil due to the solid lifters.

Sounds like the max temp most people see is in the 230 area. Have heard of an occasional 260 reading. Sean, you may want to have that checked out. Have the right oil in there?

Sounds like Im one of the few whos new engine burns a bit of oil. Will monitor...hopefully goes away. Keeping fingers crossed.

Glad to hear we have a semidry sump setup!

[cal_guy19]

I've got one of those oil coolers, sort of. With a Dinan S/C, couldn't plumb into the kit's two oil line connectors (oil filter cartridge holder), since S/C uses one of them.
Anyway, the exploded diagram is mis-leading. The plastic air flow deflector is a little tricky (my kit didn't come with a diagram). The oil cooler is at the front of the car, mounted under the radiator, in the "channel iron" frame. Turn the deflector around in the diagram, front to back. The "lip" (11 in the diagram) slips in between the top of the oil cooler and the channel frame. The three posts (shown with the screw going to it) act as separators from the stock belly pan. Belly pan already has matching holes, and screws go in from under the belly pan into the spacer posts, creating a "gap" at the rear of the belly pan to draw air thru the oil cooler. Stock air dam at bottom of radiator need to be modified - attached to bottom of oil cooler, to prevent air entering the lower grill from bypassing the oil cooler by flowing under the oil cooler. The lower air dam goes from the bottom of the oil cooler to the inside surface of the belly pan, blocking such air flow. When you put it all together this way, it all makes sense.

[cal_guy19]

Hey guys -

I really could use some help. I've got a '98 M roadster with a Dinan 6 lb boost Vortech supercharger. No oil cooler yet (Dinan wants $3500, and this setup is NOT compatible with the much cheaper M-Euro kit). My oil temp goes up to 260 on a moderate day (70-80F outside) when running at freeway speeds in 4th gear (around 4000 RPM). Dinan tells me the M-roadsters/coupes do run high oil temps, even WITHOUT the supercharger. You guys who posted operating oil temps - was that WITH or WITHOUT an oil cooler? Anybody know the REAL story about oil temperatures with a supercharger installed on this car?
I could really use some help - right now I'm not sure what to do about the high oil temps. Any insights greatly appreciated.

Eric

[phrider]

Originally posted by 00MRoadster
Maybe something is wrong with my car then...
I usually see about 200-220 when it's driven normally. 240-260 when it's driven to 8k a few times. If I don't take her up to 6k, it stays around 200-220 though... Is there anyone who takes his/her car up to 8k (7.6k for stock) and still stay around 220???
If so, I guess I need to have my car checked...

Mine is stock, but my oil temperature experiences are similar to yours. If there is something wrong with yours, it's wrong with mine, too.

[QikSilver]

Boy, 260 sure seem hot to me; my Formula Ford never got that hot in a 45 minute race, but that's what a big cooler, dry sump and big oil tank will do for you. Bmw, apparently, doesn't think 260 is a problem, since that is slightly above center on the oil temp guage. BTW, it's great having an oil temp guage in a street car...it makes you realize how long you have to baby that throttle till the oil gets up to temp.

The S54's oil cooler is so well hidden it concerns me; if I can't see it, how's the airflow going to see it. I'm gonna play around with it one day soon.

The S54 is a completely different engine than the previous M motor, so it's probably useless to compare the two; but I find it interesting that Motorsport specs 10W-60 TWS for the S54 but 10W-whatever for the rest of the fleet. Hmmmmmm.

If I was running a steady 260, I would try to get that number down with a big (or bigger) oil cooler mounted right in the airstream. Boosted engines need more frequent oil changes, hot running blown ones even more than that.