engineoil grade for BMW diesel engines

My BMW diesel listed Castrol 0W-30 and 4 litres was nearer £40 Nick

That because I haven't actually bought any for some time (re KwikFit £39 oil + filter Mobil 1 deal) and as an ex-motor trade person I never consider Retail ;>)

this would make an oil + filter job an my V8 something like £85 to do it myself and the aggro of dumping the oil and filter.

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

Does the oil consumption on these diesels tend to *decrease* as the miles increase?

As before - I bloody hope so as I said they are definitely getting mine back

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

My 2001 530D burned no oil between changes from new to when I sold it at a mere 30,000 miles - and I drove it quite hard and it was chipped at 10,000 miles to 230 odd bhp - great engine !

and nor did my other BMW 2.5 TDi, an older E34, for the 18 months I had that - sounds like a problem maybe...

Nick

I am going to talk to the BMW people to-morrow. I seem to have read somewhere in the manual that the twin turbo may consume oil between services, particularly from the new.

The exact mileage on the car is 5320 miles. The info on the oil from the manual is as follows:

Diesel Engines:

-> Preferred: BMW Longlife -04

->Alternative: BMW Longlife-01, BMW Longlife-98 or ACEA A3/B4

Can anyone decipher these for me?

Thanks,

Vijay

Take a look on ANY decent oil company's site for info and spec.

The only reason a turbo will use oil is when there is a negative pressure on the inlet (vacuum) such as when you close the throttle on an MAF unit and the engine is still rotating fast - a vacuum occurs in the inlet tract.

Now the problem will occur when the turbo is in between the butterfly and the inlet tract and all the air is sucked through the MAF into the throttle housing and then to the turbo and then compressed and fed to the engine.

A better idea is to suck CLEAN air through the MAF into the turbo then to the throttle.

The main problem here is when you lift off at high speed you get a pressure build up in the inlet and this is why some cars go "Chuff Chuff Chuff" when changing gear up or lifting off at high speed and some boy racers fit blow off valves to keep the turbo spinning fast without loosing pressure.

I am not too sure of the BMW inlet routing but if it is between the throttle and inlet tract I would be surprised as this routing can cause oil to be sucked past the bearing seals into the compressor scroll.

Turbos designed for this fitting usually have carbon seals to prevent this and those for fitment before the throttle generally do not have this seal (cost + need).

That is why and how ------------- But I still advise you to take it back and complain BIG TIME with the operative words being "Can You Fix It?"

Do not tell them what to do or what is causing the apparent problem. Get a written undertaking that the problem will NOT be ignored and that you still have

2+ years warranty at unlimited mileage left to get it sorted.

My 2p worth.

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

There are different grades of Mobil 1.

Welcome to the wonderful world of money grabbing UK BMW dealers. Which one are you using?

My best one was putting my still under warranty E39 in for a service with First Front (no longer with us) with a stop lamp just blown and the warning on and it still not working afterwards. On picking up the car and complaining there and then they changed it while I waited - and charged an extra 16 quid...

First Front (Wimbledon) became William Jacks but the scams continued. Now Coopers and they are just as bad.

With the car now well outside warranty and any re-sale benefit of a FMDSH I use an independant who are honest as well as competent.

To make things clear, every time the car went to the main dealer for a service they either didn't do things that were on the service schedule or added extras which weren't required. It's about time something was done about the dishonesty of the UK garage trade.

A Google on ACEA A3/B4 gives loads of hits on alternative makers of this spec oil...

I am with Blue Bell Wilmslow. Picked up the liter for =A316 and change. They told me that every and any bmw can consume up to quarter liter every 650 miles and bmw considers this within their norm. (BTW, I bumped into a 535d owner who also had to add extra oil between services when he first bought the car. It got better for him with the miles).

I agree with you about the independents. When I had the evo, I had the most wonderful service from an independent. You got the same couple of guys who knew my car inside out. I find main dealership to have very young, inexperienced and transient technicians who, soon as they gain some experience, seem to move on. But with this car being new, I think I will stick with the Blue Bell for the duration of the warranty at least. The service intervals are quite spread out. I am not scheduled till October 2008, according to the computer at least. I will get an oil and filter change before then though.

Thanks all for your input.

Vijay

Not typically, no.

That and Lucas electrics are half the reason my family moved to Canada when I was a kid.

Now owned by TRW - for information ----

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

Why? Did your dad get caught nicking them? ;-)

They're now owned by a US company.

And Smith & Wesson is owned by a British company. What's your point, really?

That's why Dirty Harry used the 44 Magnum - he knew it worked every time!

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

Ah, yes. But Dirty Harry is a fictional character. Didn't he have an orangutan for a sidekick at some point? Maybe we should find out what make of car it is that orangutans drive, and then follow their lead.

Not that I have a dog in this fight, but you wouldn't believe the hit that Smith & Wesson's sales took in the US a couple of years ago after they publicly backed some proposal for toughening up on gun registration and control.

But, I digress.

Hello Nick,

My 530dA 1999 has does not have any oil consumption to talk about even after

150000 miles - and I have used Castrol B3 all the time.