[clinkous]

Hello, I have a general question concerning my engine. I just purchased my 328i about 3 months ago. I took it straight to the dealership for an inspection and was told everything was good and all servicing was up to date.

Yesterday my low oil light blinked on and off, I called the dealer and was told to just bring it in next week for a top off. Well I decided to change the engine oil myself because I don't know when it was last changed. As I removed the oil cap there was alot of sludge built up on it. I cleaned it off and continued the servicing. The oil I drained out was BLACK. So my question is, how concerned should I be that the oil was not changed like it should have been, even thought the dealer checked the key and said it was good.

Should I look into a flush of some sort? The car only has 35,000 miles on it. I know this is a hard question to answere, just please give me your input.

I am an aircraft mech. in the Air Force so I kinda freak out over these things.

Is it normal to have about 1/4" of Sludge on the cap? I assume no, but please educate me.

Thanks Chris

[ianbiz]

finish letting it sludge up at get a new motor under warranty?

[clinkous]

Waranty is up 20th of this month.

[mike-y]

It shouldn't have that much sludge, no. What kind of oil did you use? BMW uses European oil spec, not SAE, so not all US 5w-30 oils translate to the proper LL-01 type oil that BMW uses.

BMW uses a long-life synthetic oil to get by on 15k mile oil changes, so make sure you are also using a synthetic, if you are not getting your oil from BMW. I've started changing my oil every ~7000 miles or so, just because I am more comfortable with that than leaving the oil in there for 15k, and the oil also stays cleaner.


Consult this page for the types of oil you can use in your car:

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...ngineOils.aspx

[clinkous]

I used Castrol Syntec however I do not know what was in it. With the low miles I would assume it was last done by BMW. My concern is the sludge on the filler cap. Something caused it! I didn't get any sludge from the pan as I drained it, just black oil.

I plan on changing it every 5 to 7K now that I own it, my concern is should I mention it to the dealer before the waranty expires on the 20th.... should I have a flush done or just maintain it the way it should have been and not worry about it.

[roundle]

Did you take a photo? If not, can you tell us the color or texture of the "sludge"? Were you able to towel it off or did you use dental tools?

If you do a lot of short distance trips, it's not uncommon to build up a bit of milk-shake stuff under the oil cap. Said that, if you're doing a lot of short distance drives, you should not wait 15K to change your milk-shake.

BTW: While not everyone agrees with this, I'm having my oil changed every 7,500 miles despite the fact that my all-knowing dashboard believes that I should be changing my oil every 13K miles. Since I'm in Euro-land, the dealer uses Castrol SLX 0W30 (about as expensive as Moet)

[clinkous]

No I didn't take pics...sorry. Yes I cleaned it off with a rag. It was soft and black. It reminded me of lithium grease. There was soo much that the cap appeared rounded. I'm not really freaking out, just wondering if I should do some preventive maintainance? Even the trap door under the car showed zero signs of use. I'm starting to wonder if the oil was ever changed. When I opened the door it left marks on the latch.

[roundle]

Originally Posted by clinkous

No I didn't take pics...sorry. Yes I cleaned it off with a rag. It was soft and black. It reminded me of lithium grease. There was soo much that the cap appeared rounded. I'm not really freaking out, just wondering if I should do some preventive maintainance? Even the trap door under the car showed zero signs of use. I'm starting to wonder if the oil was ever changed. When I opened the door it left marks on the latch.

Interesting.

How was your oil filter?

If you are still under warrenty, tell your SA--at least to have it documented--then ask if they'd be willing to pull the valve cover off. Would be nice to see (yes, take pics) how things look under there...

[AlanAZ]

A few things you could do.

1. Go to the dealer, ask to see/get the maintenance records on the car, specifically when the oil changes occurred. BMW pays the dealers for them under the free maint, so there's a record, I got mine after I bought my car used. If they sight privacy, they can redact the previous owner names with a black marker or with a pair of sissors. My car had 60K mls and oil changes at around 15K miles when i bought it, no sludge like you described, and an subsequent oil analysis showed the engine wearing well (there's a post of it in the maint. sub-forum.)

2. The cap would have been opened before now. All our cars burn some oil, there's no way it would have gotten to 35K without the low oil light coming on before now. Perhaps a previous owner had topped up using a conventional oil that has caused the sludge you're seeing.

3. If there is a bigger problem, you've got 20 days to make your case to BMW. You may want to drop this oil and send a sample to Blackstone Labs to analyse. It needs 500 miles on the sample to be valid. Be sure to use an approved oil from the list above. I prefer Mobil 1 0W40, it has a better low and high temp range than the factory oil. Change out the filter too, of course. If you're going to do this, you'll need to get on this quick.

4. Check how the oil on the cap is looking on a regular basis. You didn't mention how the oil in the filter housing looked when you changed it. Check the level of all your other fluids.

5. Going forward, you may want to change it every 5,000 miles to prevent any further sludge build-up and keep flushing the engine. At least for several changes, then 7,500. Since you're changing it yourself, do it RIGHT after a long drive, that will suspend the contaniments best, and flow it out of the sump the fastest (you will need a collection container that can take a high volume - I got close to the capacity on mine the other day.) And let it drain until it completely stops dripping. After changing mine, the oil from the cap onto a paper towel looks the same as what poured from the containers for several hundreds of miles, then starts to get darker.

Post the results of what you finding. We may have other suggestions. Good Luck.

[clinkous]

I made an appointment for monday. I am not really sure what to ask for so I am just going to explain to them what I saw on the filler cap and ask what can be done. I will also ask for the maintanence records.

I think you may be right about the previous oil change. I am thinking a non syntec. oil was used. The filter was black but there was no chunks on or in it. I opened it up and inspected. But it was black.

I also could hear a taping noise coming from the engine, i read several posts and everyone says its the hyd lifter. I dismissed it, however after my oil change it went away.

I'm not going to freak out, there really isn't anything I can do but change the oil like it should have been. I will let you guys know what the dealer tells me on Monday.

[clinkous]

Okay, time to start freaking out. I just went out and opened the filler cap again, this time i used a flash light and there is a large amount of sludge visiable on everything in there.

What should I do? Should I flush it? Should I take my chances with the dealer?

[AlanAZ]

Dealer. You still have warranty. MAKE IT THEIR PROBLEM.

[urnuts]

Those are your next two moves, not in that order.

[mike-y]

sounds like the oil was left in there too long, or they used organic oil the last time around. Take it to the dealer and bring it up with them. After that, change your oil again after a thousand miles or so, and make sure you use one of the approved synthetic oils.

Synthetic oils can clean out deposits after some time, but if it's really sludgy, you may want to have the dealer pull the valve cover and clean it up.

[DimSum]

You can do some seafoam on your car.

[AlanAZ]

Seafoam? Seriously?!

Internet fad. As many horror stories as endorsements, and those making the endorsements are probably trying to make money off it..

[clinkous]

The dealer said it was normal. He even admitted that it was probably due to the 15,000 mile oil change interval. I informed them that I was concerned about the ticking from the engine and the amount of sludge I noticed under the cap. He replied with a smile and said they see it all the time. He had them change my oil agian just to help flush it out and they bleed down my lifters.

I guess I will give it about 5,000 miles and change it again. I will let you guys know what it looks like then. Thanks for all the help and replies.

[clinkous]

Forgot to mention, I did have them pull the Maint. records and it had been a year since the oil was changed.

[BMW1983]

Originally Posted by clinkous

The dealer said it was normal. He even admitted that it was probably due to the 15,000 mile oil change interval. I informed them that I was concerned about the ticking from the engine and the amount of sludge I noticed under the cap. He replied with a smile and said they see it all the time. He had them change my oil agian just to help flush it out and they bleed down my lifters.

I guess I will give it about 5,000 miles and change it again. I will let you guys know what it looks like then. Thanks for all the help and replies.

I change my oil every 7500 miles --- use Mobil 1 0W-40. I've never had any sludge of any type anywhere I can see --- and I am fairly obsessive over these things. Good luck. If ticking returns look up this issue --- there is an SIB over it ---- my exhaust valve lifters were replaced for this noise....if it is revolution dependent.

[floydwest]

I'm seeing the same issue. Bought my car used w/60k miles. Visable sludge inside the cam cover. No history on the oil changes in my case. Could be long interval on the oil change, Keep the post going.

[clinkous]

Sorry to hear you found the same thing. I am fairly certain its the lack of oil change. I have changed my oil twice since I started this post. I have noticed a differance and the sludge seems to be going away. I will keep everyone posted.

[5erman]

Just for your own knowlede if you are going to change oil yourself that castrol syntec 5w30 is not approved by bmw. You need to use EURO spec castrol 0w30 if you want to stick with that, or mobil 1 0w40 NOT 5w30 mobil 1. Why not just use BMW synthetic. It cost the same and is going to perform the best.