ATT: E46 330i Drivers

[Yuben]

Guys, I need to know how much of oil your 330i uses between services.

Up to where on the dipstick do you fill ?

There is a 5mm gap before the rest of the dipstick starts, my oil is filled till that point, do you fill it including that 5mm ?

I am worried as mine seems to using quite a bit of oil for my liking.

I'm now doing 129300km, I had an oil change done when I bought the car at 112000km.

In that 17000 odd km, I have filled about 4 pints so far.

Is that normal to you ?

Lastly, what oil are you using ?

:thumbs:

 

[Bavs108]

I had an oil service done at around 119000km. It's now on 134600km and hasn't used a drop of oil. My Mechanic uses the 5w30 Castrol Magnatec oil from bmw.

 

[AcidBurn]

Tha t doesnt sound to bad im currently putting in 1 litre of oil per 2000km so that basically a litre of oil a month.

Which is way less then what my 330 is consuming.

Apparently i am more or less on par with BMW's recommended oil consumption for a 330.

I am using Shell Helix Ultra 5W40.

This is my second oil change since owning the car. First change was done by SMG (Castrol Mag Prof oil), did 15 000km on it then changed it out to Shell and this i will stick with as its readily available at service stations.

:thumbs:

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I had an oil service done at around 119000km. It's now on 134600km and hasn't used a drop of oil. My Mechanic uses the 5w30 Castrol Magnatec oil from bmw.

you are very lucky, hope your engine stays like that:thumbs:

mine annoys the sh*t out of me as im constantly topping up:thumbdo:

I think my fuel and oil is in competition to bankrupt me:biglol:

 

[Bavs108]

I should mention though that my car is on the highway 80% of the time which could be the reason for it not using oil.

 

[SP33DYV]

Both my ex 330i and my 325i do not use oil between services. And my 325i now has 206k km on the clock.
I use the Castrol Edge Professional.

 

[AcidBurn]

so where the heck is my oil going to, im only on 152 xxxkm so not like i have a high mileage engine:thumbdo:

this sucks man

i dont have a oil leak as far as i am aware as i dont find oil anywhere on my drive way etc. No soot on the exhast and the car doesnt smoke. To top it off i hardly ever drive this car hard i would understand if im constantly redlining it to use oil.

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I should mention though that my car is on the highway 80% of the time which could be the reason for it not using oil.

when i went up to Knysna (500+ km out of Cape town) the car didnt use any oil to as well as coming back home and at certain places i pushed the car.

so yes open/long road driving does cause less oil usage:thumbs: thats if you have a problem hehehe

 

[Pho3niX90]

Just make sure that your tappet cover isn't leaking oil (check on the manifolds for oil stains ontop), make sure your Oil Filter housing isn't leaking oil

.

It shouldn't be using that much oil every, could maybe be your oil separator (PCV) valve as well

 

[Baron]

Yeah there are lots of reasons why you may be burning oil:
- Crankcase ventilation pipes cracking
- PCV valve cracking
- Valve cover gasket
- etc.


Check this very good post on the subject:
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=882732

What they dont mention on the subject of Valve Cover Gaskets is if your spark plug wells are wet / filled with oil, then it's the valve cover gasket leaking as well.

 

[AcidBurn]

Just make sure that your tappet cover isn't leaking oil (check on the manifolds for oil stains ontop), make sure your Oil Filter housing isn't leaking oil

.

It shouldn't be using that much oil every, could maybe be your oil separator (PCV) valve as well

i have no leaks

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eish more headaches:thumbdo:

 

[Yuben]

I had an oil service done at around 119000km. It's now on 134600km and hasn't used a drop of oil. My Mechanic uses the 5w30 Castrol Magnatec oil from bmw.

My 330 is due to go to Gizmo for its service and will check for any leaks. Although I can't see any traces of oil anywhere in my garage.

I've bought 10L of 10w40 Castrol Magnatec.

Bavs I did not know that Magnatec also came in 5w30. Thought that was Softlec

 

[Bayn46]

My 330i was using a fair amount of oil, but that was largely due to the tappet cover gasket leaking - after replacing, consumption went down by quite a bit. The seal on the OFH is next to be replaced, which is also affecting oil consumption.

I've topped up 6, maybe 7 liters over the past 2 years, most of which was during my first year of ownership when the tappet cover gasket was leaking. I'm going to be changing from Liqui moly 5W30 to Ravenol 5W40 on my next service - will see if that makes a difference.

 

[Midas335i]

My E46 330i never used a drop of oil in between services :thumbs:

 

[Kurt Adv]

My 330i is on about 196000km, uses about a litre every 8000km, but I drive it like I stole it, so not really concerned, I use Castrol Edge....

 

[Philip Foglar]

Yep, in most cases this is due to oil leaks. My Wife's E46 320i (M54B22) is still losing some oil due to this which is now evident as being the valve cover gasket. I also replaced the filter housing gasket because that was showing signs of leaking. No smoke out of the exhaust ever, just that horrible oil burning off the exhaust manifold smell... :yuck:

Will be doing the valve cover gasket soon as well as the Vanos seals and rattle kit that I got from Moranor ages ago! :thumbs:

 

[Bavs108]

I had an oil service done at around 119000km. It's now on 134600km and hasn't used a drop of oil. My Mechanic uses the 5w30 Castrol Magnatec oil from bmw.

My 330 is due to go to Gizmo for its service and will check for any leaks. Although I can't see any traces of oil anywhere in my garage.

I've bought 10L of 10w40 Castrol Magnatec.

Bavs I did not know that Magnatec also came in 5w30. Thought that was Softlec

I will double check. I have a pint in my boot just in case. It's from bmw.

 

[Bavs108]

 

[Philip Foglar]

This is the same oil that SMG Canal Walk uses and this is also what I have used for my Wife's car.

 

[Kish2604]

I have used 1 pint of top up oil from 136k Kms to 164k Kms... Mixed driving between freeway and standstill traffic...

 

[AcidBurn]

This is the same oil that SMG Canal Walk uses and this is also what I have used for my Wife's car.

this is 100% correct

however i seem to be asking myself the question: do they really put that oil in your car when they do an oil inspection/change.

i always have my doubts in things if i dont do it myself:flyfun:

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Guess i must have a oil leak somewhere then lol:fencelook:

 

[Philip Foglar]

This is the same oil that SMG Canal Walk uses and this is also what I have used for my Wife's car.

this is 100% correct

however i seem to be asking myself the question: do they really put that oil in your car when they do an oil inspection/change.

i always have my doubts in things if i dont do it myself:flyfun:

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Guess i must have a oil leak somewhere then lol:fencelook:

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This is why going forward (have done this with previous cars) I am supplying all parts and fluids needed for the service and ask for the empty containers and left over fluids which there will be...