E39 540i - Service?

[mbouwer]

Hi Guys!

OK... my 540 still makes my heart race after having it for nearly 2 months now!

So... the "oil service" light came on recently.. car is now on 104 000km .. What would the cost be on this approx?

Just want to know... Is it NECESSARY to service your BMW at a stealer?? I have heard kinda conflicting things. Basically the only standard reason I get from the PRO-stealer service group is - "It is better for reselling the vehicle later"

But ja.. don't think this will really be an option for me... Will be flippen COLLECTING E39's rather!!

The ANTI-stealer group has MANY reasons the topones being COST (urm!) and that other people just do BETTER jobs and actually KNOW BMWs way BETTER than the okes doing the jobs at the stealers.

Your inputs would be highly appreciated! :thumbsup:

 

[zaleonardz]

If it is just an oil change, all you need to do is drop out the sump plug (this is the most challanging part) to drain the oil.

The oil filter itself is so piss easy to replace its not even funny, you open a canister take out the old filter, put in a new one.

This is an hours job.

What I would do if I was you, is just do this one yourself, and instead of paying somebody to do it, rather go for a higher quality oil with the money that you save. Your BMW will love you for it.

10w40 is what your car will take, and Liqui Moly makes a brilliant oil, expect to pay about R1000 for 10L..

R200 maybe 300 for a oil filter from the agents, and a saturday morning.

If your in JHB, you can bring it to me and I will reset the service light for u

 

[clutchplate]

@LZ, he stays in bloemfontein dude .. hehe

kewl, u can reset the service light with a single piece of wire tho, lol, btw, get a fully synthetic 10W40, like Mobil 1 10W40, BMW's LL01 5W30 is ok for winter but it gets too thin if you drive hard, trust me I know.

LZ and some people scheme the Liqui moly stuff is good, but I'm not so sure dude, don't care what people say .. just how I feel, cause I've heard "things" ... so ya.

u will need someone to stamp your service book tho.... I had my own stamp made some while back, but yea, will come stamp your book if I drive thru if u want

 

[WerriesM5]

Do the service your self... drain the old oil, new filter new oil and it's done.
The filter is R220 from BMW, I use Shell Helix ultra 5w40 (10w40 is fine) I also think the BMW 5w30 gets to thin when hot.

 

[E39 Ian]

Midas had Shell Helix HX - 7 which is a 10W40 on special for 189.99 for 5 liters

Same spec as MOBIL 1 - so its good stuffimp:

I bought 3 x 5 Liters for under R540 bucks - enoungh for 2 services as the 540i sump needs 7 litres :thumbsup:

Check out this thread for some good info on the topic: http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=7243

 

[zaleonardz]

Well..

On the 5w30, I used it on my M60. And filled the oil exactly to the recommended line. What I have found that when its I drive her for a long time, I actually get a fuel pressure error on very low revs (like pull off) . soon as you pick up the revs, the error disappeared.

I since then overfilled the oil just a smidget over the recommended line (I checked with BMW and they said its fine) and since then the pressure problems are gone. So this will make sense in what you say that the 5w30 may get a bit too thin.

Bit of research is that the 10w40 is the one to go for on the M60/m62...

 

[P1000]

10w40 is not available in fully synth (well not from liqui moly, shell, mobil or castol) locally, only hydrocracked. 5w40 synth is abundantly available locally, but make sure the API rating is right for your car. A more expensive oil is not always better for a specific engine...

On my e39, I can reset the service indicator on the cluster without connecting or shorting any wires, use google for the procedure.

 

[Polisiehond]

I don't know about the Bimmers, but I drove an Uno Turbo once....LOVED it...anyway, we use a full synthetic from Castrol. 8yrs back it was about R450 for a 5L bottle. It was good stuff and handled heat like nothing.
Not sure at all if it will be good for a V8 though.

 

[Polisiehond]

Ok, so here is a link on a discussion about some synth oils and some test results (I don't have a clue what was tested) and Fuchs did pretty good...
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1118409
I got a quote from Fuchs for their premium oil - R499.00 for 20L
Here are the specs:
Titan Supersyn SL 5W50
Viscosity @ 40C - 115
Viscosity @ 100C - 18
Viscosity Index - 176
Pour point - C - -48
Flash point - C - 230

Here is some detail on the Shell Helix that was mentioned...it is not BMW approved. http://www.epc.shell.com/Docs/GPCDOC_X_cbe_24855_key_140002658195_4EC2.pdf

Will post some more later.

Ps. Is "Redline" any good?