Do you prefer to change your own oil?

[future540]

Do you prefer to change your own oil or do you have a mechanic do it? I ask because I've always done my own cars but I haven't attempted to do my 540. I probablt hesitate because its a high-end car but probably is as easy as any other car, no?

[Mike WW]

Absolutely it's just another car when it comes to oil changes. But I'll give you a couple of more reasons not to have the quick lube places that will do it for a super cheap $30 bucks or so.

On an E28 I used to have, I did the second oil change in my ownership, and the plug kept turning. Now I'd put a quarter million miles and dozens of oil changes on E3s and E12s before and never stripped an aluminum oil pan. So it was stripped when I got it, and after a retap and oversize plug no more problems for the next 150K that I owned it. Fast forward a few years to my first E39. First oil change on it. And the plug looks weird. Only a couple of threads. Kind of looked like it was designed to cut threads so I figured it was the same thing. Next oil change I dug in further and found the rest of the broken off plug in the pan. Someone had torqued it down so hard they broke the plug!!!

In other words there is no reason not to do it yourself and whatever you do don't take it to a cheapie oil change place.

[future540]

Absolutely it's just another car when it comes to oil changes. But I'll give you a couple of more reasons not to have the quick lube places that will do it for a super cheap $30 bucks or so.

On an E28 I used to have, I did the second oil change in my ownership, and the plug kept turning. Now I'd put a quarter million miles and dozens of oil changes on E3s and E12s before and never stripped an aluminum oil pan. So it was stripped when I got it, and after a retap and oversize plug no more problems for the next 150K that I owned it. Fast forward a few years to my first E39. First oil change on it. And the plug looks weird. Only a couple of threads. Kind of looked like it was designed to cut threads so I figured it was the same thing. Next oil change I dug in further and found the rest of the broken off plug in the pan. Someone had torqued it down so hard they broke the plug!!!

In other words there is no reason not to do it yourself and whatever you do don't take it to a cheapie oil change place.

thanks for the info, I've had 2 oil changes so far at a mechanic I was going to but I figured I would buy a oil change kit fro ecs tuning and do it myself.

[Nofearspear]

Do it yourself....and never ever take it to a quickie oil change place.

[andyman7931]

trust no one, especially when it comes to the lifeblood of your engine. I fear the quick lube places may not put the correct oil in my car, nor change the oil filter. Plus it saves a couple of bucks doing it myself.

[Al's540i]

540's are easy to change oil on.

[newton22]

Yes I do prefer to. I even help change the oil on a lot of my family and friends' cars.

[billzcat1]

Another DIY oil-changer here. Not only do you KNOW how the change was done, you KNOW what filter was put in (not the Fram/similar), you KNOW what oil was put in (LL-01 compliant), and you KNOW that for the same price as a mechanic who uses $1/quart mass-market 5w30 dino oil you did the change yourself with some German Castrol, Mobil1, or Amsoil.

Plus, it's a bonding experience between man and machine. Right?

[jamesdc4]

DIY!!!!

Oil Change with Evacuator (540i)

[jagerhund]

Do you prefer to change your own oil or do you have a mechanic do it? I ask because I've always done my own cars but I haven't attempted to do my 540. I probablt hesitate because its a high-end car but probably is as easy as any other car, no?

I would never let anyone touch my cars.

Those BMW mechs are not NASA scientist, it's just a car. In fact the E39 is probably the easiest car I have ever worked on.

Do it yourself, save money and KNOW it was done right

[quacktoduck]

yes cause its the easiest oil change ive done ever... mityvac ftw

[legitsnowe39]

It's so much better to do things by yourself. When your done, you always hope the car will still work after you've spent hours on it. Every time (assuming you did it right and are not a complete idiot!) the car turns on as expected. That's the best feeling.




Now with that said I've never changed my oil myself. lol.

[Qsilver7]

The 540 is one of the easiest cars to do an oil change on....even if you do it the conventional way (by loosening the drain bolt in the oil pan.

It can't get much easier or simpler. Just a few tools and you can get er done in under 30 minutes (more like 20). And again, that's doing it the conventional way. And unless you have a 60" wasteline...you could actually do it without even putting the car up on ramps.

The little flap door that allows you to access the oil pan's drain bolt can be reached by a person with average length arms. And again, just a few tools, a drain pan, 17mm socket for drain bolt (or you can use the lug wrench for the wheels...it's 17mm), 36mm socket for oil reservoir cap, the screw driver from the trunk's tool kit to undo the flap door to access the drain bolt, oil & a filter...and you're good to go.

Pics & intructions doing it the conventional way...also instructions on how to reset the oil service light if you have the 20 pin round DLC connector under the hood: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3134093/5

[mr540ia]

I especially like the little flap door...reminds me of a flight suit with the zip down butt flap to poop without taking everything off.

[nsr13196]

I change mine myself with the AMSOIL but for my wife's toyota hybrid hylander we have the shop do it (but with the AMSOIL)

[Jester4176]

I have my mechanic change mine. $90 gets a full change with synthetic and a car wash. He's a master level BMW guy, so I know it gets done right.

[marcusE39X5]

There is always piece of mind when you have done the job right.

[jetblackE39]

Diy!!!! Ftmfw!!!!!

[E39Saloon]

I always do it myself, I try and do as much as I can in my driveway for three reasons: Save Money, get to know your car and the fact that no one will take the time and care to work on your car like you would.

[htran]

You should do it yourself, can't trust those quickie shop mechanics. When they work on your car they want it to be done as quick as possible and not care about the quality of the work done since it's not their cars.
I passed by a quick oil change shop once and I saw mechanics banging at oil pans and oil filters and began laughing and joking with eachother; that's the general sense I get of how most of the oil change shops mechanic's mentality is like. They may end up screwing up some other parts of your car and make an excuse that it was already a problem and make you pay more for repairs which could be part of their profiting schemes.

Don't trust the shop, do it yourself for a better peace of mind and at the same time broaden your mechanical knowledge. There are several DIY pages/threads, just search it up. It'll be fun.

[Johnny Kim]

15mins with a mytivac and i didnt even use a tool to remove the oil filter!

[adam1979]

The top-side filter definitely makes E39 oil changes (and most other BMW models) easier than other cars.

[arbuckle]

DIY! Granted, the first time with my E39 was a pain. I needed to decide how to get the car up and I needed to dig up the correct tools and get supplies. Here is what I did:

o stocked up on Mann filters.
o stocked up on German Castrol.
o built a set of car ramps from my neighbor's discarded deck rafters.
o bought a large socket for the oil filter housing.

Now its a snap. I drive it up on the ramps and get er done. For some of my cars I splurge by buying a breaking bar for the sockets, stick em together and store them in an oil changing toolbox. I know it is overkill since I already have some of the sockets in my tool box but its one of those litle things that just makes the job easy. I always wipe the car down under there and take a look around. That's another reason to DIY.

[fourcylfox]

usually unless is in the middle of winter. I don't have a garage only a carport. Usually the local shop will do it for about 10bucks if I give them the oil and filter.

[E391989]

I definitely prefer to do my own oil change. its so simple to do. i actually did my own change last night and my spark plugs. its pretty straight forward and nothin out of the ordinary except for maybe the 36mm socket since i didnt have one just layin around. id rather do it myself and know i did it right instad of someone that gets on a flat rate and try to do it as quick as possible. on top of that there is nothing better then workin on ur car and crankin it over and hearing the engine purr