burning oil

[sokudointegra]

ok im sure you guys are all tired of hearing about this problem, but seriously, every thread ive gone through no one gave any real suggestions to what may be causing this problem. Every answer any body has ever gotten from a post is crap like "well what kind of oil are you using" and and bs like that then the conversations go way off topic. You guys all drive bmws and have no mechanical automotive knowledge? Cars dont "just burn oil". wtf?
I have a 2002 325ci. I bought it with 93000 miles, and within 2 weeks i got the yellow oil light. Obviously the car has been having this problem well before 93000 miles, which is a no brainer to why they sold it. They got tired of dealing with it now its my damn problem. Im at 123000 miles now and im adding a qt every 1000-1500 miles. I replaced the the valve cover gasket and spark plugs. I noticed spark plugs 2,3,4, and 5 were soaked in oil. I figured good thing im replacing my vcg this should solve my leak issue. nope. i was wrong. On cold starts im getting a puff of blue smoke out of the exhaust and 2 weeks after replacing the vcg im down a qt of oil again. I checked my spark plugs and 2-5 were slightly oily. 1 and 6 were dry. The problem cant be the head gasket or i would have worse problems. I would be leaking oil, or my oil will be milky, or i would have some oil in my radiator. None of the above. I guessed maybe valve seals, but why would oil seep in through just spark plugs 2-5? i guess those valve seals could have gone bad and not the ones near spark plugs 1 and 6. But thats just odd. I have a crank case ventilation valve laying around which i bought a couple months ago as a last resort to fixing the problem. Its a bitch to get to so i been putting it off. but i feel i have no choice at this point. The ccv valve sounds like a common problem and im having obvious symptoms of a faulty ccv valve. The has a hose going to the center of the valve cover. Which kind of explains why spark plugs 2-5 are getting all the oil, they are the closest to that valve. The oils not holding pressure in that area correctly and is getting spit out there. But i have done the test to see if the ccv valve is bad. On a running motor i loosen the oil cap, and if the ccv valve is bad, its supposed to sound off a terrible noise. But no, its stays quiet. Maybe it doesnt always give off that sound?
Basically, this is the last part im changing b4 i take it to a mechanic. if the ccv valve doesnt fix the problem, my fear is its bad valve seals. And if it is, shame on bmw for making such a shitty motor for the e46. Burning oil in e46's is such a common problem im surprised there was no recall made.
Please people, give me suggestions to what could be causing this problem! Im at the end of my rope here im beginning to regret buying this bmw. My 1998 integra had 136000 miles on it b4 i sold it and it was still driving solid then, and i still see it on the streets. Please help!!!

[FLYINV]

Yes do the ccv and then let us know.
I agree that the oil use isn't acceptable but it is also within BMW's spec's.
For reference my e36 uses about 1 litre every 300 kilometres!

Sounds like you have either bad valve stem seals or excessive blowby past the piston rings.
It's not exactly BMW's fault as a lot of these oil consumption issues are determined by the owner's usage.
Also many of these car's were babied all their lives or not broken in properly so they burn oil.

A few questions, when you did the vcg did you notice any sludge in the head?
Is the rate of oil consumption consistent or is it getting worse?
Do you do a lot of short trips and cold running?
I haven't read your past threads so what oil are you using?
Have you done a compression test and or leakdown test? They'll give you some indications of the health of the motor.

Useful links:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=369457
http://crx.honda-perf.org/faq/data/5.html
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2131579

Here's some cheap things to try if the ccv doesn't help.
-Try a high mileage oil like Valvoline High Mileage or Mobil 1 High mileage, these have additives for conditioning seals.
-You can try something called a "piston soak" (google those terms) to try and clean the carbon of the pistons.
There's a few oil additives that could be used for it as well as good old ATF.
I've heard good things on Amsoil power foam, Kreen, Marvel Mystery Oil, Auto-Rx etc.
-Install a catch can

Some people have success with them, some don't but it's worth a shot.

At the end of the day though solving your oil consumption could require pulling the head at least to confirm the problem and from there you may as well do a valve job at least. So try the cheap and easy things first till oil consumption get's really bad.

[sokudointegra]

Oh wow where have you been? This information is very useful. From what i read i understand that the most obvious reason why im burning oil is because my car wasnt broken in properly =( and here i was bitching that the previous owner must have driven my car everyday as if it were a race car, when surprisingly its the complete opposite!! i would have never thought =/ Im still going to replace the ccv valve see if that helps. If it doesnt change anything im gonna do the whole thing with the ATF in the oil. I hope that will help.

Im currently using Castrol Edge 5w-30. Which is a synthetic. I was told with the mileage i have on it to step it up to a thicker 10w-30. I can get castrol edge 10w-30. What do you suggest? Maybe start using high mileage?

[sprintman]

So what oil has this had in it previously, and what are you putting in it?

[sokudointegra]

BTW i used Amsoil oil on my integra right before i sold it. I ran it 5000 miles until the oil started to turn dark. And thats after the first oil change with it. Im sure it would have lasted longer on the 2nd oil change. It is very good oil, but if im burning it, theres no point in spending so much money on it. I may have to look into the amsoil power foam though....

[sokudointegra]

I did not notice any sludge when i took the vcg off.

Oil consumption varies on how I drive. On a fresh oil change if i baby it, i will lose a qt in 2000 miles. Then another quart at around 1500 miles, and again another quart at around 1000-1500 miles. If i drive it hard it will lose a qt easily in 1000 miles. I would say on average i lose a qt 1200-1500 miles.

I drive about 20 miles to work every day. Then another 20 miles on the way back. Enough time to warm up the motor.

[ezbmr]

You are probably having a problem with your oil separator, it is the equivalent of the PCV, but more expensive and harder to replace. You might have a leak in your oil pan gasket, and that is a very long job, that I wouldn't recommend doing unless you really have to. I just had the vcg and the oil separator changed. So far so good. But some BMW's burn oil, my 5 doesn't, my 3 does.

You could go with a 5w40 or 0w40 like Mobil 1

[sokudointegra]

So what oil has this had in it previously, and what are you putting in it?

Im not 100% sure what oil was used. Carfax shows 4 previous owners before me.

Owner 1: owned for 1yr 10 months; 25 miles on car
Owner 2: owned for 3yrs 6 months; 16,200 miles
Owner 3: owned for 1 month; 55,177 miles
Owner 4: owned for 2years 8 months; 93,000

The last owner must have noticed the oil consumption at around 83000 miles because the engine was serviced then, then 5500 miles again, then 3300 miles, then again another 3000 miles, and then the car was sold at an auction at 93000 miles. Someone knew the car was having problems, the service contract was expiring, it was time to get rid of the car.

Lucky me besides the the burning oil, the car was given a tune up at 76k miles. The electrical system was serviced, suspension, transmission, a/c.

The first owner had it for almost 2 years and drove it 16000 miles in that time. Sounds like it was just a daily driver for work and back. The 2nd owner drove it an average of 11000 miles per year. It sounds like this car never had a chance to properly break in =(

[FLYINV]

What's the climate like where you live. Try a 10W-40 oil in summer, or all year round if the weather isn't too cold. That might be able to stop that puff of blue smoke on cold starts and slow leaky valve seals. Can you get high mileage in that weight?

Im not 100% sure what oil was used. Carfax shows 4 previous owners before me.

Owner 1: owned for 1yr 10 months; 25 miles on car
Owner 2: owned for 3yrs 6 months; 16,200 miles
Owner 3: owned for 1 month; 55,177 miles
Owner 4: owned for 2years 8 months; 93,000

(

The 3rd owner put a lot of miles on that car in 1 month. That's always a bad sign.
The good thing is the engine had regular oil changes. Those M54 engines have Alusil plated blocks which is a very hard and long wearing material so even if you have to do the valve stem seals at your mileage there's still plenty of life left in the motor.

Edit: Forgot to mention, there's always the possibility of little oil leaks making your oil consumption look worse. I'm not 100% on the E46's so I'd really recommend going to the e46 sub forum and those guys will know all the common leaks which you can check off as well.

[sokudointegra]

What's the climate like where you live. Try a 10W-40 oil in summer, or all year round if the weather isn't too cold. That might be able to stop that puff of blue smoke on cold starts and slow leaky valve seals. Can you get high mileage in that weight?



The 3rd owner put a lot of miles on that car in 1 month. That's always a bad sign.
The good thing is the engine had regular oil changes. Those M54 engines have Alusil plated blocks which is a very hard and long wearing material so even if you have to do the valve stem seals at your mileage there's still plenty of life left in the motor.

Edit: Forgot to mention, there's always the possibility of little oil leaks making your oil consumption look worse. I'm not 100% on the E46's so I'd really recommend going to the e46 sub forum and those guys will know all the common leaks which you can check off as well.

My bad that list was hard to understand i was half awake when i wrote it. The third owner gor the car at that mileage and only drove it for a little over 1000 miles. The last owner got it after that and drove it up to 93000 miles.

During the winter the weather has dropped down to 20 degrees F here. But its average around 40 at night.

[3serious330]

3series BMW's have an inline6 wich hold almost 7 quarts of oil I think its 6.9 to be exact BMW's run way hotter than your Honda and hold about 2 quarts more oil I put in a half quart every 1000 to 1500 miles and my engine is perfect trust me the dealer wants money and they checked it I have 100k on it some 3s use a bit of oil just the way it goes if you get on it it will use even more its a BMW they require a little more maintenance than a integra if you haven't noticed everyone is saying the same thing some of the brand new ones use a bit of oil if you can afford a BMW you can afford a quart of oil I would assume once a month I throw about a qaurt in every two weeks sounds like you are driving it pretty hard if something is majorly wrong with motor you will pop a code just like when it tells you when you need oil. there is no other car you can cruise at 120 and feel like I'm going 60 that's worth a quart of oil to me

[e30ncsu]

Do a compression leak-down test and let us know what the results are.

[90turbo1]

REPLACE THE CYCLONE VALVE, DIPSTICK TUBE (updated design) and all hoses including the small hose going accross the top of the intake manifold.

The cyclone valve or CCV as you call it is a common failure point. the result of the cyclone vavle failing can be increased oil consumption to engine failure. most we see are so bad that the car is constantly smoking out the tail pipe. Along the way there was a design change to the dipstick tube, and ccv valve that are for cold weather and the dipstick tube for a poor design.

the crankcase vapors/oil are pulled out the intake and enter the ccv, they are then swirlled around and the oil in theory is supposed to collect on the outside of the valve and drain back down through a tube into the dipstick tube to the oil pan. Now two things usually happen to this valve.

A. Cold temps and short driving cause a failure. when you drive your car for short trips you allow a lot of condensation to form in the motor, this condensation is also spun out of the air and forms water which sits in the valve and will freeze in cold weather and cause the valve to fail. the updated design will include a insulated cover completly covering the vlave and hoses.

B. the dipstick tube due to poor design will plug up with common normal engine carbom like crud. when this happens the oil has no place to go. filling up the lower part of the valve and when this happens the vacuum in the valve increases causing the car to injest and burn the oil in the ccv. this can be so bad that you can experience a hydrolock condition and destroy a engine to just burn oil like you are doing.

the new design has a seperate complete larger tube that the oil can drain back down into vs the sleeve design the orginal has. you can clean the orginal but when you see the updated one there is no comparison.

hope that helps you a bit.

[sprintman]

What's the climate like where you live. Try a 10W-40 oil in summer, or all year round if the weather isn't too cold. That might be able to stop that puff of blue smoke on cold starts and slow leaky valve seals. Can you get high mileage in that weight?



The 3rd owner put a lot of miles on that car in 1 month. That's always a bad sign.
The good thing is the engine had regular oil changes. Those M54 engines have Alusil plated blocks which is a very hard and long wearing material so even if you have to do the valve stem seals at your mileage there's still plenty of life left in the motor.

Edit: Forgot to mention, there's always the possibility of little oil leaks making your oil consumption look worse. I'm not 100% on the E46's so I'd really recommend going to the e46 sub forum and those guys will know all the common leaks which you can check off as well.

10W40 doesn't meet spec. 0/5W40 that meet LL01 do.

[MarcoZandrini]

Couple of recommendations:

Switch to Mobil 1 0W-40 oil. My 330Ci was using oil when I used the oil from the dealer. Switching to Mobil 1 0W-40 decreased oil consumption. Btw, 0W-40 is the only Mobil 1 oil that has the LL-01 cert..

I also noticed that when I engine brake oil consumption increased. I believe the valve seals are the culprit.

[Acyd]

Couple of recommendations:

Switch to Mobil 1 0W-40 oil. My 330Ci was using oil when I used the oil from the dealer. Switching to Mobil 1 0W-40 decreased oil consumption. Btw, 0W-40 is the only Mobil 1 oil that has the LL-01 cert..

I also noticed that when I engine brake oil consumption increased. I believe the valve seals are the culprit.

This.

I was using the BMW 5w-30 and i was chewing through oil pretty good. Switched to the 0w-40 and it slowed down the burnoff significantly. Hell it might of even stopped, i havent had to top off in quite a while.

[ttraiders1]

Sokduintegra,

were you able to solve your issue?? My 2001 325i is having similar issues.

[aaguitar]

My car been burning oil. I have a 2003 bmw 330 ci with 194,000. the service engine light stays on and when i drive 1,000 to 1,500 miles i have to add 2 quarts of oil. i change my vavle gaskets, oil housing seals, ad my ccv along with the crank case ventilation. i hate spending money on oil every 2 weeks. i use mobil 1 5-30w gold. i notice a white bluish smoke coming out my exhaust when i park head in on a slightly elevated hill. i took it to these mechanic and they have no clue. any one knows how can i fix my oil thats burning.
i expected better from bmw, if i can fix this oil buring off then my car will be almost like new again

[aaguitar]

do you see leaks on the floor. im experiencing same problem and dealers dont even know.

[sprintman]

Oh wow where have you been? This information is very useful. From what i read i understand that the most obvious reason why im burning oil is because my car wasnt broken in properly =( and here i was bitching that the previous owner must have driven my car everyday as if it were a race car, when surprisingly its the complete opposite!! i would have never thought =/ Im still going to replace the ccv valve see if that helps. If it doesnt change anything im gonna do the whole thing with the ATF in the oil. I hope that will help.

Im currently using Castrol Edge 5w-30. Which is a synthetic. I was told with the mileage i have on it to step it up to a thicker 10w-30. I can get castrol edge 10w-30. What do you suggest? Maybe start using high mileage?

10W30 can be thinner than 5W30. Does the Edge 5W30 at least meet ACEA A3, B3 if not LL01 spec? Remember most XW30's don't meet spec for viscosity, HTHS, etc. use an LL01 spec 5W40 and see if consumption drops.

[sprintman]

Couple of recommendations:

Switch to Mobil 1 0W-40 oil. My 330Ci was using oil when I used the oil from the dealer. Switching to Mobil 1 0W-40 decreased oil consumption. Btw, 0W-40 is the only Mobil 1 oil that has the LL-01 cert..

I also noticed that when I engine brake oil consumption increased. I believe the valve seals are the culprit.

Correct M1 0W40 meets spec, M1 XW30's don't.

[GoingNuts]

Correct M1 0W40 meets spec, M1 XW30's don't.

BMW recommends Castrol. Most current blah-W-blah Castol oils (even one of the cheap non-synthetic ones) meet either LL01 or LL04 in Europe. I am sure there are multiple Castols oils that meet LL01 in the US. Not sure about Australia though - I wonder if the wild kangaroo bandits have stopped raiding shipments of Castol.