Found metallic particles in the oil filter...

TylerD · 12-04-2017, 06:18 PM

Well, I bought my 2012 N55 early this year and did all services.
I wanted to start tuning it now and thought it might be a good idea to do a checkup before that.

So i started with the oil filter and taking an oil sample. Oil looked very good and clean, but the unfolded oil filter revealed some non magnetic metallic particles that really concern me

.
(see attached image)

The oil is only 8000km's (9 months) old/young. Car runs strong and never threw any engine/engineparts related error messages. Error memory is also empty.

I know that its hard to tell from a distance, but what could that possibly be? Any ideas?

What should I do next, or what would you do next to narrow down the cause?

Is there a chance that it is not something capital and can still be fixed?

Thank you very much!

Mybimmer · 12-05-2017, 06:34 AM

Hopefully you kept a sample of the old oil?? If you did send it away to be analysed. The report will tell you what the material is.

TylerD · 12-05-2017, 07:24 AM

I only changed the filter. Oil is still in the car. Yeah, I had the same idea and I will do the oil check next, although i do not know, if we have a good provider for that here in germany.

Any other advises/tips?

bbnks2 · 12-05-2017, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerD

I only changed the filter. Oil is still in the car. Yeah, I had the same idea and I will do the oil check next, although i do not know, if we have a good provider for that here in germany.

Any other advises/tips?

Could be normal if the person hadn't changed the oil in 15k miles. Clean your oil pan out, change the oil, and pan for gold. Post up pics of the carnage LOL

I usually have 1-2 small flakes like that in my filter after each 5k change. That is an abnormal amount of metal in my opinion.

Mr Gasser · 12-05-2017, 08:37 AM

May want to change the oil with Liqui Moly and any of their additives...German design for Beemers.
https://www.liqui-moly.com/

ShocknAwe · 12-05-2017, 02:42 PM

Wait 5k and change the oil again. I see a few small flakes in my oil filter from time to time, but not a lot.

TylerD · 12-05-2017, 05:50 PM

The previous owner did not change it for almost 30000km (1.5 years)...
BMW definately should shorten the intervals on these engines, so those cheapskates wreck less engines.

I missed on ripping the old filter apart on the initial oil change I did after buying the car.

Well, guess its time for another oil change and sending a probe in for analysis. Checking the oil pan for additional gold also

maybe peeking inside the cylinder head with an endoscope is also a good idea.

Depending on what we are going to find, i will either go for another 1-5000km before checking the filter again and hope for the best, or straight for a complete engine overhauling/restauration (whatever its called).

God, bad luck with cars as always...

bbnks2 · 12-05-2017, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerD

The previous owner did not change it for almost 30000km (1.5 years)...
BMW definately should shorten the intervals on these engines, so those cheapskates wreck less engines.

I missed on ripping the old filter apart on the initial oil change I did after buying the car.

Well, guess its time for another oil change and sending a probe in for analysis. Checking the oil pan for additional gold also

maybe peeking inside the cylinder head with an endoscope is also a good idea.

Depending on what we are going to find, i will either go for another 1-5000km before checking the filter again and hope for the best, or straight for a complete engine overhauling/restauration (whatever its called).

God, bad luck with cars as always...

I've never seen my car estimate more than 10-12k miles after resetting the service interval. That's 8 months of driving for me. The monitor is actually usually calling for an 8k change... I change it in-between, but still, these long oil change intervals people claim BMW calls for is a bit of a hyperbole... If you do nothing more than highway cruising you'll easily get the 12k miles out of the oil. Drive it hard and he estimation dips appropriately...

Mybimmer · 12-06-2017, 05:49 PM

For oil analysis call a Caterpillar (earth moving machines) dealer and ask them. CAT offer these services all around the world. Most probably other large machinery companies would also be able to give you some details of where to go in your country.

Agreed BMW service intervals are bull shit. I change every 15,000K's on daily's and every 7,000k's or every race meet on the weekend toys.

TylerD · 12-08-2017, 03:45 AM

@bbnks2
thats weird, the cic says that I need to change oil in 26k km or mid 2019. So I cant even blame the previous owner. You can not change that by yourself it seems. So I wonder why your preset is way shorter?

I went with oel-check.com, they seem to check what is needed.

Pretty sure the results will be devestating though

Will keep this thread updated whatever the results are, in case someone has the same symptoms.

bbnks2 · 12-08-2017, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerD

@bbnks2
thats weird, the cic says that I need to change oil in 26k km or mid 2019. So I cant even blame the previous owner. You can not change that by yourself it seems. So I wonder why your preset is way shorter?

I went with oel-check.com, they seem to check what is needed.

Pretty sure the results will be devestating though

Will keep this thread updated whatever the results are, in case someone has the same symptoms.

BMW says to change the oil ever year NO MATTER WHAT. If you aren't doing that you ARE NOT following proper maintenance.

TylerD · 12-08-2017, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbnks2

BMW says to change the oil ever year NO MATTER WHAT. If you aren't doing that you ARE NOT following proper maintenance.

Where does BMW say that? In every manual you can get for our cars (I checked a few) it always states, that engine oil and filters are to be changed when CBS says so. "The maintenance requirements for your vehicle are determined dynamically by the Condition Based Service (CBS) system".

Like I said, in my opinion these calculated intervals are bull**** and we all know (at least oil, but same goes for spark plugs) should be changed in shorter intervals.

What I meant was, that you can not blame a regular customer for just following BMWs very own instructions (even if I badly wanted to).

JCip91 · 01-06-2018, 07:04 AM

The CBS also gives a date and it is one year after the last reset. At least for me it is.

bbnks2 · 01-06-2018, 05:33 PM

The owners manual says change the oil per the CBS...And, the CBS is set in 1 year intervals regardless of mileage. Further, the warranty and service interval guide states to change the oil annually at a minimum.

Please stop spreading bs about extended service intervals that don't exist. Bmws recommendations match well with the lifespan of modern oil.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...EXMfehjSGdHJvb

TylerD · 01-07-2018, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbnks2

The owners manual says change the oil per the CBS...And, the CBS is set in 1 year intervals regardless of mileage. Further, the warranty and service interval guide states to change the oil annually at a minimum.

Please stop spreading bs about extended service intervals that don't exist. Bmws recommendations match well with the lifespan of modern oil.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...EXMfehjSGdHJvb

I never heard of any official service interval guide that came with a new BMW vehicle (at least not with an e82 135i n55). Can you share information on that? Like you said, the dealer AND the manual reference to the CBS. The CBS itself generates service intervals based on certain algorithms. For my car with 90.000km at the moment it says 3/2019 or 22.000km whatever comes first. The last oil change was done in march 2017.

So stop accusing me of spreading bs. Maybe its different for the cars in the US, I dont know that, but the CBS of my car definately says so.

And by the way, I DO change oil every year (for obvious reasons), but the previous owner did not. He did not, because he was told by his dealer and the manual to follow the instructions of the CBS. So thats why I cant blame him, if damage to the engine was caused by simply following instructions. Not everyone is a car enthusiast and knows this (in my opinion) basic knowledge, sadly....

bbnks2 · 01-08-2018, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerD

I never heard of any official service interval guide that came with a new BMW vehicle (at least not with an e82 135i n55). Can you share information on that? Like you said, the dealer AND the manual reference to the CBS. The CBS itself generates service intervals based on certain algorithms. For my car with 90.000km at the moment it says 3/2019 or 22.000km whatever comes first. The last oil change was done in march 2017.

So stop accusing me of spreading bs. Maybe its different for the cars in the US, I dont know that, but the CBS of my car definately says so.

And by the way, I DO change oil every year (for obvious reasons), but the previous owner did not. He did not, because he was told by his dealer and the manual to follow the instructions of the CBS. So thats why I cant blame him, if damage to the engine was caused by simply following instructions. Not everyone is a car enthusiast and knows this (in my opinion) basic knowledge, sadly....

I apologize, that was the wrong link... That is the stupid mike miller schedule. I will get you the correct link if I can find it again. All the manuals are down off BMWs site.

You get more than an owners manual with the car. You get the service guide as well. Maybe you bought a used car that didn't come with it?

bbnks2 · 01-08-2018, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerD

I never heard of any official service interval guide that came with a new BMW vehicle (at least not with an e82 135i n55). Can you share information on that? Like you said, the dealer AND the manual reference to the CBS. The CBS itself generates service intervals based on certain algorithms. For my car with 90.000km at the moment it says 3/2019 or 22.000km whatever comes first. The last oil change was done in march 2017.

So stop accusing me of spreading bs. Maybe its different for the cars in the US, I dont know that, but the CBS of my car definately says so.

And by the way, I DO change oil every year (for obvious reasons), but the previous owner did not. He did not, because he was told by his dealer and the manual to follow the instructions of the CBS. So thats why I cant blame him, if damage to the engine was caused by simply following instructions. Not everyone is a car enthusiast and knows this (in my opinion) basic knowledge, sadly....

Correct link: http://cache.bmwusa.com/pdf_3747782a...6-aeed1422364a

See page 12/62 (Page 6)

This manual comes with your car. I never said YOU didn't change your oil every year. But, the previous owner DIDN'T. So, he was NOT following BMWs recommendations. Shit, my dealer would change my oil 2x a year for free no matter the mileage. Previous owner was probably just lazy and didn't care about the car. Oops. You got stuck with it.

TylerD · 01-08-2018, 10:33 AM

I do have that guide, in german though, but it is different than the one you came up with. Maybe you should check the car and engine the guide you linked was intended for. 2008 N54... ooops

Maybe you should also go check the guide that came with your own car (by your profile I assume its an N55 like mine) and guess what... that line is not present in it.

so?

And yes, I am stuck with the car now, but the previous owner did nothing wrong according to BMW.

dleccord · 01-08-2018, 01:14 PM

Hey OP is it too late to purchase an aftermarket warranty at this point t?

TylerD · 01-14-2018, 02:19 PM

@dleccord
Since its out of warranty for almost 3 years now, I cant imagine that. At least I never heard of such thing here in germany, but could be wrong.

@bbnks2
Still searching for that line in your warranty guide?

Anyway, I just got the results of the oil probe and everything is fine. The oil itself is out of SAE viscosity specs though. Need to check on that.

So either the metallic stuff in the filter is normal or its origin is somewhere after the oil pan. Might be the oil pump then.

Are there any known issues regarding the oil pump dying early maybe?

Dackelone · 01-14-2018, 03:24 PM

Step one... change your oil AND filter ASAP. Use a BMW Long Life 1(LL1) approved oil: 0w30, 0w40, 5w30 or 5w40.

Step two... change your oil AGAIN in a few thousand miles and recheck for metallic particles. Having your old engine oil wouldn't be a bad idea too.

Always change your engine oil at least once per year. Really twice per year is the bare common sense minium. IF you drive your car on lots of short trips... change your oil more often. Any yellow gunk on the inside of your oil fill cap ? Change your oil more often!

Oil changes are cheaper than engine parts.

Dackel

TylerD · 01-14-2018, 04:21 PM

I always used Mobil 1 New Life 0w40 for my cars and it does have BMW LL1, so no worries

Since my first e36 325 the oil change intervall is once a year or every 10.000km whatever comes first. Next change is in two months. Will check the filter again for "gold". I still wonder if any of you guys check your oilfilter when changing oil. And by checking I dont mean just looking at it from the outside, but really take it apart like I did. Maybe it really is normal.

There has never been any yellow stuff on the fill cap. Normal oil "consumption" (<0,5l on 10.000km).

12-04-2017, 06:18 PM	#1
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	Found metallic particles in the oil filter... Well, I bought my 2012 N55 early this year and did all services. I wanted to start tuning it now and thought it might be a good idea to do a checkup before that. So i started with the oil filter and taking an oil sample. Oil looked very good and clean, but the unfolded oil filter revealed some non magnetic metallic particles that really concern me . (see attached image) The oil is only 8000km's (9 months) old/young. Car runs strong and never threw any engine/engineparts related error messages. Error memory is also empty. I know that its hard to tell from a distance, but what could that possibly be? Any ideas? What should I do next, or what would you do next to narrow down the cause? Is there a chance that it is not something capital and can still be fixed? Thank you very much! Attached Images
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12-05-2017, 06:34 AM	#2
Mybimmer Private 20 Rep 85 Posts Drives: F20 118d & E82 135i Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Emerald VIC, Australia iTrader: (0)	Hopefully you kept a sample of the old oil?? If you did send it away to be analysed. The report will tell you what the material is.
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12-05-2017, 07:24 AM	#3
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	I only changed the filter. Oil is still in the car. Yeah, I had the same idea and I will do the oil check next, although i do not know, if we have a good provider for that here in germany. Any other advises/tips?
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12-05-2017, 08:37 AM	#5
Mr Gasser First Lieutenant 73 Rep 341 Posts Drives: 135i 09 M-Sport Black on Black Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Texas iTrader: (0)	May want to change the oil with Liqui Moly and any of their additives...German design for Beemers. https://www.liqui-moly.com/
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12-05-2017, 02:42 PM	#6
ShocknAwe 1Addict 3233 Rep 7,893 Posts Drives: E82 Mutt, M57 Truck Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Charleston iTrader: (22)	Wait 5k and change the oil again. I see a few small flakes in my oil filter from time to time, but not a lot. __________________ 2010 135i 6MT Jet Black N54/3 FE82 Mutt \| BUILD THREAD \| GARAGE SALE
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12-05-2017, 05:50 PM	#7
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	The previous owner did not change it for almost 30000km (1.5 years)... BMW definately should shorten the intervals on these engines, so those cheapskates wreck less engines. I missed on ripping the old filter apart on the initial oil change I did after buying the car. Well, guess its time for another oil change and sending a probe in for analysis. Checking the oil pan for additional gold also maybe peeking inside the cylinder head with an endoscope is also a good idea. Depending on what we are going to find, i will either go for another 1-5000km before checking the filter again and hope for the best, or straight for a complete engine overhauling/restauration (whatever its called). God, bad luck with cars as always...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

12-06-2017, 05:49 PM	#9
Mybimmer Private 20 Rep 85 Posts Drives: F20 118d & E82 135i Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Emerald VIC, Australia iTrader: (0)	For oil analysis call a Caterpillar (earth moving machines) dealer and ask them. CAT offer these services all around the world. Most probably other large machinery companies would also be able to give you some details of where to go in your country. Agreed BMW service intervals are bull shit. I change every 15,000K's on daily's and every 7,000k's or every race meet on the weekend toys.
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12-08-2017, 03:45 AM	#10
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	@bbnks2 thats weird, the cic says that I need to change oil in 26k km or mid 2019. So I cant even blame the previous owner. You can not change that by yourself it seems. So I wonder why your preset is way shorter? I went with oel-check.com, they seem to check what is needed. Pretty sure the results will be devestating though Will keep this thread updated whatever the results are, in case someone has the same symptoms.
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01-06-2018, 07:04 AM	#13
JCip91 Private 51 Rep 79 Posts Drives: Silver 135 DCT Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Williamsport, PA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 BMW 135i [0.00]	The CBS also gives a date and it is one year after the last reset. At least for me it is. __________________ TiAg n55 DCT - FBO, suspension stuff, some aero Mineral Grey X1 - baby seat, wife mod https://wheelwell.com/joe-cipriani-iii
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01-06-2018, 05:33 PM	#14
bbnks2 Colonel 1207 Rep 2,025 Posts Drives: 135i N55 Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: NY iTrader: (0)	The owners manual says change the oil per the CBS...And, the CBS is set in 1 year intervals regardless of mileage. Further, the warranty and service interval guide states to change the oil annually at a minimum. Please stop spreading bs about extended service intervals that don't exist. Bmws recommendations match well with the lifespan of modern oil. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...EXMfehjSGdHJvb Last edited by bbnks2; 01-06-2018 at 05:39 PM..
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01-08-2018, 10:33 AM	#18
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	I do have that guide, in german though, but it is different than the one you came up with. Maybe you should check the car and engine the guide you linked was intended for. 2008 N54... ooops Maybe you should also go check the guide that came with your own car (by your profile I assume its an N55 like mine) and guess what... that line is not present in it. so? And yes, I am stuck with the car now, but the previous owner did nothing wrong according to BMW.
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01-08-2018, 01:14 PM	#19
dleccord Captain 99 Rep 840 Posts Drives: 2011 BMW 335i E90 Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Nelson, New Zealand iTrader: (0)	Hey OP is it too late to purchase an aftermarket warranty at this point t?
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01-14-2018, 02:19 PM	#20
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	@dleccord Since its out of warranty for almost 3 years now, I cant imagine that. At least I never heard of such thing here in germany, but could be wrong. @bbnks2 Still searching for that line in your warranty guide? Anyway, I just got the results of the oil probe and everything is fine. The oil itself is out of SAE viscosity specs though. Need to check on that. So either the metallic stuff in the filter is normal or its origin is somewhere after the oil pan. Might be the oil pump then. Are there any known issues regarding the oil pump dying early maybe?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-14-2018, 03:24 PM	#21
Dackelone European Editor 10532 Rep 22,992 Posts Drives: N54 e82 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bayern, Germany iTrader: (1)	Step one... change your oil AND filter ASAP. Use a BMW Long Life 1(LL1) approved oil: 0w30, 0w40, 5w30 or 5w40. Step two... change your oil AGAIN in a few thousand miles and recheck for metallic particles. Having your old engine oil wouldn't be a bad idea too. Always change your engine oil at least once per year. Really twice per year is the bare common sense minium. IF you drive your car on lots of short trips... change your oil more often. Any yellow gunk on the inside of your oil fill cap ? Change your oil more often! Oil changes are cheaper than engine parts. Dackel __________________ Dackel's European Delivery Museum Guide
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01-14-2018, 04:21 PM	#22
TylerD Private 22 Rep 43 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	I always used Mobil 1 New Life 0w40 for my cars and it does have BMW LL1, so no worries Since my first e36 325 the oil change intervall is once a year or every 10.000km whatever comes first. Next change is in two months. Will check the filter again for "gold". I still wonder if any of you guys check your oilfilter when changing oil. And by checking I dont mean just looking at it from the outside, but really take it apart like I did. Maybe it really is normal. There has never been any yellow stuff on the fill cap. Normal oil "consumption" (<0,5l on 10.000km).
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