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      09-28-2012, 12:24 PM   #1
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Oil Changes: DIY or dealer?

I surpassed 10k miles the other day and it's time for another oil change. My question is, should I do it myself or have the dealer do it?

The dealer quoted me a bit over $100 to do the change with BMW Performance 5W-30 oil. For $105 I can get Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40 oil, BMW filter, and the filter cap tool from Turner Motorsports. So for the same price I get a much better oil in my car but at the expense of not having bonafide service records.

What do you all do? Service records or better oil in the motor?

PS: I'd be doing the oil change in my father's garage which has a 4-post lift, tools, oil drain, etc. so its a 1/10 in terms of difficulty.
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      09-28-2012, 12:39 PM   #2
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You should have changed it at 8,000 miles. If you have all the equipment to change it yourself then go for it. For one, you'll need to buy an oil filter housing tool and then you need a way to get under your 1M. The front bumper is too low to drive up most ramps, so you will need a floor jack to lift the car and then place the ramps under the tires.

If you decide to use an indy shop or the dealership, remind them not to reset the oil service meter.
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      09-28-2012, 12:45 PM   #3
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Oh I know all the in's and out's, the question is what is better, having the service records or having better oil in the motor?
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      09-28-2012, 12:56 PM   #4
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Just keep the receipt for the oil and filter as proof that you serviced it yourself. I guess I should keep my receipts next time.
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      09-28-2012, 01:04 PM   #5
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I personally despise dealers/service but for a car under warranty I would have it serviced for that record. Even though I am sure you would win if it came up, I would not want the headache of the dealership arguing you did it improperly and deny the warranty.
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      09-28-2012, 02:15 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wichard20 View Post
I personally despise dealers/service but for a car under warranty I would have it serviced for that record. Even though I am sure you would win if it came up, I would not want the headache of the dealership arguing you did it improperly and deny the warranty.
I always bite the bullet and have the dealer do oil changes. It keeps the records in one place.

Plus...the oil changes are free if you bought it new. I just had my 1 year oil change yesterday.
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      09-28-2012, 04:18 PM   #7
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I rely on the dealer for the aforementioned reasons of being free and having service records. My 1M just needs an annual change for the low miles I drive. After warranty, I would probably do it myself because I have nice facilities to do so....climate controlled garage, lift, etc.

For cars like our X3 that accrues more miles, I do incremental ones on my own between what BMW covers, because I personally believe the intervals are too lengthy (also did a break in oil change since BMW won't cover a car like that....but it doesn't negate the need IMO)
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      09-28-2012, 04:45 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dee Pee View Post
I always bite the bullet and have the dealer do oil changes. It keeps the records in one place.

Plus...the oil changes are free if you bought it new. I just had my 1 year oil change yesterday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kskpsu View Post
I rely on the dealer for the aforementioned reasons of being free and having service records. My 1M just needs an annual change for the low miles I drive. After warranty, I would probably do it myself because I have nice facilities to do so....climate controlled garage, lift, etc.

For cars like our X3 that accrues more miles, I do incremental ones on my own between what BMW covers, because I personally believe the intervals are too lengthy (also did a break in oil change since BMW won't cover a car like that....but it doesn't negate the need IMO)
Same here. I disagree with their ridiculous intervals if you do anything other than garage queen your 1M. Based on my usage etc. I buck up $77 with Tischer every 3-4 months or 3-5k (Im not exact, just dont wait to hit 10k without fresh fluid) on an oil change kit and plan to visit the dealer for my yearly service in December.
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      09-28-2012, 06:04 PM   #9
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DIY and keep the receipts for the oil and filter - just in case of any warranty problems down the road.


Not only will you have changed the oil correctly, but your car will not be damage in the process. PLUS... you will KNOW the job was done right.

The DIY oil change kits that Tischer and United offer are priced very low. The best oil is fresh oil.


Here is a very good DIY step by step thread. Even though Jim has a 128i... its basically the same. I posted my 135i oil change pics on page two.

First Oil Change on my 128i Convertible
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...hange+diy+135i
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      09-28-2012, 07:22 PM   #10
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If I had a 1M... It would be touched by the dealer only to insure my "investment" holds all the value it can.
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      09-28-2012, 10:59 PM   #11
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Just changed my oil today after the break-in period, about 1500 miles... Took all of 30 minutes and only because it was the first time for this car and I was being methodical.

The trickiest part was driving the car up on the ramps.
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      09-29-2012, 02:39 AM   #12
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Here in Germany I just bring my own oil into the dealer and they never had a problem with that.
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      09-29-2012, 06:23 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw1racer View Post

The trickiest part was driving the car up on the ramps.
Noop! The trickiest part is stuffing some rags inside the belly pan or using a splash shield(my new prefered method) to divert the oil from getting inside the belly pan. I always leave the oil cap on and the oil filter sealed when draining the oil. Otherwise it will really shoot up inside the belly pan. Ask me how I know!


PS: I don't use ramps... I just use a big(2 ton) floor jack to life up the car with jack stands.
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      09-29-2012, 06:28 AM   #14
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If it only 100 bucks take it the dealer. The oil and filter could be in the $60 to $70 range alone.
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      09-29-2012, 09:21 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Noop! The trickiest part is stuffing some rags inside the belly pan or using a splash shield(my new prefered method) to divert the oil from getting inside the belly pan. I always leave the oil cap on and the oil filter sealed when draining the oil. Otherwise it will really shoot up inside the belly pan. Ask me how I know!


PS: I don't use ramps... I just use a big(2 ton) floor jack to life up the car with jack stands.
Dack, have you changed it on the 1M yet? I did it exactly as you describe and probably didn't get all of the oil out of the engine. I put 6 qt in and the e-dip registered full. I had a LOT of oil left in the filter housing when I opened the filter and wondered if some of that would have gotten sucked out better if the filter had been open when I drained the pan. I had a nice gentle drain flow, though, no mess on the underpan.
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      09-29-2012, 10:08 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Noop! The trickiest part is stuffing some rags inside the belly pan or using a splash shield(my new prefered method) to divert the oil from getting inside the belly pan. I always leave the oil cap on and the oil filter sealed when draining the oil. Otherwise it will really shoot up inside the belly pan. Ask me how I know!
Heh, I don't have that issue since my 128i's drain hole points down instead of to the side. :P

A little oil splashed on the belly pan when I initially removed the plug, but that was easily cleaned up.

Quote:
PS: I don't use ramps... I just use a big(2 ton) floor jack to life up the car with jack stands.
I'm a little leery using jack stands... The ramps seem a lot more stable, IMO.

One other thing: I noticed that the drain plug was rather short, about 1/2-inch long... My E36's drain plug was easily 1-inch long, if not a little more.
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      09-29-2012, 12:10 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw1racer View Post

One other thing: I noticed that the drain plug was rather short, about 1/2-inch long... My E36's drain plug was easily 1-inch long, if not a little more.

I replaced my OE drain plug with a magnetic one from UUC.

It has a very strong magnet on it and it really grabs lot of little bits of metal floating around the oil. I always change my oil every 6K miles or even less. And for my first three oil changes after using this UUC magnet it was really grabbing lots of metallic particles. Have a look for yourself!




After being installed for 5K miles(I think?)...




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      09-29-2012, 12:16 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
I replaced my OE drain plug with a magnetic one from UUC.

It has a very strong magnet on it and it really grabs lot of little bits of metal floating around the oil. I always change my oil every 6K miles or even less. And for my first three oil changes after using this UUC magnet it was really grabbing lots of metallic particles. Have a look for yourself!
Nice... I'll probably get one before my next oil change.
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      09-29-2012, 12:29 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CarJunkie View Post
Dack, have you changed it on the 1M yet? I did it exactly as you describe and probably didn't get all of the oil out of the engine. I put 6 qt in and the e-dip registered full. I had a LOT of oil left in the filter housing when I opened the filter and wondered if some of that would have gotten sucked out better if the filter had been open when I drained the pan. I had a nice gentle drain flow, though, no mess on the underpan.

No, not on a 1M. But I have a N54, so its basically the same motor there. (at least as far as oil changes are concerned). Both hold the same amount of oil.

When I change my oil... I use a suction pump/tool to remove the old oil from the oil filter housing. It holds about ~200ml to 300ml of oil. I then add some NEW oil before installing a new filter. But don't add too much other wise your new filter won't fit in there! lol

The problem with the electronic dipstick is it will register full with 6L or 6.5L of oil. It is not really that accurate. PLUS... I have noticed that when you only add say 6L (during an oil change) when you start up the engine and drive a short distance... it might read "full", but after you drive for say 30 to 60 minutes... it will read low. I always believe the electronic dip stick (more) when the engine is fully warmed up and hot. Say after a long drive of 60 minutes.

Also... when you do lots of short trips with the car... and the oil has lots of water/condensation in it(and unburnt gasoline!) the dipstick can read off.

Here is a interesting pdf on how the dipstick works. Be sure to read page five of this pdf about condensation and how it effects the oil level readings..

BMW_oil_condition_sensor.pdf
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      09-29-2012, 04:33 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
When I change my oil... I use a suction pump/tool to remove the old oil from the oil filter housing.
I just use an old turkey baster.
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      09-29-2012, 05:36 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post

Here is a interesting pdf on how the dipstick works. Be sure to read page five of this pdf about condensation and how it effects the oil level readings..

Attachment 757194
Nice reference, thanks!
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      09-29-2012, 07:27 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
The problem with the electronic dipstick is it will register full with 6L or 6.5L of oil. It is not really that accurate. PLUS... I have noticed that when you only add say 6L (during an oil change) when you start up the engine and drive a short distance... it might read "full", but after you drive for say 30 to 60 minutes... it will read low. I always believe the electronic dipstick (more) when the engine is fully warmed up and hot. Say after a long drive of 60 minutes.
Also... when you do lots of short trips with the car... and the oil has lots of water/condensation in it (and unburnt gasoline!) the dipstick can read off.
I encounter same experience: only reliable oil level data when the engine is warmed up.

Also indicated in the manual:
"Checking oil level
Your car is equipped with an electronic oil-level monitor.
For precise measurement and display of the oil level, the engine must be at operating temperature, i.e. following at least 6.2 miles/10 km of uninterrupted driving. You can have the oil level displayed while you are driving, or while the vehicle is at a standstill on a level surface and the engine is running."

For anyone's convenience: below are pages 217-219 of the "BMW 128i/135i Owner's Manual 2012" (USA) (which was supplied with the 1M, together with the "BMW 1M Supplementary Owner's Manual").

For the complete manual (as well as other manuals and basic info), see the "BMW 1M Manual | Catalogue | Presskit | Pricelist" sticky (http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...82&postcount=1).

I will post this three page manual excerpt (128i/135i) also in the "Correct 1M Fluids List" sticky.

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