DIY request : Oil change on N55 engine ?

[Superfly]

Firstly i've red nearly each pages of the owner's manual but i don't find any answers.
After break-in i want to do an oil change but i need informations.
Do you know what is the engine oil capacity and also what are the charateristics of the oil i should use (i think it's castrol Edge LL04 5W30) (i want to buy it in auto general store where it's really cheaper than BMW, of course i wil buy the oil filter at my bmw dealer)
thank you in advance for your answer.
I will make pictures of the operation later.

[Dackelone]

When I was looking for a DIY oil change on the 135i I could not find one either. I did find one for a 128i 'vert that had good photos. I took pic's of my car(135i) when I changed the oil & filter. I added it to that 128i DIY post.

here it is....

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301440

Lots of good photos!

As for the oil... most people here just buy the oil from the dealer. But thats bc they are in the USA. The oil at the dealer doesn't cost so much like over here in europe(23 euros per liter vs $8).

As long as you buy an oil that has the "BMW Long Life-4 rating" you will be ok. I think that means Castrol RS Edge 0w40. LL4 is for europe, LL1 is for the US market fuels.

look here for more oil info and debate...

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...+long+life+oil

bye

[JimD]

Superfly,

There are some things that I would guess are the same on the N55. I think there is probably a little door on the under pan for access to the drain plug. I also think there is a high liklihood it is a 17mm head on the drain bolt. I also think the cap wrench you need for the oil filter housing will be the same (I got mine from Bavarian as I said in the 128 vert DIY referenced above). I also think the nominal capacity will be 7 quarts (not sure what that is in liters). I order oil change kits from Tischer. I don't know if they ship to France or if that would be a reasonable thing to do but you could check.

I am curious about other things but they should not affect your ability to get this done. My engine, a N52 I believe, has a drain plug that comes straight down. The N54's plug directs the oil somewhat horizontally. So is the N55 vertical drain or does it come out like an angle like the N54? If it comes out laterally, you may want to have some sort of block to keep from getting oil on the top side of the underpan. Cardboard or a piece cut from a plastic bottle would at least help.

I am relatively unafraid of jumping into an oil change because I have changed a bunch of vehicles. I've always done my own cars and once a quarter we have an oil change event at church where I will do 6-10 cars of random types. There are some that are a little tricky but front engine rear wheel drive vehicles are all pretty straight forward. Transverse engines with spin on transmission filters and drain plugs for the transmission are a bit more of a mystery and we have been known to inadvertantly give a free transmission change (not me, the closest I have come is letting a little transmission fluid out of the filter before I noticed the color and put it back). BMW is unusually kind to us in putting the door in the underpan and locating the oil filter right on top of the engine. There are cars that are a whole lot worse than this.

Good luck and please post what you find.

Jim

[Superfly]

Thank you very much for your help, i will post every information and pictures of the oil change

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

As for the oil... most people here just buy the oil from the dealer. But thats bc they are in the USA. The oil at the dealer doesn't cost so much like over here in europe(23 euros per liter vs $8).

23e. Is this a typo?

What is USA BMW OEM? LL1? Can we get LL4 in USA? Perhaps TrackRat uses LL4?

Can any one verify 7 quarts for N55? My 2k is comeing up fast.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by JB135MDCT

23e. Is this a typo?

What is USA BMW OEM? LL1? Can we get LL4 in USA? Perhaps TrackRat uses LL4?

Can any one verify 7 quarts for N55? My 2k is comeing up fast.

YES! ONE liter of BMW oil really costs 23 euros over here!

Welcome to DE and BMW ownership! And we "Americans" with US spec cars do not get any free maint program either. We only get a 2 year unliminted mileage warranty. We have to pay in euros, just like any other German. Although we can get out of the 19% sales tax over here. AND we can bring in our own oil.

The local BMW dealers get 110 euros for an oil change. THAT is IF you bring them some oil(Mobil 1, LL1 or what ever) AND a tax form! So to the normal German that simple oil change would cost them 271 euros! That is about $325 in USd!!! Something to think about!

I used Mobil-1's 0w40 euro blend(the one with the black label!) bc that is what we can get on base in the PX - cheap @$7 a liter.

LL1 is for US fuels.
LL4 is for EU fuels.

Technically most of us over here are using the wrong LL oil. I am changing my oil every 5K miles or less... so I think this LL thing is a moot issue. IF I were back in the states I think I would just buy the BMW oil mail order.

The oil sold at the US BMW dealer is LL1.
The oil sold at the EU/German dealers is LL4

As for buying the BMW oil cheaper thru a local US source. Think again. Your only source for the BMW Castrol is thru a US dealer. The German Castrol is not sold in the USA. What you see at Walmart, ect is not the same product. Not even close!

I think it is fair to say that the N55 uses 7 liters of oil. Why do i say that? BC that is what the N54 used. And that is what every other straight six BMW engine has a an oil capacity. Only one way to find out...

As for the DYI... I think this is something someone with a N55 needs to do for "our" comunity.

[Ruffan]

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210876

[JB135MDCT]

So what would it cost for an e46 M3?

Thanks for info. Been using BMW syn in all of my vehicles and motors. $5/quart.

I'll measure the oil when I dump it at 2k. Hopefully there is no oil burn.

[Superfly]

So i've done the oil change on the N55, it's exactly as described by Dackelone a few post before.
I've bought the oil filter at BMW.
Concerning the oil i bought it in a general store (because it's cheaper than at BMW) it's Castrol Edge 5W30 and you will need 6 liters to be exactly on the max level. I think 1 gallon is 4 liters so you will need 1,5 gallon (approx.).
I hope this will help (sorry for my english).

[JimD]

Does the oil exit the N55 straight down, like the N52, or at a sideways angle like the N54?

Jim

[Superfly]

It's like on the N54, sideways angle.
We lost a time to try to find a deflector for the oil, so we decided to remove all the plastic part (it took only 5 mn)

[JimD]

With the plastic down, if you do it this way again, you might want to think about cutting a defector out of a oil bottle and pop riveting it to the under-the-engine plastic piece. That way it would be there every time when you need it. The oil bottle plastic is pretty thin and should give if you go over something that pushes the under-tray up.

Jim

[Superfly]

Originally Posted by JimD

With the plastic down, if you do it this way again, you might want to think about cutting a defector out of a oil bottle and pop riveting it to the under-the-engine plastic piece. That way it would be there every time when you need it. The oil bottle plastic is pretty thin and should give if you go over something that pushes the under-tray up.

Jim

Yes it's a good idea, i'll do it next time

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by Superfly

So i've done the oil change on the N55, it's exactly as described by Dackelone a few post before.
I've bought the oil filter at BMW.
Concerning the oil i bought it in a general store (because it's cheaper than at BMW) it's Castrol Edge 5W30 and you will need 6 liters to be exactly on the max level. I think 1 gallon is 4 liters so you will need 1,5 gallon (approx.).
I hope this will help (sorry for my english).

6 or 7 liters? You should use BMW synthetic next time. What is the price in Paris for BMW filter and liter of oil?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by JB135MDCT

6 or 7 liters? You should use BMW synthetic next time. What is the price in Paris for BMW filter and liter of oil?

I can not say what it costs in Paris but.... here in Germany the factory oil filter costs 10 euros and for ONE liter of BMW full synthetic oil will set you back 23 euros PER LITER. I would think in France it is the same sort of prices.

Btw,.. I buy my oil on-base (US Army, Mobil-1 0w40 LL-1 for $7 per quart).

1 quart = 0.948 liters
7 quarts = 6.62 liters

I always dump in seven quarts when I change my oil.

[Superfly]

Originally Posted by JB135MDCT

6 or 7 liters? You should use BMW synthetic next time. What is the price in Paris for BMW filter and liter of oil?

Hello,

I've used exactly 6 liters of oil, the oil i bought is the one recommended by BMW : Castrol Edge 5W30 LL04.
The liter is the same price as in germany (approx. 23 euros/liter at BMW) and in general store (like Carrefour) i paid 80 euros for 7 liters (for exactly the same oil); the filter kit cost 10 euros.

[Superfly]

Here is the oil :