Priming oil after storage?

[blackcarbon92]

Hey all, have my 2011 N55 135i in storage for the winter and was wondering if any of you have heard of or perform any type of oil priming before the first start. The car was put away in October and I will be pulling it out of storage sometime in April, so she's been away for roughly 6 months. Before storage I did all the rituals (fresh oil change then quick drive to evaporate water, full tank with Stabil, air in tires on cradles, battery tender, baking soda etc..) Reason i'm asking is because i've heard of rod bearing issues due to insufficient lubrication etc. and don't want to cause excessive wear. Some have said online that oil flows within the first few seconds and minimal wear is done and some have said it doesn't hurt to pull the injectors and prime it. What do you guys think and is there anything else I should do before the first start? All opinions are appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[Kheadley]

Don't worry about it, the oil pump is strong enough to get oil where it needs to go before the engine starts. The rod bearing issue is primarily from revving high while the engine is cold or when pulling high g's and issues arising after the OFHG is done.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by Kheadley

Don't worry about it, the oil pump is strong enough to get oil where it needs to go before the engine starts. The rod bearing issue is primarily from revving high while the engine is cold or when pulling high g's and issues arising after the OFHG is done.

Ok cool much appreciated for the extra assurance. Hopefully she fires up without a flaw in the springtime but i'm sure she will! Thanks

[amg6975]

It's not too difficult to pull the injector plugs and crank it over to prime the system before firing. Can't hurt anything.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by amg6975

It's not too difficult to pull the injector plugs and crank it over to prime the system before firing. Can't hurt anything.

heard it was a little tedious to get to the last injector but when i get home from my vacation i will have to do a 2 week quarantine anyways so i'm going to pull the fuses for the fuel pump and let it sit for about a week to let the fuel pressure drop back down again then try firing it up. Even if it starts for a sec i don't think any damage will occur and then i'll follow the priming procedure after that.

[amg6975]

Originally Posted by blackcarbon92

heard it was a little tedious to get to the last injector but when i get home from my vacation i will have to do a 2 week quarantine anyways so i'm going to pull the fuses for the fuel pump and let it sit for about a week to let the fuel pressure drop back down again then try firing it up. Even if it starts for a sec i don't think any damage will occur and then i'll follow the priming procedure after that.

As a data point, I toasted an N55 on track shortly (5 laps) after doing the OFHG. I'm a firm believer the N55 and N54 have an oil pick up issue compounded by air getting trapped in the oil filter housing and coming out at very inopportune times. Play it safe.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by amg6975

As a data point, I toasted an N55 on track shortly (5 laps) after doing the OFHG. I'm a firm believer the N55 and N54 have an oil pick up issue compounded by air getting trapped in the oil filter housing and coming out at very inopportune times. Play it safe.

Yea have heard some stories about that too. Do you think it will be an issue even though the car is just sitting and no maintenance is being done to interrupt the oil circuit? Most of the time it is air being stuck in the system but if nothing has been disassembled shouldn't the oil filter housing/oil cooler and lines be full of oil still? My concern was more of oil not reaching the top end of the motor and bearings in time but i was reading online that with oil technology nowadays even some engines that have been sitting for a few years still have a thin film of oil on them. Not sure how true this is but i'm considering if there's any easier way to make sure it doesn't start apart from disconnecting injectors, i know it's not hard but i've just heard it's a bit tedious to get the the last one and that the clips are a bit hard to get to (i also have big fingers so that doesn't help lol). Thanks for your opinion and let me know what you think of my understanding regarding the oil circuit not being interrupted. Btw after you did you ofhg did you prime your oil system or just go out on the track? Just wondering

[NorthernDancer]

Been storing my 128 and the wife's Audi TT for over 10 years now. Just start the car and drive it for 20 minutes or so.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Been storing my 128 and the wife's Audi TT for over 10 years now. Just start the car and drive it for 20 minutes or so.

Gonna try prime it just by unplugging the fuel pump fuse and coils and letting it sit for a week then firing it up. First drive is gonna be much longer than 20 mins probably 2 hours to try run as much of the fuel with stabilizer through it so i can put in some fresh gas. I don't think there's much concern with any oil starvation because the oil circuit has not been interrupted like if you were to do an ofhg or something like that. Just gonna try to prime it the easy way if not i don't think it should be a problem from what other people are saying.

[ndfan]

If I recall correctly, some modern Aston Martins have a protocol for starting after longer storage periods. I think a person merely had to press the gas pedal to the floor to shut off fuel to the injectors while cranking the engine to circulate oil. I have no idea if this would work similarly with BMWs.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by ndfan

If I recall correctly, some modern Aston Martins have a protocol for starting after longer storage periods. I think a person merely had to press the gas pedal to the floor to shut off fuel to the injectors while cranking the engine to circulate oil. I have no idea if this would work similarly with BMWs.

I've heard of people saying this but i also think i saw someone say they tried this and their engine revved up to 7k lol so i think it will be safer to unplug the fuse or injectors. i'm tuned with mhd so it would be cool if they made a feature to prime the oil system

[amg6975]

Originally Posted by blackcarbon92

Yea have heard some stories about that too. Do you think it will be an issue even though the car is just sitting and no maintenance is being done to interrupt the oil circuit? Most of the time it is air being stuck in the system but if nothing has been disassembled shouldn't the oil filter housing/oil cooler and lines be full of oil still? My concern was more of oil not reaching the top end of the motor and bearings in time but i was reading online that with oil technology nowadays even some engines that have been sitting for a few years still have a thin film of oil on them. Not sure how true this is but i'm considering if there's any easier way to make sure it doesn't start apart from disconnecting injectors, i know it's not hard but i've just heard it's a bit tedious to get the the last one and that the clips are a bit hard to get to (i also have big fingers so that doesn't help lol). Thanks for your opinion and let me know what you think of my understanding regarding the oil circuit not being interrupted. Btw after you did you ofhg did you prime your oil system or just go out on the track? Just wondering

I did not prime the system before letting it rip. I figured it was all bull. I can't definitively say that was the problem but I will 100% prime the system now.

Originally Posted by blackcarbon92

i'm tuned with mhd so it would be cool if they made a feature to prime the oil system

That's actually a great idea if the injector duty can be set to 0.

[mrmarkfr]

Originally Posted by blackcarbon92

I've heard of people saying this but i also think i saw someone say they tried this and their engine revved up to 7k lol so i think it will be safer to unplug the fuse or injectors. i'm tuned with mhd so it would be cool if they made a feature to prime the oil system

I'm in exactly the same situation (not sure about the baking soda, but everything else is the same), and was debating buying and MHD. If they had that option (injector duty cycle 0), I'd buy one in a second. Always hate starting my summer cars the first time of the year, first time with the 135, but have had the worry starting my 96 Miata for the last 7 years, until I swapped it with the 135 last summer.
I'm hoping that using high quality oil will be another thing that helps the long storage periods, changed just before storage.

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by mrmarkfr

I'm in exactly the same situation (not sure about the baking soda, but everything else is the same), and was debating buying and MHD. If they had that option (injector duty cycle 0), I'd buy one in a second. Always hate starting my summer cars the first time of the year, first time with the 135, but have had the worry starting my 96 Miata for the last 7 years, until I swapped it with the 135 last summer.
I'm hoping that using high quality oil will be another thing that helps the long storage periods, changed just before storage.

Baking soda just to prevent any odours and remove a bit of moisture from the air. I changed the oil with liquimoly 5w-40 hightech before the storage and took it for a little drive before she went away so hopefully it coated things nicely. Saw something on youtube that you can disconnect a certain thing on the battery and it will shut of injectors supposedly.

[rocksarntpeople]

So what is the proper priming procedure as my car has been in storage since November and will probably be brought out again by the end of the month or so?

[blackcarbon92]

Originally Posted by rocksarntpeople

So what is the proper priming procedure as my car has been in storage since November and will probably be brought out again by the end of the month or so?

The proper procedure is disconnecting all the injectors, and cranking it over a few times while letting the starter rest for 30 seconds between.
Here is the original post. https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...php?p=24400866