oil change help

[barische]

now that i own the ti, i wanna change my oil. i want to change to fully synthetic oil. most people says mobil 1 is good, so i will go wiht mobil 1, but the car is at 83,000 miles , and i really dont know what kind of oil they used before, my father took the car to some mechanic i think every 7000-8000 miles. i live in nj and it usually get around 30-35 degrees in winter and i was thinking about going with like 10w or 15w, i really dont know what kind of oil the mobil makes, so can u guys help me wiht the thickness of the oil. i also checked out the drain plug today and i saw that i dont even need to lift the car. i can get a racket and unscrew the plug.
do i have to get a special tool to remove the oil filter cap. i was thinkin of doing it with my dads wisegrip tools.
can u guys help me iwht the parts i need to change the oil. thanks any help would be awesome. also the car is 1997

[1996 328ti]

You can get underneath the car without lifting it? *WHEW*
I would not suggest using a racket. Maybe a ratchet or box end wrench.

There are special sockets to use. Do yourself a favor and don't use the wisegrips. Errr, vice grips.

Take a look at this page.
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/engine/e36_97_ti_oil_change.html

[devilddog88]

hey im trying to do the same, do u need a torque wrench to be more accurate? how else would u get the 18lbs needed?

[aceyx]

first, i don't think it's a good idea to switch to synthetic this late in the car's life. but, ask around and make your own decision.

second, just because you can slide an arm under there to reach the drain plug doesn't mean you can get an oilpan under there at the same time. i do the last part of the bolt with my fingers, so i don't get oil on my tools (but wear gloves) or drop the bolt.

you can get a generic filter cap wrench from most automotive stores. i've found them at autozone and walmart (between $2 and $4).


other than tools, your only consumables will be the oil and the filter (which includes new o rings and a crush washer).

[1996 328ti]

hey im trying to do the same, do u need a torque wrench to be more accurate? how else would u get the 18lbs needed? I suppose a torque wrench would be helpful but I don't use one.
I tighten until it is snug, then a gentle extra snug. Don't crank it down. The crush washer will keep it in place.

[barische]

ok thanks guys, maybe ill go search for cap tool, about the synthetic oil, so everyone thinks that it is now too late to switch to full sythetic oil. lets says its too late, what thickness regular oil do i need a 15w 40 or like 10w --??
thanks for the help

[devilddog88]

thanks steven

[aceyx]

the only thing i use a torque wrench for (during normal maintenance) is checking the wheel lug bolts every so often and after i have the rubber changed.

i do what steve does. snug, then a little extra.

[brucelee]

Mobil One 10-30 in winter. 15 -50 in summer.

Great stuff.

Good luck with the Ti.

[L84THSKY]

Read my posting. I explain the whole process with tools necessary.

now that i own the ti, i wanna change my oil. i want to change to fully synthetic oil. most people says mobil 1 is good, so i will go wiht mobil 1, but the car is at 83,000 miles , and i really dont know what kind of oil they used before, my father took the car to some mechanic i think every 7000-8000 miles. i live in nj and it usually get around 30-35 degrees in winter and i was thinking about going with like 10w or 15w, i really dont know what kind of oil the mobil makes, so can u guys help me wiht the thickness of the oil. i also checked out the drain plug today and i saw that i dont even need to lift the car. i can get a racket and unscrew the plug.
do i have to get a special tool to remove the oil filter cap. i was thinkin of doing it with my dads wisegrip tools.
can u guys help me iwht the parts i need to change the oil. thanks any help would be awesome. also the car is 1997

[barische]

my question is that, is it ok to switch to full sythetic oil now. the car has been using regular oil and the car is at 83,000 miles. so should use mobil 1 or get regular oil
thanks

[1996 328ti]

It will be fine. Go ahead and switch.

[brucelee]

Yes. Switch,

You may want to change again in say 2000 miles just in case the motor is a tad sludgy.

Then you can just change at regular intervals.

[L84THSKY]

In my post detailing the tools needed, I mentioned that I put in 1 quart of slick 50, and 4 quarts of Mobile 1. The car was always using regular oil up until my first oil change 2 months ago. You can always switch to a synthetic oil, just stay with it. Change the weight with the different seasons, if you have different seasons.


http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3670


my question is that, is it ok to switch to full sythetic oil now. the car has been using regular oil and the car is at 83,000 miles. so should use mobil 1 or get regular oil
thanks

[devilddog88]

what would be the best oil for cold temperatures?

[brucelee]

10-30 Mobil One is good for everything but Antartica.

[barische]

thanks guys for the replies. i think i will be able to do the oil change this weekend i will need to get the filter and oil and some more tools. so i will switch the mobil 1 10w-30
, today when i checke out the engine for leaks a found some around the gaskets of the valve cover. i m not sure about the name of htebig aluminum cover that goes on hte top of the engine. so im not sure if it is called valve cover or some thin else but around hte gaskets of that thing there is some leaks, my dad told me that it is common to many cars to have small leak there. bu i heard that to use full sythetic oil u shouldnt have any leaks, so this is my new question,
thanks any help would be nice.

[barische]

there it is i attached a picture of the big cover im talkin about. i pointed out where the leaks are at, the leak are at the front part of the cover and the passenger side, the leak are very minor, but there is still some. i was thinkin about tightning the cover just a little bit. would that cause any problems, like cracking the gasket,or some thin.
thanks guys, u are the best

[cali-ti]

bmw's official name for that "big cover" is the cylinder head cover. you can see a nice pic in the online ETK here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CG73&mospid=47506&prod=19970900&btnr=11_1562&hg=11&fg=15

the cylinder head cover removal and installation is covered in the bentley service manual (if you don't have one of these, get one :) ) in section 113. that is a bigger task than one would think looking at it. do you have a torque wrench? the torque specified is 10Nm = 89 in-lb. NOTE: that is IN-LB, NOT FT-LBs! that is a very small amount of torque (~7.5 ft-lbs). it's possible your gasket is starting to leak or something.

eric

[barische]

so is it possible for me to tighten the gasket little bit, or do u think even the slightest tightning would crack the gasket. and i have another question i was thinkin about cleanin the oil leak around the gasket wiht paint thinnner, is thinnner OK to use on hte engine block, or would thinner cause any problems, i know that it is highly explosive stuff but if i put some on a cloth and wipe the valve cover wiht that i dont think this would cause any problems,
tell me what u think about this issue thank you guys.

[cali-ti]

i would torque them down to the rated torque rating. loosen one at a time and then retorque to the proper setting (this makes sure you're not working against static forces which are harder to overcome and therefore giving a higher torque reading than actual). what this means is that you don't want the torque wrench to start clicking (when it reaches the proper torque setting) when you first start torquing the wrench. if that happens, back it out a little and then retorque (you want it to start clicking when you're moving the wrench). seems harder to explain than what it actually is. :S

i personally would not use paint thinner. not sure what that would do. probably a simple degreaser. not sure what the detailers use for cleaning under the hood, but i really need to do this myself at some point.

[aceyx]

that's exactly the WRONG way to torque a head cover.

undo all the bolts. not necessarily all the way out, but loosened so that you have to tighten them all. tighten in an alternating x pattern to snugness. torque to specs in alternating x pattern.

if you have no idea what i'm talking about with the alternating cross pattern, look it up or take the car to somebody that knows what they're doing.


also, i wouldn't use thinner in any vicinity of the engine bay. even if you're using a rag, the vapors might dry out the rubber hoses (or the gasket for that matter) and eventually crack. you can use degreaser if it's dripping, but it's a motor--it's supposed to be dirty.

[cali-ti]

which part(s) do you object to? i'm guessing the "one bolt at a time" part, correct? "exactly wrong" would mean i got every single part wrong, i don't think what i said was completely wrong :P do you agree with how to torque a bolt at least?

in regards to the x pattern, do you do that from end to end, or top to bottom as you move from one side to the other? i'd guess doing opposites starting on each end, but i'd like to know what you meant. bentley manual doesn't specify any pattern, but what you said makes logical sense (like the star pattern when putting on your tire).

btw, thanks for correcting me, don't want to steer the kid wrong :)

[barische]

well i know what u guys talkin about the torque wrenchin. i worked on engine before and wiht gaskets and ****. its jus that i dont have a torque wrench. about the cleaning the engine, my dad told me tha i could use wd-40. what u think about that

[aceyx]

do you overreact to everything? sorry if i offended you, but you're giving out faulty information.

if you torque bolts like you say, and go back to the first bolt, your torque reading is going to change. but you're right, the alternating cross pattern is much like putting lugbolts in. i'm sure there's a specific numbering system that bmw uses but what's important is that you gradually tighten the cover to the head. the way i would do it is, standing on the right side of the engine starting from the top left numbering 1-8 going around clockwise (no clue how many bolts are actually on this), and tighten 1, 7, 3, 5, 8, 2, 6, 4 in that order.


barische; many auto places rent torque wrenches. if you do this, ask how recently it was serviced, and before you use it put it on a low setting and step on the head until it clicks a few times to lubricate the joints. if you get the wrench and it's on a high setting ask if they have another one.

i would just use a rag to mop up any oil that's spilled out. there's no real point in getting it shiny clean, since the oil will protect it anyway. WD40 is going to have the same effect, but you risk getting overspray on the pulleys.

let me say this again; i think it's a bad idea.

[cali-ti]

lol, no i don't, but i guess my odd sense of humor isn't always understood.
i apologize if it appeared that i was offended or whatever, but i was
certainly not :)

i just wanted clarification on what i said was wrong and more details about doing it correctly.

to his original question, will retorquing the cover possibly make the leak worse? i think there's always that possibility. perhaps he should be ready to replace the gasket in case he tries the above procedure and it makes the leak worse? if it's just a small, slow leak, it may not even be worth doing anything.

barische, are you getting oil anywhere else from around that gasket? on the firewall side, in around the spark plugs?

[barische]

not around psark plugs its just a rally small leak around the passenger side, and to the front of the car. it is really not much of a big deal. today i cleaned wiht wd-40. and im not going to mess around wiht that gasket or the valve cover, but thanks anyway for the info. right now i got a bigger problem wiht the car.i posted it at engine area. it is kinda idle problem, i dont know wahts wrong. but something is wrong the car doesnt seem normal.

[Ed montocchio]

Few questions before I try my first oil change:

1) Do you need to suspend the car to change the oil?
2) Do you need to remove the black cover under the engine to get to the drain plug or is the drain plug visible through the cover?

[cali-ti]

if your car hasn't been lowered, you SHOULD be able to get a catch pan under there without lifting it. i have to use some 2" lifts (ie 2x8 or 2x10) to get it up a little so i can get under there). the oil drain plug is directly accessible, nothing needs to be removed to gain access to it.