how to oil change

[MyTi82]

how to oil change

[Maverix]

http://www.logun.org/e36oil.htm

[cooljess76]

Same as any car, drain and fill... DON'T OVER-TORQUE THE DRAIN PLUG!!!

[MyTi82]

thankz guys.....i kinda figured it would be simple but wasnt sure. i think its awesome that the oil filter is right in your face when u pop the hood instead of on the side of the engine like in other cars......ya for BMW on that one.

where is the best place to purchase the kit.....brand, average cost?

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by MyTi82

where is the best place to purchase the kit.....brand, average cost?

It's hit and miss with your local auto parts stores. Some carry BMW filters, some don't. I've had luck at NAPA and Carquest. Autozone just started carrying them here as well. The oil filter should come with a few o-rings as well as a copper crush washer. The copper washer goes around the drain plug and the o-rings go on the oil filter housing cap. IIRC there's two on the stem and one large o-ring around the base of the cap itself. Just be careful tightening the drain plug, it's really easy to strip it out by over tightening. Oh yeah, someone on this forum actually confused the oil drain with the transmission drain I don't know how, but the oil pan is a finned aluminum piece forward of the tranny.

[CirrusSR22]

My favorite places to buy parts are www.PelicanParts.com and www.AutoHausAZ.com. An oil filter kit is somewhere in the $5 - $7 range.

If you have an M44 engine (1996 and newer), you'll need a special tool to get the oil filter cap off. It doesn't have that long bolt going through the entire assembly.

Here's a thread about the cap tool. I have the aluminum one straight from the Mercedes dealer. Part # 103 589 0209 00. I had a plastic one, but it didn't work well. I'd avoid the plastic ones, but you can probably get the job done with it.

[cooljess76]

+1 on what CirrusSR22 said. The two websites he mentioned are great and have excellent service and fast shipping. You need to actually look at your oil filter housing. If the cap is plastic, you need to order the newer style filter(small and skinny). If it's aluminum with a bolt going through the center of the cap, you'll need the older style filter which is large and fat. Some m42 engines managed to get the newer style filter housings. As for the tool, most auto parts stores will carry them. It's made of steel, fits over the oil filter cap like a cup and has a 3/8 drive square on the top of it to fit a ratchet onto it. This tool is only needed for the newer plastic oil filter housing caps.

[aceyx]

There are pictures of an oil change in my gallery, HTH.

[1996 328ti]

Something often not mentioned is to be sure the car is on a level surface when filling oil.

[RedDog]

After struggling a little bit to find the tool to remove the oil cap on my 1996 318ti I figured I would share my findings. I found the tool at AutoZone. It is produced by Performance Tool and is part number W54063. The main thing that is important is to buy a Cap Filter Wrench that is 76mm with 14 flutes. Make sure that it is 14 flutes. I accidentally bought a 15 flute and it did not work.

[Don Stevens]

Originally Posted by RedDog

After struggling a little bit to find the tool to remove the oil cap on my 1996 318ti I figured I would share my findings. I found the tool at AutoZone. It is produced by Performance Tool and is part number W54063. The main thing that is important is to buy a Cap Filter Wrench that is 76mm with 14 flutes. Make sure that it is 14 flutes. I accidentally bought a 15 flute and it did not work.

I recently acquired my 97 and I attempted an oil change on my own for the first time yesterday. I had watched a quick lube guy change the filter when I first bought the car but I did not remember seeing the tool. I could have sworn that he put a socket right on the housing like as required on the older aluminum housing. The Bentley manual has an illustration showing the old style unit so I was really scratching my head looking for an aluminum housing. This thread and a trip to my local Advance Auto Parts saved the day.

W54063 has been replaced by W54106. The computer at Advance did not really tell us that but I did remember 14 flutes form the message above. They had a 73 mm and a 76mm tool and I guessed right at 76mm.

Once I had the tool and fitted it to the housing it took a lot more than 25 Nm to remove the cap. I mean a lot more. I did not remove it with the torque wrench so I don't really know but I was shocked at how much ass I had to put into it to break it loose. The was no way I could have broken it free by hand or channel locks. Once complete, I did torque it down correctly.

This was a classic example of how the right tool (and the search tool at ths site) makes it an easy task.

My car took six quarts by the way and I used Amsoil 5W40 European formula. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/afl.aspx. It runs smooth as silk now.

Don

[J!m]

One detail I wanted to point out (although it is probably all over this site) is that the oil filter housing (or center bolt) has that 'stem' on the bottom with the o-ring to hold oil in the top of the engine, so you never start the engine with dry cam bearings.

The down side is, if you dump the oil and then pull the filter, the volume of dirty oil in the top of the engine and filter (about a quart) will drain to the pan and mix with your fresh oil.

So, always pull the filter top first, and then dump the pan. Also, do it while the engine is hot (right after driving it ideally), as it flows better/faster but in addition the impurities will be in suspension in the old oil and drawn out with it.

I do not advocate Marvel Mystery oil in regular oil changes. I use it to lubricate air tools and free frozen cylinders only. If you feel the need to 'clean' your engine internally, put a new filter in with a suitable amount of the Marvel oil (or I prefer Rislone for this, but I have no idea if it is still made??), but only run the engine a few minutes with this in there, dump this oil and re-change the filter to a fresh one and refill with regular oil only.

No big difference between synthetic or dino oil in these cars with some mileage on them. If you drive year round, mind the temperature ratings and suggested weights in the owners manual, and you may want/need to change weights with the winter/summer seasons, particularly in the northern regions.

I only drive my ti in the warmer months, and I run Mobil-1 15-50 (NOTE: I have an S52 engine and I don't think you would want this heavy an oil in an M42/M44 engine). If I did drive in the winter, I would switch to 5-40 or 5-30 for the colder months I suspect.

BimmerBum had a deal recently on magnetic oil pan drain plugs and I always suggest installing these at your next oil change.

[rookie_98]

i was just about to post about how to remove oil filter...i guess this search nonsense is really effective, ha ha jk guys

[Shellback]

http://www.toolss.com/wbstore/main.a...CTMP=1&LowCt=0

I can't find anything in Autozone!

[CirrusSR22]

^ That appears to be the exact same thing as the Mercedes Benz one I have. Probably the same thing, just without the Benz logo stamped on it.