how to oil change

[RedDog]

Sorry to hear that you did not have the same luck that I had with Autozone. Also, I think the tool that you found is the wrong size. I quickly clicked on the link and it is showing that the size is 74mm in the writing below it, the Ti needs 76mm. Good luck finding the tool.

[MyTi82]

thankz guyz......this really helped

i finally changed my oil sunday morning. it took me about an hour or so.

i got the oil kit from the dealer, about ten bucks i think.
i used 3qts castrol full synthetic edge 10w-30 (i have a slow leak so i went with a thicker oil) n 2 qts castrol sytnec blend 10w-30. am gonna top it off with some marvel mystery oil tomorrow morning.

i thought these things take 7qts on a oil change........mine only took about 5 and it was at the top notch on the dip stick.

now i just gotta figure out how to cut off the oil service light on the dash n i am good.

[RedDog]

Glad to have helped, if I did at all. Also, I have attached a link that tells you how to turn of the oil light. I used it on my Ti and it worked after a few tries. Just read the whole directions so you do not reset the inspection light and of course as a legal disclaimer I am not responsible for anything that happens.

http://www.bmwe36blog.com/2007/02/24...service-light/

[tiFreak]

the 6-cyl. engines take 7 quarts, not the 4-cyl., good thing you didn't overfill it

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by adamud

A side note, the proper torque for both the drain plug and oil filter cap IS ON THE OIL FILTER CAP.

25nm is exactly the torque that the fill plug broke at! It's amazing how precise these Germans are.

MyTi82, you should really consider joining BMW CCA NCC.

[rookie_98]

y did you mix synthetic with a syn blend? anyone care to fill me in, i though this was bad for cars?

[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.