The Red Oil light thread E39 540i

Also,

The M60 engines suffer from this problem too. Here is the M60 oil pump bolts coming loose:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1690371

M62:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1846995

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=399352

Damn, I replaced the oil pan gasket like maybe 25k miles ago too.....Hate to do this again. :-(

Good news is I went to run some errands at lunch and I didn't get the warnings again. I also checked my oil level and it's dead on. Also, no puddles under car.

Al,

A loose bolt has nothing to do with oil level and puddles on the ground.

Loose bolts ---> Loose Oil Pump ---> not enough oil pressure ---> dash oil pressure light.

Checking the dipstick and the ground puddle (if any) has nothing to do with this issue of loose bolts.

As an engine wears and the clearances increase, oil pressure will drop. Increasing the viscosity to a thicker weight oil, such as Mobile 1 synthetic, 15w50 should help, assuming that the oil pump is not the culprit.
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...duct_Guide.pdf

A clogged oil pick up screen due to sludge or debris will also starve the oil pump, and reduce oil flow, and or damage the motor. I would try to desludge your engine first. Use a product like Seafoam or B12 Chemtool in your engine oil prior to an oil change. Bavauto also sells a Luqui Molly Engine Flush and cleaning kit, with fuel Injector Cleaner that they state is very effective.http://blog.bavauto.com/12170/bmw-an...nd-protection/

Filter mag, makes a oil filter magnet to collect steel particles, http://www.shopfiltermag.com/. Although this is designed for metal canister filters, and uses magnetism to attach, us BMW owners could probably adapt this to our Plastic Oil Filter Housing by using plastic TieWraps to attach the magnet, I am sure this much more effective then a magnetized oil drain plug.