DIY: E39 Changing engine oil made simple (how to do it in 30 minutes and not crying!)

Originally Posted by ferguscan

** I only wish this were true. I have drained oil from my E39 several times, with the front on jackstands. I have then lowered the car from the stands with the drain plug still removed. More oil comes out. Maybe one of your American pints. Maybe half that.

Did you have any luck raising one side only? Did you try a subsequent additional drain with the car flat, to see if any more comes out?

Thanks,

Stuart

Welcome to forum...


Couple thoughts:.

1. At next oil change using this method (FRONT on ramps), can someone do a favor as below:
- Car on a flat driveway (no slope).
- Drain the oil as usual until it stops dripping.
- Now place another catch pan underneath
- Now using a floor jack, jack the LEFT FRONT side up a few inches (from the wood ramp) and see how much more comes out.


2. I am posting the anatomy of the M52 oil pan, if using this technique (FRONT on ramps), if any oil is inside, it is pooling in the back of the oil pan.
Having said this, at my next oil change, I will drive the LEFT FRONT and LEFT REAR tires on the ramps (in other words, LEFT side tilted up) to completely drain the oil:

Originally Posted by cn90

Welcome to forum...


Couple thoughts:.

1. At next oil change using this method (FRONT on ramps), can someone do a favor as below:
- Car on a flat driveway (no slope).
- Drain the oil as usual until it stops dripping.
- Now place another catch pan underneath
- Now using a floor jack, jack the LEFT FRONT side up a few inches (from the wood ramp) and see how much more comes out.


2. I am posting the anatomy of the M52 oil pan, if using this technique (FRONT on ramps), if any oil is inside, it is pooling in the back of the oil pan.
Having said this, at my next oil change, I will drive the LEFT FRONT and LEFT REAR tires on the ramps (in other words, LEFT side tilted up) to completely drain the oil:

** Thanks for the welcome.

1) I don't think this will work. Oil will still pool at the back of the pan. And the test won't be complete without doing a final drain with the car level, and seeing what else comes out.

2) This is more promising. I don't know what the engine looks like above the oil pan, but my concern is that there could be some lip or shelf above the oil pan (on the right) where oil could pool if the left side is raised prior to draining:



Once again, the only way to be sure is to try, and then perform a subsequent drain with the car level.

Or we could just use 4 ramps and be done with it

Speaking of which, your ramps look awesome. Have you posted a HOWTO for making them? I would love to know, and I'm a pre-novice at woodworking. I wouldn't even know how to cut the wood, or where to put the nails.

Thanks heaps,

Stuart

Originally Posted by ferguscan

your ramps look awesome. Have you posted a HOWTO for making them?

Found this by doing /ramp in the bestlinks:
- How to make your own BMW car ramps (1)

Thanks Bluebee. I had seen Mat's guide, but CN90 had a number of criticisms.

I don't even know how to cut the timber ends at a 45 degree angle!

A circular saw, Tilt blade to 45Degrees.

Looking back, no need to cut 45 degrees as in my ramps (bevel the circular saw 45 degrees).
Do a butt cut (90-degrees), this way when the tire goes up, you have a distinctive feel of the tire going up (like in Mat's DIY).

Well, if you don't know how to saw wood, best is to give the hardware shop the dimension of the pieces (such as 27, 24, 21 inches.....sorry, I forgot the Aussies use metric!) and they will cut for you.
- Then predrill a few holes for the screws.
- Then apply a bit of caulking material (like applying toothpaste).
You can use silicone or "Liquid Nails" (which is basically conctruction glue)
- Then put the wood together, then screw it in.

Just adding to the collective knowledge base here: http://cparente.wordpress.com/2012/0...m5-oil-change/

Originally Posted by Edgy36-39

Just adding to the collective knowledge base here: http://cparente.wordpress.com/2012/0...m5-oil-change/

Nice!
Where did you buy the 10w-60 Liqui-Moly at?

Thanks!
Jason

Ordered it from BavAuto.

For Bluebee and CN90: Thanks for the threads on how to and how not to do an oil change. I kind of felt like I was plotting the d-day invasion, but after lots of reading and re-reading and assembling all the parts and tools, I successfully changed the oil and reset the SII indicator on my wife's '01 530i in just over an hour this morning. No cracked filter housings, no bad o-rings, no broken bolts. Actually, some of that time was spent reading the paper whilst waiting for the oil to drain. Re: data gathering, the SII was -38 before and 2575 after. I did jack up the driver's side after the "initial" oil drain and got maybe 1 and at most 2 cups more out of it. All I know is that the oil on the dipstick looked a lot nicer than the oil in the old oil filter. Thanks again for the great info. Service 1 is not far off!

Thank you very very much! For my first DIY project on my 2000 528i I will be will be doing this as soon as my fluid pump that I got off of ebay comes in the mail

Originally Posted by Edgy36-39

Ordered it from BavAuto.

Edgy 36-39 Out of curiosity do you change your oil and filter at 15,000 miles, the recommended oil change interval?

Originally Posted by BimmerCleever

...I did jack up the driver's side after the "initial" oil drain and got maybe 1 and at most 2 cups more out of it...

Thanks for doing this! I always suspect 1-2 cups are left behind.
Next time, I will jack it up a bit (after a drain) to completely empty the oil pan.

Edgy 36-39 Out of curiosity do you change your oil and filter at 15,000 miles, the recommended oil change interval?

Thanks for the comment on my site. No, that's too long. BMW started recommending 15K oil changes at the same time they started offering free maintenance on new cars. You be the judge.

I'd say around 8,000 miles tops with a good synthetic oil. Less if driven hard or on track.

The 2 tiny O-rings' sole purpose: when you change the Engine Oil, the Oil is drained down the Oil Pan to be drained out and disposed of.

That statement confuses me, as the o-rings would appear to be KEEPING the oil in the oil pan housing ... not allowing it to drain out???


I'm trying to figure out the purpose of each of the o-rings in this thread:
- > E39 (1997 - 2003) > Let's create a list of o-rings (by size & by part number) to buy when ordering parts

So, I came back here for details on the purpose of these little o-rings ... but, re-reading this thread, I still wasn't sure WHICH of these two purposes those little o-rings were for:

A. The o-rings KEEP the oil in the oil filter housing when changing oil (why?)

B. The o-rings allow the oil to drain OUT of the the oil filter housing (how?)

Can someone un-confuseify me?

The purpose of the two O-rings is mis-stated in the pic. The purpose of the two green o-rings is to KEEP oil in the oil filter housing so that the filter is not starved of oil at startup. When the cap is removed the seal is broken and the oil drains into the oil pan where it can be drained.

I have not replaced the o-rings yet but will likely order a set on my next parts order. VCG is my next task.

It is not mis-stated.

The purposes are clearly written in blue-color words in bluebee's post.

A little oil starvation at start-up may increase in engine wear but won't kill anything.
But persistent oil starvation will kill the engine.

What keep the oil inside the OFH?
- The one-way valve that is already built into the OFH itself.
- These 2 tiny O-rings.

The 2 tiny O-rings serve 2 purposes:
- For drainage purpose when removed.
- To prevent oil from being pumped into the sump throughout the normal engine operation, not just startup period.

I was keying in on the statement that the "sole purpose" of the two green O-rings was to allow the oil to drain down into the oil pan.

I beg to differ but I shall not slice the bologna so thin in the future.

Originally Posted by crazy4trains

I was keying in on the statement that the "sole purpose" of the two green O-rings was to allow the oil to drain down into the oil pan

Do I have this summary correct yet about the implications of these two green o-rings:
1. In normal use, the two green o-rings keep oil from draining back into the sump overnight, so that there will be some oil in the canister upon next-morning startup.

2. During an oil change, removing the oil cap pulls the stem up, so that oil in the canister WILL now drain its oil down and out of the engine.

3. If the o-rings are worn, presumably that will mean the oil can drain overnight out of the filter canister, resulting in (slightly?) less oil for the engine upon next-morning startup.

4. Most people replace those two green o-rings every five or ten years, but another option is replacing the entire filter cap & stem every ten years (it comes with the o-rings attached).

5. The patent on this concept is Patent 5,516,425 shown below:

Originally Posted by patent

A spin-on oil filter can be mounted in an easily accessible position on an engine by means of an oil filter housing comprising a lower housing unit, which comprises an open-topped chamber, and an upper housing unit. A male threaded portion, adapted to mount a spin-on oil filter, extends up from the bottom surface of the lower housing unit. A flat gasket sealing surface is located on the bottom surface, wherein the gasket surface is perpendicular with the male threaded portion. The housing comprises three passages: (i) a first passage adapted to permit flow of dirty oil to an oil filter mounted on the male threaded portion; (ii) a second passage adapted to permit flow of filtered oil away from an oil filter mounted on the male threaded portion; and, (iii) a third passage adapted to permit drainage of oil from the open-topped chamber. The upper housing unit is removably attached to the lower housing unit, and is adapted to cover the open-topped chamber. Methods of maintaining the filter and of adding refill oil are facilitated by this housing.

Here is a composite picture of my M54 and cn90's & RDLs references:

Sounds like a good summary to me. There may be other functions too but that should cover the most important.

P.S. What happened to item number 5 in your list?

Originally Posted by crazy4trains

Sounds like a good summary to me. There may be other functions too but that should cover the most important.

P.S. What happened to item number 5 in your list?

Ooops. I fixed that just now. Thanks.

One thing I wonder about is WHY there are TWO o-rings. I mean, one would have been enough. So why 2? And that hole in the stem too? I suspect there is more going on that we know at this point.

And, from a functional standpoint, WHAT happens if the o-rings are leaking?

I suppose what happens is that the oil in the canister simply leaks down into the sump.

What that means, I'm not sure, but, presumably it means that the engine will be slightly starved for oil upon startup.

Now, how much that MATTERS is what I'm trying to get at - which I have no idea of.

Anyone know more about the implications of a leaking o-ring (which I'd bet, by now, almost all of us have)?

For the record, there was a discussion about which oil filter to use over here today:

Originally Posted by YinD

So I go into autozone to get my Mobil 1 oil for the BMW. The guy tells me that with the 8 qt s I get a free oil filter!

So I ask him what does he have?
"Let's see we have STP in stock"
Whatever! I tell him! You can't give that brand away! Keep it!
Not going to roll that dice.
It was Funny to see the sales guys expression. Somewhat surprised but then understood.
Anyhow, thought I would share the experience.

To which, I had responded (for the record):

I've learned, over time, what to look for in (any brand) of oil filter - but - when I was (not much) younger and dumber (aka before I joined bimmerfest) - I bought both Fram & STP oil filters!

Here, for example, was my very first BMW oil filter change:

When I wrote the obligatory DIY, people corrected me immediately, on my choice of oil filter brands:


Over time, I learned WHY you don't want the STP oil filter:

The seam and the rubber mounting are, shall we say, problematic in our bimmers:

And, soon thereafter, I learned why you also don't want Fram oil filters.

Soon, I learned that most use Mann filters, so I picked up a bunch (don't worry about the oil choice, for now, as this is just about the filter).

While I chose Mann, many use Mahle:

And, some use Hengst:

You can even get other brands for your bimmer, such as Mobil 1 oil filters:

Or, Napa Platinum oil filters:

Or, Napa Pro One oil filters:

Or Fram ExtraGuard oil filters:

Or even PepBoys Purolater Classic oil filters:

But really, most of us use plain old Mann oil filters:

Of course, after having joined bimmerfest, now when I write an oil-change DIY, I use the suggested oil filter brands:


Note: Here's a basic parts list for an oil change:
- Oil filter & 91x4 O-ring & copper crush washer (Mann, Mahle, Hengst, or BMW P/N 11427512300)
- (1) oil pan drain bolt (M12x1.5x18, BMW P/N 11131273093)
- (1) extra copper crush washer (A12X17-CU, BMW P/N 07119963151)
- (2) oil filter stem o-rings (7x2.5, BMW P/N 11421744001)
- (2) dipstick handle o-rings (9x2.2, BMW P/N 11431717666)

See also:
Cn90 How to change your oil; and Bluebee how NOT to change your oil! and A BMW E39 Oil & Filter Change (vacuum extraction method) DIY