Uggg my z4 ran on low oil.... oil consumption.

T

Tuna!

Member
My Z4 that I got about 8months or so ago and just realized it was SUPER low on oil. When I first got it and after it sitting for a month or 2 it wouldn't start. Finally got it running and changed the oil immediately. Since then I've put about 4.5k miles on it. Yesterday I noticed a lifter tick after a spirited drive... which was odd because it had done it but usually when it was cold. In the morning I bought a liquid moli lifter additive and noticed the oil was not visible on the dip stick. (really wishing I had replaced the oil lever sensor when I first got it, but it had/has so many things that need to be replaced). I added about 4.5-5 quarts to the car before it was back to normal.

It sounds good now but I'm so worried I've caused some severe damage to the engine. Crazy I asked the previous owner (my old roommate if it burns oil) he said yes but nothing significant. 1quart per 1k miles is pretty significant.

Currently I have been using 5w 30 but I've heard that using a 10w 40 really helps with oil consumption with these engines.
 
Too late to worry about it now. Any damage has already been done and the only thing you could do is strip the engine down and check all the bearings.

If you don't want to do that then just leave it and see what happens. Or you could get an oil sample analysed and to for bearing material.

0.7 Litre per 1000 km is considered acceptable.
 
Is it a 2.0 engine, how many miles has it done, if it’s burning that much oil there must have been a lot of blue smoke.
 
Ya you are right. An oil sample sounds like the best option. I looked at the oil filter and didn't notice any meta but a lab result would make me feel better(hopefully).
I ordered an a CCV kit to replace and am going to try to switch to 10w40. Also gonna replace O ring on dipstick and check if its clogged.

Well now I know I got to check the oil ever week lol.. Bmw are nice but old ones need a lot of maintenance/work. I'm just glad my other vehicles aren't 1/10 the trouble. If the car goes boom i'd be bummed but the car still needs a ton of work and probably better off buying a 3.0
 
It's a 2.5 engine m54 with 174.5k miles on it. Has already had more problems than the 6 vehicles I have own/have owned in the past 5 years combined. It has a few other problems like a worn out clutch/flywheel (never been changed). I bought the parts to do it but haven't had the time now and probably won't do it until I get an oil analysis back
 
Oh no smoke. Not much signs that it was low besides the lifter tick that started. Seemed like it was only 1 lifter but I don't know. Almost wondering if the dipstick is somehow messed up or something isn't giving me the right reading. I'm gonna do an oil change in a couple days when I have time tho and get sample for analysis and measure how much comes out.
 
I'd change your oil and filter, and add a tin of Liqui Moly Ceratec. Then drive the car and see if it runs well. No smoke and no knocking means you've got away with it. I've run cars with abnormally low oil before and not got any terrible damage, so you could be in luck.
 
I'd change your oil and filter, and add a tin of Liqui Moly Ceratec. Then drive the car and see if if runs well. No smoke and no knocking means you've got away with it. I've run cars with abnormally low oil before and not got any terrible damage, so you could be in luck.
 
Rockhopper said:
Too late to worry about it now. Any damage has already been done and the only thing you could do is strip the engine down and check all the bearings.

If you don't want to do that then just leave it and see what happens. Or you could get an oil sample analysed and to for bearing material.

0.7 Litre per 1000 km is considered acceptable.
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An alternative would be to send a sample of the oil away to Miller Oils to be analysed. They check for the presence of bearing material in the oil, which would indicate wear.
 
Oil samples give you a spot check on the oil right now however you don't know what's typical for your car. To make any reasonable conclusions you'll need to do a series of samples over a given time period to determine any trends in the oil composition which will show an increase in wear.
 
Andrew J said:
Oil samples give you a spot check on the oil right now however you don't know what's typical for your car. To make any reasonable conclusions you'll need to do a series of samples over a given time period to determine any trends in the oil composition which will show an increase in wear.
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Miller Oils will indicate what they (as experts) consider to be an acceptable level of bearing material metals in oil samples. It's either there, or it isn't.
 
Really there is no point doing an oil analysis, the engine has done 175k miles and is using 1quart per 1k miles its well worn if you do find metal in the oil are you really going to strip it down and rebuild it. It may be the engine has a serious oil leak loosing oil that way but if it’s burning it you don’t have many options.
 
deltasierra said:
Really there is no point doing an oil analysis, the engine has done 175k miles and is using 1quart per 1k miles its well worn if you do find metal in the oil are you really going to strip it down and rebuild it. It may be the engine has a serious oil leak loosing oil that way but if it’s burning it you don’t have many options.
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It's a BMW. Of course it has an oil leak.
 
I was going to ask if it has an oil leak.

If you're struggling with the clutch and flywheel could it be that the rear main seal has failed? If it feels super spongy then it could be oil contamination.
 
deltasierra said:
Really there is no point doing an oil analysis, the engine has done 175k miles and is using 1quart per 1k miles its well worn if you do find metal in the oil are you really going to strip it down and rebuild it. It may be the engine has a serious oil leak loosing oil that way but if it’s burning it you don’t have many options.
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True. Car is running fine. I am going to replace to CCV system.

What about a piston soak before oil change?
 
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