[obi604]

I have a 2006 Bmw e60 523i with automatic transmission, n52 engine.

63,000 miles on the clock.

I need to buy oil for my car soon, as the level is getting low.

The last time I topped up, I topped up with : Castrol Edge 0 W-30 Fully Synthetic with BMW LongLife-04 approval

Just wondering, would it be ok to top up with : 5 W - 30 Fully Synthetic with BMW LongLife-04 approval


i.e is it ok to mix the 5w-30 with the 0w-30 ?

 

[obi604]

any takers ?

 

[sharknose///M]

Well, first things first.

It would probably be a good idea to find out why the oil level is getting low. Otherwise you're going to have the same problem again soon.

Once you have the oil consumption problem sorted, carry out a service with new oil and filter.

Keep a litre or two of the oil used in the service in the boot for top ups. BMW 6cyl engines are commonly known to use 1L of oil per 1000 miles under normal operating conditions.

If your engine is using more than that you should investigate.

If you must drive the car until getting it checked out, then why not top up with the same grade oil that's already in there.

Best of luck. N52 is a great engine, just needs to be maintained like them all.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[obi604]

Hi, thanks for reply, I have got this checked, rang BMW Ireland, asked them about oil consumption for my car, they said anything up to a litre per 1000km is normal, brought it to 2 bmw independents in Dublin and they checked my car out, said it was "bone " dry, no oil leaks. and that these cars do indeed consume a bit of oil. Also from forums, its seems that they do consume a lot of oil and these are cars with no known issues in the cars doing so.

last 2 oil top-ups of 1 litre were after 1900 miles and then 1400 miles so seems im still in the "norm" as regards distance between top ups

im thinking maybe topping up with 5w-30 will give a few more miles between top ups but not sure.

Next oil change, ill be telling them to use 5w-30 fully synthetic LL-04 etc ( as opposed to the (0w - 30 )

Im driving 15 years and have never had to top up oil as much as this, in fact on ALL my other cars, I only had to top up oil once, and that was keeping an eye on things !!

But just seems to simply be this car consumes a lot of oil

 

[sharknose///M]

I'm fairly certain that it's 1L per 1000 miles.

But if you haven't had to top for 1900 and 1400 miles it sounds like the engine is performing within accepted parameters.

Bear in mind that oil consumption may not be caused by leaks as such.

I know that M52 and M54 engines require the PCV Valve to be changed at intervals because it can cause excessive oil consumption.

PCV Valve is located under the intake manifold on six cylinder engines so it's a bit of work to get one changed.

 

[obi604]

I'm fairly certain that it's 1L per 1000 miles.

But if you haven't had to top for 1900 and 1400 miles it sounds like the engine is performing within accepted parameters.

Bear in mind that oil consumption may not be caused by leaks as such.

I know that M52 and M54 engines require the PCV Valve to be changed at intervals because it can cause excessive oil consumption.

PCV Valve is located under the intake manifold on six cylinder engines so it's a bit of work to get one changed.

Thanks, as in a 500 euro job to get it changed ??

 

[sharknose///M]

On any car I've had either 6 cyl or 4 cyl I've changed the PCV Valve myself. Very easy on 4 cyl cars but it's an intake manifold off job on 6 cyl motors.

There's a bunch of stuff to remove before you can even remove the manifold.

The part itself is about €90 if I recall correctly.

It took me a whole day the first time I changed one on a 6 pot but I got it down to 4 hours from then on, being careful.

You know yourself, if you drop a car into a mechanic in the morning, he's going to tell you he will call you when it's ready and even if it only takes half a day he won't ring you until the evening, so yeah, €500 parts and labour could be a good estimate.

 

[obi604]

All money ; (

And then I could go ahead and decide to change the PCV valve.......and it may not even fix my problem........and according to BMW etc I don't even have a problem with oil consumption : /

 

[Feeder]

I just bought 6.5ltrs of castrol edge 5w 30 and plan on changing over the weekend.
It's been used on the cars last 2 services

 

[obi604]

I just bought 6.5ltrs of castrol edge 5w 30 and plan on changing over the weekend.
It's been used on the cars last 2 services

Good stuff. Any reason you are using 5w 30 and not 0w 30 ?

Just wondering, thats all

 

[E36]

I wouldn't mix oil grades Obi, stick with the same oil type and then change the grade. That's what I would do if it was my own car anyway. Hopefully that will sort it :smile:

 

[Feeder]

It's the oil that's been used in the last two services from frank Keane. I only have the car 2 weeks and she's due an oil change so I'm just going by what's been previously used.

She's a 2006 m-sport with 72k and full history

 

[obi604]

I wouldn't mix oil grades Obi, stick with the same oil type and then change the grade. That's what I would do if it was my own car anyway. Hopefully that will sort it :smile:

Thanks for input, your the first person to actually answer the question I asked ))

 

[sharknose///M]

If you must drive the car until getting it checked out, then why not top up with the same grade oil that's already in there.

Ahem.....

 

[obi604]

Ahem.....

hands up

apologies

 

[obi604]

I wouldn't mix oil grades Obi, stick with the same oil type and then change the grade. That's what I would do if it was my own car anyway. Hopefully that will sort it :smile:

Just wondering, what danger could it potentially cause with mixing 1 litre of 5w-30 with 5.5 litres of 0w-30 ?

Like could it fuck up the car ?

 

[sharknose///M]

hands up

apologies

Ah no panic, I was just having a laugh.

I'd say many a lad mixed oil and there wasn't any issue.

But I suppose you wouldn't do it unless you were stuck and had little option.

 

[E36]

You're welcome! Although shark nose beat me to the punch, twice not sure what would happen if you mixed oil grades, mechanic advised against it so was relaying that information How do you find the engine other than oil consumption?

 

[obi604]

You're welcome! Although shark nose beat me to the punch, twice not sure what would happen if you mixed oil grades, mechanic advised against it so was relaying that information How do you find the engine other than oil consumption?

The engine is nice, it has a nice aul hum to it.

tax is a fecker at 1080 Euro, but I picked up the car for a good price. I know, it will be harder to sell on again as feck all people want a petrol car with high tax etc......

My car is automatic, if im in around Dublin city centre in constant start / stop traffic with lots of lights, I will get 250 miles or so out of the tank. which is only 16 mpg which is not great, but then again its a big beast of a yoke and auatomatic and lets be honest, not many cars are great in this type of scenario.

If im on the motorway constantly doing a steady 70mph, I can get 530 miles out of a tank. which is about 35 mpg which isnt bad.



I do a mixture of motorway and city driving and get combined about 28 mpg.

also, the above is with a light foot.

as regards poke, its a heavy machine, so not that quick to be honest. you need to rev it hard to get going, like any petrol I suppose. but it is a quiet car and a nice hum off the engine. I did look for a 525i (same tax , more power) but there are just hardly any decent ones around.

Ive taken up cycling and tend to cycle to work more now so it gets more time on the motorways.

But its a nice car over all,no major issues in 7 months, I just dont particularly like the oil consumption. or the petrol consumption sometimes. But for the annual miles I do, I had to go petrol, but I still get bitter every time I go to that feckin petrol pump