[redhatcode29]

Hi guys, i want to do the engine oil change on my own- i have not done this on my own before this. It is a N52 325i.

I will be using Shell Helix 5W/40 Ll-01, the Mann filter.

However, i wish to run a cycle of new engine oil before i fill the Ll-01. I would like to ask if it is fine for me to use a cheaper oil from a different viscosity such as 10W/40 to just idle the engine and drain the oil.

I just want the cheaper oil to run through the engine and drain it probably after 15 minutes, before i fill in the 5w/40 (Shell Helix Ll-01).

The previous owner has not done a good job at oil change intervals, though it is not so bad, but i wish to ensure that i do all that i can to run a cleaner engine.

After the purchase, the engine oil sump has been dropped and cleaned, so whatever accumulated at the sump is gone.

I am doing this oil change just after 1200 kms after the first oil change was done by a mechanic. I am just not content with the way the service was done. I am not even sure if the mechanic used the 5W/40 🥺. I just saw two 5 liter bottles, which were empty.

I will not be adding any flush to the cheaper oil, its just to drain whatever gunk or sludge which may still be there.

I know that some of you would suggest a flush to go with the cheaper oil. I really dont very well know the engine, it has just been a more than a year, so i dont want the flush to do or create any unintended issues.


I also would like to ask if have to put the car on 4 jack stands or just 2 at the front would be fine. I suppose 4 jack stands would hold the car flat and have a better chance in draining out the old oil.

Finally, are the plastic jackpoints of an E92, same as ones meant for an E90 ? All four of them are destroyed.

Thanks.

[E93Dude]

You are overthinking this. There is nothing magical about LL-01 oil, and nothing wrong with using a cheaper oil (with correct viscosity) to flush the system out. You will be perfectly fine. A lot of people do not run formally approved BMW oil in their vehicles for a variety of reasons, and your car in not that discerning a Connoisseur of oil, other than it being the correct viscosity. Using a 10w or 5w, or a 30/40 oil for a flush is fine. Where those numbers matter is when the vehicle is being pushed to the limit in really cold or hot weather. As a 15 minute flush at idle or a short drive, your car will not give a shit.

As for the jack points, just jack up the front of the car and drain. Literally hundreds of thousands of BMW owners do it this way. Again, dont over think it.

The plastic jack points are the same across the E9x line. If yours are mangled, they are cheap and easy to replace.

[Grease23]

And since you're doing this for the first time...DO NOT get under the car supported solely by a jack. Use two jack stands, one under each of the jack points.

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by E93Dude

You are overthinking this. There is nothing magical about LL-01 oil, and nothing wrong with using a cheaper oil (with correct viscosity) to flush the system out. You will be perfectly fine. A lot of people do not run formally approved BMW oil in their vehicles for a variety of reasons, and your car in not that discerning a Connoisseur of oil, other than it being the correct viscosity. Using a 10w or 5w, or a 30/40 oil for a flush is fine. Where those numbers matter is when the vehicle is being pushed to the limit in really cold or hot weather. As a 15 minute flush at idle or a short drive, your car will not give a shit.

As for the jack points, just jack up the front of the car and drain. Literally hundreds of thousands of BMW owners do it this way. Again, dont over think it.

The plastic jack points are the same across the E9x line. If yours are mangled, they are cheap and easy to replace.

Appreciate your input. I needed all that info. Good that the jack points are the same, i had retailers tell me that they are not. Hearing if 1st hand is assuring. Thank you.

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by Grease23

And since you're doing this for the first time...DO NOT get under the car supported solely by a jack. Use two jack stands, one under each of the jack points.

Noted in this point. Safety ! Thanks.

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by redhatcode29

Appreciate your input. I needed all that info. Good that the jack points are the same, i had retailers tell me that they are not. Hearing if 1st hand is assuring. Thank you.

Is 3 ton jack sufficient, or i have to go for a 4 ton.

[Efthreeoh]

Why do you want to flush the oil that's been in the car for 1200 km?

When you say "The previous owner has not done a good job at oil change intervals, though it is not so bad...", what does that mean? Does it mean too many miles, wrong oil type/viscosity, wrong filter?

Why do you think the engine is dirty inside? Can you see sludge in the valvetrain through the oil fill opening? If the bottom end was opened, was there any evidence of sludge build up?

How was the car driven by the PO? Short distance with in adequate temperature build up?

The N52 tolerates long oil change intervals if the correct oil and filter are used.

Put the car on 4 stands, it's far safer to have all 4 wheels off the ground.

[Grease23]

Driving it up on a pair of Rhino ramps, which are inexpensive, should work just fine for oil changes. Less complicated than jacking and getting jack stands into position. With these cars, you have to jack them at places other than the jacking points, since you need those points clear to put the jack stands in place. On my E93, that means the rear differential case (NOT the cover) and the jacking point/pad in the middle under the engine. The Rhino ramps have a shallower angle than many other ramps out there, and these cars are kind of low to the ground.

If you are going with the floor jack, 3 tons is plenty. HFT is making some pretty decent floor jacks these days, and they go low enough to fit under the factory jack points. Not every type of jack stand works with the factory jack points, I got some flat topped ones (again, at HFT) so I couldn't crush the factory jack points. Using those with hard rubber puck-like pads that fit the factory jack points made for very secure support. Up on all fours, I could shove the car hard and it didn't move at all.

Again, do it right and do it safely. As so many aspiring catalytic converter thieves have discovered just moments before their deaths, a jack alone isn't the way to go.

Make sure your oil cap is in good shape, with the basket intact. Gently put the new filter on the cap before tightening it down. Snug is good enough on the cap.

If it were me, I'd just do one oil change, not two as you intend. New oil alone isn't so powerful a cleaner that it will clean up a sludged-up engine after driving a few miles. A basic oil and filter change does get nearly all the old oil out, or certainly enough of it.

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Why do you want to flush the oil that's been in the car for 1200 km?

For beginners, i am not sure if the mechanic who did the earlier oil change, did use the proper quality of lubricant, it was a situation wherein i was able to be present when the oil change was done. Doing it by my self gives me assurance./

Secondly, though it has only clocked 1200km, it has been 15 months since the mechanic did the oil change.

Yes my E92 is just for weekend rides, hence the low kms clocked/

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

When you say "The previous owner has not done a good job at oil change intervals, though it is not so bad...", what does that mean? Does it mean too many miles, wrong oil type/viscosity, wrong filter?

I will never know the truth if the previous owner used good quality lubricant, leave alone the viscosity. A cheap filter was used, that was evident, it could be all of the above, there is guarantee that its not !

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Why do you think the engine is dirty inside? Can you see sludge in the valvetrain through the oil fill opening? If the bottom end was opened, was there any evidence of sludge build up?

When opened the engine cap when went to view the car, i was not impressed with how the internals looked, one could say that the oil change intervals had been delayed, the little visibility proved it. I still went ahead to purchase as the car had about 110,000kms on it, if the car had high mileage, i would have skipped it.

I was not able to see the real condition when the bottom was dropped, but I saw a picture of the sump, after it was cleaned, there were brownish stains which could not be removed after washing the sump. This could be normal, but proves that the internals weren't that much of sludge free.

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

How was the car driven by the PO? Short distance with in adequate temperature build up?

Again, i do not and will not know, it is impossible for me to know or trust, even if the PO told me how he drove it !!

The car was a 2007, import from UK in 2010. The PO had it until 2022, he put about 40-60 kms on it. I know this because i checked the UK records to see if the car had any issues or write off. At the time the car left the UK, it had around 50k kms on it. The PO did not use the car as his primary vehicle, that is evident. Buy he neglected it towards the end i guess.

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The N52 tolerates long oil change intervals if the correct oil and filter are used.

I get it, but just because it tolerates, i should not be pushing it. True 1200km oil change interval is uncommon. Some may say that i am paranoia. What i get is assurance and satisfaction, knowing that the deserved treatment has been given

After the purchase, i replaced all the common parts which fail in a N52, certainly there is more, but the crucial ones were done. This why i was not able witness the oil change, the car was on jacks for days.

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Put the car on 4 stands, it's far safer to have all 4 wheels off the ground.

Yeah i thought so, but those who are seasoned just go with 2 i guess!

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by Grease23

Driving it up on a pair of Rhino ramps, which are inexpensive, should work just fine for oil changes. Less complicated than jacking and getting jack stands into position. With these cars, you have to jack them at places other than the jacking points, since you need those points clear to put the jack stands in place. On my E93, that means the rear differential case (NOT the cover) and the jacking point/pad in the middle under the engine. The Rhino ramps have a shallower angle than many other ramps out there, and these cars are kind of low to the ground.

If I had a garage and enough storage I would go for a ramp, I don't.

Originally Posted by Grease23

If you are going with the floor jack, 3 tons is plenty. HFT is making some pretty decent floor jacks these days, and they go low enough to fit under the factory jack points. Not every type of jack stand works with the factory jack points, I got some flat topped ones (again, at HFT) so I couldn't crush the factory jack points. Using those with hard rubber puck-like pads that fit the factory jack points made for very secure support. Up on all fours, I could shove the car hard and it didn't move at all.

Noted on the 3 tons. thanks.

Originally Posted by Grease23

Again, do it right and do it safely. As so many aspiring catalytic converter thieves have discovered just moments before their deaths, a jack alone isn't the way to go.

sure, safety and correctly, that is why I am not rushing, waiting to get the jack pads and the jack points, will replace them first, though I want to do the oil change immediately !!

Originally Posted by Grease23

Make sure your oil cap is in good shape, with the basket intact. Gently put the new filter on the cap before tightening it down. Snug is good enough on the cap.

A torque wrench ?

Originally Posted by Grease23

If it were me, I'd just do one oil change, not two as you intend. New oil alone isn't so powerful a cleaner that it will clean up a sludged-up engine after driving a few miles. A basic oil and filter change does get nearly all the old oil out, or certainly enough of it.

I have a daily driver, which does short distances, it is a 1995 Civic, Manual transmission, I love it. When I bought it, again the PO had neglected oil change intervals, the oil filter !!! OMG, it was like the cheapest tin can ever. Its just a few dollars difference and yet they go for the suckiest !!

Anyway, at the second oil change, I told the mechanic that I wanted him idle the car with the extra engine oil, which I had bought for that very purpose, the car was idled for 15 minutes, the outcome - even the mechanics agreed that it was a good thing that the car was idled with a cheaper oil before the actual oil change. The oil was pitch black.

I did the same thing for the 3rd oil change, this time the idled oil came out much cleaner. I did it with a different mechanic, sure the mechanic was making fun of me and saying that it is a waste of money and oil, but knew how better the internal were now. A loss of $30b for that cheaper oil, is nothing compared to the outcome.

Last week I opened the engine caps of both cars, the 1995 Civic's internal looks as if it was a car of few years, which was well cared for. For clarity, that is not the actual engine of the SR4, the PO literally broke the engine while driving ii , he then changed a SO4 engine, which is much newer, but that too is about 20 years.

So, there could be no harm in doing this, the wallet becomes a bit thinner !

[redhatcode29]

Originally Posted by Grease23

And since you're doing this for the first time...DO NOT get under the car supported solely by a jack. Use two jack stands, one under each of the jack points.

about the rubber jack points, I know that the above forummer, mentioned that they are all the same through the E9X platform, but the parts dealers in my place can't guarantee it, it could be that they don't know.

I also saw that the parts number of the jack points were direct for aan E90 and E92, hence the doubt and seeking for a re-confirmation. Do you know if they are all the same ?

[Efthreeoh]

E92 lifting block is P/N:

51717164761
Support lifting platform

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by redhatcode29

Yeah i thought so, but those who are seasoned just go with 2 i guess!

I say it is the opposite. Non-seasoned DIY mechanics use only two jackstands. It's dangerous. Having the car on 4 jackstands makes it impossible to roll off the stands because the all the wheels are off the ground. The chassis is designed to sit flat and level on all four lifting blocks. The lifting blocks are not designed to have force applied to them at angles, such as when the car is supported only on two jackstands.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I say it is the opposite. Non-seasoned DIY mechanics use only two jackstands. It's dangerous. Having the car on 4 jackstands makes it impossible to roll off the stands because the all the wheels are off the ground. The chassis is designed to sit flat and level on all four lifting blocks. The lifting blocks are not designed to have force applied to them at angles, such as when the car is supported only on two jackstands.

Ok, so I will opine on this. My concern with the notion that four jacks are better than two jacks are that you now have four lifting devices which could fail, and crush the owner, vice just two. I use two, and chok my rear tires from the front and rear, so I’m not concerned about the car rolling. The two rear tires, especially in Park, are going to provide more stability than two rear jackstands that could fail. I agree with you that each of the four lifting points are designed to be used in a level configuration, but with two jacks in the front and the rear tires on the ground, the angle of force being applied to the two front lifting points is only (and I am guesstimating here) a few degrees, and since lifting points are plastic they should flex a little bit while maintaining good contact with the jacks.

In any case, even after the car is lifted, I keep the hydraulic jack in place under the central lifing point as insurance. Whatever technique one employs, double check everything, have a backup, and keep other people from screwing around around the car while one is working.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by E93Dude

Ok, so I will opine on this. My concern with the notion that four jacks are better than two jacks are that you now have four lifting devices which could fail, and crush the owner, vice just two. I use two, and chok my rear tires from the front and rear, so I’m not concerned about the car rolling. The two rear tires, especially in Park, are going to provide more stability than two rear jackstands that could fail. I agree with you that each of the four lifting points are designed to be used in a level configuration, but with two jacks in the front and the rear tires on the ground, the angle of force being applied to the two front lifting points is only (and I am guesstimating here) a few degrees, and since lifting points are plastic they should flex a little bit while maintaining good contact with the jacks.

In any case, even after the car is lifted, I keep the hydraulic jack in place under the central lifing point as insurance. Whatever technique one employs, double check everything, have a backup, and keep other people from screwing around around the car while one is working.

Any angled force is pushing on the jackstand and on the lifting block that neither is designed for. the price between cheap-ass jackstands and good jackstands is about $120 per set of 4. For $120 more in price, if it were me, I'd get 4 stands and use all 4 all the time. Good ASTM-certified stands are not going to fail, ever. And get flat-top stands like the ESCO's not axle stands that most cheap-ass stands are configured in. If you buy cheap, you die inexpensively.

When all four wheels are off the ground the car cannot roll; it is safer than chocked wheels. It just is.

I take this seriously. Some 50+ years ago when I was 10, my brother's 1940's era Willy's Jeep rolled on my upper arm, only because I was quick enough to get mostly out of the way it didn't crush my body, or worse, my head. We had been 4-wheeling earlier in the day and broke the front driveshaft. Back home we put the Jeep up on the edge of our home basketball half-court to get some lift under the front end for a look. The Jeep was angled just a few degrees. My brother was just 16, so chocking the wheels didn't occur to him. The Jeep probably didn't have parking brakes and it WAS in gear after all... He turned the transfercase yoke and the Jeep slipped into neutral and rolled backwards.

Needless to say that event scared me a bit. So I'm pretty dillegent about lifting cars when working on them. So to the extent, 23 years ago I built a dedicated shop for the main purpose to have a 2-post lift. I've worked pleanty on cars with jackstands, most all the time on 4. It's just safer. I spent $40K to get a 2-post lift, which is a bit more of a serious committment than mulling over which stands are safest.

[Grease23]

If you have the floor space to do an oil change you can use ramps, which are inexpensive and safe. Once you drive up on them they are entirely under the car. On level ground, the car will not roll back off properly placed ramps, even with the car in neutral and the parking brake off. You don't need any more space than when you park the car.

The ramps nestle and can be stored off the floor on a nail. I don't know your situation specifically, but for most people a nail on the wall is less of a burden than storing a 3 ton floor jack.

So be safe and good luck.