4.4 Loosing / Burning Oil??

[K.I.M.POSSIBLE]

Hello all,

The 2005 4.4 has just hit the 64k mark and the last free service the dealer did they changed the oil and filter. a few months later I got a low oil warning and to my surprise the car needed 4.5 quarts to fill again.

Well a few months back I did the oil and filter myself, 8.5 quarts and just this week I got the same light and when I checked the oil, I needed and entire gallon to fill it again.

This vehicle is completely dry under the bottom, and there is never any smoke from the exhaust. the coolant is all green.

Where is this oil going?? does this engine actually burn that much oil undetected??

Thanks in advance

[m5james]

My M5 went through about a quart of oil between changes, but neither the X5 4.4 or the 740iL do that. Maybe you should check the plugs and see if they're fouled/wet w/ oil.

[diorodriguez]

you may have a clogged crankcase ventilation system, the system is getting clogged with oil sludge and moisture . The oil separator and hoses commonly gets clogged due to the long time between the BMW recommended intervals for oil changes plus the build up of moisture due to normal condensation.This is a very common issue and the typical symptom is increased oil usage.The cure is to disassemble all of the hoses and replace the oil separator . THe oil separator and the hoses are found under the intake manifold. so manifold must be removed for service.

[killcrap]

Originally Posted by diorodriguez

you may have a clogged crankcase ventilation system, the system is getting clogged with oil sludge and moisture . The oil separator and hoses commonly gets clogged due to the long time between the BMW recommended intervals for oil changes plus the build up of moisture due to normal condensation.This is a very common issue and the typical symptom is increased oil usage.The cure is to disassemble all of the hoses and replace the oil separator . THe oil separator and the hoses are found under the intake manifold. so manifold must be removed for service.

Don't listen to this guy the oil separator is part of the cylinder head cover. And if the two diaphrams aren't torn and the vehicle is not leaking oil. I would guess the valve guide seals are wornout. Have your dealer investigate. If your a good customer they will cover the repair.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by diorodriguez

you may have a clogged crankcase ventilation system, the system is getting clogged with oil sludge and moisture . The oil separator and hoses commonly gets clogged due to the long time between the BMW recommended intervals for oil changes plus the build up of moisture due to normal condensation.This is a very common issue and the typical symptom is increased oil usage.The cure is to disassemble all of the hoses and replace the oil separator . THe oil separator and the hoses are found under the intake manifold. so manifold must be removed for service.

I learned this from killcrap, but the newer X5's don't have the same OSV problems.

[K.I.M.POSSIBLE]

THanks for the replies.. but this car has had every single service done at the dealer since it was born. ANd there are NO external signs of oil leakage, and there is absolutely no smoke whatsoever.

If it were any of the items you suggested, then this car is a load of crap and I won;t keep it. So, just out of optimism, I going to ignore anything having to do with me tearing apart my engine that had 35K miles on it just 12 months ago. That doesn't make any sense.

I'm going to pay close attention to it this time to see if there is something going on that I may be missing but this really makes me wonder about the quality of these cars. I'll still keep it cuz i'm crazy about it an I need something to pull my boat but damn!!
Oil separator?? with no leaks and no smoke?
We'll see what happens.

[killcrap]

there is no quality built into these cars, things just happen.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by killcrap

there is no quality built into these cars, things just happen.

That may be a hard to accept, but the most utterly truthful post made
on the Board, in a long time, imo.
GL,mD

[JohnD]

Just be thankful we have people like KillCrap and Weasel on the board - they save us a ton of money with their help.. Big thanks to both

[m5james]

Originally Posted by killcrap

there is no quality built into these cars, things just happen.