Oil consumption - N63 and S63 both the same issues?

[LennyBoy1]

Hi everyone,
I am considering selling my 2008 BMW 3.0si and getting a 2010 to 2013 X5 50i or X5M. I know that some of you might tell me to keep my 2008 3.0 liter and forget about the 4.4 V8...however I’d like to try one out. From my research, there could be or seems to be oil consumption issues with the 4.4 Twin Turbo engines. I did several searches on this site but I didn’t find much regarding oil consumption on the X5, specifically on the 4.4 twin turbo N63 or S63. Does anyone have any experience regarding this issue and what should I look for when picking out my new (used) E70 X5 50i or X5M..? Thanks for your advice.

[andrewwynn]

We bought a 2012 50i about 4 months ago.

It does go though a little oil. Slow enough don't notice in the exhaust but in 4 months and maybe 3000 miles have had to add two quarts.

BMW changed the official capacity up a quart to keep oil level high enough and for certain years they offered a refund for up to seven quarts of oil and three oil changes but I think the deal on that ended late 2018.

Our 50i had under 75000mi when purchased and the engine performs like it is new.

I am working on finding out if the car has gone through the CCP (soft recall). BMW will repair any N63 motor with any of a few defects including injectors or timing chain but it's a one-shot deal.

Find out from VIN has the car gone though the program.

Pay the extra to get a lower milage copy so you should be able to get a few years out of it before valve stem seals are cooked and need replacement.

I decided a couple years ago that i wanted the 50i model vs. M for the fact the detuned power level suggests less maintenance and less stress for less likely to break things.

We also take extra precautions like every drive cycle idle the engine a few minutes to pull some of the heat soak out the radiator before shut down and removed the engine "blanket" from the top to let more heat out.

I want to get the turbo heat shield designed to protect the VSS from the turbo heat but the only prefab one I can find is $350 for about 1 ft.² of heat blanket. I just need to find that material (I think it's same as they use for racing suits).

Replacement turbos can be found on eBay for less than. A set of injectors.

I'm already anticipating that in 3-4 years I'll be doing the VSS job myself right about the time we will find wife's next car and I'll take over the 50i with about 110,000 miles on it.

Driving the car is as wife puts it "like therapy".

The exhaust note coupled with the g force at every launch just makes you smile inisde.

Every time you find yourself in the wrong lane and you can use the right pedal (both meanings) vs. the left/wrong pedal to fix the issue you'll smile inside.

A full throttle up hill onramp the car will easily be going 80 using half throttle. At full throttle I've never gone the full length of the onramp but estimate about 110-115 would be the result.

Wife describes it this way (can you speed up and find a hole to change lanes). "don't even worry about it she'll get you there".

It's comical; feels like a video game when you see the car next to you appear to have hit the brakes when you kickdown the 50i at really any speed.

Balancing risk/reward I'm very glad we took the plunge.

Oh: I found this out after the fact:. The 2012 still has the BMW unicorn engine: only gas powered model since about 2004 without Valvetronic.

It costs about 10% power but for maintenance literally 100s less parts that move billions of times per year. Think about that.

I love the theory of Valvetronic but from a DIY repair damn glad not to have to deal with the headache.

The problem trade off is N63 first motor ever with hot V. Both turbos in the Vs. of the 8. Very hot and will cook the top of the motor. BMW made 3-4 technical updates the first of course added Valvetronic and a boost of 10% HP. I think came either 13-14.

I wouldn't shy away from a clean copy where the engine runs perfectly and especially has maintenance records and had or is still eligible for the CCP (Customer care package) soft recall.

You have to have the mindset that you may have added maintenance costs but we paid cash so no monthly payment means we can have a monthly budget and if that ends up being $150 it's very well worth it for a 6000 lb SUV that can do 0-60 in just over 5 seconds.

Pay attention to the shorter maintenance frequency of parts like spark plugs. I think it's as low as 20-40k vs. 100,000. I bought a set from fcpeuro so I only have to pay once.

I still drive my 01 3.0i daily but I drive the wife's 50i on the weekends. It's awesome taking a break from the beast because it's like the first time every weekend. (plus far less likely to get tickets when I have to resort to the left pedal to get into an exit lane).

[LennyBoy1]

Hi, Thanks for all the information and your feedback. I have actually narrowed my search down to a few vehicles such as this one....2012 X5 50i with 140,000km (87,000 miles). The price is around $17000 Cdn or $13500 USD. Owned by a GM mechanic (yes...he collects BMWs!) and I talked to him regarding maintenance and oil consumption. He said honestly that you really do need to add quart at about 1600-2000km (depending on driving style), so probably about 2 quarts between oil changes.
He said he checked with BMW and they said that is normal for this engine. He said he could do the engine warm up and rev test with me to show me it’s not blowing out blue smoke.

However, this is unfamiliar territory for me as I usually avoid oil burning engines. However, after driving a 50i...it feels and sounds like a sports car but at the same time...can get you through the ice & snow during the winter. So even though common sense is telling me this engine could be trouble...I am intrigued.

I have even been thinking....if the oil consumption gets a lot worse.....could I actually do the valve stem seals myself if I’m not a journeyman mechanic? I searched the sites and found some good instructions.

Another dumb question....Is there an oil or additive that might slow the consumption?

Thanks

[andrewwynn]

Their are a couple additives to help with VSS. One is only sold in Europe but you can order with international shipping.

They apparently ran out in North America but ATP AT-205 Would probably work it dropped my oil leak 80% on my OFHG on my m54.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035Q0G...2YEE5ZMN51QRTX

That's the product. I will be getting some as preventive maintenance before we hit 100k miles

[ard]

Lol


It isnt an "oil consumption issue"


It is a 'failure of the lubrication system leading to excessive engine wear' and that wear THEN leads to oil consumption


BMWAG has done a PHENOMENAL job of hiding the true issues with these motors.


If you think it is a consumption issue, well, BMW has done their job.


I used to think it was our job to protect buyers from stupidity. I have evolved into realizing it is simply a grand opportunity for schadenfreude.



Catch up with you in a year or so.


Finally, Andrew is a mechanic. Lenny, if you are a mechanic- this is a fine idea. If you are the kind of guy that dumps in Stop-a-Leak to deal with oil consumption, this could be ..well... not a great plan.

[andrewwynn]

You should absolutely be able to wrench your own car to buy a used 50i. Or at the very least have a good friend who can and works for beer money.

Stop leak will not help these engines. Oil conditioner that softens hardened rubber of the VSS has been proven to help greatly and I suspect will add 10-20,000 miles before needing to replace VSS.

Valid points on the hidden cause of why they are consuming oil but the primary supposition is heat not wear causing the problem. Heat cooks the VSS and the material chosen for the seals gets hard no longer makes a tight seal and oil goes from valve train into the intake.

People report that after vss job the consumption mostly goes away so that is the main concern as far as I'm aware.

I would not buy a n63 or n62 motor add not plan on eventually doing a VSS job.

[LennyBoy1]

Thanks again for the advice. I am checking with the BMW Dealership to see what Maintenance was completed and hopefully the CCP (soft recall) was completed previously.

As far as wrenching on my own vehicles…I currently complete all maintenance and repairs such as starter replacement, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, radiator, oil turbo lines, etc - all fairly basic stuff. However I haven’t attempted a much more complicated project as a valve stem seal replacement.

As you mentioned above, I had also researched the same product…Forte Lubricants Seal Conditioner. Seems to have good reviews and might delay the VSS replacement for a couple years.

I haven’t purchased a 50i yet, still gathering maintenance history, etc.

Thanks for the information.

[andrewwynn]

https://youtu.be/4dt3KDXiDUU

Finally confirmation you can do VSS in place.

It takes special tools and patience.

If you can change a starter on a modern BMW you could do VSS.

I didn't look up the cost of tools but I know for n62 you can rent them.

I'm betting less than $400 in total cost and plan a solid week of a couple hours a day or a very very long weekend of 10-12 hour days.

Keep your injectors clean they cost more than both turbos.

[andrewwynn]

If AT-205 every becomes available in the USA again I'll likely try a bottle and compare the consumption rate of oil.

I'm not too concerned if it consumes oil just that it stays the same rate and doesn't exponentially increase.

[LennyBoy1]

I just checked with Speciality Auto Tools and a person can rent the BMW N63 S63 Valve Stem Seal Master’s Kit for $413 for 7 days. There is also a listing on Ebay for the same “Master” kit rental for $350. The actual N63 parts including seals, gaskets and PCV hoses is $588. There is probably many other parts that should be replaced when doing this job.