Generally, if your engine is creating sludge you will see a coating on the inside of the oil fill cap as well. Though this is not a sure gage, if the cap is coated it is a pretty sure indication of whats inside your engine.

Ike.....I never really read your thread in whole until now.

Seriously though, but a $15 Miracle Cure proposed by any indy.....I'd be looking for a new indy personally !

he's a dealer mechanic.... aka stealer mechanic

SLUDGE occursfrom not doing oil changes at the proper interval. you can follow the car's service indicator IF you use the proper synthetic oil.

but you need to change it annually if you do not exceed the mileage of the service interval.

if you drive short trips the moisture inside the crankcase collects because the oil does not reach 212F.

your PCV is not working. check the oil seperator or PCV type valve.

so what i'm hearing is pretty much an immediate oil flush and new oil. yes?

then maybe a spark plug peek.

sounds about right?

kerosene works
 

Most engine cleaners are kerosene based. Toss in a quart of kerosene to the oil and run then engine for five minutes and then drain all the oil out. It will not harm any seals and will dissolve all carbon based gunk which can accumulate in an engine. I have used this technique for years in all kinds of engines and never had any problems. I live at 6200ft altitude so all carburator based motors run rich here and accumulate carbon and gunk from running rich. A fuel injected engine is'nt much different depending upon the computer program limits running it. Its cheap and effective but don't leave it in the oil pan or run it too long. Its for flushing a warm engine only.:thumbup:

Ike,

USE the AutoRX as it worked for me & worked WELL!. You have to leave it in the oil for about 1500 miles & it slowly cleans sludge, carbon, moisture & deposits it in the oil filter. It is a gentle cleaning, wont hurt your bearings, rubber parts, etc. It's biodegradable - fabulous stuff. the other engine 'flushes' are really harsh cleaners...dont put them in your car. They are ok for loose tolerance engines, & were popular 50 years ago.

Just unscrew your oil filler cap & look at what's on the underside. Mine had gooey black crap mixed with tan streaks (moisture). Oil had been changed at 15k intervals with Mobil 1. I changed oil & filter when I bought it (62,000mi) & 2 days later the new oil looked like coal tar. So I changed oil & filter, used a non-synthetic oil (important) & added Auto RX. Ran 1500 miles, changed oil & filter again & used a hi-detergent diesel oil, 15w40 (this is to clean & rinse anything left over. Ran this 2000 miles, then did the oil & filter & used a semi-synthetic (prevents gaskets from hardening and leaking oil).

Oil staying clean now with over 3500 miles on it. Oil filler cap is clean as well. The BMW v8's are sludge monsters & the dealers know it. If you do not remove the sludge & grime, it will eventually cause a premature engine failure...of course, once out of warranty that's more $ for the dealer. Change your oil every 3500 to 5000 miles & you'll be OK.

Last winter we had a cold snap of minus 25 to 35 degrees. Local (big) BMW dealer towed in over 100 cars for various levels of blown oil pan gaskets, rocker cover gaskets, intake manifold problems. Reason is because of sludge/moisture buildup. The BMW PCV valve is actually a one-way filter that cleans & relieves crankcase pressure. Sludge & moisture filled it up & subzero temps caused the filter to freeze solid. When folks started up their expensive German engineering marvels, the pressure had to escape somehow & ether blew out the pan gasket, rocker gaskets or found it's way back into the intake doing God knows what to the injection system. Bottom line...

CHANGE YOUR OIL - CLEAN OUT THE SLUDGE WITH AUTO-RX - USE A SEMI SYNTHETIC OIL (not Mobil 1).

OK, rant off.

Hawk

Hawk, my mechanic has been saying this since I bought my X. He told me that semi-synthetic is better then Synthetic because it helps to coat the engine internals better then Synthetic. But he said to change it every 3k. I've been a little nervous to only put semi so I've been putting BMW HP Synthetic in it and changing it every 4k.
Where can I find this Auto-RX? Thanks...

Also, is Castrol Syntec any good? And I've done the flush and my oil is looking good, but like I've said, I use the Full BMW Synthetic. Do you think that I should change? Does it really matter since I'm doing oil changes every 4k? Thanks...

Bimmer,
Get it here:
http://www.auto-rx.com/

I run the maintenance dose as suggested with a high quality semi synthetic from Schaeffer Oil. Schaeffer contains a high dose of moly that coats the valve train & helps prevent wear, lifter noise, etc. It also has a high flash point (handle heat well) & pours at 50 below. I've used the 20w50 racing oil

http://www.schaefferoil.com/705_racing_oil.html


in my 928 Porsche (similar engine, dual overhead cam German v8) and the 15w40 diesel (ok for passenger cars too, read HIGH DETERGENT...keeps em clean) in the X5. Both are good summer weight oils & I believe will be no problem for winter use (not Antarctica).

Hawk