Oil Change for E53 X5 4.8is
 

Hey guys, I was just wondering, what type of engine oil does the 4.8is need? Does it require a special type of oil like the ones used in the ///M cars? Also, how much oil do I need for one oil change?

I did a search and came up with a few results that said Mobil1 0w40 is good for the E53 but they did not specify if it was good for the 3.0, 4.4, or 4.8 engine. Is it suitable for the engine in the 4.8is?

TIA

0w - 40 will work fine.. But recomended is 5w -30 by BMW. Its not like the ///M cars... Just make sure the oil is full synthetic. BMW uses Castrol full synthetic..

Correct, the OEM BMW oil is fully synthetic 5w-30, and BMW does recommend castrol. It takes about 8 quarts too. (she's thirsty!)

Is that what you use for your beast weasel56? How much does one bottle of the OEM BMW 5w30 fully synthetic oil cost? Is it cheaper than Mobil 1 0w40? I assume I can't go wrong with either? Are there any advantages with using 0w40 instead of 5w30? I currently reside in Canada so we encounter warm and cold temperatures.

I use the BMW oil as it is convienent for me working there and all, and don't remember the price off hand, but it should be about the same per quart as any top brand full synthetic.

As for the ow-40 vs 5w-30, the second # is the viscosity at full cold (ambient temperature) and the 1st # is the operating temperature viscosity. Being where you have extreme colds (at least vs the mild south I'm in where the shop had the AC on today)... The 40 weight would be thicker than oem at cold, but thinner when hot. It seems to me the 5w-30 would be better. Maybe someone with more cold weather/oil knowledge will chime in though.

I use the BMW 5w-30 oil as well, and find that it is a similar price to other oils. It is convenient since I pick up a filter at the same time.

The viscosity numbers are backwards, above. A 5w-30 acts like a 5 weight oil during cold starts (tested at 0 C), and like a 30 weight oil at operating temperatures (tested at 100 C). Thus, the 0w-40 is thinner than the 5w-30 when cold, not thicker. However, the 5w-30 oil is fine at the temperatures the OP is likely to reach (depending on where he is located). The pour point is probably around -50 or so. At -40 and with cold starts I would be looking for a 0w oil, as it isn't just a matter of the pour point, the oil will be thicker at lower temperatures. You have to start looking at other test criteria then.

I assume you have an owner's manual right?

Wow, I just calculated the costs and it'll cost me $100 in parts for a DIY oil change. My local stealer charges $126. I guess DIY is not worth it... might as well have the stealer change it for me.

How do you get $100 in parts?

Local pricing. CDN $. You can get the parts a little cheaper here by shopping around, but it is usually around $80.

Changing the oil in my previous Mercedes C240 would require 8.5 quarts of synthetic oil (0w40 Mobil1) at about $7 per quart, and a filter about $10... about $70 in parts alone.

Mercedes requires a 0w40, as they had found signs of oil starvation at tight tolerance areas... that was the reason that my mercedes certified local mechanic who worked for dealership told me.

Many local shops and even dealerships themselves would put in 5w30 or 5w40 or even 10w40 in the summer time... I always went out of my way to find 0w40 and put that in... but even I started to buy 5w30 mobil1 from costco in the last few oil changes (80k miles +).

Usually if a manufacturer very specifically asks for a certain grade of oil or a certain brand (which has got say MB or BMW approval rating printed on the bottle of that grade/type of oil), there is an underlying reason for it that they don't necessarily care to share with the rest of the world, be it a design flaw or simply a certain characteristic of the engine.

Honda transmissions for example demanded Honda specific transmission fluid. I took my old Honda 94 accord back when I was in Canada in 1998 to a quick lube place and had them change the transmission fluid with a generic one (same kind)... and had to take the car to the dealer and have them do another one in a couple of weeks after I got tired of the rough gear changes that showed up after the change with the generic brand. Once they put in the Honda brand transmission fluid in it, it started to run smoothly again.

Pay the few extra bucks and get the exact thing that the manufacturer asks for. It 'can' save a lot of aggravation in the long run. That is how I look at it.

My oil change on my '05 X5 4.8is is nowhere near a $100. A 8qts of mobil1 = $38.99 Costco + Mahle filter kit autohaus 7.95 for a whopping $47. (Disclaimer:I bought four cases on sale last year at Costco I bought 2 cases and my wife bought two cases plus the $9 rebates/case. I regularly utilized the free shipping on orders over $50 at Autohaus.

Here in Canada, the only place I can find Mobil1 0w40 charges $9.79 per quart. The oil filter at all the local stealers costs around $25. Therefore, I'm looking at a little over $100 for parts alone. Plus it's winter here right now and it's freezing cold so I'll probably having my mechanic perform the oil change in his heated garage and he charges $15 for labor.

My local stealer charges $126 so I guess the DIY oil change is not worth it for us Canadians. I would go the DIY route if Mobil1 0w40 was proven to be better than the OEM oil BMW uses but you guys say that there is no major difference.

^^ sometimes, not getting dirty and not having to deal with oil spills/clean up/recycling/etc. is a good enough reason to have an independent shop or even the dealership do the oil change.

I don't know what part of Canada you are from, but when I lived in Ottawa and/or Toronto, there was no way I would do an oil change of my own in the middle of friggin February, no matter how much money I saved! ;)

I don't get dirty
 

I use an oil extractor like this one...
http://toolmonger.com/2007/06/14/dea...oil-extractor/

yeah, I used topsider myself on my mercedes a few times too... but got tired of pumping the damn thing and found pulling the car on the ramp easier.

Topside fluid extractor is my next move for oil changes. Its too messy with the drain bolt method..

Make sure you get one thats large enough to hold all the oil from the X. That one extracts only too (which is probably fine) it doesn't dispense.

I have the Mityvac.

I've got a couple of Mityvacs myself - boat, automotive, etc. To use the Mityvac, you still need to put the tube down to extract, then remove tube, the *wipe clean tube*, and either take the oil and walk it over to a oil station to dump & or dump the oil into a oil container that you can seal a cap/lid on it. For the amount of work involved, I prefer to just do the bolt method myself on the X.


Drop bolt, let oil drain into pan.
While it's draining, remove oil filter, clean inside and under cap, and then put on new filter.

Wait a extra minute or 2, depending if the oil is all drained out.
Put new crush washer and bolt on. fill up oil filter with 1qt of oil or as much as you can before it gets to the spillover point. Pour another 7.5 qts in.

The paper towel, wipe the top of the oil pan clean and put cap on.
OC done. It goes by real quick IMO, if not less fuss and mess with the damm tube IMO.

I used to not even open the oil cap on my Mercedes... just pour the 8.5 quarts of oil through the oil filter opening (it was wider, and quicker to pour through, than the cap).

When you say 'as much as you can before it gets to the spillover point'... do you mean on the filter itself, or are you talking about the oil filter opening (before you even put the filter in there) doesn't allow more than perhaps 1 qt of oil from going into the engine?

But you DO still gotta get rid of the old oil. It's already in the Mityvac (no need to transfer) and you just take it to Jiffy lube or wherever.

I usually drop the filter in and then pour. Generally I can get a whole qt but sometimes I have to stop before the oil reaches the top....

re: the mityvacs, all of mine, including the large one does not have a sealed system so I cannot *seal it* and transport it in the car. So if I used such devices, I would still need to pour out the oil into my oil pan to transfer as the oil pan has a screw top cover that I can *seal* and easily put it in the car knowing no spillage will occur. The oil pan is large square and flat....

The mityvac that would hold at least 8.5" qtys of fluid is tall and cylindrical with a flat base, but I am pretty positive when lying horizontal, there is no way you can lye it flat and transport and not spill oil. Having it sit vertical on the passenger floor with the seat tight against that and the glovebox is a very tricky proposition if I was to even remotely consider that.

I may be wrong on this as I have not used the Mityvac for this application in awhile but I am pretty sure this was one of the drawbacks of this .