Oil Level below min, no warning light? ESS TS Owners oil consumption

[paraklas]

I posted this in the F/I forum because I have an oil consumption of around 2L between oil changes (every 8000miles) after the addition of ESS TS2.

Even though I was assured from ESS that oil consumption is normal, I noticed that there are no warning lights on the dash even if the oil level is below min. After turning engine off and waiting 5 minutes, the oil level is around 5mm below the min mark on the dipstick. No yellow warning light.

Am I checking the level in a wrong way? Car is completely level when I do the checking. I don't want to run out of oil or something and cook my engine. I do not have the symptoms of bad oil level sensor and no faults stored (apart from the DISA elimination). I use M1 0W40 oil.

Awaiting some input here :)

Edit: Does the relocation of the dipstick tube affects in any way the reading? i.e. showing less oil?

[schnitzer27]

Thats quite strange actually...

Do both your oil warning lights come up when u turn your ignition to position 2?
if the sensor is fine as you said then it could be a bad lamp on ur dash.

give me a ring if u want and we can hook up and double check it with my peake scanner to see if anything comes up.

Plus,i think posting this in the general forum will get u more responses.

[elite53]

During the course of a track day I will burn about a quart of oil but during normal every day driving it is the same as it was before the supercharger install, about one quart every 7500 miles. Your oil consumption sounds about normal. Not sure how low the oil has to be to trigger the oil light though.

[_Calle_]

the oil use is still normal. the BMW 6 cylinders mostly need 1-2 litres of oil on 8000 miles. this less prestressing on the piston rings have to generate around less friction what lower sprit use proves.
to the controlling lamp I can unfortunately say nothing :hmm:

[Asbjorn@ESS]

Nothing is changed with the TS kit as far as oil warning goes. The oil warning light typically does not turn on until you are quite a bit below minimum on the dipstick tube (-10mm+).

[paraklas]

Good thanks for the responses.

Asbjorn, glad to see you here because something isn't right with the TS. Since yesterday, it makes a loud noise, like two metals rubbing together in an enclosure. This noise comes from the TS, and it's audible inside the car. I can also feel the vibration too. I am uploading videos now so that you can hear it. It's not the normal noise the TS makes.

[paraklas]

Video #1 - Notice the "woosh'ing" sound?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn0XdqBApw0

Video #2 - Closer to the TS. The noise is clearly audible 10m away from the car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gKapqjPUeA

Video #3 - From inside the car, faint but still audible and felt on steering wheel and pedals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DKbYxTydgs

Time to start banging my head on a wall?

[Asbjorn@ESS]

Are you sure the noise comes from inside the SC unit and not somewhere in the beltdrive? Have you checked oil level in the SC? Should be a little below center of snout.

If the noise is from inside the SC, we will send you a replacement unit under warranty and you can just return the one you have back to us at your convenience.

Just let me know.

[paraklas]

I'm positive that the noise is coming from inside the SC. There's no play in the TS shaft or the belt area. I haven't checked the oil but will do that tonight. I thought these things are bulletproof, I'll shoot myself if I am THAT unlucky to have a TS unit die after 30000km, and I don't even stress it.

What's the replacement exactly? New Twinscrew or the entire assembly (manifold+TS+hoses). Also, is thre any chance to seize while driving or something? Whyyy

[Asbjorn@ESS]

New TS unit only. It is much easier to ship.

We have never had any TS units fail before so this would be the first. We have over 300 of them in stock so we can get you one fast! :)

Check the oil! If it is dry we have the reason..

[paraklas]

Hi. I just talked with Hans too so here's the update...

The oil in the S/C is around 10mm below the center of the shaft.

The s/c belt is destroyed for some reason. the upper part (not the ribbed) of the belt is missing at several points, it was very hard to notice it. I'm a bit more relaxed now as it could be the cause of the vibration/noise. I have the spare belt you sent me 1 year ago so I'll change it tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes.

[redronin]

just to let you know, this is as i was told in an unrelated post, and i cannot verify this for fact but this could be the reason:
im sure someone much more knowledgeable than myself, can confirm or deny this quickly!

the oil level sensor does not actually measure the level of oil in the pan, but rather it is a heating element which gets hot and then times how long it takes to cool down, the longer the oil stays hot, the faster it is pumping through the system, with less time to cool, and therefore the sensor thinks the oil is low and demands more oil

when using an s/c whithout a standalone oil system, there is more oil moving through the system at a time, so with the same amount of oil, there will be less in the pan, hence the low dipstick reading. however since there is still "a lot" of oil running through the system, it doesnt stay hot for long, so the heating element cools "rapidly" (compared to when ur out of oil) the sensor thinks your oil level is fine.

i noticed this dipstick anomoly on my car as well, so i think its just best to change oil early and often, and make sure you check the stick and top yourself off when necessary

happy motoring
-rr

[TxZHP04]

just to let you know, this is as i was told in an unrelated post, and i cannot verify this for fact but this could be the reason:
im sure someone much more knowledgeable than myself, can confirm or deny this quickly!

the oil level sensor does not actually measure the level of oil in the pan, but rather it is a heating element which gets hot and then times how long it takes to cool down, the longer the oil stays hot, the faster it is pumping through the system, with less time to cool, and therefore the sensor thinks the oil is low and demands more oil

when using an s/c whithout a standalone oil system, there is more oil moving through the system at a time, so with the same amount of oil, there will be less in the pan, hence the low dipstick reading. however since there is still "a lot" of oil running through the system, it doesnt stay hot for long, so the heating element cools "rapidly" (compared to when ur out of oil) the sensor thinks your oil level is fine.

i noticed this dipstick anomoly on my car as well, so i think its just best to change oil early and often, and make sure you check the stick and top yourself off when necessary

happy motoring
-rr

This doesn't apply to the TS systems as the SC's oil is self contained and not shared with the engine oil.

[redronin]

This doesn't apply to the TS systems as the SC's oil is self contained and not shared with the engine oil.

oh, i stand corrected

[TxZHP04]

oh, i stand corrected

Was an interesting read anyway.

[whiplash]

How do you check the oil level on the TS, there'is no dipstick or something else so how do you do ?
Thanks in advance for your answer.

[paraklas]

All good today.. I changed the engine belt this morning and noise went straight away. It seems that the damaged belt caused the TS to sound like the video, mis-leading me to believe it had some kind of fault. Glad that it was only the belt.

For another time, +1 to ESS support here (Asbjorn) and over the phone (Hans). True customer service ;) (Btw where are my stickers?)

To check the oil level, I removed the oil filler plug with an allen key, and then I used a dipstick. I lowered the dipstick just a tad each time and then checked if it got wet with oil.

[TxZHP04]

Any idea what caused the problem with the belt? Just worn out or was something rubbing?

[paraklas]

It wasn't rubbing on anything, so I guess it was just worn, exactly after 40000km (~25000 miles). Should have lasted longer? The weird thing is that the upper part of the belt was missing, not the ribbed part.

The installed belt was the Continental 6PK 1965
http://www.argyrides.eu/bmw/performance/ess_supercharger/images_b/dscf1949ux0.jpg

[TxZHP04]

Yeah, I'm just a bit concerned as to why chunks of the belt were missing. Any pics of the belt that came off?

[paraklas]

Unfortunately no, I threw it away, had to rush to work. The chunks that were missing seemed that they were just detached from the rest of the belt, no sign of impact/chewing/ animals in engine bay. The only spot that the belt surface comes really close to itself or anything else is between the ESS idler pullies. I also noticed some belt material deposit on the upper idler pulley, which I cleaned too.

[whiplash]

All good today.. I changed the engine belt this morning and noise went straight away. It seems that the damaged belt caused the TS to sound like the video, mis-leading me to believe it had some kind of fault. Glad that it was only the belt.

For another time, +1 to ESS support here (Asbjorn) and over the phone (Hans). True customer service ;) (Btw where are my stickers?)

To check the oil level, I removed the oil filler plug with an allen key, and then I used a dipstick. I lowered the dipstick just a tad each time and then checked if it got wet with oil.

Thank you for your answer.
Concerning the first point of this thread, i've the same issue (oil consumption) since i've set up the TS2. Before my car had no consumption but as we supress the oil separator i think it's normal to have now a consumption, the engine is still okay. Now i use Mobil 1 0W40 instead of Castrol 5W30 and it's better, the oil consumption has drop.