Serious Oil Consumption Issue *HELP!*

Originally Posted by lcoleman

But it's more likely that it's defying gravity and running horizontally down the hot pipes, without burning off, and dripping off at the tip?

I noted in my previous post about it, that it would have a smell to it. I didn't say it would burn off though, it probably would. Also, it wouldn't be defying gravity. You know fluid can stick to the underside of surfaces and flow at quite a high rate?

oil coming out of the exhaust pipe? that is extremely odd. no way that can happen unless the block had a huge crack in it. i'm sure if that were the case, there'd be bigger problems than oil on the ground. also it would burn before even going 2 inches

COuld be cylinder head gasket......I had a Chevy Blazer do that to me once. Couldn't keep oil in it, went right out the exhaust while the motor was running and never leaked a drop on the ground....Lots of GM V6's did that in the 80's.....check to see if there's any coolant in whatever oil you have left. You don't want to ruin crankshaft bearings.

im having an oil lost issue also. except i can see slight oil spots
under my hood. excuse me if i sound dumb but
th ccv hoses? they hold oil correct? because i see oil all around them.
however i dont see oil leaking on the ground or anything else

Originally Posted by FastCHAZ

im having an oil lost issue also. except i can see slight oil spots
under my hood. excuse me if i sound dumb but
th ccv hoses? they hold oil correct? because i see oil all around them.
however i dont see oil leaking on the ground or anything else

It gets caught by the plastic cover under the engine. read around the forums about oil leaks. There are several parts that are common sources.

Originally Posted by Alki

The oil is coming out of the tailpipe, it's not running down it. There's no leaks on the ground when the car isn't running. None at all. It's only when I start the car and let it idle do I see the oil on the ground at the tailpipe exit.

If the rings are gone in this car, after only 115k miles, this will more than likely be the first and last BMW I own.

The liquid that is coming out of the tail pipe might not be oil. It might be coolant, unburnt fuel, water or oil.

However, do you have any SES lights?
Any misfires?
Almost every time there is any liquid out of the tail pipe, it is due to misfires. So, I'd check the plugs, plug boots first.
Then hunt for the leak.

There is a 5mm allen bolt behind the engine towards the firewall. Check that bolt too. It might leak from there as well and stay invisible.

i just got back from my mechanic i need to replace the valve cover.

Originally Posted by Alki

I'm certain that the oil is coming out of the exhaust.

I had the oil pan gasket replaced 2 weeks after I bought the car and I got under there to see it personally. 2 weeks later, I took it back so that we could get another look under there and everything was dry.

However, the oil he used was Castrol Edge 5W30. Once the oil consumption started about a month ago (which was much lower than it is now), I started putting 0W30 Edge (European Blend) and it got worse. 2 weeks ago, I put 10W30 in there and it's been using the same amount. This week, I went back to 5W30.

Maybe it's me switching oils, but I doubt it.

I just want a fix and I will start with the CCV and a fresh oil change. If this doesn't fix the problem, I'll move on to another vehicle and ditch this one.

For a start a 10W30 can be thinner at operating temperature than a 5W30 or 0W30. Did any of the oils used meet spec? (LL01)

Originally Posted by sprintman

For a start a 10W30 can be thinner at operating temperature than a 5W30 or 0W30. Did any of the oils used meet spec? (LL01)

That is not going to cause this amount of burn.

Originally Posted by sprintman

For a start a 10W30 can be thinner at operating temperature than a 5W30 or 0W30. Did any of the oils used meet spec? (LL01)

This consumption issue started when I changed to the Castrol 0w30 European Blend (which does meet spec).

I checked the engine this weekend and there is no oil on the motor anywhere (Top and sides). I didn't get a chance to check the lower pan due to wife aggro.

Scenario:

I washed the car Saturday and my wife took the car on a 120 mile shopping trip. I checked the back of the car when she got home. It was peppered with black soot all over the back ...

This tells me it is definitely coming out of the exhaust as the "peppering" goes all the way up to the logo/emblem on the trunk cover.

I'd also like to point out that I have no Check Engine Soon lights or anything coming up. I did have an Evap Sensor tripping the Check Engine Soon when I first bought the car, but it went away about 2 or 3 days after driving the car home. If the Check Engine Soon light isn't coming on, would this be a good indicator that it's NOT the CCV?

For the life of me I can't accept the fact that a BMW has this much oil consumption after only 115k miles. Either way, this is probably the most frustrating ordeal I've dealt with in a very long time based on the premise that I bought the car to be given to my daughter this year for her 16th birthday. Very frustrating indeed.

You have to be burning this oil. It's not just disappearing and if it touched the exhaust it would vaporize or burn. You have to be having blue smoke or something. If you're going to keep it, I would replace the CCV.

Originally Posted by WDE46

You have to be burning this oil. It's not just disappearing and if it touched the exhaust it would vaporize or burn. You have to be having blue smoke or something. If you're going to keep it, I would replace the CCV.

I'll get the CCV replaced with the cold weather package too. All hoses, etc. included.

It will probably be a week before I can get it in to get it done (no time to work on it myself), but I will update this thread if I see improvement or a fix by replacing the CCV, etc.

Thank you all for your responses. This is an amazing community.

OP are you in the Nashville area?

Originally Posted by SekouDATduD3

OP are you in the Nashville area?

I am about an hour and a half south of Nashville. Still having this issue, although I haven't been able to get the CCV done just yet.

*RESOLVED*

Okay, I know I'm necro'ing my own thread, and I apologize, but I wanted to give an update on my problem with oil consumption with my 02' 325i BMW.

Shortly after I made my final post here some time ago, I noticed that there was a valve cover leak, so I changed the valve cover gasket. The leak stopped. However, if I started the car in the morning and let it idle for 5 to 10 minutes (to warm up the car so I wouldn't be so cold driving on my way to work) there would still be a black puddle under the exhaust exit in the back (on the ground). The car was still consuming about 2 quarts every 300 to 500 miles.

About 2 days went by, and the valve cover was leaking again. I knew, at that point, that this was a crank case pressure issue. Mainly because I had gone through 2 valve cover gaskets and an oil pan gasket. It HAD to be crank case pressure causing gaskets to go at their weakest point(s).

I bought a Cold Weather Climate CCV kit (Oil Separator and all hoses) from PelicanParts and another valve cover gasket kit complete with all new grommets. I also bought a new O-Ring for the dipstick tube.

Installing the CCV and hoses wasn't too bad (about 2-3 hours). I had to get a new gasket for my throttle body as it was much easier to get to the CCV by removing the throttle body. I put it all back together and cleaned the motor and the pan really good. I just want to point out that there was yellow goo all inside the CCV and hoses. Yep, that's bad!

Needless to say, I am no longer consuming oil. I've driven more than 1000 miles and not a drop has been lost. No smell, no oil spots, no more black peppering on the back of the car. Nothing.

In the beginning I did the blow test for the CCV, the oil cap test ... you name it, I did it. None of the tests made me think it was the CCV, yet that's what the problem was all along. The reason I didn't see any oil puddling under the motor was because it was leaking out while I was driving, catching in the pan, and blowing out. When I took the pan off, you could see the streaking and could see where it blew all under the car. I'm not sure why I was getting black coming out of the pipes, but it's gone now!

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thank you all for your help! Now onto the next issue! (TRANSMISSION SHIFT ISSUE)

Originally Posted by Alki

This consumption issue started when I changed to the Castrol 0w30 European Blend (which does meet spec).

I checked the engine this weekend and there is no oil on the motor anywhere (Top and sides). I didn't get a chance to check the lower pan due to wife aggro.

Scenario:

I washed the car Saturday and my wife took the car on a 120 mile shopping trip. I checked the back of the car when she got home. It was peppered with black soot all over the back ...

This tells me it is definitely coming out of the exhaust as the "peppering" goes all the way up to the logo/emblem on the trunk cover.

Ditch the CAFE spec XW30 and get a XW40 at the higher end of the 40W range.

Originally Posted by Alki

*RESOLVED*

Okay, I know I'm necro'ing my own thread, and I apologize, but I wanted to give an update on my problem with oil consumption with my 02' 325i BMW.

Shortly after I made my final post here some time ago, I noticed that there was a valve cover leak, so I changed the valve cover gasket. The leak stopped. However, if I started the car in the morning and let it idle for 5 to 10 minutes (to warm up the car so I wouldn't be so cold driving on my way to work) there would still be a black puddle under the exhaust exit in the back (on the ground). The car was still consuming about 2 quarts every 300 to 500 miles.

About 2 days went by, and the valve cover was leaking again. I knew, at that point, that this was a crank case pressure issue. Mainly because I had gone through 2 valve cover gaskets and an oil pan gasket. It HAD to be crank case pressure causing gaskets to go at their weakest point(s).

I bought a Cold Weather Climate CCV kit (Oil Separator and all hoses) from PelicanParts and another valve cover gasket kit complete with all new grommets. I also bought a new O-Ring for the dipstick tube.

Installing the CCV and hoses wasn't too bad (about 2-3 hours). I had to get a new gasket for my throttle body as it was much easier to get to the CCV by removing the throttle body. I put it all back together and cleaned the motor and the pan really good. I just want to point out that there was yellow goo all inside the CCV and hoses. Yep, that's bad!

Needless to say, I am no longer consuming oil. I've driven more than 1000 miles and not a drop has been lost. No smell, no oil spots, no more black peppering on the back of the car. Nothing.

In the beginning I did the blow test for the CCV, the oil cap test ... you name it, I did it. None of the tests made me think it was the CCV, yet that's what the problem was all along. The reason I didn't see any oil puddling under the motor was because it was leaking out while I was driving, catching in the pan, and blowing out. When I took the pan off, you could see the streaking and could see where it blew all under the car. I'm not sure why I was getting black coming out of the pipes, but it's gone now!

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Thank you all for your help! Now onto the next issue! (TRANSMISSION SHIFT ISSUE)

Suggest you read the 3rd link below in my signature.

You also need to make sure you remove the dipstick tube from the engine and clean out the double wall oil drain from the CCV as well.

Make sure your engine temps are also good.

You want to make sure the car is in good shape before you hand it over to your daughter to drive.

Good luck.