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m54 oil consumption possible solution

269K views 761 replies 94 participants last post by  teufel 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi BMW fanatics! i'm new here and this is my first post.
I live in UK but english is not my first language, so sorry for any problems with reading this.
My car, e46 325ci msport 70000 when bought it and now 110000 miles
I love it but since i bought it I've notice big thirst for oil :bawling:
After reading many forums and post I've decided to change VCG and CCV(oil separator with hoses):thumbsup: But after few days driving no changes ,still 1/2 litre per 300 miles (castrol 5w30)
Next thing was to change for thicker oil 0w40,small improvment but not much.Bit confused because car is running fine,pulls fine no leaks ect,ect.
Many forums mentioned problems with valve seals so another DIY was in My plans:p
I've did valve and vanos seals with out removing the head and this time I was sure the problem is gone because consumption was near to zero:woot:,but after 6-8 months it came back :banghead:.So i order another set of valve seals i notice that they are different to old ones (tighter on the stem),bell start to ring,BMW put wrong seals and now they improve them for beter seal,I thought this time must be OOOOKKKKKK!!!!!!
It took another few months when car start to drink again 1/2 litre per 600 mile,:wtf::wtf:.Found some info saying if the valve guides are worn,replacing stem seals not gonna help for long.
After months of planning I've decided to remove the head and see myself :wtf: is going on!!!When I removed intake manifold I spot oil on the bottom of the 4 ports ,valves was stoping oil from geting to chambers( thats way car was smoking a bit on startup)
I feelt I'm going closer and after removing the head and taking it apart I've messured valve play! New valve stem is 5.94mm and guide is 6.00mm so 0.06mm play ,almost no play,and my was 0.2-0.3mm on intake and 0.3-0.5 on exhaust.
Now head is in machininst shop and probably next week i'm puting it back
 

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#6 ·
The worst part of this project is removing exhaust manifold(lack of space) and not loosing any part:s like small nuts or clips.Best way is to keep them labled i small jars or cups so its easy to see what is to go next.When removing head,ask somebody for help because its very heavy.
As for cleaming block and pistons-,tooth brush,wd40, for pistons and aceton for block.and two beers:)
 
#9 ·
CCV system and air distribution manifold tend to be major sources of oil usage.

Also make sure oil return in lower dipstick tube is not blocked.

These are very common issues.

Read about dipstick tube in the 3rd link below in my signature.
 
#23 ·
Friday I get the head back and start puting it back together. I tried with my neighbour install head on the block but exhaust manifold it's on the way so I left it Today I loosen the exhaust and everything is ready ( I think) So maybe this week i'll finish the job.Head look's great
 

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#27 ·
I did the ccv, changed the valve cover gasket, dip stick tube is fine...so I'm over it. An $8 quart of oil after every 500 miles isn't too hard for me to live with. Sheeit i don't even change my oil anymore Haha. Just oil filters.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#28 ·
I think there are two main reasons for oil consumption, I'm not talking about CCV,VCG,OFHG and other leaks because this are easy and cheap to fix ,I'm talking about valve guides and oil rings.
One guy told that BMW put too hard oil rings and they wearing quick even if your compression rings are fine and cylinders walls looks ok.
Someone might say why You don't replace rings aswell? It's too much for me.I'm doing cylinder head not only because of oil usage but also because of valve play and leakage(rough idle) due to guide wear.If that not gonna stop oil usage completly ,maybe it reduce a little bit!?
 
#33 ·
Hi guys! sorry for the gap betwen last post,Ive been very busy but car is in one piece and it's running very sweet.Valvetrain is very quiet and alot smoother then before.I can feel increase in performance aswell.Can't say anything about oil consumption yet but been using shell 5w40 and now it's castrol 0w40FST.Maybe few days more and i will have more info.
 
#34 ·
Ok I'm back with some info.I've been testing my car for a week bit hard,red line very often,more power,more torque after rebuild,smooth reving up ect. I did about 100miles,every day checking oil level and still remain in the level.Maybe it's to early to give a verditc but before after hard driving i've had to top up at this point of time.
 
#38 ·
So it's been a while and after my last post I decided to pour whole bottle of MMO in crankcase because engine was rough on idle cyl 1,4,6 on INPA carbon on rings( i hope)I did about 200 miles and car burned about 400ml of oil with MMO.Now only cyl 1and 4 play rough.I need to wait until MMO will burn and keep topping up with fresh oil.If topping up not gonna stop some how ,that will means My friend mechanic was right OIL RINGS BAD DESIGN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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