[Reckless335]

I'm a pretty DIY-friendly guy and I like taking on as many tasks as I can related to my car. That being said, I've always done my own oil changes, ever since I started driving. My 335 is no different. I've done all of it's oil changes under my ownership, however, recently something came to mind that puzzled me. I have an 08 335i with pretty much all the bells and whistles. Thus, I have the factory oil cooler. Something I thought about recently while doing an oil change that I had never thought about before was that I'm not draining ALL of the oil from the system. I'm doing the majority of it, but not ALL of it. I jack the front of the vehicle up via the central jacking location, then secure it by placing jack stands under the side skirts at the jacking points. Then I proceed to place a pan under the car and remove the oil drain plug. While it's draining I go up top and remove the filter cap and replace the filter and both O-rings. At this point I notice there is a flaw in the design of the filter housing where all the oil doesn't drain out of the filter housing due to it being on a slight angle. I usually get a few rags or paper towels and soak up the excess oil in the filter housing and wipe it clean. Then, reinstall the new filter into the housing. By this time the oil is just about done draining from the bottom, and I replace the copper crush washer and re-torque down the drain plug. So the vehicle should be empty of oil.... but then I thought about it.... I have an oil cooler. Assuming this stays full of oil, how would I drain the oil from that? Being that the thermostat only opens the oil cooler once the oil temp reaches a certain temperature, I'd assume the thermostat is "shut" when the engine is off (during the oil change) so how would one drain the oil that's left inside the cooler? Or does everyone just drain the oil from the pan and filter housing and call it "good enough"?

[Needbmwpartzz]

I take my whole engine apart and sop up every drop of oil.....then refill.....takes week but I have the cleanest engine in town



I jest,I jest!

[msjt]

You are over-thinking this way too much lol Change your oil often and you'll be fine.

[sk55]

Use rhino Ramps its easier. 15 min job.

[jwebb335xi]

Originally Posted by latino1ny

I'm a pretty DIY-friendly guy and I like taking on as many tasks as I can related to my car. That being said, I've always done my own oil changes, ever since I started driving. My 335 is no different. I've done all of it's oil changes under my ownership, however, recently something came to mind that puzzled me. I have an 08 335i with pretty much all the bells and whistles. Thus, I have the factory oil cooler. Something I thought about recently while doing an oil change that I had never thought about before was that I'm not draining ALL of the oil from the system. I'm doing the majority of it, but not ALL of it. I jack the front of the vehicle up via the central jacking location, then secure it by placing jack stands under the side skirts at the jacking points. Then I proceed to place a pan under the car and remove the oil drain plug. While it's draining I go up top and remove the filter cap and replace the filter and both O-rings. At this point I notice there is a flaw in the design of the filter housing where all the oil doesn't drain out of the filter housing due to it being on a slight angle. I usually get a few rags or paper towels and soak up the excess oil in the filter housing and wipe it clean. Then, reinstall the new filter into the housing. By this time the oil is just about done draining from the bottom, and I replace the copper crush washer and re-torque down the drain plug. So the vehicle should be empty of oil.... but then I thought about it.... I have an oil cooler. Assuming this stays full of oil, how would I drain the oil from that? Being that the thermostat only opens the oil cooler once the oil temp reaches a certain temperature, I'd assume the thermostat is "shut" when the engine is off (during the oil change) so how would one drain the oil that's left inside the cooler? Or does everyone just drain the oil from the pan and filter housing and call it "good enough"?

You're getting 99 plus percent of the oil out. Assuming your intervals are sufficient and filter is working well, I simply wouldn't think about this issue again. How many N54s have you heard of failing due to oil related issue of any kind let alone that last, tiny bit of somewhat unclean oil remaining after a change...? Seriously, don't sweat this one.

Instead, spend your time making sure that you change coolant, brake fluid, trans, and diff at proper intervals. How about a nice clean air filter too!

[Reckless335]

Originally Posted by sk55

Use rhino Ramps its easier. 15 min job.

I can't use rhino ramps, I'm too low. The rhino ramps are too steep for my car to ascend.

[davidwarren]

The factory oil cooler and lines hold less than a quart. Don't worry about it.

[Jklad]

Originally Posted by latino1ny

I can't use rhino ramps, I'm too low. The rhino ramps are too steep for my car to ascend.

Get some low incline raceramps. Best investment I ever made. I used to do what you do and it sucked.

[JDuke335i]

Originally Posted by latino1ny

I can't use rhino ramps, I'm too low. The rhino ramps are too steep for my car to ascend.

Put a 2x4 in front of each ramp and it will move your bumper up high enough to clear the ramps . It's the only way I can use regular rhino ramps .

[335socal]

Originally Posted by latino1ny

I can't use rhino ramps, I'm too low. The rhino ramps are too steep for my car to ascend.

Put some planks as an extention for the ramps. Works with my vette all the time.

[JamesM3M5]

There is no need to worry about the oil left in the cooler. Even it it were a huge Fluidyne with 1+ qt capacity, it is not worth the effort to drain and pre-fill the oil cooler and lines. If you have suffered internal engine damage or complete failue, the cooler should be scrapped anyway.

[E30 Racer]

Originally Posted by latino1ny

I can't use rhino ramps, I'm too low. The rhino ramps are too steep for my car to ascend.

You can always jack the car up and set it down on the ramps...

[Reckless335]

Originally Posted by sk55

Use rhino Ramps its easier. 15 min job.

Originally Posted by Jklad

Get some low incline raceramps. Best investment I ever made. I used to do what you do and it sucked.

Originally Posted by JDuke335i

Put a 2x4 in front of each ramp and it will move your bumper up high enough to clear the ramps . It's the only way I can use regular rhino ramps .

Originally Posted by 335socal

Put some planks as an extention for the ramps. Works with my vette all the time.

Originally Posted by E30 Racer

You can always jack the car up and set it down on the ramps...

I think you guys are missing the point of the thread. My problem wasn't getting my car up in the air. I'm fine with that. I was worried about how to drain ALL of the oil out of the car, which I received an answer for. So thank you to those who answered.

[BoostedE90]

Use an oil extractor.

[BMWhoarder]

Originally Posted by BoostedE90

Use an oil extractor.

ummmm we dont have a dipstick tube

[sirdaft1]

I just throw mine on a car rotisserie every 5k miles for an oil change...


Problem solved.