[dieselgg]

I had a question as to whether in the E90, the vehicle will delay turning off the oil pump to keep oil circulating in the turbos. The reason I ask is that I came across some general tips for prolonging the life of turbos. These tips probably applied to the E46 platform, so I wanted to know if any advances were incorporated for the E9x? I'm sure tip 3 is something that would be considered an inconvenience to most.

General tips
1. Minimum 7.000 mile oil change interval (5.000 mile recommended)
2. Keeping the engine running before shutdown at least 1 minute after harder acceleration or highway driving.
3. Oil the turbo after an engine oil change. When the oil is drained out of the engine, it is also drained out of the turbo. If the turbo does not have oil in it when it is started, it may overheat. Instead, remove the fuel pump relay and turn the engine over for a few seconds. The engine will not start without fuel and will deliver oil to the turbo

[zerep1]

Originally Posted by dieselgg

I had a question as to whether in the E90, the vehicle will delay turning off the oil pump to keep oil circulating in the turbos. The reason I ask is that I came across some general tips for prolonging the life of turbos. These tips probably applied to the E46 platform, so I wanted to know if any advances were incorporated for the E9x? I'm sure tip 3 is something that would be considered an inconvenience to most.

General tips
1. Minimum 7.000 mile oil change interval (5.000 mile recommended)
2. Keeping the engine running before shutdown at least 1 minute after harder acceleration or highway driving.
3. Oil the turbo after an engine oil change. When the oil is drained out of the engine, it is also drained out of the turbo. If the turbo does not have oil in it when it is started, it may overheat. Instead, remove the fuel pump relay and turn the engine over for a few seconds. The engine will not start without fuel and will deliver oil to the turbo

I know the water pump stays on if the temps are to high and the

[galahad05]

Not oil, but water. The e9x turbo engines keep coolant flowing through the turbos (or single turbo on the newer N55) if the engine computer determines that the turbos need it (i.e. engine was shut down with the turbos hot).

Thus the electric water pump.

[ctuna]

There used to be a electric oil pump that was sold as and add on years
ago. The idea was you could pre pressurize the oil and also run it for awhile
after stopping. Since most of the wear on an Engine is suppose to occur on start up this was suppose to make the engine last a ridiculous amount of time, and be especialy good for Turbo's.

[Bronze]

#3 seems a little silly. When you crank and start the engine after an oil change, the turbos arent spinning and there is no boost. So just letting the engine idle will flow the oil. This is just like the car sitting overnight, the oil eventually drops to the pan. If just idling the engine is what is meant by oiling the turbo, then I agree.

[dieselgg]

I should have read the 2007 Engine Management PDF document. I would have been able to answer my own questions.

Thanks for the replies guys.

[DSB335d]

#3 would only apply if installing a new turbo. When a car sits sure the oil drains back to the pan but there is still a film of oil inside. Oil pressure is practically instantaneous, if it was an issue I think the engineers would have required a slightly longer delay before the engine would start during cranking.

[Blubaron79]

A lot of these things are outdated. With the addition of the electric water pump that stays on after shut down, and better synthetic oils, the turbos in our cars should last a long time... BMW did have some issues with the early N54 turbos, but after 2009 they seem to have them figured out.

[RoundelM3]

Did anyone catch the reference to the E46 platform? There were no turbo motors for the E46.

[anerbe]

Coolant is a much better heat rejection medium than oil. The car doesn't need the cool down due to the post ignition coolant loop thru the turbos.

[Bronze]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Did anyone catch the reference to the E46 platform? There were no turbo motors for the E46.

Diesel turbos. OP looks like a diesel owner. I guess the Canadian market has had diesels longer than the US? I don't know.

[Killerfish2012]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

BMW did have some issues with the early N54 turbos, but after 2009 they seem to have them figured out.

October 2006 build here, 93K miles, several track days, a tune, and no turbo problems.

[galahad05]

Blubaron speaks of the noisy (rattling) wastegate actuator rod issue.
Later models had slightly beefed up (very small increase in O.D.) actuator rod.

I have a 2007 model. If my turbos ever go, I'll head aftermarket for their replacements, thank you very much.

[dieselgg]

No... not a diesel owner (nick is just coincidence) .. the original article highlighted maintenance in regards to turbos from the diesel engine platform from the past and hence preventative maintenance that can be applied to turbos in general.

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by Bronze

Diesel turbos. OP looks like a diesel owner. I guess the Canadian market has had diesels longer than the US? I don't know.

Yeah, that could be, but I don't ever remember hearing about the E46 having a diesel option, at least in the US.

I think what the OP is referring to is the "coking" situation, where back in the day, turbos would get so hot that the oil circulating in the turbo bearings would "coke" and turn solid as coal, which led to catastrophic problems once the oil passages were completely blocked. And remember - this was back before synthetic oil was popular. There used to be an aftermarket gadget called a "turbo timer" that would actually circulate oil through the turbos after the car was shut off to prevent the coking from happening. BMW, along with other modern turbo engine producers, have resolved this problem with the advent of computerized engine controls, allowing them to circuate coolant through those areas.

[Airdanny]

Are these turbos are only watercooled oil cooled or both?