[nmcampbell]

Just performed my first oil change last night at my friend's house in San Diego. Brought my rhino ramps and with his help, we got it done in short order. It went very smoothly, thanks for the info in this DIY...it was a great help. I've got one question: does anybody know what the bolt is that's just in front of the oil drain trap door? It's the only exposed bolt head through the undercarriage protector that I could see.

[jag3er]

I did my first oil change at 2236 miles. Everything went very smoothly. Took me about 1hr since I was going thru all the comments I printed to make sure I don't miss anything. Great writeup. Thanks to everyone who contributed tips.

I torqued the oil pan screw to 25Nm, per the instructions here. Also something I found very useful to tighten up the oil filter cap to match the green lines is a Craftsman Strap Wrench from Sears. Looks like something older people would use to open jars, but it did great job to move the filter cap the last 1/4 inch to line up the green dots. See picture.

I used my friend's ramps which he got for his Vette. They were very easy to get on and are wide, no problem at all.

UPDATE: just did my second change at 9006 miles. Got my own set of Rhino 12,000lb ramps, and with a piece of wood, got the car on them without a problem. I took out a large mirror from my wall to help me see where the car was on the ramp. Probably the best thing I did with this oil change to help me get on and off the ramps. I also lined the area around the filter cap with shop rags and the little oil that spilled did not get anywhere around like it happened last time. Check the pics of my 6770 mile old oil and filter, I used the little nacho tray to soak the new oil filter (just put it in there with some oil and rotated the filter). The tray has the old and new oil in it.

[mack82097]

Originally Posted by BMW_TT

Sucks that they don't come with the O-rings. I got my filter from a BMW parts manufacturer. Probably the company that BMW outsource their filters to. I'll take pics of it when I get it in.

They actually do come with the o-rings and copper crush washer. I bought that 10 pack special and my order came today.

[garyhgaryh]

Are the oil filters the same for the 335i and the 535i? I assume yes since they use the same engine. I need filters for both 335i and 535i. If they are the same, I'm going to buy the 10 pack.

[Doc986]

For those of you using ramps to elevate the front of the car:

How are you levelling the car during the oil draining process? I've always been told that having the car completely level ensures proper and complete draining of the old engine oil. Is this assumption incorrect? Wouldn't it be ideal to jack the car up for access, and then lower it back to the ground during the draining process?

Thanks in advance!

[JTBurn]

Originally Posted by footballer

I just performed my first oil change at 7000 miles and this thread has proved to be especially helpful. Here are a few observations from my experience:

- The oil filter was nearly impossible to remove by hand. I had to wrestle with it for about 10 minutes, taking breaks to cool my hands (with gloves on) before it loosened up.

How about loosing it a bit when the engine is cool (not too losse!). It might come off easier then when the engine is hot.

[LittleBlue]

Please note the old washer will always be stich to the oil pan, it will not be on the bolt when you remove it, you have to remove it with your nail as it will be stuck on the drain pan still. I just changed my oil today, it was a breeze thanks to pierre wei !

[Graystone]

You guys are the best thanx. Have done lots of oil changes but its always nice to get the inside picture on a new car.....Big Help

[Sam12345]

lol i wana do it. but what if the ramp breaks and the car falls on your head and you die....

[BeMeWe_08]

then your family can sue the ramp manufacturer for lots of money

[E92-Lighting]

ramps are the best when it comes to oil changes =)

[jh7]

i just did an oil change. however, i only drained 6 qts. was i probably short about 1 qt? before? i refilled with only 6 and the oil meter shows that I'm full.

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by beh-em-veh-808

So, it was a bit of a shock to me is that the filter and engine oil combined to a cost of over $50!!!! I guess that's the price of owning a BMW.

If only things were so cheap here !

Having decided to do my own interim oil change at 7000 odd miles I bought two 4 litre cartons of Castrol Edge 0-30 and a BMW filter kit.

Cost - $200 US equivalant !!!!!!!!!!

Thats on top of filling the tank yesterday with Shell V Power - $150 US equivalent !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I failed in my attempt today to change the oil. Got the car all jacked up and ready only to find my torque wrench/bar etc is too long to access the drain plug, No problem I thought, use a 17mm ring spanner. Doh, havent got one of those either !

Drop the car again and give up. But wait, now I cant get the trolley jack off the jacking point as its cut into the BMW rubber jacking point blocks and is struck !! Anybody know if these can be renewed ?

Next time I will plan the job better.

Yves

[jag3er]

Originally Posted by JTBurn

How about loosing it a bit when the engine is cool (not too losse!). It might come off easier then when the engine is hot.

Don't do it! Oil must be running temp so it can drain properly. So you have to start this job when everything is HOT. First you unscrew the drain plug, then open the engine oil cap, THEN SLOWLY loosen the oil filter cap. The oil is under pressure and you don't want oil all over your hands and engine compartment. Use the handy crafstman tool I put up a few posts up. It really helped to loosen and then to screw back on and line up the green dots on the filter cap. It made a very difficult job an easy one.

[YvesD]

jaq3er,

Wow, that oil and filter are dirty !

Having seen that mess I'm even less convinced that long service intervals are a good thing !!

Going to have another go at my oil change after work tomorrow. Wish me luck !

Yves

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by YvesD

jaq3er,

Wow, that oil and filter are dirty !

Having seen that mess I'm even less convinced that long service intervals are a good thing !!

Going to have another go at my oil change after work tomorrow. Wish me luck !

Yves

Sorted.

The job went reasonably well in the end, no technical hitches to speak of and the engine is purring like a cat now. Smoother, queiter, more responsive ?

Thanks for all the tips, glad I did this.

Yves

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by YvesD

Sorted.

The job went reasonably well in the end, no technical hitches to speak of and the engine is purring like a cat now. Smoother, queiter, more responsive ?

Thanks for all the tips, glad I did this.

Yves

Sems like I spoke too soon.

There is oil dripping occassionally from the cars undertray, the only thing I can think of is that there was some oil caught on the tray when draining the old stuff out and its finding its way down under gravity or the sump plug is not tight enough ?

Sump plug wasnt in very tight at all and I have put it back ( with copper crush washer ) a bit tighter than it came out but nowhere near 25NM according to the torque wrench I used. Didnt want to overtighten it.

Anybody else had this scenario ?

Yves

[hl0m4n]

im comming back to the states soon and need to do an oil change. this will be the first time i am switching from oem to elf solaris 5w-30 and have a question.

the elf bottle is in liters. now 1 Liter = 1.05669 Quarts (US). we need 7 quarts (US bottles) for our cars. would it be safe to also put in 7 liters giving me a total of 7.39683 quarts if you do the math.

sorry if such a newb question im always cautions about things like this.

[l8apexer]

Just wanted to confirm, does the 328i require the same oil capacity as the 335i when changing the oil (i.e. 6.5 qts)??

[imaphaetonguy]

Originally Posted by l8apexer

Just wanted to confirm, does the 328i require the same oil capacity as the 335i when changing the oil (i.e. 6.5 qts)??

Yes.

[mrwma237]

I just changed mine at 6300miles. However, I ONLY changed my oil, and not my oil filter.

I was advised by my service guys at the dealers that changing the oil is definitely common before the service indication lights up, however, changing the oil filter is not as urgent as changing the oil.

He also mentioned that if I were to only change my oil, putting 6qtz is enough.

Can someone validate this, or should I dump my last bottle of oil in?

The sensor reads max, 5 bars.

[hl0m4n]

for an e92 328i, the oil filter is the same as a 335i but is the capacity still the same as well 6.5-7qts max? also same oil for 335? i couldn't find this info in the owner's manual. i only get capacities for gas and washer fluid... thanks.