[sbkim]

Great post. I presume the procedure is similar for E92 335? Thanks!

[txusa03]

I would not presume anything, there are several bolt underneath that are similar in size and you could lossen the wrong one. When in doubt, get the correct info for your car.

[Uol]

Do you think these instructions apply to my 06 Z4 3.0si? It uses the same N52 engine, so I assume so. My biggest concern is how I'm going to get the car up on the ramps, as the clearance with the sport suspension is even lower than the E90!

I've decided I'm going to change the oil around 2000 - 2500 miles. It can't hurt.

Finally, regarding the computer determining the oil change interval, does it actually measure oil quality, or does it simply determine the interval based on driving conditions, ambient and operating temperature, etc? I always thought it was the latter, as actual onboard oil quality monitoring would be quite difficult and expensive. In that case, the computer should not automatically reset when you perform a home oil change.

[ac2]

Originally Posted by sbkim

Great post. I presume the procedure is similar for E92 335? Thanks!

It is the same procedure for E92 335. I changed my oil twice already. Just did my 500 miles oil change.

[X72]

e90wraith, thanks for the post!

I will be taking care of my sister's car. I will be doing a 6 month oil and oil filter change at about 7.5k miles with Mobil 1 0W-40 because I already have a stockpile of it for an 03 MB E320 we own. In subsequent years, I may change the oil at 6 months but leave the oil filter in for a year.

I would add this info. On our E320 which also has a similar top mounted oil filter housing, I add the oil through the oil filter opening which functions as a built in funnel. I plan on trying this method on the 325i.

I read the post that shows a UOA at 19,500 miles
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38120

I know that 7.5k miles is overkill since I believe that the BMW oil is probably good up to 12 to 13k miles, but 15 to 19k miles is just too much for long term engine safety.

[s4iscool]

add me to the thank yous. Everything went well, and I really appreciated hwo the oil fill cap nicely holds a quart of mobil oil upside down...no funnel needed. Nice

[all8up]

Originally Posted by ac2

It is the same procedure for E92 335. I changed my oil twice already. Just did my 500 miles oil change.

What's the oil capacity for the 335?
Thanks

[ac2]

Originally Posted by all8up

What's the oil capacity for the 335?
Thanks

I filled 6.5 quarts and on-board computer showed Max.

[bonifp]

Great posting, BTW. The trap door was clutch.

Just changed the oil, on my 335i E90, after 2087 miles. Put in 6.5 qts, drove for almost 10 miles, and it shows low by 1/4 of the scale. Based on other postings, I'll drive it a little more, before adding the rest of the 7th quart.

Didn't need any ramps or jack or stands. I was able to reach the trap door & drain plug, from the front of the car. I'm 5'9" 170lbs. Some of you guys may need to hit the gym a little more often.

[txusa03]

I just notice that after I had the dealer do the oil change, they never put my trap door back. I am missing a trap door. Now i have less plastic to carry around.

[dmitri]

Changed my oil at 9500. It comes out pretty fast, I got it all over my garage floor haha.

Couldnt get up on ramps even with my higher XI. You guys get up ramps with clearance? I even drove up on a 2x4 first and it still scraped.

Used jacks under the jackpoints and put up some jack stands for safety. Shitty plastic jackpoints are torn up

[s4iscool]

if you jack the front up, you willget more oil out. I poured in 7quarts, and the car reads a tad over the 1st Max line.

[klinkerklu]

Originally Posted by dmitri

Changed my oil at 9500. It comes out pretty fast, I got it all over my garage floor haha.

Couldnt get up on ramps even with my higher XI. You guys get up ramps with clearance? I even drove up on a 2x4 first and it still scraped.

Used jacks under the jackpoints and put up some jack stands for safety. Shitty plastic jackpoints are torn up

e90wraith: Great DIY oil change post, thxs found it very helpful

We took care of 6k change -no issues. First set of ramps we tried didn't have enough clearance. Then we picked up Rhino's and there was no problem. No sliding, no scraping, easy access to underside. $60 total, BMW oil + filter

[X72]

Originally Posted by dejav0o

I changed my oil for the first time today, but when I took off the nut, I noticed there wasn't a crush washer attached to the nut. I figured it might've just fell into the oil while it was draining, so I didn't bother checking. I placed the new crush washer onto the bolt and screwed it on after the oil drained completely.

But now that I'm thinking back, I'm kinda worried the crush bolt was stuck to the oil pan itself. From everyone's experiences, does the stock crush washer come off with the nut? or is it stuck onto the oil pan..? And if it is, would I need to redo it if I just placed the new washer on and just screwed it back on (meaning I may possibly have 2 washers now)?

I haven't driven the car yet since I'm missing 1qt of oil and all the shops are closed for tonight, but after starting it for a few seconds, I didn't notice any drips yet... Is this something that needs to be fixed? Or do you guys think it will be ok?

I changed the oil today on a 2006 325i w/ steptronic (approximately 5 months/ 6,600 miles). The crush washer was stuck to the pan and was an aluminum washer. The silver color made it hard to see since it matches the color of the oil pan. Knocked it off with a flat screwdriver. The crush washer that came with the new filter is copper.

Put in 6.5 quarts Mobil 1 0W-40 and showed 1/4 quart low which is close enough for me.

I used a strap wrench to remove the filter. I think the next time I change the filter I will buy the cap wrench for this vehicle.

[Bimmer22]

Anyone know if the bolt is reachable without getting the car on ramps?

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by Bimmer22

Anyone know if the bolt is reachable without getting the car on ramps?

no.

[Bimmer22]

Originally Posted by e90wraith

E90 Oil Change (DIY)

I would like to share my experience of changing the oil in my 2006 BMW 325i (e90) with sport package. My car has only 2300 miles on it, but I thought I should do a post break-in period oil change. (More on this later.) It took a bit longer than expected (~1 hr) because I didn’t know where everything was, especially the drain bolt. The job itself was simple - something I would do in about 15 minutes next time.

Equipment and Tools:
Rhino Ramp
17mm Socket Wrench
Strap Wrench

Supplies:
BMW Oil Filter ~$15
BMW Synthetic 5W30 Oil, 7 Quarts (6.5 L), ~$5/Quart

Lifting the car:
One of the most difficult parts of my oil change was raising the car. I have a hydraulic jack, but I had two problems. 1) The jack couldn’t slide underneath the lift point, even though I would hardly classify my jack as being high. The clearance under the front of the car was minimal with the sport package. I could slip the jack underneath the rear of the car, but I needed to raise the front. 2) Even if I were to raise the front of the car with my hydraulic jack, there weren’t any lift points where I could place my jack stands.

Frustrated, I went to buy some Rhino ramps. Unfortunately, the Rhino ramps had their own problems. While fellow forum member HRC didn’t have a problem (HRC, do you have a non-sport package e90?), I had a problem with the ramps slipping on my concrete garage floor. The culprit turned out to be the low hanging rubber flaps just ahead of the front wheels as shown below:



While the flaps are flexible, they scrape the ramps enough to push them forward. This was quite frustrating. I finally solved the problem by putting the ramps on top of rubber floor mats I had lying around. They provided enough friction to prevent the ramps from slipping.



Removing the oil cap and filter:
Removing the oil cap was simple. Just turn the square cap clockwise and you’re done.



Removing the oil filter was simple, too. I couldn’t turn the oil filter cap by hand, so I used a strap wrench. The exposed filter element is shown below:



Removing the drain bolt:
This took much longer than anticipated, simply because I didn’t know where it was located. The first thing you notice looking underneath the car is that plastic shields cover nearly the entire underside. Conspicuously, there is a large exposed bolt right where you think the middle of the engine is.



I don’t know what this bolt is for, but IT IS NOT THE DRAIN BOLT. Fortunately, I didn’t loosen it because of heads up by fellow forum member HRC. BMW, in its infinite wisdom, made this bolt 17mm in size, same as the drain bolt. So if you’re looking for something that fits a 17mm socket in search of a drain bolt, this is it. However, don’t remove it.



Even after some search, I still couldn’t locate the drain plug. I was in the process of removing the bolts securing the plastic shield underneath the engine (while cursing BMW and their poor design), when I came across this trap door just behind the bolt.



When I opened it - Eureka! - I found the drain bolt!



From here on, it was easy. Loosen the bolt and drain the oil into a pan. About 7 quarts (6.5 L) will drain out.



Replacing the Filter:
Let the oil drain for a few minutes. Meanwhile, you can replace the oil filter. The old oil filter next to the new filter is shown below.



Inside the filter box, there should be two rubber O-rings (small and large) and one copper crush washer.



Remove the two O-rings and the filter from the filter housing, and insert the new ones. It’s a little tricky removing the O-rings, but don’t use a screwdriver since it can damage the housing. The new assembled filter housing should look like this:



Putting it back together:
Screw the oil filter cap back on. Be sure the rubber O-rings, especially the large one, are in their correct grooves. I accidentally placed the large one inside a wrong groove once, and oil started gushing out of the housing.

Go underneath the car again, and screw the drain bolt back in. Make sure you pry off the old crush washer, and use the new copper crush washer. Secure the trap door.

Finally, put ~6.9 quarts of BMW Synthetic 5W30 oil in.



Once finished, secure the oil cap.



Start the engine and check for any leaks. Drive off the ramp and drive for a few miles because the on-board computer needs a few minutes to get an accurate reading of the oil level. Check the oil level through the on-board computer, and top off as needed.

You’re done! Simple!

Postscript:
Again, it should only take ~15 minutes to change the oil once you get the car on the ramps. It is a very simple procedure.

Now, the question of whether it was necessary to do a post break-in oil change: I’m going to be somewhat diplomatic. Quite frankly, the used oil appeared to be pretty clean (I did not see any metal shavings nor notice significant change in its viscosity). In my professional judgment (Ph. D. in engineering), I would say that my oil change at 2300 miles was overkill. The evidence isn’t convincing enough to support the need for one. However, in my personal judgment (a person who is obsessive about his new car and wants it to last forever - and quite frankly, who isn’t on this board?), it was worth the reassurance that there won’t be a nagging question in the back of my mind always wondering whether I should’ve changed the oil after the initial break-in period. Would I again change the oil after my break-in period, given what I now know about the state of the oil after 2300 miles? Absolutely! You can’t always be rational about a car – otherwise we would all be driving Toyotas.

Does anyone have pics of the engine oil bolt for the e92 (328xi)
Im trying to change my oil right now and the bolt under that little swivel compartment does not look slanted like in the pics shown here of the e90. instead it is facing down like in the pic of the bolt that IS NOT that right bolt.

I dont even see the bolt of the one we are not supposed to turn under my car.

I'm confused....

[Bimmer22]

Nevermind, just changed the oil. The face of the bolt on the e92 faces down instead of horizontal. These pics are only good for the e90.

Car seems to run smoother now.

[401FlaGATOR]

Thank you E90Wraith for those fine instructions, or should I say Dr. E90Wraith?



One thing that is nagging me is the oil filter and screwing down the cap, is there any potential snags there?

I couldn't resist the urge to reopen the cap and check the filter to see if it is seated properly yesterday.

I suppose the filter seating properly is pretty much idiot proof?

[magamaga]

the pic links don't work anymore

[tman]

Thanks to the OP and those that added notes. I was able to do it without too much fuss. The trap door locking clip broke off, so now I can't put the door back on. But no big deal until I order one I guess.

The dealership had REALLY tightened the oil filter cap, which was a pain to remove. Because the car was tilted from the front, I guess some oil found its way down the underside plastic cover which resulted in a small puddle to the right and rear of the drain hole.

I still can't believe I did an oil change myself after SOOOOO many years.

[ScheerSpeed]

i used this DIY a while ago on my 325! thanks!