[Torgus]

I would try an external oil thermostat like this: http://www.improvedracing.com/oil-th...tat-p-212.html

[Ken Oath]

Originally Posted by DaveSA

....I have a PDF on N54 motor, which shows the engine start to reduce power when the oil temp goes above 120C. Mine's was at one stage with the OEM thermostat at 133C (135C enters the Limp Mode Threshold). The BMS valve reduce this temp by around 3C.

Because my car was reach 130C, the power was greatly reduced. It's all in the N54 Engine Doc:
https://www.pdfhost.net/index.php?Ac...49a335ed955909...

The training manual you referenced does not support the assertion that engine management has a power output reduction at 120°C oil temperature.

The OEM oil thermostat is rated for around 110°C so having engine management intervention at 120°C is wrong. As the oil temperature is measured at bulk oil then the thermostat would see a much higher temperature after bearing and journal lubrication.

HTHS of oil is tested at 150°C and most synthetic oils are stable to 260°C so 130°C is never going to be a concern for any modern engine.
And for reference the training manual component protection is noted at 150°C oil temperature. Why? HTHS.

[Aus335iguy]

Originally Posted by Ken Oath

The training manual you referenced does not support the assertion that engine management has a power output reduction at 120°C oil temperature.

The OEM oil thermostat is rated for around 110°C so having engine management intervention at 120°C is wrong. As the oil temperature is measured at bulk oil then the thermostat would see a much higher temperature after bearing and journal lubrication.

HTHS of oil is tested at 150°C and most synthetic oils are stable to 260°C so 130°C is never going to be a concern for any modern engine.
And for reference the training manual component protection is noted at 150°C oil temperature. Why? HTHS.

That might be the case (and I'm not doubting you're correct) but BMW engineers may have deemed that at 130 degrees theres too much stress or other factors involved and so they implement the protection strategy much earlier. Our engines are made mostly of plastic. I would suggest that it might be one factor(as opposed to a reason) to consider.


In other words the protection strategy is unlikely to be about protecting the oil.

[DaveSA]

Originally Posted by Ken Oath

The training manual you referenced does not support the assertion that engine management has a power output reduction at 120°C oil temperature.

Where did I say it did?

What I said was...

Originally Posted by DaveSA

engine start to reduce power when the oil temp goes above 120C. Because my car was reach 130C, the power was greatly reduced. It's all in the N54 Engine Doc

Anyway... Thanks to a recommendation by Brule, I've sourced a can of Seafoam today, and will use that to clean out any and all gunk in galleries, spurters, and anywhere else the sludge is still inhabiting.

[DaveSA]

Just hot home from using my partner's dad's hoist.

(no 1 litre bottles Seafoam left at shop, only 4 ltr can's - I'll be using this stuff for years).

For those not entirely sure of the mixing quantities. Here it is:

1 once of product for every 1 quart of oil. Converting for 6.5Ltr oil = 203mil added to crank case.

Say's to add to crankcase 100 - 300 miles before oil change. However, given my engine was likely clogged with sludge, added product, then drove the 45km to the hoist.

Given oil/filter was only changed Friday (1'st Feb), what came out wasn't sludgy, but definitely black as gross. Added new filter and 6.5 ltr Liqui Moly 5W - 40.

It must have cleared something out, cause on the way home (no hard pulls), the oil temp didn't go above 110C. I did a couple of hard pulls closer to home, and that did spike at 123C, but started to cool when I backed off the revs.

Might head up to my country property tomorrow, it's a good trip, on an open road. See how the car performs then. Quite possibly, given my driving style, I might need to grab that extra ER oil cooler, and slap that into the left hand side.

Anyway, the Seafoam has definitely improve the operational temps, and given a huge drop in my oil temp on moderate driving.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by DaveSA

Just hot home from using my partner's dad's hoist.

(no 1 litre bottles Seafoam left at shop, only 4 ltr can's - I'll be using this stuff for years).

For those not entirely sure of the mixing quantities. Here it is:

1 once of product for every 1 quart of oil. Converting for 6.5Ltr oil = 203mil added to crank case.

Say's to add to crankcase 100 - 300 miles before oil change. However, given my engine was likely clogged with sludge, added product, then drove the 45km to the hoist.

Given oil/filter was only changed Friday (1'st Feb), what came out wasn't sludgy, but definitely black as gross. Added new filter and 6.5 ltr Liqui Moly 5W - 40.

It must have cleared something out, cause on the way home (no hard pulls), the oil temp didn't go above 110C. I did a couple of hard pulls closer to home, and that did spike at 123C, but started to cool when I backed off the revs.

Might head up to my country property tomorrow, it's a good trip, on an open road. See how the car performs then. Quite possibly, given my driving style, I might need to grab that extra ER oil cooler, and slap that into the left hand side.

Anyway, the Seafoam has definitely improve the operational temps, and given a huge drop in my oil temp on moderate driving.

I have a ER sports oil cooler coming up for sale shortly if you are after one.

[DaveSA]

Update:

Turns out, while the tech guy at the Indy shop got the fan activated, he could only activate it at 90% power. 10, 20, 30 etc., etc., didn't fire up. Of course the fool didn't mention that. So, we sourced a new fan today, and bingo... oil temp issue is now officially fixed. I literally hammered it all the way home, and it didn't go over 115C.

Thanks everyone for your help on this.


Cheers

Dave

[autoart]

so you think it was fan that was the only problem?

[juld0zer]

Originally Posted by DaveSA

Mark Percat (yes Nick's dad) said the spark plugs hadn't seen a spanner is years.



Below is the oil filter than came out, before flushing...Not only had it been squashed (forced) in OFH, but it was literally caked in black gunk, pretty much resembling sludgy treacle, this crap was everywhere. This photo was take a few days later, so doesn't look as bad as it was.




Oil Filter after 2x flushing, and running for 30 min

Those are non genuine plugs so they have been replaced before. They look like that due to a long neglected rocker cover gasket leak.

That first oil filter photo is a perfect example of a what happens when you install a Ryco, Wesfil or similar style filter in our cars. Even Hengst and Mahle ones can distort. They almost never come out with the cap like a genuine or Mann branded filter, because they are very tight in the centre. As the cap is tightened, it distorts the media.

Do you have the engine belly shield installed? You mentioned an incident earlier.

The fan is PWM controlled. You won't be able to fire it up by directly powering it. Usually when the commanded vs actual fan speed deviates, a fault is logged (CEL does not usually come on). Happy to hear your issue is finally resolved though. You might finally experience the effect of all those mods in winter - overcooling faults.