[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by IBellassai

For accuracy, this engine is the N51 SULEV.

N51 is basically the same engine as the N52. It uses the same oil level monitoring system.

[IBellassai]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

N51 is basically the same engine as the N52. It uses the same oil level monitoring system.

Good to know, just wanted to make that be known to all.

[Joebie]

At around 120k miles I drove my VW diesel up the street with no oil in it. I had cracked the oil pan minutes before parking it the day before and all the oil drained out overnight.

It took a minute of driving or so for the oil light to pop on. I shut the car down, replaced the oil pan, and now that same engine is at 225k+ miles with no bearing issues to speak of.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is possible for an engine to survive oil starvation with minimal damage. BUT its also possible to damage an engine severely in the same way, so diagnosing whether or not your engine is done for over the internet is kinda a crap-shoot.

If it were my car, I'd fill it with oil, take out the spark plugs, and turn the engine by hand to see if it felt hard to turn in any way. If it feels OK, just crank it until it starts, might take a while. Worst case is you strain the starter motor a bit.

Good luck!

[John 070]

I hope this gets all sorted out and it becomes a gotcha or lesson learned.

S*** happens. Lately, I am always rushed when working on cars, so I try not to forget anything.

Recently I rushed to do an oil change and put my snows on, on my other car. Normally, I torque the nuts, retorque the nuts after driving on the highway, and recheck a third time where they are tight. this time it went 4X and loose? Suddenly I googled and found all kinds of reasons why lug nuts keep loosening. This made no sense and never happened in 20 years. I loosened and redid, and the behavior was retorque a 2nd time, and 3rd time tight. Not really sure what happened but it's not rocket science.

As a kid I once did my dad's oil and forgot to put the drain plug in. Nothing like 8 quarts of new oil on a garage floor....s*** happens.

I liked that reminder/sticky to add oil. It may seem common sense, but we all need to get in a groove or habit to ensure we do things right, whatever it takes...

[IBellassai]

Originally Posted by smassey321

Your engine is fine. There is not much stress on a engine at idle. And everything was coated in enough oil to provide minimal protection for a few minutes. It should start once you build enough oil pressure to readjust everything. Crank the car with a 2nd battery to avoid starter damage and build oil pressure faster.

What is the safest way to charge the battery in this way? I don't want to ruin anything else- ha!

[smass]

Originally Posted by IBellassai

What is the safest way to charge the battery in this way? I don't want to ruin anything else- ha!

Your goal is to keep the voltage up above 12.5v while cranking long enough to prime the oil system. Using jumper cables with a 2nd battery is the easiest way to do this. Topping off the battery with a good charger will help but depending on how old your battery is, it may not last long enough to get things going.

As others have said, removing the plugs will take some of the strain off the starter. If you can, remove the cowl to get access to all the spark plugs and remove them.

I am pretty sure I killed my starter after a fuel pump replacement. I cranked the car a few times for 20 second bursts (which I now know is too long) to prime the fuel system. The battery was low and this put a high load on the solenoid which burned out a few weeks later. I would hate for you to kill your starter, have to replace it, only to then find engine damage once you got it running. I have since found a fuel pump prime procedure in ISTA+ software.

Below is the official BMW description of how to prime the oil system of an N54 or N55. Most of this should work for your N51. It mentions battery charger but dealers actually use a huge power supply that keeps the voltage up where it needs to be.

Originally Posted by SnailBums View Post
Straight from the bulletin-

"After replacing the engine or making engine repairs that require the replacement or removal of the engine bearings, VANOS gears, camshafts, bed plate resealing, engine oil pump, engine oil filter housing, cylinder head, engine oil cooler or anything that interrupts the engine oil supply circuit of the engine requires a short oil pump and oil supply circuit priming procedure."
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnailBums View Post
This procedure is used when the high pressure fuel system pressure is not depleted after minor engine repairs and the fuel injection system needs to be disabled by removing the fuel injector electrical connectors.

1- If the engine has been drained prior to the repair remove the engine oil drain plug again to remove any residual oil that may have settled in the engine oil pan during the repair if the engine oil pan was not removed entirely.

2- Reinstall and torque the engine oil drain plug (with a new seal ring) per the applicable repair instruction.

3- Remove the oil filter housing cover and verify the oil filter is present. Reinstall the oil filter housing cover and torque it to the proper specification noted in the applicable repair instruction.

4- Fill the engine with the proper type and amount of engine oil, as specified in the applicable repair instruction.

5- Connect a battery charger to the vehicle.

6- Remove all fuel injector electrical connectors to disable fuel injection.

7- Crank the engine for 10 seconds.

8- After 10 seconds have elapsed, stop the starter, and allow the starter to cool for 20 seconds.

9- Repeat steps 7 and 8 two additional times.

10- Reinstall the fuel injector electrical connectors, reassemble the vehicle and verify proper engine operation.

11- After the engine has reached operating temperature, check the engine oil electronically or with the dipstick, and top up the engine oil as needed.

[ricx]

Originally Posted by IBellassai

What is the safest way to charge the battery in this way? I don't want to ruin anything else- ha!

I wouldn't use two batteries to start the car. You don't want to make compound mistakes. Charge the battery, monitor the battery voltage. 12.6v is a good voltage. When it dips below 12.5v stop and charge the battery up again. You really want to use inpa or ista to aide in diagnosing the problem. You don't want to fly blind on this. There is a glimmer of hope, don't dash it by being rash.

[John 070]

by the way, the idea of a power supply is that 1) it can deliver power, such as 70 amps 2) it is clean, meaning say it's putting out 13.6V with no load. And the car wants 70 amps. It stays at 13.6V. A cheap $80 battery charger that says it can do 70 amps, would likely spike to 16V due to poor regulation, and cause damage. remember v=ir

I've never built one but wanted to use a RV power converter as a clean power supply. They are a fraction of what rebranded ones cost. Usually though, a unit over 55 A needs a 20A receptacle in the garage.

p.s. I used to wonder why people on YouTube had their E9x hooked up to some sort of rectangular box while doing coding etc. That's when I learned about clean power and not a $80 battery charger

[smass]

Originally Posted by John 070

by the way, the idea of a power supply is that 1) it can deliver power, such as 70 amps 2) it is clean, meaning say it's putting out 13.6V with no load. And the car wants 70 amps. It stays at 13.6V. A cheap $80 battery charger that says it can do 70 amps, would likely spike to 16V due to poor regulation, and cause damage. remember v=ir

I've never built one but wanted to use a RV power converter as a clean power supply. They are a fraction of what rebranded ones cost. Usually though, a unit over 55 A needs a 20A receptacle in the garage.

p.s. I used to wonder why people on YouTube had their E9x hooked up to some sort of rectangular box while doing coding etc. That's when I learned about clean power and not a $80 battery charger

Below is the link I used to build my DIY power supply. But these are mostly used for maintaining voltage while flashing modules and not turning the starter. I would think you would need more than 200 amps for that.

boost addict dot com /showthread.php?87518-DIY-Power-Supply-for-Flashing

[arkie6]

Originally Posted by ricx

I wouldn't use two batteries to start the car. You don't want to make compound mistakes. Charge the battery, monitor the battery voltage. 12.6v is a good voltage. When it dips below 12.5v stop and charge the battery up again. You really want to use inpa or ista to aide in diagnosing the problem. You don't want to fly blind on this. There is a glimmer of hope, don't dash it by being rash.

Battery voltage will dip well below 12.5 volts DC the first time the starter motor is engaged.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by smassey321

Below is the link I used to build my DIY power supply. But these are mostly used for maintaining voltage while flashing modules and not turning the starter. I would think you would need more than 200 amps for that.

boost addict dot com /showthread.php?87518-DIY-Power-Supply-for-Flashing

excellent! Good point these wouldn't be intended for starting, rather maintaining.

This is what I looked at online:

https://wfcoelectronics.com/product/wf-9875-75-amp/

[ricx]

Originally Posted by arkie6

Battery voltage will dip well below 12.5 volts DC the first time the starter motor is engaged.

Obviously there will be a voltage drop during startup. After trying to start it a few times, stop to check voltage to make sure voltage isn't below 12.5. If it is charge battery before proceeding. That is a better option that connecting two batteries. What if the op connects them in series which causes the battery voltage to double. You don't want 24 volts on a 12v system.

[Efthreeoh]

You guys act like the battery in the car is a D-cell sized Eveready. The battery in an E90 is pretty high capacity at 750 AH. Take the plugs out and spin the engine a few times with the starter is not going to deplete the battery if it is in a good state of charge.

If the VANOS has low oil pressure, it will throw timing codes. The Valvetronic system is what throttles the engine, not VANOS. The Valvetronic is backed up by a throttle plate, so the engine is not failing to fire because oil oil pressure.

If the battery in the car is deeply depleted, then just get a second battery and jumper cables and connect the battery in parallel with the battery in the car via the under-hood battery jump terminals.

[Andystobbs]

Pull the spark plugs out. Haven't bothered to read before the last 10 posts of people suggesting connecting a power station to the car to relieve starting load. So sorry if someone already suggested ways to reduce compression.

[Bob Shiftright]

5 years ago last summer .... Thursday: the dog died .... Friday: I buried the dog ... Saturday morning (early): I drove wife and daughter to the airport for vacation. (I had volunteered to stay home while they went on vacation so I could take care of the 17 1/2 year old dog. The one who had just died.)

On the drive back from the airport the ABS warning light on the BMW came on -- it's the ABS pump ($$$$ under warranty) but I don't know that ... Saturday morning (later) I made a service appointment for the BMW, but they wouldn't have any loaners available for a week

Still Saturday morning. Not wanting to drive the BMW with the big yellow ABS warning light on, I took my beater Volvo out to fill up the gas tank. I drove about 50 feet (judging by where the oil slick began) when an oil cooler fitting broke off, leaving me with little or no oil in the engine and a large mess on the street. However, when I noticed the red oil pressure light, I pulled over immediately and shut down the engine. I called AAA to flatbed the car to my indy's shop.

I was concerned that I had destroyed the engine. My indy said don't worry about having destroyed the engine, they are pretty robust and replaced the radiator/oil cooler.

The "oil slick of shame" between my driveway and the place I pulled over took about a year to disappear.

The Volvo now has 220K, and still doesn't use any unusual amount of oil between changes and doesn't sound any noisier than normal.

We have a new dog.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Bob Shiftright

5 years ago last summer .... Thursday: the dog died .... Friday: I buried the dog ... Saturday morning (early): I drove wife and daughter to the airport for vacation. (I had volunteered to stay home while they went on vacation so I could take care of the 17 1/2 year old dog. The one who had just died.)

On the drive back from the airport the ABS warning light on the BMW came on -- it's the ABS pump ($$$$ under warranty) but I don't know that ... Saturday morning (later) I made a service appointment for the BMW, but they wouldn't have any loaners available for a week

Still Saturday morning. Not wanting to drive the BMW with the big yellow ABS warning light on, I took my beater Volvo out to fill up the gas tank. I drove about 50 feet (judging by where the oil slick began) when an oil cooler fitting broke off, leaving me with little or no oil in the engine and a large mess on the street. However, when I noticed the red oil pressure light, I pulled over immediately and shut down the engine. I called AAA to flatbed the car to my indy's shop.

I was concerned that I had destroyed the engine. My indy said don't worry about having destroyed the engine, they are pretty robust and replaced the radiator/oil cooler.

The "oil slick of shame" between my driveway and the place I pulled over took about a year to disappear.

The Volvo now has 220K, and still doesn't use any unusual amount of oil between changes and doesn't sound any noisier than normal.

We have a new dog.

Think it was 2015 when I tried digging a hole to bury my dog, and decided it looked a lot easier on The Sopranos. I also was afraid of any ramifications that may arise some day if say we sold the house.

I also had the ABS trifecta in 2016. It's pretty depressing to learn it's $4200 at the dealer. I remember feeling depressed as I googled and came across tons of threads here. But it got better cost $249 with module master and since I didn't have all the tools and software it cost me just under $500 to do it. The satisfaction of DIY is well worth the $4xx.

I was able to spin my wife's GM SUV water pump as well. Saw orange drops on driveway maybe July? Found spots on the subframe (Dexcool). Gone the next day and didn't come back? Hmmmm. Week before labor day orange coolant all over the firewall and dripping. Reserved Labor Day to DIY--it's an $800 job at dealer and again a bit depressing: 1--2008 to 2010 special 10/120k warranty--hers is a 2011 2--had an extended warranty last year.

Well, got a GM OE pump incl. bolts on amazon $115. Got a gal of 100% Dexcool at Walmart $14.xx Did the job myself and it cost $138 incl. tax. How I made myself feel even better? The extended warranty had a $100 deductible so that would have cost $106. The $32 more that I spent, but the satisfaction of having DIY myself and correctly? Worth it.

Life always gets better and if it doesn't just spin it so it does!

(my secret is YouTube, great people out there showing how to do these jobs)

[vilord]

Originally Posted by AlpineE93

I worked at a shop for a little while, a guy there that was known to drink heavily before work did an oil change or "oil removal " on a mini cooper. He drove the car down the street and back with no oil in it. He realized he forgot to add oil so when he got back he filled her up and sent It on it's way. Nothing ever happend....that we know of.

I wonder if that mini is the same one my friend had. New turbos at 80k, and a toasted piston at 86k

[S65Hunter]

Originally Posted by vilord

I wonder if that mini is the same one my friend had. New turbos at 80k, and a toasted piston at 86k

Who knows man. I left that shop almost 5 years ago.

[vilord]

I'm joking, but Minis aren't known for reliability like the N52 is

[lowrydr310]

I had a single cylinder 450cc motocross bike (performance engine, 50HP @ 9000RPMs) starve of oil because a rock cracked my ignition cover and all the oil drained out. I didn't realize it until I was riding it and it felt like a brake was dragging. When I pulled the clutch, the engine stalled. I stopped and that's when I realized there was a big crack and a trail of oil behind me.

I disassembled the top end and didn't notice any scoring or other indication of damage. I measured the cylinder bore, the piston diameter, ring gap, and cam journal clearances and all were well within spec. I flushed with fresh oil and didn't see any bits of metal either in the oil or in the filter. Refilled back up with fresh oil and continued to ride the hell out of the bike for another two years without issue, eventually selling it.

I'm not familiar with the N52, but on these motocross engines despite being liquid cooled still rely on oil squirting the underside of the piston to cool the piston. I'm guessing the piston swelled first which caused the engine to soft sieze. Also I strongly believe the 100% Ester based synthetic oil that I used played a role in limiting damage (though that oil isn't practical for a daily driven street car).

[NinetyEight740]

Probably seized a cam, that’s generally the failure point when these engines are starved for oil.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by NinetyEight740

Probably seized a cam, that’s generally the failure point when these engines are starved for oil.

Sounds plausible. They spin twice as fast as the crank and gravity is not helping the oil stay in the journals at the top of the motor...