Total disaster! - Page 11 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Lantz · 13th July 2009, 23:29

Was just teasing

BESPOKE M5 · 15th July 2009, 00:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lantz

Congratulations, can't wait to hear your views on the engine once it's fully run in!

What oil are you going to use?

Lantz

Thats a key question. The old manual called for 15-40 but I have been running Castrol 10-60 synthetic in mine- Anyone know if this is doing the engine a disservice? Curious also what the average longevity of the engine is in the collective experience.

erikm54life · 15th July 2009, 05:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BESPOKE M5

Thats a key question. The old manual called for 15-40 but I have been running Castrol 10-60 synthetic in mine- Anyone know if this is doing the engine a disservice? Curious also what the average longevity of the engine is in the collective experience.

...one of the most divisive issues on the board...pls tread carefully..

I suggest you read this thread to obtain historical precedents.... synthetic oil vs semi-synthetic

Cheers

BTW...stick with what the manual states.

Lantz · 15th July 2009, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by BESPOKE M5

Thats a key question. The old manual called for 15-40 but I have been running Castrol 10-60 synthetic in mine- Anyone know if this is doing the engine a disservice? Curious also what the average longevity of the engine is in the collective experience.

The general consensus on oil disscussions is that they are now a 'No, No', after the thread that Erik posted up. Use what the manual says or whatever oil you like.

After a few beers I tend to find oil disscussions irresistable, even though I really know nothing on the subject

Many M5's have AT (new from BMW) engines; some owners are not even aware that their engines have been replaced in the past. Raymond recently posted a very interesting classification. He believes the "end of life" is around the 250,000km mark. Many have far exceeded this mileage, others have gone pop with just half. Service history, regular oil changes and preventative maintenance are key with the S38. My M5 has covered 245,000kms and I just got back to Sweden after a 2000km round trip to Belgium, including over 15 hours of highspeed motorway (180-210), a top speed test (260 on the speedo) and highrevving fun in the country side. Engine barely used a drop of 5w-40 (1mm on the dipstick) and never missed a beat.

If you are new to the forum/car, search preventative maintenace and you will find hours of reading, including chain tensioners, waterpumps, Mafs etc etc.

Lantz

davidoli · 16th July 2009, 00:58

No mention of running in oil thus far .

What are your plans in relation to the running in of the engine Dan ?

D

Dan Kelly · 16th July 2009, 11:58

OK so back to the car... progress is being made

The gearbox and auxillary parts have been re-installed after some serious cleaning of the transmission tunnel - I might actually eat my dinner off it.

All the vaccum pipes under the intake plenum have been renewed and a new oil cooler fitted.
Nearly there now. Radiator, air-con, some hoses and belts to do and we're ready to fire it up

davidoli · 19th July 2009, 10:07

Hi Dan ,

Did you manage to confirm the cause of the failure to your original engine ?

D

Dan Kelly · 19th July 2009, 10:59

Hi David.
It seems that the most likely cause was oil starvation. What caused that I'm not sure of, maybe the oil pump. Darren had a look at the top end of the engine, cams out etc and there was nothing obviously damaged. There were large chunks of bearing shell material in the oil, probably main or big end. I didn't want to spend too much time (money) on finding out for the sake of curiosity, the cause of the failure is in effect irrelevant after all - the engine failed and has been replaced. However I agree it would have been interesting for me and other members to know what the cause was.

davidoli · 19th July 2009, 11:39

Thanks Dan .

I had the same issue when I detonated piston 5 on Alpine Amy .........I knew the engine was shot but just had to try to establish what the cause of the failure was in order to at least learn something from the whole experience .

Will you be keeping your old engine for spares or turning it into a coffee table , a la Top Gear ?

D

Dan Kelly · 19th July 2009, 11:44

Its an exchange item with a £2000 core charge so its going back. I can get a coffee table from Ikea