N47 Excessive Oil Consumption

Ayaan Sambhi · 02-13-2023, 05:45 AM

Hi all,

Ive got an F30 318d with an n47 engine that's hit 100,000 km a month ago. Over the past few weeks, it's been consuming a lot more oil than what it was before. In 4 weeks i've had to add a litre to the car twice.

There's no smoke or leaks to indicate that the oil is burning or leaking from somewhere.

Any clues as to why this is happening?

bmwPower99 · 02-13-2023, 07:21 AM

Have you had the undertray off? It can hide a multitude of leaks, maybe not 2 litres though :-). IMO that level of consumption means a high probability of worn piston rings due to long oil change intervals that caused excessive wear. IMO Your DPF/egr/intake/pcv will be negatively affected as the oil increases soot. Check you regen history, soot count l, exhaust gas temps using bimmer link tool or ista if you have it l.

eugene89us · 02-13-2023, 09:10 AM

Ayaan Sambhi The only time my N47 started to eat a lot of oil was when I installed a catch can, which then clogged, and caused rise in crankcase pressures. This caused oil seals on turbo to leak. The EGTs would run at 600C as the oil would be burnt as it was being consumed by DPF. Good thing this lasted 1 day when I realized something was amiss. It would be worthwhile to check your PCV system first. I have a rudimentary test - I blow into my oil cap and see if the pressure dissipates. Yeah, engine oil does not taste great, but we are going to die of something anyways. Of course, piston ring wear would be an expensive thing. How often was the oil changed on this car? Are you the original owner?

bmwPower99 · 02-13-2023, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eugene89us

Ayaan Sambhi The only time my N47 started to eat a lot of oil was when I installed a catch can, which then clogged, and caused rise in crankcase pressures. This caused oil seals on turbo to leak. The EGTs would run at 600C as the oil would be burnt as it was being consumed by DPF. Good thing this lasted 1 day when I realized something was amiss. It would be worthwhile to check your PCV system first. I have a rudimentary test - I blow into my oil cap and see if the pressure dissipates. Yeah, engine oil does not taste great, but we are going to die of something anyways. Of course, piston ring wear would be an expensive thing. How often was the oil changed on this car? Are you the original owner?

What a simple test

Watsey · 02-14-2023, 03:27 PM

Unless the servicing has been neglected and/or the engine has been abused it’s extremely unlikely that the piston rings are worn at just 100K km / 62K miles.

The only time my N57 330d has used oil was when the turbo oil seals started leaking oil consumption went from zero to around 0.5 litre per tank of diesel (around 400 miles).

Adding 2 litres of oil in a month doesn’t really tell us much. What mileage does that represent ?

eugene89us · 02-15-2023, 09:45 AM

My 2018 N47 328d turned 92,000 miles this morning, which is close to 150k km. I have zero oil consumption. I have changed oil myself since the "free" oil changes at dealer ended after 3rd oil change. I always made sure I used USA (stupid) CAFE standards mandated LL-12FE 0W-30 oil at the dealer per the manual and used the same BMW branded LL12-FE oil ever since every 10k miles on the dot (16k km) DIY. Some will argue to change more often, some will argue to use EU-recommended LL04 5W-30 oil for more protection. I did Blackstone Lab test at 50k, which came back with lower than average metals on the report and good oil life remaining at 10k miles. I will repeat Blackstone at 100k miles (160k km). In other words, if the oil was changed at least every 16k km and car not abused (just driven sportily at times to keep intake clean), then you should have similar performance to mine. And mine does not eat oil, not in the slightest. I would check other causes before you go with piston rings investigation.

02-13-2023, 05:45 AM	#1
Ayaan Sambhi Enlisted Member 12 Rep 30 Posts Drives: BMW F30 330i M Sport Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Brisbane iTrader: (0)	N47 Excessive Oil Consumption Hi all, Ive got an F30 318d with an n47 engine that's hit 100,000 km a month ago. Over the past few weeks, it's been consuming a lot more oil than what it was before. In 4 weeks i've had to add a litre to the car twice. There's no smoke or leaks to indicate that the oil is burning or leaking from somewhere. Any clues as to why this is happening?
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02-13-2023, 07:21 AM	#2
bmwPower99 Private First Class 19 Rep 148 Posts Drives: bmw f25 X3 35d Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: uk iTrader: (0)	Have you had the undertray off? It can hide a multitude of leaks, maybe not 2 litres though :-). IMO that level of consumption means a high probability of worn piston rings due to long oil change intervals that caused excessive wear. IMO Your DPF/egr/intake/pcv will be negatively affected as the oil increases soot. Check you regen history, soot count l, exhaust gas temps using bimmer link tool or ista if you have it l.
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02-13-2023, 09:10 AM	#3
eugene89us First Lieutenant 336 Rep 365 Posts Drives: 2018 BMW 328d Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: MS iTrader: (0)	Ayaan Sambhi The only time my N47 started to eat a lot of oil was when I installed a catch can, which then clogged, and caused rise in crankcase pressures. This caused oil seals on turbo to leak. The EGTs would run at 600C as the oil would be burnt as it was being consumed by DPF. Good thing this lasted 1 day when I realized something was amiss. It would be worthwhile to check your PCV system first. I have a rudimentary test - I blow into my oil cap and see if the pressure dissipates. Yeah, engine oil does not taste great, but we are going to die of something anyways. Of course, piston ring wear would be an expensive thing. How often was the oil changed on this car? Are you the original owner?
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02-14-2023, 03:27 PM	#5
Watsey Major General 6416 Rep 8,500 Posts Drives: F31 330D sDrive M Sport Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: On sabbatical. iTrader: (1)	Unless the servicing has been neglected and/or the engine has been abused it’s extremely unlikely that the piston rings are worn at just 100K km / 62K miles. The only time my N57 330d has used oil was when the turbo oil seals started leaking oil consumption went from zero to around 0.5 litre per tank of diesel (around 400 miles). Adding 2 litres of oil in a month doesn’t really tell us much. What mileage does that represent ? __________________ Current : F31 330sD, remapped, Ohlins Road & Track, Millway camber plates, Quaife LSD, Stoptech brakes + Pagid RSL1 pads all round, Weichers front strut brace, Eibach front & rear anti-roll bars, Michelin MP4S.
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02-15-2023, 09:45 AM	#6
eugene89us First Lieutenant 336 Rep 365 Posts Drives: 2018 BMW 328d Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: MS iTrader: (0)	My 2018 N47 328d turned 92,000 miles this morning, which is close to 150k km. I have zero oil consumption. I have changed oil myself since the "free" oil changes at dealer ended after 3rd oil change. I always made sure I used USA (stupid) CAFE standards mandated LL-12FE 0W-30 oil at the dealer per the manual and used the same BMW branded LL12-FE oil ever since every 10k miles on the dot (16k km) DIY. Some will argue to change more often, some will argue to use EU-recommended LL04 5W-30 oil for more protection. I did Blackstone Lab test at 50k, which came back with lower than average metals on the report and good oil life remaining at 10k miles. I will repeat Blackstone at 100k miles (160k km). In other words, if the oil was changed at least every 16k km and car not abused (just driven sportily at times to keep intake clean), then you should have similar performance to mine. And mine does not eat oil, not in the slightest. I would check other causes before you go with piston rings investigation.
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