What Oil Type? - E39 530d

BlackWizard

Anyone know what oil type I could put into my car?

The lad in the motor factors said I had a choice between two. It was either a fully synthetic or semi synthetic.

Can I really put semi synthetic into my car? Does this affect the amount of miles I'll get out of that oil change?

I'm looking at 100 euro for fully synthetic and filter or 50 euro for semi.

the merchant

7 Litres of fully synthetic 5w-30

BlackWizard

Would that be the same type of oil as a 03 passat Tdi ?

I have some spare oil left over from my old car. It would be pretty cool if I could drop it into my car.

Is doing an engine oil flush worth my time and money? I was going to buy some product that drops into the oil and helps me get rid of all the old oil. I'm not sure what oil is currently in it.

the merchant

If the engine is good and hot when you're draining it you won't need any flush.

I also doubt that your TDI oil is 5w-30 full synthetic but I'm open to correction here. Don't scrimp on oil with the 530d or it may come back to bite! I find that when I change the oil in mine (525d) it even sounds different afterwards.

BlackWizard

Ah your probably right. I never skimped on my old Tdi so there is no point in starting now.

How often do you change the oil on yours?

Is your car by any chance automatic? Did you change the ATF fluid?

Esel

Regarding ATF - check the owner's manual to see the recommended interval. If the car is new to you, and over 60K miles (and you don't know if it has been changed from service history), it would be a good idea to change the fluid and the filter.

the merchant

I change mine every 10k miles or so but the last time I left it to 13k. It holds 7ltrs and I drained 6ltrs out of it without topping it up in between changes so that's good consumption. One mechanic told me that if I was using seni-synthetic I'd be topping up more frequently.

Yes it's an automatic - they're a "sealed for life" box and aren't supposed to require top-up or fluid changes. However some people do change the fluid - Voodomelon did a nice pictorial on how to do it on his E38 iirc.

Off topic slightly, I'm not sure if you're aware of the potential swirl flap calamity that can occur with these engines? If not, google it :-)

BlackWizard

Thanks for the info lads.

I heard of the swirlflap failure on the 2litre diesels. Didn't think it was an issue on the 3 litre?? :eek:

I may have to fix that if it's the case

deandean

5W30 fully synthetic.

Halfords do a very good price on their own-brand stuff.

Leonard Hofstadter

I think you need to check OP, I can't remember which it was but it's only manual 530ds that have swirl flaps in the E39 shape. I know I saw a thead on a BMW website where someone had an early X5 automatic and they wanted to get rid of the flaps; when they got to the manifold lo and behold they discovered there were none, not even the flap mechanism was there! My guess is that only manual E39 530ds have the dreaded flaps, but I would still be checking, 530d engines are far more reliable than 320d engines once the flaps are removed and they get proper oil etc.

BlackWizard

I just done this oil change now.

I came back into this thread because it looks like I need an extra litre of oil. The shop only recommended 6 litres but obviously I needed 7!

the merchant

Tut tut :-) think I mentioned 7ltrs twice in this thread.

BlackWizard

Thirds the charm though

Well that's my winter service done. Bought some Wynns oil additive too.

E39MSport

Re: swirl flaps. See http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/swirl_flaps.pdf

Bit over the top on the scare mongering but good write up.

Leonard Hofstadter

It appears from that article that pre facelifted E39 530ds don't have swirl flaps, which is nice to know. They are a brilliant car when working properly.