Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

[998]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hi Canuck78,

If I may add on my experience to what you're looking for...TRY THE OLD SCHOOL METHOD.

- NATURAL FLUSH -

GO for a holiday with a group of friends to NS highway, drive at a constant speed of 150km/h or higher rev via ur STEPTRONIC shifting [let it rev longer before gearing up, you know what I mean]... LET ALL THE IMPURITY get burns up WITHIN your whole system as it naturally gets FLUSH OUT via the high SPEED/REV combustion process!!!

But go for a good fully syn oil change with idn plugs first...
It's all carbon built up and stuck there by the pipe after all these years of street driving...
However that 25k service change is fine is your car uses good syn oil, your gasket is totally sealed and your driving style is not like Lewis Hamilton...hehe

I serioulsy have my reservation on those engie flush after my bad experience on my previous ride after using it.
My cams were bited after that engine flush... I had been using Motul top racing oil for many years but nothing wrong till that engine flush...I won't mentioned the brand or workshop but I was disappointed it "eat" up my performance cams..

Hope my 2 cents of advice is helpful. Well at least you could try out this "FREE" experience before you decide for yourself what your next move. Hope to hear good news from you.

Hi, any bros here have tried to detox your car engine that has mid to heavy levels of sludge in the engine?

Esp victims of those who followed the PML advice of 25k service intervals, or recipients of that by buying a used one that was serviced only 25k between 2005-2009.

Like to hear those that have done it and your engine is still "alive" and running now, i.e operation is successful.

There are so many conflicting remarks on the use of engine flush, using diesel oil, ATF, etc

Preferably bros that have done it to their engine, and resulted in cleaning up / de-toxing the engine.

What product did you used, how many times, the process, and your results after the application.

Short of an overhaul, or complete tear open the engine, and soak up all the affected parts in kerosene.

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hi bro 998,

After spending what i did on the overhaul and getting an almost brand new / rejuvenated engine, i think i am going stick to what you call an old school method, i.e. clear carbon once in a while, and also shorter OCI. Was contemplating the engine flush thing, so maybe will leave that out, saves some cost too

The problem we have in Singapore is all the short distance driving, my home to office only 3.5 km and so mostly 60/40 town vs highway driving. Not much chance to go M'sia, not even once a month unless one makes it a point to do so.

In that respect, it's probably safer to do shorter OCI perhaps 5-8k to ensure all the contaminated oil is swopped out before it turns into the jelly sludge again.

Hi Canuck78,

If I may add on my experience to what you're looking for...TRY THE OLD SCHOOL METHOD.

- NATURAL FLUSH -

GO for a holiday with a group of friends to NS highway, drive at a constant speed of 150km/h or higher rev via ur STEPTRONIC shifting [let it rev longer before gearing up, you know what I mean]... LET ALL THE IMPURITY get burns up WITHIN your whole system as it naturally gets FLUSH OUT via the high SPEED/REV combustion process!!!

But go for a good fully syn oil change with idn plugs first...
It's all carbon built up and stuck there by the pipe after all these years of street driving...
However that 25k service change is fine is your car uses good syn oil, your gasket is totally sealed and your driving style is not like Lewis Hamilton...hehe

I serioulsy have my reservation on those engie flush after my bad experience on my previous ride after using it.
My cams were bited after that engine flush... I had been using Motul top racing oil for many years but nothing wrong till that engine flush...I won't mentioned the brand or workshop but I was disappointed it "eat" up my performance cams..

Hope my 2 cents of advice is helpful. Well at least you could try out this "FREE" experience before you decide for yourself what your next move. Hope to hear good news from you.

 

[lkm]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Just went for servicing today, and filled my e90 with Pennzoil Ultra 5W40. Hopefully their "Hyper Cleansing Technology" works as advertised..... my 6 year-old ride beginning to show signs of ageing liao.... hahah..

 

[998]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Glad to help you bro. If I see a very fast bummer going off at the traffic junction, I could only guessed it might be you... Hehe... I'll try to catch up with you.. I'm gonna burn off those jelly off my engine too... Haha

Hi bro 998,

After spending what i did on the overhaul and getting an almost brand new / rejuvenated engine, i think i am going stick to what you call an old school method, i.e. clear carbon once in a while, and also shorter OCI. Was contemplating the engine flush thing, so maybe will leave that out, saves some cost too

The problem we have in Singapore is all the short distance driving, my home to office only 3.5 km and so mostly 60/40 town vs highway driving. Not much chance to go M'sia, not even once a month unless one makes it a point to do so.

In that respect, it's probably safer to do shorter OCI perhaps 5-8k to ensure all the contaminated oil is swopped out before it turns into the jelly sludge again.

 

[lkm]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Use Pennzoil to burn off those jelly!

(No, I don't work for them nor do I sell Pennzoil motor oils... hahah!)

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Ok let us know how it compares to rest of the oils you used cuz Pennzoil is not commonly known here.

I last used Pennzoil in my Honda CRX back in the 90's when i was in Canada, keke.

So far i have used BMW 5w-30 & 5w-40 oil (which i heard it's Castrol), Millers 5w-40 and Redline 5w-40 (very smooth but no BMW-LL01 markings).

Am gonna try Liquid Moly next cuz heard so much about it, plus it's European formula.

Just went for servicing today, and filled my e90 with Pennzoil Ultra 5W40. Hopefully their "Hyper Cleansing Technology" works as advertised..... my 6 year-old ride beginning to show signs of ageing liao.... hahah..

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

No lah, mine only a normal 320i how to go fast haha. But give me a friendly wave, i'll know it's you

Maybe we should organise a bi-monthly Sat/Sun wee-hours morning run to northern Johor- Muar or Malacca for breakfast and back to de-carbon the engine huh?

Glad to help you bro. If I see a very fast bummer going off at the traffic junction, I could only guessed it might be you... Hehe... I'll try to catch up with you.. I'm gonna burn off those jelly off my engine too... Haha

 

[998]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hmmm... Then I'll look out for that fastest 320i... Mine is with another 5 behind... Just for the HI-5.... Hehe... Btw, I'm looking for a used performance exhaust to go a little bit more faster... Drop me a note if u know of anyone letting go...

No lah, mine only a normal 320i how to go fast haha. But give me a friendly wave, i'll know it's you

Maybe we should organise a bi-monthly Sat/Sun wee-hours morning run to northern Johor- Muar or Malacca for breakfast and back to de-carbon the engine huh?

 

[busytiger]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hi Canuck 78,

Thanks for sharing man! I think my car having same problems as yours. Bought a Apr 2007 E90 2 weeks back and started to see white smoke and "burning oil" smell like you when stop car and open the door. Can PM me how much you spent overall?

 

[lkm]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Pennzoil 5W40 also European Formulae... I think it's now owned by Shell and is the OE oil for Ferrari's. I'll trying it for the first time myself... I've seen some UOA posted online and seems very encouraging...

Ok let us know how it compares to rest of the oils you used cuz Pennzoil is not commonly known here.

I last used Pennzoil in my Honda CRX back in the 90's when i was in Canada, keke.

So far i have used BMW 5w-30 & 5w-40 oil (which i heard it's Castrol), Millers 5w-40 and Redline 5w-40 (very smooth but no BMW-LL01 markings).

Am gonna try Liquid Moly next cuz heard so much about it, plus it's European formula.

 

[lkm]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Oh, and I got my Pennzoil @ 16 bucks a quart (approx 1ltr) from mxtrading... in case anyone here interested...

 

[donworks]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Oh, and I got my Pennzoil @ 16 bucks a quart (approx 1ltr) from mxtrading... in case anyone here interested...

I am on Castrol syntex 0w30 ! also from mxtrading.

 

[lkm]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

I am on Castrol syntex 0w30 ! also from mxtrading.

Pennzoil claims 40% cleaner than Castrol Edge with Syntex! And these companies can't just make bullshit claims like this comparing with competitors without backing up with facts - sure kenna sued by these big companies...

It's a different story saying "40% cleaner than leading competitor" vs "40% cleaner than Brand XYX"... Shell bought Pennzoil in 2002. And I'm pretty sure such a large company with their Compliance Dept would never allow Pennzoil to engage in false / misleading / unsubstantiated advertising!

Pennzoil Ultra Full Synthetic Motor Oil - Pennzoil

View attachment 43161

 

[donworks]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Pennzoil claims 40% cleaner than Castrol Edge with Syntex! And these companies can't just make bullshit claims like this comparing with competitors without backing up with facts - sure kenna sued by these big companies...

It's a different story saying "40% cleaner than leading competitor" vs "40% cleaner than Brand XYX"... Shell bought Pennzoil in 2002. And I'm pretty sure such a large company with their Compliance Dept would never allow Pennzoil to engage in false / misleading / unsubstantiated advertising!

Pennzoil Ultra Full Synthetic Motor Oil - Pennzoil

View attachment 43161

Yep, was comparing betwwen the two, its good we are on the opposite oil so that we can share our experiences. Luckily, my engine block is clear of sludge (when it was opened yesterday to replace the gasket), Mr FC gave a nod for approval, a sai he says , he also adjust the dunno what valve to .08mm,(cannot remember) for better throttle response, now driving like new car, with replaced sachs absorbers !

 

[donworks]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hi Canuck 78,

Thanks for sharing man! I think my car having same problems as yours. Bought a Apr 2007 E90 2 weeks back and started to see white smoke and "burning oil" smell like you when stop car and open the door. Can PM me how much you spent overall?

Busytiger, how old is yr ride?? before you head that option, why not consider replacing all the X16 seals cost abt S$50+, of course labour intensive....?? Its only the oil leak that causes the infamous white smoke... then again if your pocket is deeper....

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Ok will do

Hmmm... Then I'll look out for that fastest 320i... Mine is with another 5 behind... Just for the HI-5.... Hehe... Btw, I'm looking for a used performance exhaust to go a little bit more faster... Drop me a note if u know of anyone letting go...

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Ok good to know.

Btw I get BMW 5w-40 from Eng Soon also at $16/ea and Redline Oil 5w-40 from Autobacs Ubi is also 16-17$/ea

Oh, and I got my Pennzoil @ 16 bucks a quart (approx 1ltr) from mxtrading... in case anyone here interested...

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Hi busytiger,

The complete valve seals set (16 pcs) actually only costs $36+GST from Eng Soon.

It's the labour that kills, as i think you need to pull out the cylinder head (not sure if the engine needs to be hoisted out to perform the operations). Engine cover gasket need to be changed (around 50-60$), and oil/filter change is a must (another $100), all parts only.

If your engine is as sludged up as mine, the workshop will recommend to de-gunk the whole thing, so cost more labour cost and downtime.

Depending how long you had the oil burning/white exhaust problem, it could be simply fixed at the top (valve seals) when caught early on. If like mine this problem has persisted maybe 8-10 months etc, the oil leak from cylinder head down to crankcase and engine block (coked up pistons) will require full overhaul. The WS can only tell when they open the entire engine block.

I will PM you the various cost component i still remember as i just did this operation.

Hi Canuck 78,

Thanks for sharing man! I think my car having same problems as yours. Bought a Apr 2007 E90 2 weeks back and started to see white smoke and "burning oil" smell like you when stop car and open the door. Can PM me how much you spent overall?

 

[LuvVanos]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

Bro, may I know your damage for doing the overhaul? I was quoted $7k at Tropical Success. BVO quoted less. I think it's $5k...

:shock::shock::shock:

Tried all different ways to de-sludge via engine flush kits, reduce oil change interval (OCI) from 10k to 5k in the last 8-9 months, but don't think it did any good given the thick level of engine sludge I had.

Finally took the plunge and did a full overhaul for my 2006 e90 320i, mileage 127,000 km after car was diagnosed with engine valve seals gone bad, and top overhaul is required to fix the valve seals.

Condition of engine before overhaul:
Very heavy levels of sludge, and burning oil (started with 1L per 1-2 months, until recently every 2 weeks, so from bad to worse).

Given i know how sludged up my engine was previously, decided to go all the way to de-sludge the engine and change the wear-and-tear parts along the way once for all.

Engine valve cover removed, see the dark colored sludge (oil gel) on every part of the cam shafts and rest of the valve-train:

Cylinder head (top) with valve-train removed exposing the 16 hydraulic valve spring/top assembly, with the same bad sludge everywhere:

Close up of the hydraulic valve-springs (set of 4 at top of cylinder head) with a thick oily gel substance, was advised might as well de-sludge the whole top and bottom:

Cylinder head removed, showing the state of the intake (clean) and exhaust valves stems (carbon coated), this is the cause of the white exhaust smoke:

Engine block (bottom), exposing the pistons. Conditions are worse than i thought, but to be expected with all the oil burning (hence the carbonised build-up):

More oil stains/sludge at the crank-case, where the con-rod connected to the crank-shaft sits. This problem can't be solved with just a top overhaul since the engine oil burning problem affected the while engine block including valve stems, pistons, and also crank-case):

After the entire engine block was stripped clean, this is the brand new result of the cleaned cylinder head totally rid of sludge that was all worth it:

One of the 4 engine pistons with the piston rings replaced, and everything gleaming to a shiny metal finish:

6 pieces of this "semi-circle seats" replaced as wear-and-tear on the crank-case:

All the various engine components (left to right, top-bottom: engine block, crank-case, cylinder head, pistons, crank-shaft) after cleaning, inspected before the re-assembly:

Overall, car spent one whole week in the workshop and after a few K's spent.

All the necessary wear and tie items was changed, including valve seals (16 pcs), engine cover gasket, pistons rings, con rod bearings, timing chain guide (plastic part), alot of other seals/gaskets etc

The result:
Engine revs like a lot smoother now, feels more power restored probably due to increased efficiency (was getting 8.5km/l, now 9.5- 9.8km/l) , and loads quieter than before too. Ticking sound from the hydraulic lifters which is common with e90, not so audible now. So far so good for the last 2 tanks of petrol, ar 1k + travelled (oil sensor level still at full mark) and white exhaust smoke problem solved. Funny thing, it now also smells like normal exhaust now, which i can't quite describe but when it was burning oil, it has this really weird "wet and pungent" smell esp noticeable after i stop the car and open the door.

Using BMW 5w-40 oil now, may want to try Liquid Moly 5w-40 next round as heard it's very smooth.

And finally no more traumatised by the engine sludge, was advised to keep to 5-8k OCI to keep it that way.

 

[canuck78]

Re: Tried and Tested Means to De-tox / De-Sludge Your BMW

PM you already. Did it for way cheaper than the above.