# OIL CHANGE EXPERIENCE: E91 328iT



## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

I completed an oil change on my '07 E91 328iT over the weekend and wanted to share some learnings here with anyone who also has an E91 and interested in doing an oil change on his/her own.

1) Buy an OEM oil filter and engine oil from a BMW dealer's parts shop. This removes any doubts about getting the right part, compatibility, and warrenty. Filter P/N: 11-42-7-566-327-104. It is manufactured by MANN of Germany (P/N HU 816). The engine oil P/N is: 07-51-0-017-866-PG15. Viscosity is 5W30. Assael BMW in Monrovia, CA charged me $10.90 for the filter and $5.40 per quart of oil. The car requires ~ 6.5 Qts. Alternative BMW approved engine oils are: Mobil 1 0W40 and Castrol Syntec 0W30. Look for the BMW LL-01 text on back of oil containers. Next time, I will use Mobil 1 0W40.

2) Use lots of rags to clean/wipe any drips and to prevent drips. This is especially important when removing the oil filter cap and the oil filter itself.

3) Lifting the car and getting under it. I used a set of Rhino Ramps (12,000 capacity). I was able to drive up the ramp on my own w/o a second person to wach the wheels for me. I recommend a second person, "spotter". Some people had difficult time going up the ramp (due to slipping of the ramp along the ground, or the front air dam scraping against the ramp.) I did not experience this problem. I had a platform jack ready in case I had to jack up the car in order to slip the ramp under the front tire. In the end I did not have to do that, so I returned the jack to Pep Boys and saved $100.

4) The oil drain bold is hidden behind a "trap door." You can use a flat screw driver, coin, or fingernails to turn the plastic screw. The trap door will drop down. This trap door is removeable so set it asside and replace after you're job is done. The door does get in the way/view of the drain bolt. Use a 17 mm socket wrench to remove the drain bolt. It did not require much effort/force to removethe socket. Keep that in mind when re-installing the bolt, don't overtighten.

5) The oil drain outlet faces/shoots out horizontally (sideways) to the passenger side. It will shoot out quite far (almost 1 foot away), so use a large pan to catch all the oil. There will be some splashing, but nothing that a good rag won't be able to clean/wipe up.

6) CAUTION: Engine oil will be very hot!!!! I ran the car a few miles till it got to full operating temp. This is so that any/all bits and pieces in the oil will be kicked up and circulated so that it will drain out. And, with hotter oil, more will drain out. Less stuck on engine parts.

7) CAUTION: Oil filter cap will be very hot!!! I was able to unscrew by hand, using a thick rubber glove as insulation and for extra grip

8) The oil filter comes with 2 gaskets, 1 large one (black) for the oil filter cap threading and 1 tiny (green) one for the tip/shaft of the cap. It also comes with a "crush washer" for the oil drain plug. The orginal one will be chrome colored. NOTE after removing the drain plug and draining the oil, the drain plug may get stuck around the oil exit port on the oil pan. Just use your fingernail and pry it off. If you don't see it there, then it probably fell off already.

9) A good/solid plastic fork is a reallky usefull tool to use for pulling/removing the 2 gaskets from the engine oil cap (threading and shaft). Get a good plastic fork from a higher end takeout restaurant. It is solid enough to pry/pull the gasket out, but won't scratch any parts or threading. NOTE: The threading and shaft will be really greasy so using hand/fingers to remove gaskets will be tricky/difficult (but not impossible).

10) When installing the *new *gaskets onto the oil filter cap, remember to pre lubricate the gaskets with the new engine oil. Just dip your finger into the oil containers and rub on the gaskets. Also, it would be a good idea to rub a generous amout of new engine oil on the top and bottom parts of the new oil filter to preven scuffing when you re-install the filter and cap.

11) It is also a good idea to "pre-wick" the new filter with new engine oil. Just pur small amounts of new engine oil onto the new filter, directly on the elements. You will see the element soak up the oil and change color. NOTE: The oil filter itself is pretty small, about the size of an 8 oz yogurt cup.
12) Replacing the oil filter cap and oil drain plug. When re-tightenning the oil filter cap, I did not use a torque or strap wrench. I just used my hand (wearing rubber gloves). There is a green "dot" marker on the cap. This is a "location indicator. " Half of the green dot is on the cap, the other half on the oil filter housing. When you tighten the cap, just tighten it till it is really snug, just like when you were un-tightening it, and align the green dot. The cap is labled with a torque of "25 N M". However, I did not bother. Similar with the oil drain plug. Based on the force used ot remove the bolt, I used similar force to tighten. Just make sure to check and make sure there are no leaks after driving for a few miles. Same idea with the oil drain plug. REMEMBER install the copper crush washer on the drain plug!!!!!

13) After you re-install everything (drain plug, oil filter and gaskets, oil filter gap, and trap door, fill up with at least 6.5 QTS of new engine oil, close the engine oil cap, then start the engine. Let it idel warm up for a good 5 - 10 minutes. Since the new engine oil will be alot cooler than the old hot oil, you want to let the new oil warm up and circulate and lubricate the engine well before driving.

14) After warm up, drive the car around for 5 miles or so, then check the oil level to make sure it is full, but not over full. Then park the car on the driveway and look under the car to see if there are leaks.

This was a pretty easy job. It took me about 90 minutes because it was my first time on a BMW and first oil change since about 15 years ago:rofl: . Next time, I'll shoot for 60 minutes, then, work my way down to 30 minutes.

I'm still used to the $12 oil change on my civic and integra ($5 filter and 4 or 5 qts of 10-40's at $1.19 per qt.):rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

So, it was a bit of a shock to me is that the filter and engine oil combined to a cost of over $50!!!! I guess that's the price of owning a BMW.


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## mflint1513 (Jan 6, 2006)

Nice "How-To". I had the same sort of sticker shock when I changed my oil in my 528i for the first time. It killed me when I found out how much oil these things hold! BTW, if you go online to eBay, you can get Mann filters in bulk. I got 4 filters with all of the gaskets and O-rings for like 30USD shipped!


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## elbee (Jun 19, 2006)

If you really want sticker shock. Take the car to a stealership to have an oil change. This is why I started to DIY.


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## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

elbee said:


> If you really want sticker shock. Take the car to a stealership to have an oil change. This is why I started to DIY.


Tried that. Called the stealership first. It was the "lazy, just pay up" option. In fact, I just drove up to the stealership on a Saturday morning at 8 AM. It turned out that the service department opens at 7 AM. So, I was already 1 hr behind. The "admitting" clerk denied me; told me that I needed an appointment. OK, cool. So, "I'd like to make an appointment". Clerk: "Sorry, our computers do not take appointments on Saturdays".

So, the next Monday, I call the Stealership for an appointment. They told me that I did not need oil change at 3,000. I said that I wanted one and they told me it was $250. I think that might have been for oil "SERVICE", rather than oil "CHANGE". But, I figure that I would not even bother with asking about the "CHANGE" pricing. I've heard anywhere from $85 to $175. So, I decided to do it myself.

I then ventured to buying some Rhino Ramps (12,000 capacity for $40 at Wal Mart), a good ratchet wrench ($17 Sears Craftsman) and a good quality 17 mm socket ($6 Sears Craftsman). Also bought a "racing jack" (Torin BigRed 1.5 Ton Aluminum Racing Jack for $90) and a set of 2 ton Jack Stands ($12 Wal Mart). Oil drain container/pan (12 QT capacity for $8 from Kragen). It turned out that I was able to just drive up the ramp and did not have to jack up the car, then slip the ramp under the wheels. So, returned the jack and jack stands.

So, in the end, I spent about $75 on equipment which I'll keep using. That part is not as much of a surprise as the cost of filter ($10.40 + TAX for BMW OEM made by Mann) and engine oil ($5.40 per qt X 7 Qts for BMW OEM 5W30 synthetic).


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## missT286 (Mar 17, 2007)

hey, had my oil changed. not at bmw, it was still an awsome 150 later.. but its done, im just wondering if theres anyway to reset the " oil service the ? miles " on the dash before it starts going into the negatives


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## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

missT286 said:


> hey, had my oil changed. not at bmw, it was still an awsome 150 later.. but its done, im just wondering if theres anyway to reset the " oil service the ? miles " on the dash before it starts going into the negatives


At $150 for oil change, I would expect the independent shop to reset the oil service light for you. If I were you, I would call and ask them to reset that for you.

If they cannot, then you buy the reset tool ($120 +/- $50) and do it yourself. Just google search BMW oil reset tool.

I did my oil change at 3,000 miles, so reset light was not necessary.


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## kaximoduo (Jan 17, 2007)

Thanks for sharing the experiences.

D*** it, my dealer (Irvine BMW) sold me the oil at $7.99/qt and the oil filter at $19.08. After taxed, it is a total of $80.82 (I bought 7qt). It is like a robbery.


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## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

kaximoduo said:


> Thanks for sharing the experiences.
> 
> D*** it, my dealer (Irvine BMW) sold me the oil at $7.99/qt and the oil filter at $19.08. After taxed, it is a total of $80.82 (I bought 7qt). It is like a robbery.


Ouch!

That is high!!! Oil can be had ~ $5.5 per qt, so you'd hsave ~ 2.50 X 7 = 17.5 here. Filter is ~ 10.50, that's another $8 for a total of $25 in savings.

Well, if it is convenient for you to just go to the dealer rather than shopping around, driving around OC, then you might as well just pay for the convenience.


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## tjct (Jul 30, 2007)

*a few questions*

Great post on oil change.... i have a few questions: I have a `07 328 xi hopefully it`s similiar......how big is the trap door and in relation to the pas, front wheel where is the trap door? did a quick crawl under my car and seen nothing like a trap door.
also, any procedure to reset the computer after oil change? Thanks.


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## be-em-veh-808 (Apr 29, 2005)

be-em-veh-808 said:


> Ouch!
> 
> That is high!!! Oil can be had ~ $5.5 per qt, so you'd hsave ~ 2.50 X 7 = 17.5 here. Filter is ~ 10.50, that's another $8 for a total of $25 in savings.
> 
> Well, if it is convenient for you to just go to the dealer rather than shopping around, driving around OC, then you might as well just pay for the convenience.


just an update.....

my local bmw dealer (ASSael BMW) increased their oil and filter prices.

Oil is now $8.20 per qt (was $5.40)
Filter is now $14.55 (was $10.21)

Next time you can count on me buying Mobile1 at Kragen, PepBoys, etc for $5.50 per qt and buying the OEM filter (by Mann) via an internet supplier for ~$10.


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

Resurrecting the thread 

So, let me get this straight. To remove the oil filter, one can use a strap wrench. Is there the alternative of buying a BMW part (i.e a cap specifically designed for the oil filter cap)? I'm going to do an oil change for the 325i this weekend (_31tkm ölwechsel? Qwatsch!_) and if I'm going to spend money on opening that up, I'm gonna buy the right tool. I'm afraid a strap wrench won't have enough grip/leverage.

Don't ask me to do it by hand, it can't be done on my 325i. Too tight.


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## chaz58 (Sep 11, 2007)

_Aznmpower32: Wir bedanken uns für Ihre Geduld; bitte weiter lesen: _ I spend about $10 at bavauto.com and got the wrench cap for my car. Piece of cake. I usually go to the parts store and get a wrench cap for any car I own. makes life so much easier (although if you have a cannister filter, you often have to stick with the same make to get the wrench to fit).

A dealer in Chicago charged $80 for an oil change, which I thought wasn't too bad. They wanted about $250 (I think) to change the transmission oil, and I did that myself for $20.


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## JimD1 (Jun 5, 2009)

You can get an oil change kit for $45.50 from United BMW (the name on my bookmark says unitedbmwparts.com but the address says trademotion or you could google for them). It is BMW oil and filter.

Another handy thing if you change your own oil is a 5 gallon metal container. I got mine from when they built my house. It was the polyurethane container. That way you can do several changes before going to recycle. I can take it to a county recycling center but sometimes I just go to Advance Auto Parts. They take it without hassles. If you don't have one but have other vehicles, the 5 quart oil containers for cheaper oil are also handy if you save up several (I keep one or two for when I go a little over 5 gallons).

Jim


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

chaz58 said:


> _Aznmpower32: Wir bedanken uns für Ihre Geduld; bitte weiter lesen: _ I spend about $10 at bavauto.com and got the wrench cap for my car. Piece of cake. I usually go to the parts store and get a wrench cap for any car I own. makes life so much easier (although if you have a cannister filter, you often have to stick with the same make to get the wrench to fit).


I ended up getting the N52-specific wrench cap (wow this was awhile ago!). A one-time investment, I suppose, for future oil changes.


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