2001 BMW M3, 6020 miles, 10w60

[roarf]

Car: 2001 BMW M3
Engine: BMW S54B32 3.2L I-6
Oil: Castrol TWS Motorsport 10w60
Not driven in winter, not tracked, not driven too hard.

Code:


OIL Castrol 10w60

MILES IN USE 6,020 miles

MAKEUP OIL ADDED 0 QTS.

MILES ON CAR 73,800

SAMPLE TAKEN 11/13/11



MY OIL UNIVERSAL AVERAGES



ALUMINUM 4 5

CHROMIUM 0 0

IRON 10 10

COPPER 20 8

LEAD 2 4

TIN 0 1

MOLYBDENUM 5 19

NICKEL 0 1

MANGANESE 0 1

SILVER 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0

POTASSIUM 0 2

BORON 81 89

SILICON 5 5

SODIUM 3 6

CALCIUM 1535 1662

MAGNESIUM 626 519

PHOSPHORUS 888 830

ZINC 1029 1001

BARIUM 0 0



INSOLUBLES 0.2
WATER 0.0
FUEL
ANTIFREEZE 0.0 0.0

FLASHPOINT ºF 375 >370

SUS VIS 210ºF 91.0 85-110

cSt @ 212ºF 18.21 16.8-22.9


Blackstone labs comments: The only odd find in the first sample from your M3's engine was copper. This shows excess wear at a brass/bronze part, such as a bushing. All other wear read normally so we aren't too worried about copper just yet, but we'll keep an eye on it next time. Universal averages for the S54 are based on an oil run of about 4,800 miles. The oil was free of any harmful contaminants and was in good shape physically. Despite the copper, we think your engine is doing well. Air and oil filtration look good. Check back at your next oil change for another look at wear.


Should I be concerned about the excess copper? Blackstone doesn't seem to be (yet). Service records indicate that my car had the rod bearing update performed Feb. 2005 at 38,783 miles. What confuses me is that the copper was the only thing far outside the universal averages. Everything else is at or under the averages, with the exception of magnesium and phosphorous being slightly above average. If the rod bearings were wearing that bad, wouldn't I see an excess of other metals as well, such as tin or lead?

I don't know if either of these factors makes any difference but, I did run a bottle of Techron through my gas about a month or two prior to changing the oil. Aside from that, I've done nothing to the engine. The last oil change was Sept. 2010, so it sat last winter then I drove all this year on it. Just for the record, I took the oil sample right after I pulled the drain plug and the oil started draining (oil was still warm).

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gathermewool]

I dislike their verbiage. "This shows excess wear..." It doesn't show anything, but one data point. The OIL looks to be in a good shape, though TBN/TAN would be nice to see.

Without TBN/TAN, I'd say you found a good OCI for your car.

 

[roarf]

Sorry if this is a noobish question but, what is TBN/TAN and OCI?

 

[jaj]

Welcome to BITOG!

TAN - Total Acid Number - is a measure of the acidity of the oil. It gets HIGHER as the oil ages. Typically, TAN is more meaningful in diesel engines.

TBN - Total Base Number - is a measure of the oil's ability to absorb and neutralize acid (from combustion). It gets LOWER as the oil ages.

If TAN is higher than TBN, it's time to change the oil.

OCI is "Oil Change Interval" - how long the oil was in service, usually measured in miles or kilometers. Can be months as well, but not usually. Rarely measured in years, except as a way to get a spririted discussion going.

As for the analysis results, they're excellent. I've been looking at TWS oil analysis results from BMW M engines of my own since 2001, and this report is just fine!

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: jaj
Rarely measured in years, except as a way to get a spririted discussion going.

Nicely worded.

 

[needsducktape]

I could be mistaken, but if your M3 had the rod bearing recall in Feb 2005, it may still be at risk.

As I understood it (and if I remember correctly), there was a 2nd recall THAT INCLUDED ALL THE FIRST RECALL. -In other words, if you were apart of the first batch of recalls, it may not have fixed the problem entirely.



I am a E36 m3 guy so I'm going off of what a read here and there and my squirrel like memory...

Resident E46 BMW experts chime in...

 

[roarf]

Thanks for the help so far guys. I am asking Blackstone if they had a TBN or TAN for my sample. I was not aware there was a 2nd recall. I think it would be really good to know dates for when each recall was issued. Perhaps I should go to the local dealer and see what they know about the recalls?

 

[roarf]

I asked Blackstone about the sample a little more and here's what they had to say.

"We certainly wouldn't go as far as to call copper a bearing problem in this first sample from your M3's engine. Instead, the copper is likely coming from brass/bronze parts such as an oil cooler or valvetrain bushing. Whatever the cause, we aren't ready to get worked up about copper in this first sample, but will monitor the behavior of all metals next sample."

Also...

"You checked "No" for a TBN, so we did not run that test. As long as there's enough oil remaining in your sample, we can still run either or both tests for an additional charge of $10 each. These tests do not come as part of the standard analysis and quite frankly don't tell us nearly as much as wear patterns do."

Originally Posted By: needsducktape
I could be mistaken, but if your M3 had the rod bearing recall in Feb 2005, it may still be at risk.

As I understood it (and if I remember correctly), there was a 2nd recall THAT INCLUDED ALL THE FIRST RECALL. -In other words, if you were apart of the first batch of recalls, it may not have fixed the problem entirely.



I am a E36 m3 guy so I'm going off of what a read here and there and my squirrel like memory...

Resident E46 BMW experts chime in...


You are right, there was a second recall that included bearings from the first recall.

In the service records printout for my car, it says the following.

Date: 02/23/05
Mileage: 38,783
Op. Desc.: Campaigns/recalls
Correction: Performed rod bearing update per bulletin 11 04 04.

So it appears that my car received the most current rod bearing update. I'm keeping the car in the garage for winter so I think what I'm going to do is have another sample checked middle of next year, which should be at about 3,000 miles (half OCI).

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
I dislike their verbiage. "This shows excess wear..." It doesn't show anything, but one data point. The OIL looks to be in a good shape, though TBN/TAN would be nice to see.

Without TBN/TAN, I'd say you found a good OCI for your car.

 

[Audios]

Could the valvetrain bushing Blackstones talking about possibly be from the valve shims wearing? Those cars have solid lifters.

 

[Al]

Is 60 wt called for?

 

[roarf]

Originally Posted By: Audios
Could the valvetrain bushing Blackstones talking about possibly be from the valve shims wearing? Those cars have solid lifters.


It does have solid lifters but I don't think the shims are made out of brass.

Originally Posted By: Al
Is 60 wt called for?


Yes, that is the only approved oil for the engine.

 

[KenO]

A little late to the party, but I saw get her nice and up to temp and go beat the [censored] out of it. Seems like the wear numbers are high-ish for a 70k mile S54, these engines do NOT like being babied.