Strange piston deposits?
- Thread starter chris719
- Start date
Could be too many fuel additives. Do you know if the previous owner liked to put octane booster in it?
In the absence of any other problems, I would not be concerned.
In the absence of any other problems, I would not be concerned.
I have no idea honestly. I bought it from a guy that bought it from a guy in Florida, and we all know Florida Man can do anything.
Looks like antifreeze (coolant). Head gasket leak.
What do the sparkplugs look like.
I'm not sure if it's coolant. I don't think I'm losing any, plus S54 almost never leaks coolant into the cylinders being closed deck with wide spacing to the coolant openings, and I see this on all 6. Also, my last UOA showed no signs of coolant.
I'll try to get pics but they looked good I think, although they are only 4k miles old.
I`d be very happy with that engine.
looks like normal deposits to me.
It just appears to be a small amount of ash from the lubricant’s additive package. What is the SAPS level of the oil that you are using?
1.29% for Castrol Edge 10W-60 according to 2021 PDS. I don't run Edge, I run the BMW TPT 10W-60 which should be around 1% but most of these engines have run the Castrol for the bulk of their lives.
Weird. It almost looks like aluminum oxide, l
Seems to me it's likely to be fuel-related. Perhaps the previous owner preferred a local station that he thought was reputable but turns out the fuel wasn't good.
Coolant consumption sometimes looks like this too because of the silicates and phosphates in some coolant formulations. Glycol itself shouldn't leave much of anything behind when burned (it's a hydrocarbon and it WILL burn!).
Ash, but I doubt its from the add pack. The engine would have to be burning oil like its fuel to leave such deposits, I'd think.
Seems to me it's likely to be fuel-related. Perhaps the previous owner preferred a local station that he thought was reputable but turns out the fuel wasn't good.
Coolant consumption sometimes looks like this too because of the silicates and phosphates in some coolant formulations. Glycol itself shouldn't leave much of anything behind when burned (it's a hydrocarbon and it WILL burn!).
LSPI mostly shows up a ventilated block.
It's not wear, but at first pics make it hard to see that it isn't.
Could be detonation or lean conditions maybe but it’s an NA engine.
One thing to consider is that it’s a Z4M so it’s a fair weather car and probably has been stored for long periods since it’s a 2006 MY car and has 94k miles. Bad gas could be a possibility.
A sure case of piston head eating amoeba from the swap gas in Florida. Only cure is to remove the pistons and melt them down. 
Perhaps during storage the original owner added something to the cylinders that evaporated over time??? Or burned off leaving deposits??
Give the pistons a Berryman bath, and see if if comes back. If not, no worries. If yes.., then worry about it, or not, if you choose too.
