Under the valve cover of a $1900 BMW N54. Want your opinions

D4700

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I've just bought this 2009 BMW 535xi Wagon with 158k miles for cheap (needed a valve cover, brakes, and two wheel speed sensors - $250 and an afternoon, it now runs great). However, I am a bit concerned about the condition of the top end. Looks like some thick varnish. Should I be concerned about the turbos and timing components? No sludge, from what I can see by peering through the cam trays. If I decide to keep this, I'll be preoccupied with all the accessories failing so an engine problem is the last thing I need! :ROFLMAO:
 

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Little varnish. Some would say deposits here would indicate more in hotter areas like the rings. So do you have oil consumption? if so there might be damage, if not or very little then probably not. Many say m1 0w-40 cleans pretty good for an off the shelf oil. So i'd use that and change at 5k intervals. What about the trans and diff though.
My bar is low considering I paid $1900 for a somewhat nice car that I was able to drive an hour home, so I'm elated to say that it hasn't used a drop of oil. I'm going to be driving it 2000 miles back to college in a few weeks, I suppose that will be the real test. The last four times I've made the trip in various sketchy BMWs I haven't had any issues. My luck must be running thin... Might be time to upgrade my AAA membership!

I have a couple jugs of M1 0w40 on the shelf since I've used it in all my other cars with great success. I'm glad to hear that it cleans well.

Condition of the trans fluid, diff oil, and t-case fluid are unknown so I will be changing them out shortly. Any recommendations on transfer case fluid? This is my first XDrive. Thinking of using Valvoline Transfer Case Fluid - Its viscosity seems to match the OE fluid by Rein. Surely they're similar
 
My bar is low considering I paid $1900 for a somewhat nice car that I was able to drive an hour home, so I'm elated to say that it hasn't used a drop of oil. I'm going to be driving it 2000 miles back to college in a few weeks, I suppose that will be the real test. The last four times I've made the trip in various sketchy BMWs I haven't had any issues. My luck must be running thin... Might be time to upgrade my AAA membership!

I have a couple jugs of M1 0w40 on the shelf since I've used it in all my other cars with great success. I'm glad to hear that it cleans well.

Condition of the trans fluid, diff oil, and t-case fluid are unknown so I will be changing them out shortly. Any recommendations on transfer case fluid? This is my first XDrive. Thinking of using Valvoline Transfer Case Fluid - Its viscosity seems to match the OE fluid by Rein. Surely they're similar
Don’t use Valvoline. I think their fluids are great, but that TC is sensitive to what is inside.
Rein is not OE! OE is either Shell or Pentosin. Regardless of price, shell out for actual fluid that is recommended for TC. Differentials will take any 75W90.
 
Decided to check back on this thread, thanks so much for all of your great responses. Here's an update for anyone who cares.

She made it to Arizona! 30 hours and 2,000 miles was not a problem for this thing. And, best of all - It didn't, and still hasn't, used a drop of oil, even with sustained 80+ MPH on the trip and tons of hard city driving in 100F+ these past few weeks. Safe to say that my concerns about the engine have been quelled.

I found out that the t-case was replaced about 30k miles ago, so I'm not very worried about the XDrive system. I also flashed XDelete to disable the actuator entirely, so hopefully that helps things. @raaizin

I would say that the era before this (90s, early 2000s) were much more notorious for cooling system issues. The main issue with these is the electric water pump, which tends to go out around 100k on the turbo models depending on use, and 100-150k+ on the NA models. It's a pain to replace, but it tends to give warning signs in the form of codes before it finally gives up. On my 2011 328i, the factory original water pump made it to 205k before it started to throw codes. It still did the job fine, but I replaced it preemptively. @michaelluscher

Here's a picture for those asking. The paint was a touch hazed when I bought it, but a quick pass with the rotary was enough to clean it up in an hour. It's certainly no show car but it shined up nicely!
 

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Little varnish. Some would say deposits here would indicate more in hotter areas like the rings. So do you have oil consumption? if so there might be damage, if not or very little then probably not. Many say m1 0w-40 cleans pretty good for an off the shelf oil. So i'd use that and change at 5k intervals. What about the trans and diff though.
 
Run Mobil extended performance.bottle advertises clean up sludge in one oil change. Or run I like fram synthetic. Redline has esters. Run it 3000 miles. Drain refill.eventualybgunna remove varnish,virtually all carbon . I seen pics others using super tech semi synth for 3-5000 miles took valve cover off,spotless
 
Looks great for that engine. They all varnish up like that. Just run whatever 40w euro oil you like and your good. 1900 is a great score. Good vehicle
 
Great score on a great wagon! More pics are more better ;)

+1 on the M1 0w40 for a few shorter intervals; should clean that right up.

Also, look into BimmerLink and BimmerCode. You'll need a good BMW-specific scan tool to keep that puppy happy.
 
I've just bought this 2009 BMW 535xi Wagon with 158k miles for cheap (needed a valve cover, brakes, and two wheel speed sensors - $250 and an afternoon, it now runs great). However, I am a bit concerned about the condition of the top end. Looks like some thick varnish. Should I be concerned about the turbos and timing components? No sludge, from what I can see by peering through the cam trays. If I decide to keep this, I'll be preoccupied with all the accessories failing so an engine problem is the last thing I need! :ROFLMAO:
Looks fine based on the age. BMW ran a long interval of 15k miles on these engines.
 
https://www.advlubrication.com/ for HPL Supercar 0W-40, as mentioned, watch how much that will clean up. Your M1 0W-40 will work as well but the HPL is a slightly "better" oil; I'd buy the HPL to support a small business and have the superior product (it's in the Top 3 of motor oils and IMHO is presently on the throne, don't see it falling off soon either.)

That's a beautiful car and it's something I've always wanted to do, take a cheap car and give it wings so it can fly.
 
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