My Very First BMW...Guidance Please!!
I just bought a 94 530i 5spd and unfortunately did very little research before this purchase. I fell in love with this car after 2 min. behind the wheel. This car is "currently" mechanically flawless at 124K (no dash lights lit, dry, smooth, and fast). When I got it home, I began looking for any and all data related to this car (unable to reach previous owner). Needless to say, it wasn't long before I became quite familiar with the Nikasil "Leak Down" issue. While changing the oil, I confirmed that Nik has not been replaced with Alusil. Since then, I have been losing sleep while wrestling with the dilemma of what to do now. I love this car (it is 100x more car than my Taurus SHO), but I find myself worrying every time I'm behind the wheel (listening/feeling for noises, loss of power, rough idle, etc.) Should I sell it? $5K sounds like a lot to replace Nikasil. Is there an oil additive that might prevent leak down? Fuel brands/additives? Let me know what you think...Thanks!
5w30 is good, 0w40 is better, 5-6000 btw changes, change filter every 3000
Quote:
Originally Posted by cptjnz
Thanks for the advice Jeff! When it comes to synthetic oil, how often would you recommend a change? Is 5/30 a decent weight? I'm located in MA and commute roughly 50 hwy. miles each day. Sorry to sound like a Driver's Ed. student, but this car is truly quite foreign to me. I love it!