e46 330ci need help!

bersky · 02-01-2011, 01:07 PM

hey i have a 2001 330 ci when i bought the car the guy said he changed the oil i dont think he used a very good oil so i changed it myself. when i did i noticed some weird creamy stuff under the oil cap. this scares me due to the fact of a blown head gasket. but there was no antifreeze in the oil could it possibly be something els?

dbworld4k · 02-01-2011, 01:24 PM

Build up due to moisture. Just drive the car hard every now and then and it should be fine. My father's 330 had similar gunk developing under the cap attributed to the short leisurely commute that wouldn't even fully warm up the temp.

bersky · 02-01-2011, 01:34 PM

ahh that would make sence! i only drive 5-10 mins to work everyday thank god lol i was soooo freaked out

Pierce330 · 02-01-2011, 02:14 PM

My 330 does the same thing, it is nothing to worry about...

Quote:

Build up due to moisture

+1

BimmerGuys · 02-01-2011, 03:13 PM

Nothing to worry about in some cases is water condensation. Common with Volvos and BMW.

**Mystikal** · 02-01-2011, 04:03 PM

Common 330 issue in particular. Run the proper oil (BMW LL-01...Mobil 1 0w40 is the easiest to find) and as Anuk said try to avoid short (< 10min) trips.

slemmer · 02-01-2011, 05:55 PM

Yeah and give her a good run on the highway to blow out all that crap that accumulated from the short hauls.

mclovin · 02-01-2011, 07:50 PM

Happens o my 325 as well with bmw/GC oil

i work about 10 minutes away from home

new member · 02-03-2011, 01:26 PM

Very common issue with E46s. Like everyone said its due to condensation build up from oil. CCV is supposed to do its job and separate the vapours but the car needs to be driven for a while before it starts working as the CCV is vacuum controlled.

If your CCV has not been replaced and you;re at over 120kms, change it. I did it last week with the new Cold Weather version so that I dont have to worry about it.

Also, correct oil is a must. For our canadian weather there is NOTHING better the Castrol 0W30 Euro Formula (the back of the bottle says Made In Germany) sells at crappy tire.

On the RIGHT in the picture below.

abrial · 02-03-2011, 08:39 PM

so just a question about oil, what kind of oil do you guys use for yours e46? because I'm looking for something better than Rs200 that I'm using now. thanks

Pierce330 · 02-04-2011, 10:21 AM

I run 5 40 Lubrimolly

abrial · 02-04-2011, 10:28 AM

Where did you get it? And how much did you pay? Thanks

Pierce330 · 02-04-2011, 10:31 AM

I'm pretty sure that all of the independent shops in your area Ie. RMP and Bimmersport use it...lubrimolly/total/elf...

abrial · 02-04-2011, 10:52 AM

Rmp has only rs200, but i dont really trust to that oil.

**Mystikal** · 02-04-2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierce330

I run 5 40 Lubrimolly

Which is the incorrect oil. Check the BMW approval on it, it's either LL-98 (which doesn't meet the requirements for your car) or LL-04 (which is not supposed to be used in North America as per BMW's recommendation...fuel quality related).

Run LL-01 oil. BMW genuine 5W-30, Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol 0W-30 (German), Motul 8100 5W-30, Motul 8100 5W-40, and a few more scarce ones.

We use LL-01 oil exclusively, for non-M cars.