Question-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Follow up:
Don,
The oil does not appear to be leaking. (There is some oil on the bottom
strike plate but nothing like the quantity that we are losing.) It does not
appear to be burning: occasionally we get grey/black smoke out of the
tailpipe, but it's not routine. The ticking/ clicking sound from the engine is
getting more noticable even when the oil is full.
Unfortunately I don't have the tools here to pull and mark the plugs. There is
a real dearth of good small shop mechanics here which is why I relied on the
dealer (until getting the bizarre diagnosis I mentioned previously.) Is is
plausible that the engine is "dying?" I plan to get a second opinion from a
different dealer, but wanted an idea of what might be wrong.
Nick
Original:
Don,
Hello. I am an American living for a year in Ireland. I bought a used 1996
BMW 523i from a private seller. Although it ran well, almost from the start it
had very high levels of oil consumption (roughly 3 Litres per 1000 miles,
although it varied somewhat based on usage patterns). Although I tried to
keep the engine "topped up" with oil, it ran increasingly louder - a clicking or
ticking noise. It now has about 98,000 miles on it - not much for a BMW. I
took it to a BMW dealer and was told that "the engine is dead," that a new
engine (at roughly the book value of the car) is the only answer. They said
the inside is "polished" - but had little other useful information.
I've owned a number of cars in the US. I've occasionally needed a valve job,
ring job, etc. but never been told the whole engine needed replacing. Yet,
the dealer did not seem to be pushy about having them do the work....
I would greatly appreciate your advice. We hope to keep the car for another
10,000 to 20,000 miles (until early Sept. 06.)
Nick
Answer -
where did the oil go?Was it burning it?you can tell by indexing the plugs.That
is before removing the plugs mark esch plug with a dab of paint on the top
side of the plug,when you remove the plug(if it is burning oil)ther will be
deposits on top or bottom of the plug,that will be where the oil is going.From
there I can help
AnswerAny excessive oil consumption is bad.Saying that the engine being"DEAD" is kind of the easy way out.With out doing a cylinder leak down test it is hard to determine cylinder condition.That is why indexing the plugs would help.I would take it a trusting shop for more diagnosis
