drchuck72
12-10-2008, 08:57 AM
Hi Rocco,
Just read a thread on the e46fanatics that brought back some bad memories from last winter.
On February 28, 2008, I had just dropped off my daughter at daycare (around 4km from home) and was on my way to work when my car start to run quite rough and then I noticed white/grey smoke billowing out the tailpipe. The smoke was so thick that I didn't see another car pass for a minute. All the cars behind me had to fall back because they couldn't see a damn thing. Anyways, my car was dead at that point. The outside temp that day was a brisk -30C.
Anyways, I got the car towed to a shop near my office in Stouffville (this was before I knew you Rocco) and the mechanic there took it from there. In the end, it was discovered that the oil separator (PCV) valve had frozen due to moisture in the oil line and spewed oil all over the engine, exhaust manifold and all the way down the exhaust. Fortunately, when the engine seized, no valves were bent ($$$$ repair). At the time I was driving a 2002 330Ci with 127K km on the clock. The ironic thing? That was the day I was supposed to go down to Parkview BMW to pick up my 2003 M3 Cab. Anyways, Rick was able to flush out all of the oil and clean up the engine and get everything shipshape.
My question is this. I am about 9000km away from my next oil service. Would it be good preventive maintenance to get an interim oil change now before it really starts to get cold to minimize the amount of moisture in the oil. Obviously, I don't want to get stranded again and I certainly would like to prevent any catastrophic engine damage to my beloved M3.
Thanks Rocco.
Just read a thread on the e46fanatics that brought back some bad memories from last winter.
On February 28, 2008, I had just dropped off my daughter at daycare (around 4km from home) and was on my way to work when my car start to run quite rough and then I noticed white/grey smoke billowing out the tailpipe. The smoke was so thick that I didn't see another car pass for a minute. All the cars behind me had to fall back because they couldn't see a damn thing. Anyways, my car was dead at that point. The outside temp that day was a brisk -30C.
Anyways, I got the car towed to a shop near my office in Stouffville (this was before I knew you Rocco) and the mechanic there took it from there. In the end, it was discovered that the oil separator (PCV) valve had frozen due to moisture in the oil line and spewed oil all over the engine, exhaust manifold and all the way down the exhaust. Fortunately, when the engine seized, no valves were bent ($$$$ repair). At the time I was driving a 2002 330Ci with 127K km on the clock. The ironic thing? That was the day I was supposed to go down to Parkview BMW to pick up my 2003 M3 Cab. Anyways, Rick was able to flush out all of the oil and clean up the engine and get everything shipshape.
My question is this. I am about 9000km away from my next oil service. Would it be good preventive maintenance to get an interim oil change now before it really starts to get cold to minimize the amount of moisture in the oil. Obviously, I don't want to get stranded again and I certainly would like to prevent any catastrophic engine damage to my beloved M3.
Thanks Rocco.