Mobile One 0W - 40 in M44 Winter

[95BMWIC]

Just to interject on this topic.

I've read on several forums that Canadians love oil heater pads. Heating the oil (as opposed to a block heater) is recommended by Bob is the Oil Guy forum since start up is when the most damage occurs. Warming (thinning) the oil before startup in sub freezing temps helps to alleviate the friction damage that happens when the engine is running when the oil is still thick and cold. Thinner is better.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2073447-Mobil-1-0W-40&highlight=bob+is+the+oil+guy

To understand a bit more on motor oil I recommend reading Bob is the oil guy website.

Mobil 1 0W40 is NOT too thin. It is constructed to meet manufacturing specs at operating temps.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Also Mobil 1 is BMW approved http://pds.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...ESP_0W-40.aspx and here: https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1

(It also has high ZDDP) If I find a link to the spec sheet I will post it - (1,000 PPM)

Here is a little on it: https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our-...r-classic-cars

HERE is the Mobil guide: https://mobiloil.com/~/media/amer/us...pecs-guide.pdf

I have a write up on the oil pad installation here:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2038409-quot-Selfies-quot

I run Mobil 1 0W-40 in my M20 - for about 20K miles with no issues yet - I have 235000 on the engine.

[M-technik-3]

Rislone is for cleaning old oil deposits out, kinda like the old addage of an Italian Tune Up aka drive the shit out of it and drain and then do oil change.

Frigid weather, I used 0-30w in my M44 and had no ill effects.

[DER E30]

honestly cleaning the lifters on a m42 is super easy. Id go about it like this:

remove valve cover
lock engine at TDC
remove timing chain tensioner
zip-tie timing chain to cam sprockets and remove sprockets
remove camshafts by turning each bolt half turn at a time in a star pattern, just like headbolts. exercise caution here, because atleast one valve will be compressed by them and half a turn preside may be too much - the slower and the more controlled the better
remove lifter trays with lifters in them (if you are quick enough and able to use all 10 digits you can flip each tray upside down so they don't fall out)
soak all the lifters in ATF overnight or as long as you want

now a lot of people to say to keep each lifter with its respective valve but honestly all of mine looked great and had little wear, so what difference is it really going to make on a street car?

to get the gunk out of the lifters spray carb cleaner or some kind of solvent in each lifter's little air hole and then shake them rapidly to "pump" them up and get the atf/gunk/cleaner out.

it would be a good idea to soak them in clean oil befire re-install too, otherwise the car will have very bad lifter tick for a few minutes until they "pump up"

reinstall and make sure the cams are timed correct. E cam is for intake, A is for exhaust. the cam tools I got mine used once off eBay for $45, original price was like $110 new so the deals are out there.

I'd do that, but ain't nobody got time fo dat in the middle of the school quarter. Juggling 3 classes and my internship starts Monday.

[fresh_TD]

Anyone here use Seafoam instead of Rislone?

[packratbimmer]

Anyway - If you live in a frigid climate and have Mobile One 0W-40 (or perhaps other thick oils) in your crank case, then your car acts like a beast when it is zero Fahrenheit. Oh, and you don't feel like a major engine operation when it is zero outside, then pop some 5W- 20 or 30 in there and change the filter. It worked for me and there is plenty of time in the Spring for wrenching if needed. 5W20 should be OK below freezing and 5W-30 should get through part of Spring. Y'all down south need not apply. I can say that cause I'm from WV.

[packratbimmer]

Question 1: Any other experiences with Mobile One 0W-40 in cold climates? Relating to lifters?

Question 2: I am reading about the use of VW lifters in the M44 and I am wondering if anyone has a good or bad experience with those.

Cheers!!!

[digger]

Hmm, that's odd.

BUT: both M42's and an M54 don't like frequent cold restarts with
Mobil1 0-40. The symptom is that, in the winter, if you start the car, move it 15 feet, and
repeat once or twice, it will lose compression. At first, I too thought it was valve- lifter
related, BUT the lifters can't completely drop a valve in an M42, it just opens less. And clatters.
But the cars were quiet. After a bit of asking around, it seems to be cylinder washdown.

The engine has to be overfuelled a bit when cold, and if the oil's not circulated enough
to re- oil the walls, the rings lose seal enough to prevent the car from starting. A good
crank with the throttle down (anti- flood mode) starts the car, and on all 3, a short trip around
the block is enough to prevent it from happening.

The common element's the 0-40, and the E46 forum agrees- people who use it have
the problem, other weights and brands don't seem to do it as much.

What happens to me,
t

it sounds more like a mixture and temperature issue. you dont lose any where near enough compression when you wash the bores to cause a non start

A short trip puts enough heat into the head to get some vaporization going on, repeated cold starts to move it a few feet just adds alot of fuel much of which doesn't evaporate and hangs around. fact that flood clearing it helps is a dead giveaway that its just too much fuel to start a fire.

the actual coolant temp sensor is not always the best jusge of the amount of fuel you need as the temperature of the metal surafces of head and psiton are what matter as they help provide heat to vaporise. with short run times and very cold temps the correlation between coolant temp and engine surafce temp goes astray

[rmdashrf]

Lots of interesting info in this thread. I'll only add my experience for posterity. . .

I have a ti and a m54b25 and run m1 0w40 in both. 114k in the ti, 190k in the 325i. I have none of these issues with either car and have had temps in the teens.

[packratbimmer]

I agree - awesome thoughts and information! Just to clarify though. I only have the problem in single digits and lower. Trust me, when I lived in the south I ran 20W-50 year round for decades in my M10 and M20 cars. I do not think one oil year round is optimal in climates similar to Maine's.

[TobyB]

it sounds more like a mixture and temperature issue. you dont lose any where near enough compression when you wash the bores to cause a non start

I was skeptical, too, and thought it was a lifter pump- up issue at one point.

But the engines COMPLETELY lose compression- the first time it happened to the M42,
I thought it pitched the cam chain. It cranks like an engine with the spark plugs removed.
The E46 guys have pretty comprehensively documented it.

t

[TobyB]

Mobile One 0W-40 (or perhaps other thick oils) in your crank case, then your car acts like a beast when it is zero Fahrenheit. Oh, and you don't feel like a major engine operation when it is zero outside, then pop some 5W- 20 or 30

0-40 is actually THINNER than 5-20 in very cold weather....

t

[packratbimmer]

Must be a brand issue

[rmdashrf]

Can someone post the E46 documentation of this, I'd like to take a look.

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

[packratbimmer]

In my case, it happens immediately on start-up when it is say below 10. Starts pronto and then does it - has nothing to do with repeated starts. Still sticking to the lifter theory but I am open. Thinking about Pentasin 5W-30 and being done.

[TobyB]

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...nder+wash+down

here's one. there are a number of posts on that bbs about it.

I really wanted it to be lifter pump- up, but it clears with 'flood mode', and not otherwise.

t