What did you do for your M3 today?

[ramzM3]

Which temp sensor, upper or lower? And does it still have the original rad?

I think it was the lower temp sensor (it looks "shiny/newer"), I didn't realize there was an upper one as well. Yes, I still have the original rad.

[ramzM3]

ah man too bad it wasn't a quick fix with the fan clutch. I would look at the radiator, make sure any debris is cleared out like mentioned earlier. Do you know if the radiator is the original unit?

As far as oil temps those look fine for high ambient temps. Yesterday the ambient temps the car was reporting was 100+ in traffic in the highway my oil temps would move smidge to right of center, but coolant temps was 1/2 mark.

Yeah, I was in my happy place tinkering with the ///M and thought I was fixing something. Yes, this is the original radiator and I was thinking about getting the garden hose out and spraying some water through the fins to see if I can remove any debris I can't see. Maybe I could try some fin cleaner solution and see if that makes any difference. Thanks!

[BL92]

Hopefully, it is something other than the thermostat and water temp sensor, because both of those were replaced a couple of weeks ago when it was in the shop for running warm and VANOS replacement. They told me when I picked it up, that during their test drive after the work, they suspected the fan clutch may be going bad. That's why I did the fan clutch replacement.
Thanks. I'll keep looking!

Have you checked your coolant mix is actually 50/50? Too much concentrate lowers the efficiency of the fluid as a heat removing medium or too little concentrate may effect the boiling point

[davidinnyc]

Finally had some time to perform a valve adjustment, check the VANOS hubs, new spark plugs, new coils, new valve cover.

Is this oil stain normal for 75K miles? These plugs look toasted.



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[Andy2424]

what is your oil change interval and with which oil

[davidinnyc]

I just bought this car as my second M3, so this is my first time servicing the vehicle. I’m assuming there hasn’t been an oil change performed for over 5K miles and the valve cover was leaking (which prompted the valve adjustment and valve cover replacement since I was already in there).

I’ll check the service documents but looks like they stopped keeping paperwork records around 60K. Owned by a few dealerships between 40K and 45K, then father and son combo owners for the last 30K.

David

[nextlvel]

I think it was the lower temp sensor (it looks "shiny/newer"), I didn't realize there was an upper one as well. Yes, I still have the original rad.

I think it's worth noting that since the temps tend to spike when sitting, it could be the AUX fan not spinning at maximum efficiency. Worth checking out since the aux fan is responsible for providing additional cooling when stopped.

[ramzM3]

Have you checked your coolant mix is actually 50/50? Too much concentrate lowers the efficiency of the fluid as a heat removing medium or too little concentrate may effect the boiling point

No, all I can say is the shop recently changed out the thermostat and lower temp sensor said they added (or at least charged me for) 1 gal of coolant as well. I would like to think that it wasn't drained out entirely and they added a 50/50 mix back in. But, who knows? For all I know, I could have too much or too little concentrate. I'll never know for sure until I drain the entire cooling system and refill it myself the with known, proper ratio.

[ramzM3]

I think it's worth noting that since the temps tend to spike when sitting, it could be the AUX fan not spinning at maximum efficiency. Worth checking out since the aux fan is responsible for providing additional cooling when stopped.

Thanks! I'll see if I can find a way to test it and then maybe that will be the answer to this problem!

[maupineda]

Finally had some time to perform a valve adjustment, check the VANOS hubs, new spark plugs, new coils, new valve cover.

Is this oil stain normal for 75K miles? These plugs look toasted.



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Varnish is not driven by total miles, rather by OCI. Change oil more regularly, if the varnish is already built up then you need to wipe it off as not even flushes will remove it.

[Andy2424]

I just bought this car as my second M3, so this is my first time servicing the vehicle. I’m assuming there hasn’t been an oil change performed for over 5K miles and the valve cover was leaking (which prompted the valve adjustment and valve cover replacement since I was already in there).

I’ll check the service documents but looks like they stopped keeping paperwork records around 60K. Owned by a few dealerships between 40K and 45K, then father and son combo owners for the last 30K.

David

OK, it looks very dark. Like driving with Castrol... I do an oil service every 7,000 - 10,000 km and mine is much lighter.

Especially if you drive a lot of short distances, it's more likely to be under 10,000 km.

[davidinnyc]

OK, it looks very dark. Like driving with Castrol... I do an oil service every 7,000 - 10,000 km and mine is much lighter.

Especially if you drive a lot of short distances, it's more likely to be under 10,000 km.

Yes, looks low quality and probably hasn’t been changed in well over 10,000 km. Once I get the appropriate valve shims (nearly all of them were out of spec) I’ll flush the oil and run a cleaning agent for about 2,500 km and then change the oil again.

[maupineda]

Yes, looks low quality and probably hasn’t been changed in well over 10,000 km. Once I get the appropriate valve shims (nearly all of them were out of spec) I’ll flush the oil and run a cleaning agent for about 2,500 km and then change the oil again.

This is mine at 43k miles (before) and at 53k (after). Just oil changes every year, which is about 2-3k max.

Before


After

[JokerElite]

This is mine at 43k miles (before) and at 53k (after). Just oil changes every year, which is about 2-3k max.

So clean that it looks dry 😮

[davidinnyc]

This is mine at 43k miles (before) and at 53k (after). Just oil changes every year, which is about 2-3k max.

Before


After

What’s your oil of choice? I run Liquid Moly 10W/60 in the black M3 so will likely do the same with this one. I’m of course going to send an oil sample to Blackstone to see what unknown damage might be lingering and also… what type of oil has been used in the last 15-20K miles.

David