Diy oil change - bargain!

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Deano1712
Z Register organiser
Joined: Sat 05 Aug, 2006 12:56
Posts: 1396

  M roadster S50
Location: Leeds

Diy oil change - bargain!

Post by Deano1712 »

Though MR needed some new oil, 4000 miles since last service and Vanos getting a bit noisier at idle. Threads here on oil make me think 10W-60 may make it last a bit longer. Anyway off to car spares shop...

Found some lovely Castrol 10w-60 at the 4th shop visited. £33 for 4 litres. :shock: Off back home to do the job.

Had a fleeting thought about oil capacity of the engine - TIS says 5.4 litres :head: There is a planning lesson here somewhere... Back to the shop. Another £33. :roll:

Got home again. Started job. Couldnt find the drain plug. Too many covers in the way. Too little room under the car as well. I thought enough is enough. A man needs the right tackle to do a job! Back to the car spares shop....

Choosing wheel ramps - they cant be too expensive. 3 sizes to choose from. Of course the front tyres on the M are too wide for the cheap and not so cheap ramps. :head: Pick up the biggest set - need help from assistant - they are too heavy to lift! Thankfully they just go the the back of the focus estate, with the rear seats down. Decided to get a car creeper and a drip tray too. The drip tray was a bargain at only £3. :D

Anyway back home the job was a complete doddle. The ramps are the bogs b!$%!ks. I am now an experienced Z oil changer :)

Its just a pity it all came to £215! :roll:
Z3M with a few mods...and a little bit more power
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cngizbleevng
Joined: Fri 20 Jan, 2006 04:35
Posts: 106

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Boiling Springs
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Post by cngizbleevng »

My dealer charges $77 US to do it. About 150 pounds. At least you don't have to buy the creeper and ramps again. And you have the satisfaction that you did it yourself!
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321bhp
Joined: Mon 01 Dec, 2003 19:34
Posts: 2516

  Not specified
Location: essex

Hi

Post by 321bhp »

£215 plus the time and the petrol, 3 trips to get it all,ill be going to the dealers next oil change,i think you have shown,that if you are poor its still better going to bmw :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:
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Glasgow2.8
Joined: Fri 07 Nov, 2003 19:02
Posts: 286

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Glasgow

Post by Glasgow2.8 »

cngizbleevng wrote:My dealer charges $77 US to do it. About 150 pounds. At least you don't have to buy the creeper and ramps again. And you have the satisfaction that you did it yourself!

seeing really is believing.... :oops:

Live mid-market rates as of 2006.12.26 17:41:17 UTC.
77.00 USD
United States Dollars = 39.4162 GBP
United Kingdom Pounds
1 USD = 0.511899 GBP 1 GBP = 1.95351 USD

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi
'99 (v) 2.8
<img src="http://www.geocities.com/apmcgreal/smtechno1.jpg" width=350 height=120>
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Zed_Steve
Joined: Thu 19 Jan, 2006 20:19
Posts: 393

  Z4 roadster 3.0si
Location: Birmingham

Post by Zed_Steve »

Now you have the right tackle, at least all future oil changes wont cost £215

In the long run you will save money :D
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Post by pingu »

I always find out the cost to get the job done at the dealer, then price up all the parts and tools needed for the job.

If the cost of the tools and parts is less, I'll DIY, if not, I'll let the dealer do it.

I've got a garage full of special tools!!!

Last job I did was a handbrake cable on a Peugeot 406. Cost me £80 in parts (I already had the tools). Dealer price was over £300. It does save you in the long term.
Pingu
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X958
Joined: Tue 25 Jan, 2005 10:43
Posts: 184

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Manchester

Post by X958 »

Just changed the oil in my 3.0 Z3.

4 litres of Mobil1 ?23 each from Costco, so I used about ?35 worth of oil.
A new oil filter was ?5 from GSF.
Borrowed sockets & ramps from my neighbour.

Total cost to me - ?40.
Price quoted by $tealer for an oil service - ?210.

Only problem now is ... how do I reset my service lights???? :?:
________
Vapor Genie Review
Last edited by X958 on Mon 14 Feb, 2011 14:03, edited 1 time in total.
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danofnine
Joined: Mon 02 Jan, 2006 16:48
Posts: 34

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
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Post by danofnine »

OK as your all into DIY oil changes maybe you can save me walking down stairs and looking in my service book thingy! I took my z3 3.0 out today for the first time in ages,when I stoped the oil light stayed on!!! I did checked the oil and it was about full(I say "about" cos I checked it straight away rather than giving it 20 mins to drain down it was getting dark.)
In anticipation dan :)
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Post by pingu »

You need to wait. 20 minutes is longer than you need to wait, but it covers BMW's ar$e. One to two minutes should be enough. You need to allow enough time for most of the oil to get down into the sump. This is why you should wait when filling before you check, as the oil has to get from the top of the engine to the sump before you can measure it.

Sounds silly, but dipstick out, wipe clean, re-dip and check.

I hope it is low oil, as if its not, then it could cost anything from 1p to £6,000 to fix.
Pingu
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cngizbleevng
Joined: Fri 20 Jan, 2006 04:35
Posts: 106

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Boiling Springs
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Post by cngizbleevng »

cngizbleevng wrote:My dealer charges $77 US to do it. About 150 pounds. At least you don't have to buy the creeper and ramps again. And you have the satisfaction that you did it yourself!
Ooops, I multiplied by 2 instead of dividing by 2. :oops:
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