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BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / TSBs and Service Bulletin > Getting ready to do first oil change (335i/N55). Had some questions.
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      01-04-2013, 02:01 PM   #1
ewill858
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Getting ready to do first oil change (335i/N55). Had some questions.

Hi.
I'm planning to do my first oil change on my 335i this weekend. If anyone has any experience with any of the following questions, I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts!

1) Is there a front/center jack point? In my E46, I was able to lift both front wheels using my floor jack at a central point (a round protrusion behind the bottom cover).

2) I plan to lift the car enough to place my pair of Rhino ramps under the wheels AND some jack stands under the side lift pads, and chock the rear wheels. I've never tried just driving up onto the ramps, but wonder if this is an easy/safe thing to do in lieu of lifting the front end.

3) I've read a N55 DIY which suggests lower the car back to level to complete the drainage. Has anyone had experience with this, and found it to be necessary?

4) I've seen both 6.5 liters and 7.0 liters as the recommended fill for an N55 motor. Maybe it has to do with question #3 above? Any input from those who've already done this?

Thanks in advance!
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      01-04-2013, 02:54 PM   #2
jwilly
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1) Doubtful.
2) Just drive up on ramps and set parking brake.
3) No need.
4) Go with seven liters. No problem with overfilling by 0.5 L.

My $0.02.

Joel
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      01-04-2013, 05:26 PM   #3
diesel86
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Driving up the ramp is not possible unless you have some really gradual ramps. I have the Rhino brand ramps and simply jacked up the front of the car one side, slid the ramps underneath, let down the jack and moved on the to the other side.

I have a 328i so I can't really comment on the other questions.
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      01-04-2013, 07:16 PM   #4
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Given the lack of experience changing the oil on this model, I suggest you measure the amount of oil you drain, and fill with that amount (plus a little, to account for sloppage . You don't need to be terribly precise, just pour the used oil into empty oil bottles to measure.If you don't have any spare empties (I keep a 5 quart bottle for taking used oil to recycling), just add a quart, refill the empty bottle with used oil, add another quart, and so on. FWIW, the dealer told me that my F30 328i would take 7 qts (liters), but it only took 5. Nothing worse than having to drain some new oil when you realize you've badly over filled.

Regarding the ramps, I use a couple 3 ft long boards as "ramps onto the ramps", very easy.

HTH,
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      01-05-2013, 11:12 AM   #5
ewill858
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Many thanks to all of you for the helpful suggestions!

I just completed the oil change and it was fairly straightforward. Here are some lessons learned:

1) I could not drive straight onto the Rhino ramps because the front bumper hit the ramps before the tires did. I jacked up one side at a time and placed the ramps under the wheels. The suggestion above to use boards as an intermediate step sounded reasonable but I didn't have two boards handy. I did not see any obvious front/center jack point (like on my old E46).

2) Use the green mark on the oil filter housing to determine how far to screw it on (credit to one of the several N55 DIY's out there).

3) As for the quantity of oil to add, I had read 6.6 liters or 7 quarts. I believe these are roughly equivalent volumes. I initially poured in about 6.5 quarts, and ran the oil level measurement. It came up to about 70% between MIN and MAX. I poured in the remaining half a quart, and re-measured, and this time it showed exactly at the MAX line. Next time I'll just pour all 7 quarts at once.

4) The drain bolt didn't have a torque value printed on it (unlike what I've read for the N20 motors). The N55 has a metal oil pan, so perhaps it can take a higher torque. I read on one N55 DIY to use 25-30 ft-lbs, so I applied 25, and it seemed quite secure. After doing some more research, it looks like the drain-bolt torque spec should be 25N-m (or about 18.5 ft-lbs) so it seems I overtorqued it.

Hope this is helpful for others preparing to do the same job!

Last edited by ewill858; 01-24-2013 at 01:50 PM..
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      03-23-2013, 11:28 PM   #6
dude987
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What size socket do you need for the drain plug?
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      04-16-2013, 10:41 AM   #7
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17 is what I used for my 2013 335i M-Sport...
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      04-16-2013, 02:56 PM   #8
utenigma
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I just changed my oil and filter today ('13 335) - I put 6 quarts in, lowered the car to level then ran the computer's "Check oil level". It showed 1/2 a quart low. I put 1/2 a quart in, then re-ran the check - it was right at Max, not above, not below.

So answer is - 6.5 US Quarts, for the N55 in the F30 anyway

Last edited by utenigma; 04-16-2013 at 03:04 PM..
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      07-06-2014, 01:31 AM   #9
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It's actually 6.5L which is 6.9 quarts.... not (6.5 quarts)
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