BMW Z4M/S54 Oil Change

*NOTE* This information is provided for informational purposes only, any use of this information is at your OWN risk.

BMWs currently come with free scheduled maintenance for 4 years, but the oil change schedule seems a little optimistic by letting oil go for ~15k miles before changing. Most owners, myself included, do at least one interim oil and filter change in between the BMW free changes.

The S54 motor in the Z4M calls for 5.5 liters of Castrol TWS 10w60 oil with filter change,

the BMW part number for the Castrol TWS 10w60 oil is 07-51-0-009-420.

The Mahle filter used (OX 187) is BMW part number 11-42-7-833-769 and includes all crush washers and o-ring seals that need to be replaced.

After driving the car up on ramps (I use Rhino ramps), the plastic cover for the oil pan drain bolt can be removed by prying it at the rear with a flat head screw driver:

After the drain bolt cover is removed, the drain bolt can be removed using a 6mm HEX-head socket. I use a piece of cardboard under the drain pan to soak up any splatter.

While the oil is draining we can move to the top of the motor. After releasing the hood, the oil filler cap is removed and the plug above the oil filter canister is unplugged by pushing the release:

Loosen the oil filter canister lid bolt using a 13mm socket. Remove the bolt, then the lid, and finally the oil filter- these items will drip oil so you may want to have a plastic bag or shop towel close by. Now is also a good time to wipe the oil out of the canister:

 The oil filter canister lid/bolt and drain bolt are wiped off with a lint-free shop towel and the consumable seals and crush washers are replaced.

A knife or small flat-head screw driver can be used to carefully remove the O-ring seals.

The oil pan drain plug can be reinstalled when the oil has completed draining, it is reinstalled with a torque wrench set to 18 ft-lbs.

The plastic cover is reinstalled by hooking the front and snapping in at the back.

The new filter is placed in the canister and the canister lid and bolt are reinstalled.

The canister bolt should be installed with a torque wrench at 24 ft-lbs.

Prior to replacing the canister lid, you can carefully add oil by pouring around the perimeter of the filter (not inside the filter), this should help with oil starvation at startup the first time you crank the engine after the oil change.

Add 5.5 liters (5.8 quarts) of oil total (this includes any oil you already used to fill the oil filter canister), this should be the midpoint between marks on the dipstick which is BMWs recommendation. Start the car up and check for leaks- Done until the next change.

BMW References:

Some other oil change write-ups I found helpful were:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41599

http://m3.madrussian.net/diy_oil_change.shtml