Quote:
Originally Posted by G8RM3
Just a word of caution on the dreaded oil cap...make sure that damn thing is on really snug. I think that the metal spring tabs tend to wear out and become weaker after multiple removals.
I just changed the oil in my '11 E90 M3 (with no issues during the change) and had a major blowout while was driving around the neighborhood to get a reading. Under pressure, the oil cap blew off, spewing fresh oil all over my engine bay and out the front of the car. I couldn't believe it. How does BMW produce such a terribly designed oil cap?? I've had the all-to-common cap leaking issues in the past, but not a complete blowout!
Lessons learned: 1)make sure cap is very tight and secure, and not old. 2)don't drive around to get a quicker oil level reading. Luckily I wasn't too far from home so I put another liter in and limped home (about 1.5 miles).
All said and done I lost about 1.5 liters I think. Could have been a lot worse. But cleaning this up was a nightmare!
Imagine coming around the front of your M and seeing this:
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Had this happen once right after an all-day detail and O/C. Looked about the same -- absolute brutality. I had to stand there and just shake my head while wondering how in the Hell the damn cap managed to blow itself off.
Cooked up a 50/50 of Dawn and Simple Green in the foam cannon that took care of most of it. Had to bag wrap parts of the engine bay and go in with some modified toilet scrubbers to get the rest out. Worst part is it gets flung into the cutouts underneath the hood so if you don't clean it completely oil continues to weep out of the F/R.
Ordered a new cap that night.
