Photos from inside oil fil cap showing coating/metal peeling off from engine/metal

[M3-S65]

Originally Posted by TX

thanks for the reply.
I'm not really worried about the color of the oil. It smells normal. What I was really getting at is the material similar to powder coated paint that is peeling off the inside and bubbling up. That is then mixing with my oil and running through my engine.

Yea, but what ever is in the oil may be creating that. All I can see is mustard color but when coolant gets into the oil it can mix and cause all kinds of different colors and residual build up. I would take it in to BMW and have them analyze that or change the oil and get a sample mid way through drain and send it into Blackstone. Check link below and get the free kit they send out.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

[CBS]

Agree, Blackstone. They will get to the bottom of this. GL!

[White 13]

I think I would look at the oil filter to see if it is picking anything unusual up. Spread the pleats apart to see what they have caught.

[Lute__]

Sheesh, that engine looks like it's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.

[s85e90]

This is not uncommon and pretty normal. Even the other pic posted in this thread claiming there is no damage one can see a slight bubble forming on the inside of the valve cover.

The finish is bubbling due to heat. It may have been a poor application but IMO I wouldn't really worry about it other than the aesthetic quality.

I have owned 2 e9x cars that both had bubbling on the valve covers. The dealer ( 2 of them) dismissed it as normal also.

The inside of the valve cover also may show some slight flaking that shouldn't be an issue.

The discoloration is due to BMW mandated oil changes so over time you get that yellowing effect. I would be more cocerned with the color of the metal parts inside. This is a clear indicator on whether or not the car had reg oil changes an so on.


Again, this is not coolant in oil, or bad parts as the misinformed posters here think. It's just a sh1tty finish bubbling off due to heat cycling. Mention it to your dealer if under warranty, but I would be surprised if they'd be willing to take the car apart to replace the valvecovers for the paint work alone.

[serranot]

I've seen this on the valve covers of my 540i as well. It did not seem to be harmful.

[M3-S65]

Originally Posted by s85e90

This is not uncommon and pretty normal. Even the other pic posted in this thread claiming there is no damage one can see a slight bubble forming on the inside of the valve cover.

The finish is bubbling due to heat. It may have been a poor application but IMO I wouldn't really worry about it other than the aesthetic quality.

I have owned 2 e9x cars that both had bubbling on the valve covers. The dealer ( 2 of them) dismissed it as normal also.

The inside of the valve cover also may show some slight flaking that shouldn't be an issue.

The discoloration is due to BMW mandated oil changes so over time you get that yellowing effect. I would be more cocerned with the color of the metal parts inside. This is a clear indicator on whether or not the car had reg oil changes an so on.


Again, this is not coolant in oil, or bad parts as the misinformed posters here think. It's just a sh1tty finish bubbling off due to heat cycling. Mention it to your dealer if under warranty, but I would be surprised if they'd be willing to take the car apart to replace the valvecovers for the paint work alone.

Again, have blackstone do an analysis. Why? the analysis shows what elements are in the oil and the properties like SUS Viscosity and cST Viscosity etc etc. This will give you an independent third party factual scientific analysis other than "misinformed posters" and owners who believe everything their dealership says, including paint/finish in the oil is normal.

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by M3-S65

Again, have blackstone do an analysis. Why? the analysis shows what elements are in the oil and the properties like SUS Viscosity and cST Viscosity etc etc. This will give you an independent third party factual scientific analysis other than "misinformed posters" and owners who believe everything their dealership says, including paint/finish in the oil is normal.

While an analysis may be beneficial it won't happen overnight. So there's no need to speculate and get the OP worried that he may have major issues. This is a refinishing issue of the covers. The mustard color you referenced is in fact due to the long oil intervals BMW has put into place with their free maintenance program. It's always a good idea when looking at any BMW to open the oil cap to inspect the internal parts color.

A light brown/mustard color seems normal on cars maintained via BMW standards.

FYI for reference check out Mike Benvos post of his new motor going into the car and how nice and silver colored the internals area under the valve cover.

[italyix]

Originally Posted by TX

Any other owners see this on their ///M?

Yes I have the same issue. I posted a pic on a thread somewhere here. I'll ask the dealer about it. Car is due for service soon.

[TX]

Thanks for the new posts today guys. I just got them. My blackstone kit just arrived in the mail today so now I'm going to work on getting a sample mailed off to them for analysis. From the posts here I can see there are some different opinions on what is normal or is not normal. Thanks for all replies though.
Cheers

[BobS]

The oil filter should catch any potential debris, I'd check that and get the blackstone report done

[dfjaws]

I have a 2008 E90 with 51k miles.

I don't have any peeling at all on my valve covers. They look brand new.

My car has had Castrol TWS 10W-60 it's whole life until just recently (<200 miles ago) it was changed to Mobil 1 0W-40.

Here are a couple pictures of the inside of my valve cover. I just had an oil analysis done <200 miles ago. I have the same orange-ish color you have but I have no flaking at all. I also rubbed the inside with my finger and absolutely nothing came off aside from just clean oil.

I hope this helps!

[lawjizams]

Wow keep us posted with the oil results from blackstone. I'm going to check my car out too.

[TX]

Originally Posted by dfjaws

I have a 2008 E90 with 51k miles.

I don't have any peeling at all on my valve covers. They look brand new.

My car has had Castrol TWS 10W-60 it's whole life until just recently (<200 miles ago) it was changed to Mobil 1 0W-40.

Here are a couple pictures of the inside of my valve cover. I just had an oil analysis done <200 miles ago. I have the same orange-ish color you have but I have no flaking at all. I also rubbed the inside with my finger and absolutely nothing came off aside from just clean oil.

I hope this helps!

That's good news for your engine. Thank you for the great reply with photos. Now I'm just bummed that clearly I have an issue that is not present in your engine. I don't see any bubbles on your cover or flaking internally. Oil color looks the same on both. Thanks again!

[TX]

Here is the other side of my engine showing bubbles all over.

[dfjaws]

Wow. I definitely haven't seen that before.

[Law]

Wow, this is certainly something new for me. I've never seen this with S54s when i had the E46.
I'm in for a scientific explanation and some statistics (i.e., mileage, model years, oil change intervals)

[thai357sig]

TX,
Are you the original owner or did you buy the car used? Was the engine ever replaced?

What's under the white square in the last picture?

[JasonTDude]

My car is almost 4 years old and did my oil change today and I do not have the peeling.

[TX]

Originally Posted by thai357sig

TX,
Are you the original owner or did you buy the car used? Was the engine ever replaced?

What's under the white square in the last picture?

I'm the second owner of the M3. I purchased it from a BMW dealer with warranty a little under 4 years ago. It had 15K miles or so. I have 36K and some change on it now. Original engine. Car has been dealer maintained, with records, no accidents. I purchased a full coverage BMW extended warranty when the factory was running up. There was one small paint bubble near the oil fill cap that I noticed after I got the car, but never thought much about it. The last photo I posted is when I really noticed it. I was changing spark plugs and once the air box and covers are pulled you can see what I saw in that photo. The original factory installed plugs came out nice and clean, very clean in fact. I was then getting ready to change the oil and noticed coating peeling inside the valve cover. The white box I clipped out of the photo because it has engine identifying serial numbers stamped there. I'm still waiting to get the car to the dealer this week. The oil has been changed by the dealer under the maint plan. I'm off the maint plan now and had planned on doing it myself, but seeing this peeling inside i didn't want to dump the oil until I had a blackstone kit(just got it in the mail yesterday) or had the dealer inspect it. Oil was changed yearly as I never did the 15K miles. I was putting a little less than 6K on the oil usually between changes.

[thai357sig]

What is your driving habit? Do you tend be aggressive/ spirited, red lining alot? Or are you reserved in your driving. Could this be attributed to harsh driving conditions, tracking? I have nearly 80K on my M3 but I never track and I utilize the "M" once or twice a year. I will try and check my car tomorrow. I am due for an oil change now so it would be at it's dirtiest. So it may tell me a lot of information. I'll let you know when I do.

[TX]

thai, as I stated earlier, The car has never been abused and never tracked. The previous owner traded it in on a M5. It had the original set of tires on it with 15K miles, so I think it's safe to say he didn't abuse it either. It has dealer records showing maintenance was performed. This is not a driving habit issue, this looks like a manufacturing defect.