[GDZAR]

Hi All,

I've got an E90 N55 with 161 000km on the clock

The red light of Doom keeps coming on whilst driving on the highway or above 100km/h for at least 10km's

I've done the following thus far:
- Changed the oil and filter - Oil being Motul 5w-30
- Oil pressure sensor replaced - OEM unit
- Camera through the oil level sensor (sump) to see if any debris is in the Pan - CLEAN
- Engine flushed with cheap oil and an engine flush additive (30min idle - then drained)

Anyone ever heard of the electronic hydraulic oil pressure control valve going bad? https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_4447
Seen here - #11

I can drop the sump and see whats going on with the pick up - BUT - trying to avoid it as my sump gasket isn't leaking and its not a great job to perform

I've got a Protools Datalog which is available here for anyone to see
- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing


Seems the oil system isn't able to keep up with the demand which the DME is requesting via the Oil Pressure Control Valve

Oil filter is clean, no metal within
Engine is quiet and no strange noises (YET)

Any input would be greatly appreciated - I'm babying the car at the moment, avoiding going above 100km/h just incase

[F31B48]

Have you removed the control valve and checked the filter screen it has? Personally i would be inclined to just replace it. That part has been superceded twice, so they must have had issues with them.

[F31B48]

One other thought, how long have you owned the car? If it's a recent purchase, maybe the previous owner had the dreaded drive belt failure and subsequent drive belt through the front crank seal and this might be what is blocking the oil pickup. Just a thought.

[GDZAR]

I've owned the car since August 2021 - so nearly a year - but only recently (last 3 months) has this become an issue - I don't drive much 2 meetings a week or so

When I bought the car the whole filter housing was covered in OLD oil and all those seals were Gasket maker'd - so first thing I did was replace with OEM seals and cleaned up the whole area. But I suspected this, hence why I checked the oil pan for debris, but I'm also aware, the camera cannot see UP the oil pick up tube.

I've got a replacement Control Valve sitting at BMW, just not sure if they're known to give issues,


Yes, I removed the control valve, cleaned it and nothing has changed.

[GDZAR]

Originally Posted by EvaBmw

One other thought, how long have you owned the car? If it's a recent purchase, maybe the previous owner had the dreaded drive belt failure and subsequent drive belt through the front crank seal and this might be what is blocking the oil pickup. Just a thought.

This is how bad it was when I bought the car - as mentioned above - I replaced the seals immedately with OEM seals - including a full service (oil, filter, air filter, plugs)

[F31B48]

Holy shit that's rough! I would suspect you'll find some of that sealant stuck in your oil pickup. I'd be removing the sump if it was my car. Massive PITA but better than a junked engine

[dpaul]

Did you make sure the oil filter cap still has the cage that goes through the oil filter and the small o-ring is in place at the tip of the cage?

[GDZAR]

Originally Posted by dpaul

Did you make sure the oil filter cap still has the cage that goes through the oil filter and the small o-ring is in place at the tip of the cage?

Yes - Confirmed all is well, even put in a new slightly thicker O-ring to see if that was the cause - nothing changed the oil pressure.

[GDZAR]

Just a quick update:

Sent the car in after it began to misfire and behave badly,

Car threw a code - Correlation between crank and cam plausibly out,

The low oil pressure on start up caused the chain tensioner to not properly tension the chain and it jumped 1 tooth on the intake cam,

LUCKILY - no damage to the engine (thank the pope)

They pulled the oil pan and found what we suspected - Serpentine belt at some point before my ownership was pulled in through the front seal,

See the pictures below of what they sent me,

[GDZAR]

Rod Bearings have been checked - Screens on the VANOS solenoids + Hydraulic control valve, all clean and free of debris,

Anywhere else we should check for debris?