strange problem with my engine (x5 3.0i)

[blackigor]

Hi,

I have x5 e53 3.0i 2004.

About 2 weeks ago after coming back from holidays I got in my car and noticed that past 3000 rpm it gets a bit louder, almost like a street racing car with big exhaust.  So I took it to my local garage where my pal works and he said after hearing the noise that it sounds like an exhaust. So they took the car on a ramp and checked underneath but the entire exhaust was fine. Just by an accident they checked the oil level and it was on minimum !! But I didnt get any info from the car that the oil level was low. Asked me when I had my oil change done, and it was 8000 miles ago. Standard oil change is in these cars every 15k as far as I remember. So they just topped it up with 2L of 5w30 and gave me another 1L in a bottle.
On my way home the noise was gone and car was driving nice and smooth.
But after a week and about 300 miles Ive decided to check the oil and it was just above minimum lvl. So I poured the 1L i had in a bottle and went back to the garage on the next day.
They checked the car for any symptoms of oil leaks, but there were none. There was no strange blue or white smoke coming out of the exhaust either. Checked the oil lvl and it was right on the MAX lvl.
So did they checked the oil lvl too soon right after topping it up? or what could be the cause of strange oil lvl - going up and down.
Theres no white residue on engine oil cap - just oil having slightly burnt colour and a bit of condensation. Theres no oil or any weird residue in the coolant in the radiator. Car is not overheating. Temp is always in the middle.
Car is not loosing any power - so I think, as it still goes from 0-60 in around 7sec, and it can go on problems above 130 mph.
Only thing I noticed is a whistling sound at around 1800 rpm - but i know already thats throttle body boot, and Im going to replace it. But can it affect how my engine works and weird oil lvls?
Another thing is that Ive been told that shouldnt wait until all green lights will go off, just change the oil every 7-8k miles. Is that true?

So the last thing. Guys in the garage suspect blown head gasket or something similar and want to strip the engine which Im guessing will cost me **** loads.
I dont think its a head gasket as except oil "loss" (or not) there are no other symptoms.

Maybe anyone here experienced something similar and will be able to help me. PLEASE. As this whole thing starts to really piss me off. No problems with the car what so ever and now this

[X5Sport]

I would expect a head gasket issue to either put oil into the affected cylinder so causing smoke, or oil in the water, or water in the oil - both of which are also detectable.  If it was leaking externally then again you'd expect to see oil or water staining.  You are not seeing any signs of that, which would tend to point away from a head gasket leak.

You can however get an issue where the crankcase pressure can go high due to a blockage/obstruction in the breather system.  That will increase the oil consumption rate, as well as do odd things with the levels.

This diagram shows the component parts.  Diesels also have a ventilation/oil separation system and if that blocks then it can cause serious issues with oil consumption being a symptom.  It might be worth looking to make sure all the pipes etc are clean and allowing gas flow.

Richard

[blackigor]

Thank You for the answer. Will take it to a different garage tomorrow. Will connecting it to a computer show any faults related to my problem?
And one more thing. About a month ago i had an Engine Check Light on. Took the car to my friends garage, they checked that on the computer and it appeared to be something about "no more settings for fuel injectors" or something like that. They cleared the error, but havent done anything about it. Will that cause any problems ?

[X5Sport]

Without knowing what the actual error text was that could mean all sorts of things.  Needs the proper BMW decoder to tell you what is wrong.

[Chrisw4266]

sounds like the same problem I'm having with my 3.0i the breather is common on the M54 engine just ordered all the pipes to go with my breather valve hopefully gonna get it done this weekend, not looking forward to it seen a few vidz online looks like a b1t3h to do.