Excessive oil fumes

[Phat Rip]

Hi everyone,

So, everytime I go for a drive in my 1988 535i my face and hair is covered in a layer of oil. Can't go anywhere without reeking of oil after a drive.
More about the car:
M30b34
Odometer reads 296k probably closer to 330k
50lb mustang injectors
D'sylva ECU chip
IE Sparkplug wires
Bimmerheads cylinder head 284 cam / Stainless Steel Valves/ Dual Race Valve Springs/ Stage 3 Port and Polish
OEM head gasket + timing case gaskets
Stock bottom end with 300k +
MM Getrag 260
3.73 LSD
BC Coilovers
M5 sway bars
IE ceramic coated headers and catback system
Catalytic converter deleted

I use Liquid Moly 10w-30

No blue smoke on start up. Runs great. No smoke while driving. Typical oil consumption from 300k+ motor.

What could be causing this???
I have thought installing an oil catch can could help but it shouldn't be doing this in the first place.
Is my cat delete the culprit?
Or is there a bigger issue going on?

Any helpful tips would be much appreciated!
Thanks for taking a look,
Phat Rip

[1st 5er]

Too light of oil, possible contributor.

[Kerrvillian]

If you're getting oil on your face and in your hair, I assume you're driving the car from the driver's seat and not hanging your head out behind the exhaust pipe, correct? If so, you can rule your exhaust out. Plenty of older cars run without cats and getting oil on the driver is not one of the tradeoffs associated with doing so.

You shouldn't be getting blowby gasses or crankcase vapor either. The M30 consumes it's own crankcase vapor through the intake manifold. It should be pretty obvious if you have a hose off somewhere.

You don't mention if you have external oil leaks. If you're driving with the windows down, it would make sense that the oil you're complaining of is coming from the front of the car and not the rear.

As mentioned above, 10W-30 is the wrong oil for an M30. With 300K worth of wear, running thin oil can certainly lead to excessive crankcase vapor and excessive oil consumption.

[Mike W.]

OK, oil has virtually no odor unless it's being burned off, so I'll assume it is.

Likely places are a leaky valve cover gasket, leaky head gasket, rear cam cover, AKA duck gasket, or oil pressure switch. Front and rear main seals are a possibility as well as tranny input, output and selector shaft seals.

Now if you're actually smelling combustion fumes, I'd center on your exhaust, particularly as it's aftermarket which don't tend to fit as precisely as original. Gaskets have to seal, not just be there. I went thru hell on a Bav long ago with fumes and finally had to do a copper ring around the gasket between the manifold and the downpipes, the dealer was just selling one piece metal gaskets that might have worked on brand new things, but not with a few miles on them. Composition is much better. Copper can be useful as it's very malleable but good enough not to blow out.

I'd suggest pressure washing the engine and related area first, then find where your leak is coming from.

[turbodan]

Absolutely needs to be 15w50 or 20w50. Mobil 1, Valvoline VR1, Castrol Classic.

Normal oil consumption varies depending on who you ask. The book says a quart per 500 miles is acceptable, I think that's horrible. A quart per 1000 miles is better, though ideally you would hope to get 1500 miles or more between top offs.

Having no cat will turn up the stink as well, regardless of how clean it's running. With your setup though, you would be better off with standalone injection. The off the shelf chip will not suit a modified engine and I suspect the AFR is all over the place.

[Phat Rip]

Ok thank you all for the quick responses!
I did notice a small leak on the upper timing case. Possibly leaking onto the exhaust manifold. No other external leaks besides my Power Steering lines.
I will try doing an oil change with some thicker oil to see if that helps.
I will inspect the exhaust gaskets to ensure they are sealing

[Phat Rip]

Absolutely needs to be 15w50 or 20w50. Mobil 1, Valvoline VR1, Castrol Classic.

Normal oil consumption varies depending on who you ask. The book says a quart per 500 miles is acceptable, I think that's horrible. A quart per 1000 miles is better, though ideally you would hope to get 1500 miles or more between top offs.

Having no cat will turn up the stink as well, regardless of how clean it's running. With your setup though, you would be better off with standalone injection. The off the shelf chip will not suit a modified engine and I suspect the AFR is all over the place.

Just read your post about your engine oil crusade. Going to go find one with a high ZDDP ppm and change that ASAP

[turbodan]

It's an old thread but it still holds up.

Is that a typo above about the 50lb/hr injectors?

[four2zerohero]

That castrol classic is pretty cheap on amazon, compared to the VR1

[vinceg101]

That castrol classic is pretty cheap on amazon, compared to the VR1

The cheapest way to buy VR-1 from your local parts stores that carry it (e.g. Autozone, O'Reilly's, etc.) is in the gallon form. At about $37/ga. it works out to $7.40/qt vs. $9.99 for individual quarts. That doesn't factor in the rebates and sales they always run. If you're doing an oil service it's more cost effective (1 ga + 1 qt). Plus you don't involve all that shipping time and waste with Amazon as well the waste of multiple individual containers.
You can also but Castrol Classic at a lot of local parts stores now and the math is similar.