Oil Leak

[Rockitman]

Drove my 98 328i with an oil leak (no oil). Now it won't crank. Did I burn up the engine?

[witeshark]

I hate to say it, but that might be it

[max79]

i think bmw and Mercedes benz have this Characteristic , its normal when you found one L missing when you change the oil , but if there is any white smoke comes from ur Exhaust specially in the morning ? once you start the engine in the morning car will make some white gasmeans it burn oil otherwise its fine

[mullethunter3]

^^^What? Are you saying that MB and BMW have an engine characteristic of not running with no oil in them? Every internal combustion engine needs lubrication to stay alive, not just the Germans. And he's not going to see any white smoke if the engine won't crank. No start, no exhaust.

Anyway, Rockit, you probably did. Sorry. No oil will almost always murder an engine. The only way that you might not have seized it is if you would have caught your mistake before it got to bad.

[Antiburn]

Easy way to tell ifyou seized your engine is to crawl under the front, get a 24mm wrench and crank the engine over manaly off the crank. If you cant budge it (You do need to apply some pressure to get it to move) Then your engine is seized.

When you try to start it do you hear the starter click? Does the engine crank at all?
Did you check the oil level, positive there is no oil in the engine.

[max79]

mullethunter3 ....... sorry i misunderstood the question i read it too fast. Running with no oil will damage the engine .... sorry again i thought he is asking why the oil is leaking and as i told before its normal to lose one liter of oil ,,,

[mullethunter3]

Originally Posted by max79

mullethunter3 ....its normal to lose one liter of oil ,,,

No, it's not. That's only if your car burns oil - which is not a good or normal thing. I own a 1993 318is, 145000 miles, it has never burned a noticeable amount of oil since I bought it 4 years ago. My family owns four BMWs. None of them burn oil. Not even the 1984 318i which had 200000+ miles.

[max79]

my car dosent burn oil it burns the Tires ..

[gldfshkpr]

Originally Posted by mullethunter3

That's only if your car burns oil - which is not a good or normal thing.

I pulled this from the Owner's Manual to my '97 -

"As with fuel economy, oil consumption
is directly influenced by your driving
style and vehicle operating conditions.
Consequently you should check the oil
level regularly with the vehicle positioned
on a level surface - approx. every
600 miles (1,000 km), or more frequently
if your vehicle is driven under
increased demands."

This seems to imply oil does get burned and is normal.

BTW, very weird thread...

[max79]

now we are talking ... thank you gldfshkpr