DIY BMW M4 S55 Oil Change Guide

This is a basic DIY for an oil change on BMW M4 S55, which is one of the easiest cars to do an oil change on. I did my own oil change today because while I believe the S55 is one of the best temperature controlled BMWs ever built, a new engine is still a new engine and is going to create filthy oil for the first few oil changes.

 

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Tools needed:

Jack & Jack Stand
7mm allen wrench OR 7mm allen socket (Let me confirm this size, this sounds small now that I think about it)
86.5mm / 16 flats oil filter socket

Ratchets to fit allen socket and/or oil filter socket
Oil catch pan
Gloves are recommended

Parts needed:
Oil Filter & new oil filter gaskets (2)
7 quarts oil (BMW 5w30 or BMW’s new “M-specific” oil which is 0w40 are fine choices)
New aluminum oil pan screw and washer

All of these can come in a BMW supplied oil change kit for this model

 

I recommend either changing oil hot or at least driving the car for 5 minutes beforehand. The oil will drain out faster and you will mix in the dirt in the oil into suspension that will drain our better if it’s been mixed up right beforehand.

Here are the steps:

1.Pop the hood and loosen the oil filter with your oil filter socket. This is just to ensure you can replace it before you start the rest of the job. The oil filter housing will drain oil back into the sump once you remove the oil filter abit, which is a good thing to do before you drain the oil from the sump.

 

2.Loosen the oil fill cap or remove it. This is important – the crankcase on this car is exceptionally tight and your oil will flow out significantly faster if you loosen the oil fill cap. I loosened the cap AFTER I started draining the oil and I basically heard a “whoosh” as the oil flowed so much faster

3.Ensure your car is in gear or at least the parking brake is set very firm. Jack up the car from one of the jack pads behind the front wheels on either side. Just jack it up enough to get under the car comfortably – make sure at least one rear wheel stays on the ground for safety purposes, as the rear wheels are what is preventing the car from rolling.

4.Place a jack stand under the car. Look for an all-metal surface and not a suspension arm. The edge of the aluminum belly pan is flat and a good place to place a jack stand for this job. In this situation to me the jack stand is there for an emergency – you want it under something that will keep the car from falling on you.

5.Locate the oil drain. It’s towards the back of the aluminum belly pan. It’s an inset hex key bolt head in an opening in the belly pan. No need to remove the belly pan or any sort of flap to expose it.

6. I used a 7mm allen wrench to remove this. It took a bit of effort to break loose, but literally just a bit. Then it spun freely. The allen wrench was actually a nice approach as when the bolt came free my hand was well to the side of the oil flow. Drained very cleanly.

7.Let the oil drain until it’s just dripping.

8. Nows a good time to replace the oil filter. It’s a press-on unit, so just wiggle the old one back and forth with some pressure to remove it from the oil filter housing cap. Then pop the new one on in the same orientation (text on the filter faces up).

The oil filter has two gaskets are on it. One is a very small green rubber o-ring about 1/2-3/4″ in diameter. Pry it off with a small flathead screwdriver if you’d like but be careful not to mar the oil housing. Put the new one on and make sure it has some old oil on it – don’t leave the gasket dry as you install it.

Same thing with the big ~3-4″ black o-ring gasket. It’s purpose it to seal the oil filter housing cap to the oil filter housing. You pry it loose with a flathead screwdriver and work it off. Replace it the same way and give it a light coating with oil before installing it.

9.Install a new oil drain plug with a new washer assuming it’s just slowly dripping.

10.I’m going to be a bit old school here. I tighten my oil drain plug and oil filter by feel and look, not my torque value. If you are uncomfortable or low on experience, use a torque wrench and torque to the appropriate value. I visually make sure the parts are seated and feel for it tightening up progressively as that seating occurs. I then seek a 1/8-1/4 additional turn which continues to get progressively harder to ensure the gasket is seated. In no case should it become very hard or suddenly want to stop moving. If it does that, you’ve tightened it more than enough

11.Assuming you let everything drain plentifully, pour 6.5 quarts of oil back in the top.

12.Check for leaks

13.Start the car and let it sit for 30 seconds to make sure no lights come on representing a lack of oil pressure building

14.Drive the car till you hit operating temp, park on a flat surface in neutral, and use iDrive to check your oil level to ensure it is topped off.

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Most here will either let someone else do their own oil changes or are super familiar with doing their own. This is just for those who might want to do some themselves and want a little familiarity with the process, parts needed, and tools needed.