one quart short of engine oil.

[Alpinewhite]

Hi All,

I went to the dealer and got 7 qts of BMW 15W40 (mineral) instead of 8 qts. Now I am one qt short.

Can I mix with one qt of Pennizoil 15W40 (mineral) oil? It says for Diesel and gasoline cars with a stress on Diesel on the label.

[Alpinewhite]

Also tell me if it is OK to run a qt short for 4/5 days. Currently oil level is exactly at the low mark in stick.

Thanks
Arun

[Qube]

Run short, but not below the lowest mark? Sure.
Diesel oil? Supposedly they have more additives and detergents. Might work for a quart mixed, but I wouldn't do it.
You can 'top off' with mineral/dino or synthetic. Doesn't matter much.

[shrike071]

1. Running a quart low - straight to the dealer or parts shop - is fine. Probably your best option.
2. Using the diesel oil won't "hurt" anything other than contaminate your oil... I'd pass.
3. You can mix brands of oil, just not viscosities or synth/dino.

[Alpinewhite]

Thanks guys,

I am not sure if it is meant for diesel engines. I found details in pennzoil site. Here is the oil I bought. Would it be OK to mix this with BMW 15W40?

http://www.sopus-staging.com/staging/longlife/site/LongLife.pdf

Thanks
Arun

[ryan roopnarine]

no mineral oil is that great as to become "ruined" when mixed with a quart of diesel oil, especially since you are already using a 40 weight oil. PCMO=passenger car motor oil, HDEO-heavy duty engine oil--diesel oil. the only downside is that the additives for hdeos may, MAY harm catalytic converters if changed too often. at one quart, you don't even have to worry about this risk. diesel oils help keep dirt in your motor in suspension longer because of all of the soot usually encountered in diesel motors. it'll clean the insides of your motor better than gasoline engine oil, and will resist "viscosity and thermal breakdown" :D better than gasoline oil, i don't see any disadvantages to putting it in there. throw the quart of diesel oil in there, and don't worry about going back to the store. talk about people exaggerating a little....

[billy]

im confused!
if the dealer didnt put enough oil in and you need to take it back to them...if you fill it up with your own oil, how will this work when you get back to the dealer? id hardly think theyd drain the oil and refill just because they didnt put enough in last time...as it stands if youre just on the line, take it back and they add some more - simple no?

[Russell]

1. Running a quart low - straight to the dealer or parts shop - is fine. Probably your best option.
2. Using the diesel oil won't "hurt" anything other than contaminate your oil... I'd pass.
3. You can mix brands of oil, just not viscosities or synth/dino.
You can mix synthetic with dino oil or mix viscosities with no harm per people on the oil forums. In fact many have their personal "brew" based on professional oil analysis and their experience.

[shrike071]

You can mix synthetic with dino oil or mix viscosities with no harm per people on the oil forums. In fact many have their personal "brew" based on professional oil analysis and their experience.

Do what you will. As a retired mechanic, mixing viscosities is not something that I'll ever do, or suggest to anyone else since you'll really have no idea what the final viscosity will end up being. Mixing synth with dino will in essence 'dillute' the synthetic oil - negating some of the synthetic benefits. That is proven fact.

[Russell]

Agreed that mixing synthetic and dino will dilute the synthetic. However, it will not damage anything as was implied as was one of the earlier concerns.

I also do not mix viscoisities even though some do.. BTW, I am currently using Castrol Syntec 0w30 (made in Germany) in my car. It seems to love it. I like it much better that mobil 1 0w40. Engine is quieter (subjectively) with Syntec.

[BillionPa]

M1 makes engines louder, thats just how it is....

7 quarts will probably be enough, as the crank capacity is 7.5 quarts, and a bit stays in the oil pan during draining.

depening on the base oil chemistry, mixing viscosities is not a problem. for example, half redline 5W40 and half redline 5W30, to create a hybrid 5W35 if you will. the 5W40 contains VIIs, wheras the 5W30 does not, so you are getting a heavier oil with less VIIs, and that is a good thing.

mixing dino and synthetic on the other hand is not a good idea, as the dispersants used in synth oil tend not to mix so well with mineral oil, and the lack of in mineral oil makes additives drop out of suspension when mixed with synthetic.

may i ask why you are running 15W viscosity oil in your M60???