[GioLod1]

Hi All - would really appreciate your help / advice on whether any other members have experienced the same problem as described in the title?

I took my bike in for an annual service 2 weeks ago, 4,600 miles from new, running perfectly well on the way to the dealer. Following the service, 6 miles later at motorway speeds, the engine starts losing power blowing white smoke out of the exhausts. No problem at idle, the bike sounded sweet however, the air box was full of oil...

BMW UK have ordered an oil separator from Germany? No idea why this would happen / root cause?

 

[1004ron]

Welcome.

Check the coolant level.

To me it sounds like a blown head gasket but diagnostics are needed to be sure.
I don't think that dealership will accomplish much with an oil separator.

 

[ViennaK]

Warranty will fix it. R u sure that the oil level is not way high?

 

[GioLod1]

Welcome.

Check the coolant level.

To me it sounds like a blown head gasket but diagnostics are needed to be sure.
I don't think that dealership will accomplish much with an oil separator.

Hi, appreciate the reply.

The coolant was fine.

The dealer is hoping to provide a solution via the oil separator option, they’ve made it clear they would rather not start stripping the engine! Me, I just want my bike back as it was before the service...

 

[none]

I had this on my 2012 and it was bad piston ring lands (grooves that rings go into). 3 out of six were bad. Was supposedly fixed on later models with change of piston manufacturer.

 

[none]

My air box was also full of oil.

 

[GioLod1]

Warranty will fix it. R u sure that the oil level is not way high?

Hi, I must admit I initially suspected they might have overfilled the oil as the manual states 4.5 litres however, on the invoice they charged for 5.5 litres? Would an extra litre of oil potentially cause this though?

 

[GioLod1]

My air box was also full of oil.

Hi, the bike has been with the dealer for almost 3 weeks now so, it’s a waiting game - process of elimination I guess?

 

[Arizona Jim]

Go for the simple reason. Too high of an oil level in the engine. Check the level using the method spelled out in your owners manual. Bring bike to a hot temperature where the fan is running. You can do this in your garage with the tail pipe sticking outdoors. Run it like that for one minute. Shut the engine off for one minute. Read the dipstick. If it's above the maximum line let it cool down and drain oil out of it.

If the mechanic checked the oil level when it was cold the dipstick will read low. Adding oil to bring it to maximum at that time will add too much and the engine will want to blow the excess out which will accumulate in the condensate tube area.

 

[Arizona Jim]

Yes an extra liter of oil is way too much.

I posted my response before you did the one saying it's at the dealers. If the mechanic overfilled the oil in the engine and doesn't know it you may be in for a lot of screwing around by them.

If you can get the attention of the manager show him your owners manual and the receipt and have them drain oil out of the engine. Have them check the level, again per the manual. Then have it ridden.

 

[Jarrell]

They over filled your bike during an oil change. First thing I would of checked was the oil level

 

[Rambles]

My experience from previous bikes is oil overfill results in oil being dumped into the air box results in oil being pre mixed with air, particularly under load when more air is being sucked in, means oil charged air is burnt in combustion chamber result is good 2 stroke impersonation. Should not need engine taking apart, drain oil, clean air box, new filters and away you go.

 

[Rambles]

Excess oil gets dumped into air box quite fast. So oil level might appear normal if the excess is now in the air box. (On a couple of my previous bikes it was like that.....haven’t yet worked out the k1600 plumbing / breather tubes. Previous bikes were wet sump...)

 

[RasputinAF]

Demand a 2021 bike as they "ruined" yours...can't hurt to try

 

[Rider2]

I thought the rule was: blue smoke = oil (rings, valve guides), black smoke = gas (fueling issues), white smoke = coolant (head gasket).

Given that, I'm not understanding why people here are focusing on oil. Unless the "white" smoke is actually blue-ish white? OTOH I can't imagine any service causing a head gasket to fail so ...

 

[Rambles]

I just went with what he said. Air box full of oil.

 

[squibb]

Sounds like Oil overfill to me. Could be wet sumping, but I can't recall ever hearing of a case on here.

The Oil Separator is part 4 on this diagram ............. RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

My understanding is that it separates air from oil as it's scavenged back to the reservoir/tank

 

[Rock]

Can 5 1/2 quarts even fit? I know in mine a bit under 5 brings it close to the filler neck, I would think much more wouldn’t fit without overflowing.

 

[coyotek]

I don't see how you could put an extra liter in. I'd think it overflow the fill tube. Having said that, since the issue started after a service I'd sure clean things up, properly set the oil level and take her out again and see if there's still an issue. Can't hurt to apply the KISS principle here before tearing things apart.

 

[1004ron]

Can 5 1/2 quarts even fit? I know in mine a bit under 5 brings it close to the filler neck, I would think much more wouldn’t fit without overflowing.

From the sounds of it, it wouldn't surprise me if the "mechanic" topped it up while on the side stand.