Need a DIY article for crankcase vent/oil separator replacement on a 2000 e39 528i

[Kibokojoe]

Anyone know of a writeup for this procedure? Looks like are real pain

[Bill R.]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=354754

[Jr ///M5]

If you live in a cold climate, the condensate that accumulates inside the seperator can freeze the valve shut or open causing the oil to: A. Either be sucked up into the valves, pumping it out through the exhaust in massive quanities, or B. Overpressurize the crankcase causing the valve cover to blow the gasket and pour oil all over the exhaust manifold. Either way, it's a mess, a huge mess. One of the remedies is a new designed insulated valve and dipstick return drain that is large enough to drain the milky substance back into the crankcase so it can have a chance to burn off. Short trips during the winter months only aggravate the situation. I'm almost a believer that the valve should be changed as a preventive maintenance issue because of the potential damage it can do. I've experienced both types of failures on an E39 and an E60. The cold weather kit is reasonable pricewise, until you add the dipstick, for some strange reason they want over $250 just for the modified dipstick tube. One BMW tech told me that using a wiper blade metal insert can be used to clear the muck from the drain section on the dipstick tube. It's about a 5 hour job, replacing the valve. Then there's clean up and plug changes. If the car suffered the latter type failure, then be prepared to take it out on a desolate road for about 30 minutes of hard driving to clear the oil from the exhaust. It will look like an extreme mosquito fogger. One thing is for sure, you won't have any tailgaters....Keep an eye on the oil fill cap, excessive condensation or a heavy coating of something that resembles a chocolate milkshake is a sign the valve is failing.
Hope this helps,
Jr

[Kibokojoe]

Exactly what I was looking for. Will tackle this Saturday.

[Kibokojoe]

So far only have oil leaking from cracked pipes.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

On my daughters Z3, it sucked so much oil in through the intake that it caused hydrolock. I thought it was the starter motor and wasted time replacing that first.

The new starter motor, after numerous tries, did turn the engine over, after a "pop" sound. Freaked me out. I got real lucky, did not bend or break anything, but it did run like that extreme mosquito fogger. That's how I finally figured out what happened. After I replace the Oil Separator, it took over half hour of hard running to clear up all that smoke, but it did go away finally.

Simple, but painstaking job. Take your time.

[Kibokojoe]

Purchased the winterized replacement kit from Bavauto. Will install tomorrow along with replacing the gasket on the oil filter mount and the valve cover gasket. Should take care of all the oil leaks. Sounds like the CCV is a bad design

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Terrible design for cold climate short trip driving. I hear that BMW's new 6cyls have the CCV built into the valve cover. I have not seen one, but I also heard they have problems of their own. I have no details of such problems, but it's got to be better than this design cause it's in the engine and would get warmer faster. Condensation in the engine is simply a problem for all engines, but exacerbated by BMW's complex exterior design in our engines, and the lack of running that baby hot on short trips in cold climates.

A habit I've gotten into is, I plan my oil changes right before it gets cold, before winter, to refresh the oil with new oil that does not have moisture buildup. Not sure it helps, but I feel better mentally.

[Kibokojoe]

Holy cow.....started on this project and disassembled down to where I could see the electrical box with all of the wires coming out of it. I started chasing down wires and when I found one that snakes over the radiator/engine and it appears I would have to remove the radiator to get the wire out I said forget it. What a pain in the butt. What were the engineers thinking when they built this engine. I was afraid to go any further, everything seems to be brittle. Called my sister in law to give her the bad news. If it were my car I would do it and would replace everything I broke going in and out but it is my sister in laws. Think I will stick with my e34 ;)

[Tiger]

Geez! What engines does have that CCV that has cold climate issues? Any in E34?

[Kibokojoe]

Good news. Talked to my mechanic friend today and he is going to come over and help me out. Started on the valve cover gasket today. Will need to pick up rubber washers tomorrow.

[Kibokojoe]

Had to pull the oil filter canister mount to replace the o-ring behind the mount. Once this mount is out you can easily see the ccv.

[Kibokojoe]

You guys know me by now I like to complete things and close them out. Hopefully this will help someone on down the line

These sites were full of helpful information.

My CVV (Oil Separator) DIY Journey in Pictures
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417819

Detailed DIY for Crankcase Ventilation Valve Overhaul for the M52TU Motor
by Graham E39 528i
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1528460

***If you read anything read the next paragraph****
Graham’s site had information that saved my bacon showed me that the "connecting line" turned and locked into the "pressure regulating valve" instead of pushing on with a snap. I would have broken it for sure. In the end this little operation of lock and turn took me about 5 minutes but you are doing it blind.

http://www.marianresearch.com/images/CVVParts.jpg

Rambling….The whole procedure took me three days. The first day was 2 hours of frustration, followed by a day of more research and trying to convince myself that I could do this. Two days later I went back at it this time labeling everything as I went in. Made plastic coated tags with matching letters or numbers. Could not believe the number of wires, connectors and hoses to get to this little beast. Found out that not only were the CCV hoses cracked but that the CCV was broken. Oil and grim everywhere. Used simple green and rags to remove as much of the crud as possible. Any where I could keep a nut or bolt with a component I would do so, as long as they were not in the way. Also used a lot of zip lock bags and label them with there respective components. Finally got it all back together last night and the wife got in and started it up first try. All the extra work of labeling and keeping things sorted paid off. In the end I ended up replacing not only the CCV but the valve cover gasket, vanos hose, oil filter canister gasket and two of the hoses on the power steering fluid canister. This car had leaks everywhere. Total hours 19.5 wrenching and research.

The leaks in the CCV threw a check engine soon light and the following OBD2 codes
P1250 Fuel pressure regulator
P0300 cylinder 1 miss fire
P0302 cylinder 2 miss fire
P0170 Fuel trim malfunction Bank 1
P0173 Fuel trim malfunction Bank 2
P1188 Fuel and air metering
P1189 Fuel and air metering

So if you see these together chances are you have a CCV problem.