Originally Posted by Valyk

My girlfriend purchased a 2001 X5 4.4 about a year ago. The car has been great but has start developing a few issues. First, the oil separator hoses are completely worn. They have the consistency of playdough and are torn. So last night I started disassembling the engine to replace the oil separator and the hoses. Everything I read said it is a major PITA, and they were not lying! Second, there is oil around the spark plugs, which also lead me to believe the valve cover gaskets are blown. So, I have been following this write-up:
Replacing A Leaking Valve Cover Gasket On Your BMW. | BMW Tech Tips, How-tos and News - Bavarian Autosport Blog

I ran into a couple of problems while dissembling everything. For starters, the remote battery terminal that is supposed to be attached to the right valve cover is not there. Instead it is attached to the firewall, but it snakes in a very unusual direction. It comes up the right side of the engine, over the valve cover, under the intake manifold, out the rear of the engine, and then connects to the firewall near the master cylinder. I can not understand why it is routed like this. It makes the valve cover removal a major task. Is this standard? Everything I have been reading does not show this setup like I explained. I would like to reroute the wire and not go underneath the intake manifold.

Also, there is a small hose about 1/4 of an inch that was connected to the bottom of the intake manifold, but was severed and covered with oil. What is this hose, and what does it connect?

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.