Just venting since my ccv won't

GSXRliterbikz · #1 01-08-2017, 02:28 PM

CCV froze up for the 2nd time this month. Cant believe how easy it happens on this X. Literally every part of it is brand new. All genuine bmw parts less than 6 months old.
Clean oil, 0-30 castrol euro oil.
Started it up today and decided to check it. Pulled the dipstick and it was a geyser. Shut it down and popped the oil fill cap off. Almost blew it out of my hand when the crankcase pressure burst out.
Anyone have any luck figuring out a solution?
I'm not too crazy about spending a lot of time, but if theres something easy I can do I will. Planning on moving south in a month and a half, so hopefully I won't have to ever deal with it again.

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nickt5174 · #2 01-08-2017, 03:38 PM

I deleted my CCV for an oil catch can on my 330i. My X5 3.0i which has the same motor is stock and I haven't had any issue with it. I have noticed that soft thermostat failures don't let the engine warm up to the correct operating temp which should be about 195-200F. Instead it will run about 165-175, this does not allow the moisture in the motor to evaporate off, the matter is worse in the winter when the temp drops below 20 degrees F. If you look under your oil cap and see what is commonly referred to as "mayo" that is moisture in your engine oil. My Oil Catch Can gets full of this stuff in the winter and I have to keep an eye on it for fear of filling up and freezing solid. The same thing happens to your stock CCV system. So if you don't already have one get a Bluetooth OBDII reader and purchase OBD Fusion for your smart phone and use that to determine what your actual engine operating temperature is. If it's running cold at around 165-175F you might have just found your problem.

80stech · #3 01-08-2017, 05:16 PM

Here is a post from the CCCV to PCV conversion thread (actually it's the putting a PCV valve into a CCCV system thread) . There are probably a few more posts in that thread that might apply as well.

As far as the freezing/moisture problem I think of it this way, The crankcase is closed so it is filled with moisture saturated combustion gases. The moisture ends up forming dropplets, which get seperated in the cyclone oil seperator, which ironically works much better seperating heavey moisture droplets than it does oil, and returned to the crankcase. The CCCV can only get rid of moisture vapour not droplets, so the only way to reduce the moisture is to let in a little unsaturated atmosphere to absorb it and let it get sucked through the seperator and into the intake as vapor.

upallnight · #4 01-08-2017, 05:41 PM

Anytime it drops below freezing I don't drive the X until the temperature is above freezing for a couple of hours. I am fortunate that I have other means of transportation including public transportation. I know this is not the best work around but at least I know that I'M not going to ruin the engine.

80stech · #5 01-08-2017, 05:53 PM

You guys might try folding a bath towel in half and putting it over the engine. Works great to keep the valve cover and vacuum distribution manifold a lot warmer. I put it about 3/4 way over the valve cover and use a wire to fasten it to the lift hook by the Vanos solenoid and also to something on the driver's side so that it can't get too close to the exhaust manifold. Like I stated in another post somewhere if you take the oil cap off and let it idle for a minute before you shut it off will help a lot as well. The only way to get moisture out is to get some unsaturated air in.

80stech · #6 01-08-2017, 05:58 PM

It's not just BMW that has problems. We had a cold snap here a couple of weeks ago and you should have seen all the oil on the streets!

cn90 · #7 01-08-2017, 06:43 PM

I already switched to CCV mod.
Search for my photos in the thread by BavarianE39 CCV Mod.

Scott ZHP · #8 01-09-2017, 07:58 AM

Did you thoroughly clean the dipstick oil return channel when you replaced the CCV parts?

GSXRliterbikz · #9 01-09-2017, 08:15 AM

Thanks for the tips guys. Mostly just pissed off. Doubtful that ill bother doing anything since I'm moving to a warmer climate soon.
Had I known what a pain it was I would have swapped everything over to match the e39/38 setup when I replaced the motor. I wonder if anyones actually done that? None of my other cars ever had this much trouble. Even my last 3.0 X5. I had put the insulated one on that car though. No such luck with the 4.4 setup

GSXRliterbikz · #10 01-09-2017, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott ZHP

Did you thoroughly clean the dipstick oil return channel when you replaced the CCV parts?

The 4.4 doesn't return through the dipstick. It has a separate return line at the back of the motor. And yes, it was cleaned.
I replaced the motor about 6 months ago and I replaced everything that bolts to it. All hoses, cooling system, ccv, gaskets, pumps. There really isn't anything in the engine bay that isn't new.

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