Thanks for nothing BMW NA ( Blue smoke/Oil loss/Oil separator )

[X5 in AK]

Ah yes, the heated wrap. Dealer tried to sell me that last year, for the special low price of six hundred and something dollars. I respectfully declined.
There are other options for heated pads, which I started to look into then got sidetracked on the oil sep relocation. I was looking at using snowmachine handgrip heater pads, which are also 12V, are self regulating and cost about 40 bucks for a pair, which is a far cry from the price of the BMW part. There are also industrial heating pads used on semi trucks that would do the same trick for a fraction of the cost.

So now you've got me thinking again on this issue. I am getting more determined to find a good permanent solution for the crappy design on the 4.4 liter engine

[nrgetic99]

All,

Update as of today. BMW NA say my vehicle IS one that is potentially affected but is not experiencing the symptoms currently.

They have agreed to send a tech rep to talk to me next time its at the dealer.

David

[X5Newb]

Originally Posted by X5 in AK

Ah yes, the heated wrap. Dealer tried to sell me that last year, for the special low price of six hundred and something dollars. I respectfully declined.
There are other options for heated pads, which I started to look into then got sidetracked on the oil sep relocation. I was looking at using snowmachine handgrip heater pads, which are also 12V, are self regulating and cost about 40 bucks for a pair, which is a far cry from the price of the BMW part. There are also industrial heating pads used on semi trucks that would do the same trick for a fraction of the cost.

So now you've got me thinking again on this issue. I am getting more determined to find a good permanent solution for the crappy design on the 4.4 liter engine

Any further progress on your own solution to fix this issue X5 in AK? I'm sure many here would be interested (me included)!

[Garyn]

I'm wondering what would happen if I were to replace the oil fill cap with the old style breather cap just for the cold weather months, to help relieve the pressure in case of the oil seperator freezeup.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Garyn

I'm wondering what would happen if I were to replace the oil fill cap with the old style breather cap just for the cold weather months, to help relieve the pressure in case of the oil seperator freezeup.

It might be a short term emergency fix, but over time, if you had the problem of condensate building up and freezing, wouldn't it happen just the same in the breather cap as it does in the separator?

I would just clean out the breather hoses, and maintain the system so it can work as designed.

[amacman]

Originally Posted by nrgetic99

Anecdotal.

A little more and denser white smoke and hesitation. Could have been an overly rich mixture due to the extreme cold but typically you can smell the excess gas and the tailpipe emissions are very white...what I saw seemed more whitish grey.

David

using a light pressure manometer in place of oil filler cap is reccomended way to check, 4 to 6 inches pressure indicates normal function, i check placing palm of hand over oil filler for excessive vaccum, be careful of camchains and fan . this test indicates burst diaghragm on oil separator, not blockage.on M62 engine.

[amacman]

i find this warmup proceedure succesful on short trips in sub zero temp. start motor,allow to run at normal high idle,idle will decrease slightly after variable times depending on weather,idle will further decrease after variable time to near normal idle, apply gentle throttle to 2000 rpm, allow to idle for few seconds, rev to 2000rpm,allow idle a few seconds,rev to near 3000rpm,allow idle few seconds, repeat this few more times then rev to 3500rpm,allow idle then drive off gently. after 200 yards try to apply power load so that car is using lots of fuel but do not rev over 3000rpm and only do so if road has grip, no need to go fast , slow again if possible then accelerate again gently, i use this proceedure regularly,if engine is working to accelerate car then much fuel is being used to warm engine. i always run engine 15-20 minutes to warm up and recharge battery power used by starter.

[amacman]

Originally Posted by nrgetic99

All,

Update as of today. BMW NA say my vehicle IS one that is potentially affected but is not experiencing the symptoms currently.

They have agreed to send a tech rep to talk to me next time its at the dealer.

David

i would be inclined to discuss with dealer that if you book car for repair to oil separator, thus you would be liable for cost , but no doubt they will find defective oil separator and should then claim warranty for cost and so you should not have to pay. warranty wont agree to pay unless dealer says for sure what problem is so i think it`s worth discussing with them.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by amacman

i would be inclined to discuss with dealer that if you book car for repair to oil separator, thus you would be liable for cost , but no doubt they will find defective oil separator and should then claim warranty for cost and so you should not have to pay. warranty wont agree to pay unless dealer says for sure what problem is so i think it`s worth discussing with them.

I don't think he is reading this, but he may still be lurking. He hasn't posted since May '08. Also, it seems that he never had a problem with his separator. He had a lumpy idle one day, read about all the problems with separators, and asked BMW to give him the updated parts instead of waiting for it to fail. They quite rightly responded that he didn't have a problem for them to fix. It isn't a warranty situation, since there was no failure.

One of the problems of forums is that a casual reader would think every X5 is freezing up out there. They aren't. The ones that do can cause an inordinate amount of pain, agreed, but it is still a small number of the vehicles registered that have problems. Just my $0.02

[X5 Meister]

To follow-up comment #35, here is the full SIB 110104. For whatever reason the p/n isn't listed in Realoem.