UPDATE:Is it okay to drive 3 miles to the dealership with a busted oil separator?

[binhly101]

Well, I get into the car yesterday and turned it on, there was a great deal of white smoke coming out the pipes and i knew...But I live about 3 miles away from the dealership and was wondering if it could make the trip since calling for a tow takes too much time.
There was a small puddle of oil under the car when i moved it yesterday. I checked the oil level but it is good. I drives fine, but i really only moved it about 20-30 feet. There are no noises per se.
And it was about 15 degrees yesterday when i turned it on.

[Quicksilver]

Do it the safe way. Flat bed it to the dealer.
What's a little time vs further damage.

[mrbmwx5]

I no it's not a good idea ... But i drove for 50 miles with busted oil separator and have to keep adding and checking the oil every 10-15 miles.

[m5james]

It's fine to drive, just don't keep it as a daily driver while this is malfunctioning as it'll waist oil, foul plugs and cats w/ continual driving. I don't know if they'll want to remove the intake manifold to replace the seperator because it's not necessarily needed, but it's much easier w/ the manifold off...in exchange for more work since they move the intake.

Have you considered just replacing it yourself? I have a pre-VANOS intake manifold sitting in my garage, I can take pics if you need to give you some guidance on how to remove this item yourself. I'm sure there are also some write-ups on www.e38.org, but if you'd like actual realtime help, I can assist you.

[binhly101]

I should have told you guys i have an 3.0i...but anyways, I read that some people's Xs die while they are driving it due to this problem. And was wondering if it would be too much to drive it to the garage.

Have you considered just replacing it yourself? I have a pre-VANOS intake manifold sitting in my garage, I can take pics if you need to give you some guidance on how to remove this item yourself. I'm sure there are also some write-ups on www.e38.org, but if you'd like actual realtime help, I can assist you.

I did think about doing it myself, but really do not have enough free time nor do i really trust myself to not screw it up. I have an indy guy who is dedicated to bimmers and who has told me he can do it for about $300US but I really think maybe about $500US is more realistic.

[m5james]

It's 8-10 star bolts and a vacuum line. It's really not that hard to do, just a mildly cramped space. I understand your lack of time, but if things change and you decide to get intimate w/ your X over the weekend, I'd suggest using Google or www.e46fanatics.com to find a writeup for the 3.0 swap. I'm guessing it would take about an hour.

[binhly101]

That does sound simple. I'll look into it.

[m5james]

Found this Oil Separator and Intake Manifold DIY - E46Fanatics after using their search feature E46Fanatics - Search Results. A writeup w/ pics would be awesome, so maybe some searching around might help ya find something. If not and you still decide to tackle this, maybe you'd be willing to take a little longer and shoot pics for the X5 community. You'll get lots of attaboys

EDIT - Found this http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...fold-3-0l.html while using our own search feature Xoutpost.com - Search Results. Hopefully all of these links will help.

[X5 Meister]

Depends if it is stuck open or closed really.

[binhly101]

Its is being worked on as we speak...so to say...but I am curious if it is frozen open, then when the weather gets warm enough...would it un-stuck itself?