oil separator symptoms

[BlondyFA]

I'm new here and really learned a lot reading all these posts. So, thank you
I believe I have this oil separator problem. I live in Kansas City and it's been sooooo cold here. I started my car the other day, I have an X5 4.4. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes. The temp outside was about 5. I put the car in reverse to back out and it's kind of sputtering....I pull forward and notice a huge amout of smoke coming from the exhaust. I freaked out, though it was on fire! I get out, look...the check engine light is flickering off and on. I immediately park the car and turn it off. Run in to call my husband who is in DC working. He doesn't answer. I go back outside and take a look and there is a HUGE oil spill underneath. I haven't taken it anywhere yet...waiting for my husband to tell me what to do. I know I can't drive it. I should say my drive to work is less than 5 minutes, that's why I always warm it up before leaving. So, from what I have read here, I believe I have the oil separator problem. Does anyone know how much this costs to repair? Seems like any repair is at least 2,000! I've had my share of problems with this car...I was hoping to get a break for a while. It's a 2002 with 115,000 miles.

Here is a short list of things wrong with it right now.
Rear left passenger window just fell down. I have it duct taped up....real classy, huh?
Windshield wipers just stopped working. The right one doesn't move at all....the left ones moves about 3/4 of the way.
The key remote has never worked...about 1 week into owning the car the door lock fell in. Now there is a hole where the lock should be. We took it back to the dealer and they had to "order" the part. Well...my husband was deployed and we just got back to KC in October....so the lock was never fixed...oh and it took 4 months for them to get the part in!
We also had a fuel sender problem...they were replaced about a year ago....cost 1200.00. I can't remember the exact thing that happened a month after the fuel senders....but that was over 2000.00!!!

I LOVE this vehicle...but it doesn't love me and I wish I could sell it

Any help is much appreciated.

[BlondyFA]

PS...Someone said on here to just garage the car for the winter....no can do, this is the only car I have. I bought this car because I thought BMW's were such great cars. Never in a million years did I think it couldn't handle cold weather. I don't know anything about cars. My husband can fix just about anything...this car has him beyond baffled! I should have mentioned in my post above that we have an excellent independent guy that works on it. He's like 100 miles away and I can't get it there for a couple of weeks!

[JCL]

Originally Posted by BlondyFA

I'm new here and really learned a lot reading all these posts. So, thank you
I believe I have this oil separator problem. I live in Kansas City and it's been sooooo cold here. I started my car the other day, I have an X5 4.4. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes. The temp outside was about 5. I put the car in reverse to back out and it's kind of sputtering....I pull forward and notice a huge amout of smoke coming from the exhaust. I freaked out, though it was on fire! I get out, look...the check engine light is flickering off and on. I immediately park the car and turn it off. Run in to call my husband who is in DC working. He doesn't answer. I go back outside and take a look and there is a HUGE oil spill underneath. I haven't taken it anywhere yet...waiting for my husband to tell me what to do. I know I can't drive it. I should say my drive to work is less than 5 minutes, that's why I always warm it up before leaving. So, from what I have read here, I believe I have the oil separator problem. Does anyone know how much this costs to repair? Seems like any repair is at least 2,000! I've had my share of problems with this car...I was hoping to get a break for a while. It's a 2002 with 115,000 miles.

The oil leak is just the oil running out after the failure of a gasket or separator line. Don't drive it without oil. After you get the oil separator fixed (could be up to $1000-1200, depending on what it needs), you should modify your driving habits. The oil separator fails because of condensate building up in the oil, forming a paste, and clogging up the separator. The condensate forms because the engine isn't being warmed up sufficiently to burn off the condensation. You should not idle your vehicle to warm it up, that is making it worse. When you start your vehicle, wait until the idle speed stabilizes, ie about ten seconds. Then drive it, gently. It is better to drive it than to let it run for an extended time cold. What you want to do is minimize the duration of the warm-up cycle, and that is best achieved by putting moderate load on the engine, ie driving it. Your manual covers this, and it isn't specific to BMWs.

If you have a lot of short trips, you should ensure that you get a longer drive in every now and then, to get the engine good and hot and burn off the condensation. Given the number of short trips you make, which is brutal on a vehicle, you should also change the oil more frequently than the service lights indicate, as you would qualify for a severe service interval (double the frequency).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[BlondyFA]

Thank you, thank you, thank you....you explained that so well. I really appreciate it

[Wilk]

Three days ago I had the giant white cloud following me, burning oil, OSV failure. I cleaned the OSV and after assembling it seems to be ok, but still blowing some smoke for a couple days. Burning out the exhaust because I am sure its coated heavily.
Question, do I need to pull the hard lines that go down the back of the block and clean them out? Does the dipstick tube need to be cleaned out as I have seen mentioned. I have to believe that the hard line down the back of the block is the real problem, maybe having oily white buildup and freezing. The OSV is pretty big to freeze up, but the hard lines are quite small.
Then the drivers handle carrier broke. sitting in garage with one door unlocked, wife calls, cant get in my car. I almost used a hammer but I got in. The real issue was that her makeup was in the back seat.

[juppalgae]

guys,

went to my mechanic with an oil separator kit for replacement and was sent home by my mechanic who said the kit doesn't need to be replaced ever. what's he talking about?

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by juppalgae

guys,

went to my mechanic with an oil separator kit for replacement and was sent home by my mechanic who said the kit doesn't need to be replaced ever. what's he talking about?

I think he's telling you that you should find a new mechanic.