Don't know what to do.

[Typhoon804]

Hi new member here but I have always lurked. My wife has a 01 4.4 X5 bought it with 50k miles on it 5 years ago and it has been one of the coolest vehicles we have owned until recently. When it turned 100k miles a few months back it went all to pieces. My main problem is the Oil Separator or that is what I thought. It started doing this back in the warmer months before it got cold. I would be at an idle and it would start idling rough and kinda squeel under the hood then smoke would pour out the tail pipes. It didn't do this again for a month or so then it did it again. I looked on here and saw all the problems and symptoms of the OS and figured that was what it was. so I changed it Tuseday as instructed, done oil change ect. Took it on a 3hr trip this weekend and it was fine till I got almost where I was going and it did it again. It didn't do it all weekend til I was comming home about 2hrs into my trip and it did it again and then again now the valve covers are leaking. Could I have gotten a bad separator or is it another problem? I'm so aggrivated with it I'm about to trade it. Thanks

[cavx5]

get rid of it asap..i cant wait to get rid of mine..thay are nice vehicles but not worth the aggrevation they incur...i expected a lot better from bmw but i think that these models are not thier best models..stick with the 3 series if you wnat a bmw...rob

[Typhoon804]

The oil separator is just one problem that struck at 100k. 3 of the 4 window regulators have broke, wiring harness to xenons melted, final stage resistor killed the battery, cv boot. And all the parts were in stock at the dealer so these must be common. And the bad thing is it only has 103k on it now and all these problems have occurred in the last few months after it turned 100k

[Weasel]

Look at it this way, those parts all lasted 100k miles to begin with... change them now and you should get about the same from them.

Also, when you hear the squealing under the hood try pulling off the oil fill cap. If there is some slight vacuum there it is normal, but if it has full intake vacuum and the cap is hard to remove because of that, the rubber diaphragm in the rear cover plate of the intake manifold is busted putting full intake vacuum through the crankcase through the CCV system, and that usually causes the front and rear main seals to have air sucked through them causing a squeal and oil to be sucked into the manifold.

Sounds like that may be your problem in this case.

[rocky1536]

As much as I have had my bad weeks with my x5 (really the cooling system in my case)

All of the parts that you are describing didn't just "die" at 100K. I'm sure the CV boots showed signs of cracking awhile ago and everything else has been slowly deteriorating as well considering it is a 9 year old vehicle with a lot of softer materials..

Replace the parts and expect to get another 80-100k out of them. Next time, replace them before they go bad and you won't have so many bad feelings towards the X. If you haven't already- I would replace the water pump, and all of the hoses in the cooling system as they are one of the few pieces that will QUICKLY leave you stranded...trust me I know.

[Typhoon804]

Could I have gotten a bad separator? Could it be bad without freezing because the car is never left outside? It just blows my mind that everything went like it did. I've had 3 and 5 series in the past all gotten well over 100k with no problems. Where should I start?

[Richard Oben]

I have to go with the group, we have had our 02 X5 for three years now. We did get the oil seperator done under warranty at the time we bought it. Since then we did the front end thing, CV boots, ball joints, control arms and sway bar end links, like 1300 bucks but other than one window regulator the car has been good. I change the oil every 4 to 5 K myself so it is not as painfull but still a little tough. Also put a battery in it. Most of the time it just goes, 119K miles and the weather has been crap here for several weeks. The DSC AWD is awesome, can't make it cut a donut it will not let you. I will continue to buy used BMWs and drive them for a long time. Beats making car payments, my 325IS has 174K on it and I kind of wish it would die. JMHO, YMMV Richard.

[Typhoon804]

Sorry weasle I posted before I read your post. That sounds interesting and may be my problem I noticed when I pulled the cap of to see if their was blow by that it was hard to get off almost impossible.

[Weasel]

That diaphragm I described is a key integral part of the oil seperator system that is often overlooked. Sounds like that is your problem. If it has the squealing noise while at idle and it goes away when you pull off the oil cap then that would confirm it.

Since the part is on the rear of the manifold, the intake needs to be removed. If it all hasn't been done yet I'd strongly consider doing the valley pan at the same time and the gaskets for the rear coolant accumulator/crosspipe. (either that rear coolant accumulator or the waterpump need to ber moved to get the valley pan out, most higher mileage engines already had the waterpump changed so I usually do the rear accumulator)