Sluggish w/ white smoke?

rock1571 · #1 02-18-2010, 11:14 PM

I've searched the threads here multiple times now and have a pretty good hunch of what caused my problem, need some advice on how to fix it... 01 3.0 with 115k miles...

X5 is garaged at night, short trip to drop the kids off at school in the morning, and then I get on the interstate for about a 15-min drive to work. Not every day, but on multiple occassions in the last 2 months, I've gotten on the interstate and when I get to around 60mph the engine makes a strange sound, gets sluggish and a huge amount of white smoke comes out of the exhaust. This would be after appx 15-20 min of city driving to get the kids off.

I've noticed the telltale milky oil under the filler cap and on the end of the dipstick. Took it to the dealer about a month ago and they didn't find anything wrong with the CCV, although they did notice a lot of moisture in the engine. They let the car run for awhile and took the filler cap off to let the moisture escape. They said the white smoke was condensation escaping in the exhaust. I'm skeptical of this because it is a huge amount of smoke that doesn't dissipate like I would expect condensation to do. There are no oil leaks I can see or smell and I do not appear to be burning any more oil than usual.

Any ideas on what the white smoke is and what repairs I might be needing to fix this? I had the CCV replaced with the new parts last January after the VCG blew out.

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binhly101 · #2 02-19-2010, 12:38 AM

I had lots of white smoke a few months ago, I thought for sure it would have been the CCV but then when I took it in they did a test and it was not the CCV at all. It turns out it was the thermostat that was stuck open and so gasoline was pumped into the engine thus causing the white smoke, I had an oil change and the thermostat replaced, worked like a charm.

rock1571 · #3 02-19-2010, 01:14 PM

Thanks, hadn't thought of the thermostat. Under what conditions did you have the smoke? For me it seems to be intermittent and after driving for a bit. Based on the milky oil under the filler cap I'm still thinking it's a CCV issue. Did a hot oil change today and I'm going to replace the plugs tonight to see if any of them have oil.

Anyone have experience with Sea Foam? Had a bottle in my hand at the auto parts store and when I told the tech what I was putting it in he told me to do some more research. He wasn't sure how the X would react as "those german cars are built different"... Bottle says it will help dissipate moisture in the oil, thought I'd give it a try so long as nobody has had any issues with it...

JCL · #4 02-19-2010, 01:29 PM

Make sure you separate cause and effect. The CCV does not cause moisture in the oil. However, if you have moisture in the oil (and you seem to), then it can emulsify (making the white paste), and that paste collects in the CCV. There, it can freeze. However, the CCV does not cause the moisture, it is rather a victim of it.

If you have a lot of moisture built up, you should consider doing a couple of hot oil changes, fairly close together, to clean it out.

You haven't noted whether your coolant level is down. If so, then you potentially have a problem. If it isn't, then you could just have moisture in the exhaust system, where it builds up just like it does in the engine.

As to Sea Foam, if you Google it you will find supporters and detractors. Consider what it is: a collection of solvents, carried in a base of white gas (naptha). Naptha is often sold as Coleman camping fuel. There is also some alcohol mixed in. I suspect that the alcohol is to treat the water. Any solvent-based treatment can be harsh on engine components. If you felt you had a problem with injectors, then I would suggest a detergent-based cleaner like Techron. Personally, I won't put a solvent-based cleaner in one of my own vehicles. People have been using Sea Foam for 50 years or so. You need to make a judgement about whether there are any components inside your BMW that are more advanced than a 1957 Chevy Belair (as an example) and whether they may be damaged by the treatment. I would worry about sensors, MAF components, rubber parts, alloy components, and so on.

rock1571 · #5 02-19-2010, 01:41 PM

Thanks for the reply JCL... Coolant level is normal and has not changed, I've checked that a few times over the last few months. I think I'll hold off on the Sea Foam for now and see how I do with the hot oil changes. I suspect with my driving habits that I'll just have moisture build up again in a few weeks.

rock1571 · #6 02-19-2010, 02:59 PM

Update... just changed the spark plugs and all of them had oil on the threads and a small amount puddled in the spark plug well. Looks like the white smoke was oil in the combustion chambers. Is that a complete VCG replace?

Thom · #7 02-19-2010, 03:15 PM

Good luck with that. I would look at the CCV ....mine just went. Stranded me in the country in -10 C weather. I will spare the details. Towed it home & sold it to a friend of my mechanic. I had enough. Thanks for all the help. This is a great website.

TwinsPoppa · #8 02-19-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thom

Good luck with that. I would look at the CCV ....mine just went. Stranded me in the country in -10 C weather. I will spare the details. Towed it home & sold it to a friend of my mechanic. I had enough. Thanks for all the help. This is a great website.

Sorry to hear and agree - better check the CCV. That smoke was probably the moisture build-up burning not the oil.

rock1571 · #9 02-19-2010, 03:58 PM

I've already had the CCV replaced with the updated components, did that last year when it blew. My understanding is now that I have the new parts, my available solutions are to get rid of the moisture before it freezes the CCV again and / or clean out the CCV of the sludge periodically.

If the smoke was moisture boiling off, how would you explain oil around every single spark plug? Would moisture boiling off cause the sluggish throttle at highway speeds? There shouldn't be oil in the combustion chamber, so I'm assuming my weak point to relieve CC pressure is the seals around the spark plugs... oil is getting into the combustion chamber and fouling the ignition of fuel causing a misfire. Or the CCV is stuck open allowing oil to be sucked into the engine. Is there something else I should be checking? There are no external oil leaks whatsoever...

TwinsPoppa · #10 02-19-2010, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock1571

I've already had the CCV replaced with the updated components, did that last year when it blew. My understanding is now that I have the new parts, my available solutions are to get rid of the moisture before it freezes the CCV again and / or clean out the CCV of the sludge periodically.

Exactly. Just because you changed it last year doesn't mean there's no problem within it now - again. Like JCL said its not the root which you already know but ...

If the smoke was moisture boiling off, how would you explain oil around every single spark plug?

You said oil was on the plug threads and plug well. I asssumed you would have mentioned it if oil was on the plug electrode. Since you didn't, I thought it would more than likely be caused by something wrong with your CCV - with the increased pressure causing the failure of your valve cover gaskets. If oil is on the plug electrodes, then okay. However, you did ask about replacing the valve cover gaskets.

Would moisture boiling off cause the sluggish throttle at highway speeds?

Don't really know. Is your X misfiring? Maybe check - spark plugs, air/fuel mixture or compression.

There shouldn't be oil in the combustion chamber, so I'm assuming my weak point to relieve CC pressure is the seals around the spark plugs... oil is getting into the combustion chamber and fouling the ignition of fuel causing a misfire. Or the CCV is stuck open allowing oil to be sucked into the engine. Is there something else I should be checking? There are no external oil leaks whatsoever...

I didn't see where you had mentioned these previously. I thought maybe the oil was dripping into the plug wells because of the faulty valce cover gaskets. Sorry, I must have missed it.

If the CCV is stuck open then ...

Also, normally if oil burns its blue and moisture burns white.

See above.

BTW .. not sure what more you can do to "fix" the problem. Looks like your car is getting moisture in the engine (dealer even confirmed). Not sure what can be done other than longer trips and/or letting the X run for awhile.

Another thing, I'm sure you already know but all that moisture is contaminating the oil and engine lubrication is going downhill.

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