smoking x5!....any ideas?

[Jordo]

Well, the "safest" things is to leave it. But that is not the most covenant thing. I would weigh out the inconvenience to the price of repair. I would guess the damage is done. I would drive it home with low RPM's. (to keep crank case pressure low)

It has to come apart any way. And if you blow a gasket..... So what. It has to come apart anyway. And the added cost of a gasket is what? $15-$20?

[gitchies]

well i went to twist off the oil cap, it seems i can't get it off!!! i'll try again shortly...i checked oil level, seemed low, but the car hasn't been for a good 4 hours, but it wasn't dry? i'll have to report when i get home......lets just hope it was some fluke!! trying to call my local shop to drop it off....

[Collie]

Originally Posted by gitchies

well i went to twist off the oil cap, it seems i can't get it off!!! i'll try again shortly...i checked oil level, seemed low, but the car hasn't been for a good 4 hours, but it wasn't dry? i'll have to report when i get home......lets just hope it was some fluke!! trying to call my local shop to drop it off....

Did you make it home yet? When mine went luckily I was on my way to my shop so I just parked it. But the smoke, if it is the separator, is coming from it dumping oil into the cylinder. Maybe not dumping, but I have read about it dumping enough into the engine to cause hydro locking, not always a catastrophe if you know how to cure it and it hasn't done too much damage, but could be bad. Best of luck and know that the X5 junkies are here for you if you need it!

[gitchies]

well i made it home!!! i drove a little slower then normal...took the back roads instead of the freeway...did 50-60kms home, truck was runing for a good hour...seemed all normal...i did check the oil level, it was low as previous...so i topped it off.....check coolant, that a little so topped that off too....i wish i was behind me this morning to see if there was a colour of smoke out of my exhaust.....i'm trying to get it in tomorrow....but not sure if i can.....
if it was the oil separator, would i have been able to drive home? or if its a head gasket, i've prob done some damage by driving home?

[JCL]

Yes, you could drive it home it if thawed out. If it freezes again, the danger is that oil is drawn into the engine, and since liquids aren't compressible, if they get into the combustion chamber you can bend a connecting rod. That is costly enough that you shouldn't keep driving it before figuring out what is causing the problem.

It is unlikely to be a head gasket, and even if it was, you wouldn't have caused more damage.

[gitchies]

well, i've contact 2 mechanics, friend that will scan for me, and the other is the local indie shop, i wanna bring it in for a scan and see what the issues are....will definately be keeping an eye one...i might go ahead and the shop to replace the oil separator, and some other parts....reading up on it has gotten me worried!!! still reading some old threads!!!
ps, i did check my oil cap for any moisture build of the cream looking stuff...nothing just oil....

[gitchies]

an update....so since that morning..the car has been normal...no issues at all, everything seems fine...i took it in to my local indie bmw shop....he hooked it up....and scanned....nothing? i said are you sure....he said, yeah, if there was a fault his machine would have picked it up....now don't ask me what machine he was using...i didn't ask...some laptop with a long cord and yellow box that sat on my dash for a bit....so i'm blaffled....he said if its driving fine then for now it should be ok...he suspected the diaphram or oil separator...i said we'll prob just go ahead and replace the oil separator, and clean the ccv?

[1stE53]

I had a similar experience. It has been well below freezing here too. I drove it home from St. Louis to Columbia (2 hours) and everything was fine. It had been out for a few nights in the sub freezing temps. We got home and parked in the garage. It stays between 8 to 10 deg (50F) in there. Wife went to start it the next day and had a rough idle and then smelled a strong smoke smell. Shut off car. I came home from work to find oil everywhere under the driver side and skid plates. Thought oil separator. Long story short, I replaced a power steering hose and all is good. It was that hose that exploded.

[gitchies]

yeah....very very stange...never happened to any other cars i've owned...i'll count my blessings!!!!checked for oil under the car, nothing...