X5 4.4 2001, Cold, Whitesmoke, Misfire, help!

turquise1 · #1 01-23-2011, 04:17 PM

Hey ppl,

I have an X5 4.4 2001 with 160k miles. Recently after an oil change, another day in the morning, I experienced a misfire at cold start and big amounts of white smoke coming out of the tailpipes.

There was no leak, first I thought it would be just humidity doing this. I blamed the Oil Separator and I changed it and its two major hoses. After white smoke cleared, we drove the car for another couple of weeks before it got really cold again recently. Again in the morning a misfire (blinking engine warning, checked with a computer) and in 15 mins, a huge white smoke. I havent seen any leaks around the car, also checked the dipstick and the oil looks clean (no milky look). The coolent needed some filling up though, which led me to believe there would be a gasket leak (hopefully not!) somewhere.

What would you recommend? Are those block leak testers reliable to see if there is a leak?

Thanks for all the help in advance..

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JCL · #2 01-23-2011, 04:28 PM

Suggest you pressure test the cooling system. Also look for bubbles in the cooling system when the engine is running.

turquise1 · #3 01-23-2011, 04:35 PM

Thanks for the quick response. What can I use for pressure testing? Any decent priced tool I can purchase from a carshop? I have seen a block tester priced for $25 (I believe they test if there is oil in the coolant), are they any good?

Thanks again..

Aidan · #4 01-23-2011, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turquise1

Hey ppl,

I have an X5 4.4 2001 with 160k miles. Recently after an oil change, another day in the morning, I experienced a misfire at cold start and big amounts of white smoke coming out of the tailpipes.

There was no leak, first I thought it would be just humidity doing this. I blamed the Oil Separator and I changed it and its two major hoses. After white smoke cleared, we drove the car for another couple of weeks before it got really cold again recently. Again in the morning a misfire (blinking engine warning, checked with a computer) and in 15 mins, a huge white smoke. I havent seen any leaks around the car, also checked the dipstick and the oil looks clean (no milky look). The coolent needed some filling up though, which led me to believe there would be a gasket leak (hopefully not!) somewhere.

What would you recommend? Are those block leak testers reliable to see if there is a leak?

Thanks for all the help in advance..

Hello, what faults did the computer throw up when you checked it?

turquise1 · #5 01-23-2011, 05:02 PM

It was "P1351 Misfire Cylinder 5 With Fuel Cut-off". I cleared the error and its gone now. It happened when I first started the car (0f temp) in cold and continued with white smoke..
I drove the car yesterday shortly, the smoke and the error are gone, but I am certainly worried of causing a bigger damage to the engine..

JCL · #6 01-23-2011, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turquise1

Thanks for the quick response. What can I use for pressure testing? Any decent priced tool I can purchase from a carshop? I have seen a block tester priced for $25 (I believe they test if there is oil in the coolant), are they any good?

Thanks again..

Something that looks like this. You just need to make sure that it includes the right adaptor for your cooling system, or purchase an adaptor if necessary.

turquise1 · #7 01-23-2011, 08:32 PM

I have just tested my coolant with one of those engine block checkers and although it didnt turn yellow as mentioned (if there is a crack, or a gasket problem), it still looked greenish blue after 5 mins.

Any ideas?

M62 · #8 01-23-2011, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turquise1

I have just tested my coolant with one of those engine block checkers and although it didnt turn yellow as mentioned (if there is a crack, or a gasket problem), it still looked greenish blue after 5 mins.

Any ideas?

Simple

)
Replace oil separator valve and be happy