Holy Smoke!!!

[ToddL]

Here is a question for all the techs. I have never opened up this engine so I don’t know enough to know what I don’t know…if that makes sense.

I have a 2005 X5 4.4i, with 130K. I have started to get some oil burn and smoke out of the exhaust. But, this only happens when the car is either in a declining, nose-down position or occasionally when the car is near level.

If I am driving or even idling in an inclined position (up hill) it does not smoke.

The more severe the decline, the more the oil burn. So, the angle of the vehicle is an important factor.

My deduction is that with the engine nose-down, it must have something to do with oil pooling near the front of the engine.

My ONLY guess so far is that I have a bad valve seal in one of the front cylinders, but that is all I can come up with. I don’t know what the other likely situations could possibly be. I want to exhaust (pardon the pun) all logical possibilities before I go in for a head removal, or two, to replace seals.

If any of your with experience on this engine have some suggestions, I am ears-wide-open at this point.

Thanks Bimmer Buds.