Blue smoke on extended idle. 2006 4.8is.

[danielsan]

I don't know about Auto-RX, not avaliable down under but i've had great results using Rislone Ring Seal Repair on my old corolla.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

it is nice to have the power back - seems that the faulty coil on cylinder #5 caused some idle issues and loss of power on pick-up-and-go situation.. i am still monitoring the situation, as the blue smoke did not resolve, and i am not so sure that the idle and power stumble have been completely resolved - only couple of days of driving might not prove anything...

since i got the spark plugs on my to-do list, i was wondering, the RealOEM shows me this part # 12122158252 for the plug, and this website, shows this part ##
12 12 0 032 134 and
12 12 0 032 135 for the same car... the part number for the coil is the same on both sites...
nevertheless, it is my understanding, that i am looking either at Bosch FR7KPP332 or NGK IZFR6H11 - both are specified as OE(M)...

i was just confused about the part numbers, wonder if the 252 part number from RealOEM is "more" correct than the other part numbers with Bosch and NGK equivalents

Fariz,

not sure about the 4.8s but I switched to the OE equivalent NGK plugs for my 3.0 over the weekend, MUCH improved performance, easier starting, better idle all around. For some reason I always liked NGK plugs better than Bosch if I had to choose between the two on my other cars I always ran NGK.

I know that doesn't help because we have different engines but I hope that helps you choose between the brands hah!

[TerminatorX5]

the coil that i got is a Bosch, and it remedied the problems that i was having with the odd idling and loss of power... I bet, the coil was shorting out, and once I put it under load for agressive take over, or going up the hill, it would cut the power...

I have no personal preference between two brands, both are specified in the parts database as OE - i think, just because you use NEW plugs, the performance is improved, and the difference may appear once the plugs are well used, and which one would have taken the aging process better...

the spark plug/coil changeover is going to my back burner for the time being - tonight or tomorrow i will replace the expansion coolant tank, that i found a haircrack...

A year worth of driving, putting gas into the car and driving more without doing any maintenance (just oil changes), putting over 22000 miles on the car, comes to a pit stop for several maintenance items... Not bad...

[TerminatorX5]

there is less blue smoke on the idling - same traffic lights, same duration, less smoke... it could be due to warmer weather... maybe...

[4.8isX5]

Warmer weather will actually make it smoke quicker cause the engine warms up faster along with the oil.

Mine doesnt smoke when cold.. After sitting and fully cooled off, i can start it and let it idle for 2-3min and wont smoke... Once engine/oil at temp then it will.

[bcredliner]

I think it a really bad idea to mess with oil weight to cure/mask a smoking problem. Recommended multi-weight oil is intended to get lubrication to the engine quickly for lubrication and when it is cold so the engine will start easily. The top end weight is intended to keep more lubrication to the critical engine parts at operating temperature and hard acceleration. A smoking problem after idling for a period of time at operating temperature is oil puddling somewhere in the top of the engine. If the cause was bottom end of the engine the smoke would be worse under hard acceleration. With the history of the 4.8 valve seal problem and when the issue is more prevalent the head(s) are where to troubleshoot first. First thing to do if it hasn't been going on for months is to check the exhaust and see if smoke is coming from one or both sides. It is not likely both sides will smoke when it first starts. If it came on one day and wasn't smoking the day before think if there was an event that initiated the problem--overheating, long period of time at high rpms etc. An event will be a big clue to the cause. Almost all causes of smoke where something has broken will make noise when cold started, under hard acceleration or at idle at operation temp. Rule of thumb is if there is no noise it is likely oil blow by or leak down. There are some vacuum issues that it it could be. As most are explaining the problem it is most likely leak down which points right at valve guides or seals. Either is something that should be confirmed and corrected ASAP before it screws up other expensive stuff. There is no way that oil smoke will not show in loss of oil over less miles than normal. When it gets bad enough the computer will throw faults but they will be along the lines of misfires or O2 sensors or bad cat. I say don't mess with it-git er dun now.

[williak7]

Originally Posted by X5Boise

...

I took to a two independent German repair shops, and a stop to the BMW dealer for another diagnosis opinion, and all pointed to valve seals. Both independent shops mentioned they are sadly seeing more and more of the N62 V8 engined cars with the exact same problem. "Your car have 80k miles?... We had 2 last week, and 5 last month, and recently have been seeing more and more... Poor design--even if the seals were fixed, the problem will eventually come back another 80k miles later... I would not be surprised if a class action lawsuit came out."

Interesting to note that these seasoned independent mechanics that mentioned this--one of them was visibly perturbed that BMW could design such a crappy V8 engine. As a side note, the BMW dealer (my 3rd shop for diagnosis) even mentioned that they saw 4 in the past month with the same issue (vehicles with the N62 engine). By the way, the dealer quoted me $5,000 to fix the valve seals, and for another $2,500, they would seal the engine.

....

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but this what I found.

I am having the same issue. At idle it smokes after stepping on gas, loss of oil, small power loss.

I took it to my dealer today. Their diagnosis was failed valve seals. They quoted me $7000 to repair them. This really is a poor design and expensive repair. I'm going to check with some local shops to see if they can do the repair.

thanks for everyone's information. Great site.

kevin

[BigBlack48is]

Originally Posted by williak7

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but this what I found.

I am having the same issue. At idle it smokes after stepping on gas, loss of oil, small power loss.

I took it to my dealer today. Their diagnosis was failed valve seals. They quoted me $7000 to repair them. This really is a poor design and expensive repair. I'm going to check with some local shops to see if they can do the repair.

thanks for everyone's information. Great site.

kevin

Oh BMW knows all about the valve seal problem that is present in all of the N62's... that's very obvious. I am surprised there is no TIS or flat out recall that is in progress to fix this...

I mean, you would think BMW would be concerned about their buyers getting rear ended by the person behind them, because they couldn't see through the cloud of smoke at the light...

I can almost see the whiplash class action lawsuit spam emails in my inbox already!

[bcredliner]

Since a lot of the 4.8 owners use this forum, might be worth the effort to gather a list of those that have had the valve seal problem or are concerned their X is getting to that time that they fear it is going to happen to them and send a registered letter from an attorney with a thorough description of what has happened and what each have paid to have the problem fixed. Also saying that valve seals failing at less than 100,000 is not dis-similar to a door falling off---it just plain and simple should not happen. Even if something like this has already been done, I would do it again and request an explanation from BMW why they think this across the board failure is OK rather than something that should have a fix and that fix done by the dealer at no or parts only charge.

[williak7]

I just don't understand how they can justify $7000. How much is a new motor? I'm going to read through the thread in more detail to see how difficult it would be to do on my own. I've rebuilt a few chevy motors, but nothing this new.