DIY Solution to M54-M52TU CCV problems

[E39schwarz]

Good to know, a few months seems sufficient enough and given that a few cars have this set up installed as well is a plus also, besides given the oem junk design this is a much appreciated clean looking alternative, thanks again for your time and ingenuity, and yeah I'll be looking out for any new developments you invent/discover with this set up.

[Ricky Bobby]

FYI although yes this is a promising fix, the high vaccuum does bother me a bit.

I replaced my OEM CCV (9/2003 stamped on the valve), hoses, and dipstick tube last year in June and used all cold weather insulated parts, including the updated single walled guide tube, and I do expect to get almost as much amount of time on the replacement parts (10 years) as I did on the original. For what its worth my OEM system never hydrolocked, however I do have the MT and my final gearing on the highway is a bit higher in RPM's as well.

Even at 6 year intervals to be safe, the OEM system really is not as terrible as we would think, considering its hard to bypass it without having a potential long term effect of high vaccuum.

[cn90]

I used to have an E23 (1983 735i), the PCV system in that car is simply a tube from the valve cover straight to the intake.
See item #11 below...Talking about simplicity!!!

With the E23 setup, oil vapor is burned in the combustion chamber. However, it is not much, the E23 consumed 1 qt every 5000 miles.

In the attempt to make things better, the BMW engineers manage to make my E53 M54 engine burn about 1 qt every 1000 miles!!! In other words, they go backward from an engineering aspect!


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[cn90]

E23 (1983 735i): no internal routing of air.
Note that the Intake Manifold sits HIGHER than the valve cover.
So the PCV tube is slanted upward, oil tends to flow down and vapor gets sucked into the I.M. during engine operation.

In contrast, the E39, E53 M54 setup is different: the I.M. sits BELOW the valve cover, thus the convoluted CCV design in the E39, E53 cars.

Engineers sometimes go forward and sometimes go backward in their design. C'est la vie...

[tahoechallenger]

I followed Bavarian's example, with the addition of a catch can. Prior to the modification the car was using a lot of oil. 5 months and 10,000 miles later, the car has not used any oil. I have emptied the catch can twice. Each time there was about an inch and a half of brown water and oil mix. Great mod!

[Ricky Bobby]

^I would recommend this as the best option if you are bypassing the CCV. Catch can with a PCV in-line from the output to the VC, again you'd have to get some vaccuum ratings on the PCV's but this is a great way to keep condensate out of the crankcase.

Care to share any pics of your setup.

[imalabil]

Bump: How has this set-up been working for you?

[BavarianE39]

Originally Posted by imalabil

Bump: How has this set-up been working for you?

Been working great this whole time, same results as last reported. Sorry for not being as active on here lately. I post a lot to bimmerforums so here is my link there:

M54-M52TU DIY Solution to the troublesome CCV system, (Pic Heavy)

[imalabil]

Thanks for the link. The more I read the more I want to do this mod. My X consumes oil and smells like burned oil on the driver's side of the engine. I suspect something has broken in the CCV. An oil smell this bad coming from the VC gasket would be showing up somewhere around the perimeter of the VC to head interface, and I just don't see it.

This car is my son's daily driver and he cannot be stranded at school during the winter with no transport - I already experienced this with a busted expansion tank that was about $600 to fix at the stealership. I'm thinking this is more of a preventive maintenance move than anything!

As far as I'm concerned - X5 community to the rescue!

[BavarianE39]

Originally Posted by imalabil

Thanks for the link. The more I read the more I want to do this mod. My X consumes oil and smells like burned oil on the driver's side of the engine. I suspect something has broken in the CCV. An oil smell this bad coming from the VC gasket would be showing up somewhere around the perimeter of the VC to head interface, and I just don't see it.

This car is my son's daily driver and he cannot be stranded at school during the winter with no transport - I already experienced this with a busted expansion tank that was about $600 to fix at the stealership. I'm thinking this is more of a preventive maintenance move than anything!

As far as I'm concerned - X5 community to the rescue!

Might want to check the oil stand gasket for leaks, very common and can be hard to spot. I was actually repairing mine in this DIY. Goodluck on chasing down those gremlins.