My turn to do valve seals

wsmeyer · #1 03-06-2018, 01:15 PM

I took our X5 to get smogged last week, the technician called me out after about 5 minutes and said they hadn't tested it because it wouldn't pass anyway because of the burning oil. I didn't even realize it was burning oil. He said on V8 X5's they always let them idle for a few minutes to let the oil buildup and then when he blipped the throttle sure enough, there's the blue smoke.

On the advice of a BMW mechanic friend I replaced both pressure regulator valves. Kind of a long shot but they are cheap and easy to replace. I couldn't tell if they were bad or not but they did fall apart when I removed them. Unfortunately that didn't help so I've ordered new seals and spark plugs and will tackle that job this weekend.

I'm not one for step-by-step DIY's but like with my rear diff repair I will update this with general steps and some details of more difficult steps.

Wish me luck!

SeanC · #2 03-06-2018, 01:32 PM

Good luck and subscribed! I'm at almost 93,500 miles on my 2009, and have been putting this off. I, however, poured in a quart of Lucas oil leak stop when I last changed my oil about 5k miles ago, and it sure seems to be helping. I only lost about a 1/4 of a quart within the last 2500 miles. There was a thread about it on here.

ard · #3 03-06-2018, 03:04 PM

My smog shop wouldnt have been so "helpful'....

GL

Skyline · #4 03-06-2018, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ard

My smog shop wouldnt have been so "helpful'....

GL

I know you're being sarcastic, but I really don't know if a 100k mile V8 X5 could pass the California smog test if the valve guide seals had not been done.

Would the typical symptoms of bad valve guide seals cause a car to typically fail the CA test? (I know mine would smoke ALOT if you hit the gas after an extended idle.)

Here in NY, (where the emissions standards are as tough as CA and MA,) there's no emissions testing on OBDII vehicles. The presence of smog equipment is checked, and as long as there's no CEL or pending codes, you're good to go after the safety check.

wsmeyer · #5 03-06-2018, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skyline

I know you're being sarcastic, but I really don't know if a 100k mile V8 X5 could pass the California smog test if the valve guide seals had not been done.

Would the typical symptoms of bad valve guide seals cause a car to typically fail the CA test? (I know mine would smoke ALOT if you hit the gas after an extended idle.)

Here in NY, (where the emissions standards are as tough as CA and MA,) there's no emissions testing on OBDII vehicles. The presence of smog equipment is checked, and as long as there's no CEL or pending codes, you're good to go after the safety check.

I didn't even think about it at the time but we no longer do tailpipe tests either. A little Googling and I think it failed the "Visible Smoke Check":

https://www.smogtips.com/visual_inspection.cfm

wsmeyer · #6 03-06-2018, 05:33 PM

I forgot to mention it's a 2008 X5 4.8i with 96K miles.

Entropy · #7 03-06-2018, 07:19 PM

I’m having the same issue. It’s worse when hot and very notable in fast food drive-thrus. I may tackle the job this summer when I can borrow a car. I have tried Liqui-Moly Motor Oil Saver and ATP AT-205 Re Seal with no luck. I’m at 103k miles.

Did you go with OEM BMW seals?

wsmeyer · #8 03-06-2018, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Entropy

I’m having the same issue. It’s worse when hot and very notable in fast food drive-thrus. I may tackle the job this summer when I can borrow a car. I have tried Liqui-Moly Motor Oil Saver and ATP AT-205 Re Seal with no luck. I’m at 103k miles.

Did you go with OEM BMW seals?

I did not. I went with Elring. Good quality seals and I couldn't justify spending 3z as much for OEM that never last more than 100k miles.

ard · #9 03-07-2018, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wsmeyer

I did not. I went with Elring. Good quality seals and I couldn't justify spending 3z as much for OEM that never last more than 100k miles.

Do you have reports of the new, revised OE seals failing?

wsmeyer · #10 03-07-2018, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ard

Do you have reports of the new, revised OE seals failing?

I saw some threads discussing it but none of them met my bar for anything definitive. The BMW part number for the seals never changed and there is no mention of it in TIS or an SIB bulletin. I did find someone talking about the N63 seals being exactly the same dimensions but lasted longer. This sounds plausible as the turbo N63 is going to run A LOT hotter on the exhaust side and the rubber on the seals may be a different / better material. I decided not to even go that route as I had no way of verifying they are in fact the same dimensions.

Both Elring Klinger and Victor Reinz are OE suppliers for BMW. When a seal is first introduced they are typically all from the same supplier, but that doesn't last long. Within a very short period of time, all the OE suppliers will be making the seal and the only people who are going to know what supplier they bought them from is the buying group. If they meet the specs BMW considers them interchangeable and uses the same part number. If anyone at a dealership tells you otherwise they are just guessing or passing on hearsay.

That's just my $.02 though, take it for what it's worth lol.