CCV Failure Test..
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vODpt5b2DsM

Should there be any vacuum felt when you remove the oil cap? I can definitely feel (and hear) a vacuum when I remove the cap with the engine idling, but not clear if a slight vacuum in normal, or just early stages of CCV failure?

How many miles and has it ever been done before?

Mine was original at 85k-90k and 12 years old when I did it in late 2015 and I well exceeded the age lifespan of the original system (the winter was brutal and she was making some horrible sounds) -

At the age of the vehicle it should be done, regardless of mileage, if its original - IMO

Well, its 11 years old, and 196K miles. Original as far as I know, has not been replaced since we purchased the vehicle at 46K miles.

Will likely replace it (while I am in there) anyway, but was curious if this bit of crankcase vacuum I am feeling is normal, or points to failure or impending failure) of the CCV..

There is a threshold between complete and impending failure, and brand new -

I recall what happened was the last winter I made it through, we got the polar vortex and it was like 15 degrees in the morning IN MY GARAGE and 0 degrees outside - the X started up but made some NASTY sounds from the crankcase, groaning and moaning until the oil warmed up, many mornings I thought it was going to seize up completely.

I made sure to do the updated cold weather CCV parts (and updated dipstick guide tube) before the next winter hit, and no issues on my last 2 winters in Jersey (I moved to NC over the summer) -

I figure 10 years is a good lifespan as you can imagine, the diaphragms etc get gummed up and sticky with oil residue etc over the years so its as much to do with age and driving conditions as mileage -

But yes with your age and miles, your'e due. You'll get some decent winter in MD so I would tend to it now, even with the dipstick tube its about $250 in parts and a few hours of work in tight spaces but very DIY.

There is a very small amount of crankcase vacuum when you put your hand on it. When the CCV fails the vacuum goes way up and will suck hard. If it doesn't it may not have failed. Are you getting smoke?

Yeah, its 'only; around $200 in parts, except that I have the 'only' cost for thermostat and water pump, hoses, EFHG and associated parts, Belts and tensioners, and some other stuff that needs to be addressed. Old cars are a pain.. LOL!

Exhaust smoke? Traces when you get on it hard (I can't see it when driving, but can when following it). And the back of the car tends to get dirty very fast.. :dunno:

Yes, exhaust smoke. When they fail you also start using a ridiculous amount of oil. then there's the failure that I had on both mine and that's the collapse of the drain back tube. The CCV is supposed to separate the oil from the crankcase gasses and it sends that oil back to the crankcase through the drain back tube to the crankcase. When the drain back fails oil builds up until it gets sucked into the engine. Then you get clouds of smoke for a minute or two until that load of oil burns off. Doesn't smoke again until the next load builds up.

If you do the CCV replacement make sure you get the cold weather version and make sure you pull the dipstick tube and clean the passage that the oil runs back to the crankcase through.

There should be a very light level of vacuum. With the car idling, removing the oil cap should produce barely any suction.

When the valve fails, it creates a ton of suction, so much so that it's hard to remove the oil cap and is very audible - as demonstrated in the video

Its more about finding the time for me to DIY some of the "easier" stuff that I can get done in an afternoon - In the last 2-3 years I've only done very very minor stuff, belts and tensioners was one of them, other than that just oil changes and a fuel filter change just for the hell of it.

Once you get "caught up" on maintenance items especially the kind that you do once every 6-8 years or maybe once in the lifetime of the car (OFHG for example) you'll be bored because you'll have nothing to do and luckily no car payment to make. Even a modest $300-400 a year payment (and that is modest by todays standards) on a newer car plus the higher insurance has you at an easy $4k a year - the items you mentioned will cost $600 plus your time to replace and you won't need to do anything for quite some time afterwards but keep it clean :)

Yeah, my list is tallying around $800 in parts currently. Unfortunately I still have other items that need to be addressed (suspension arms/bushings, Brake Rotors, passenger CV axle), but these are the current pressing items..

I can't complain they are all wear items, and at 196K miles, I can't fault BMW..

And like you said, anyway you slice it, its alot cheaper than a new car payment.. As long as nothing major goes wrong 100 miles later (knocking on wood). But that's always the gamble with keeping an older vehicle going, even a good one..