Crankcase Ventilation Freezing Up
 

It just hit -20 c today and just as I started out on a trip to the west coast my crancase vent froze up about 1 hr out of Edmonton heading west. Lost 3l oil in 1.5 hrs and had to head back home . This is the second time this has happened on my '04 4.4L and im wondering if anyone has a permanent fix for this problem here in'Canada. It seems like all the 4.4's and 4.8's for the E53 and E70's have this problem.
Anyone??

The 3.0i's have this problem with the oil separator as well. I thought the updated part had some sort of heating?

I also remember reading a post last winter that explained the new parts were heated.

You need to check the breather hoses laying on the top of the intake at the back of the engine. Have to remove the engine cover to see them. They have a bad tendency to fall apart. Need to replace those for sure if they are looking bad, and you probably need to replace the oil seperator.
Do a search on 'oil seperator', this problem has been discussed a lot.

The heater that was mentioned is a heated pad that the dealer sells - for over $400!!!!. Total rip off. Problem can be solved by replacing the above mentioned parts and insulating the oil lines so they don't come in contact with the intake manifold. The intake get VERY cold when driving in cold temps (see this post, I know first-hand: )

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...hlight=extreme

Anyways, check out those hoses, that is most likely culprit.

Thanks X5 in AK . Nothing on oil seperator in my serch. . I have checked the vent hoses on top of the intake. They were in good shape.
The dealer told me that its related to oil seperator freezing up along with the return lines back to the crankcase.
Don't know if this is true.
Where can i find out about the heated pad for the vent hoses?? Anything to heat up the seperator?? Anyone have this done.

see this post:

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...hlight=suckers

Dealer was probably correct, oil seperator froze up. What I've gathered from my research (540s and 740 have this same problem and its discussed in their respective internet forums) is that the oil seperator and vent lines on the 4.4 liter engine are pieces that just need to be replaced every 3-5 years, especially when you are doing short trips in cold weather, which does not allow the condensation build-up in the oil to burn off.

You need a new oil seperator. Its about US$50 or so for the part. Installation is a bit tricky for DIY, due to the limited clearance to reach back where it is located. I ended up taking my passenger side valve cover off (had to do vavle cover gasket anyways to fix oil leak), which made for better access. No special tools are required, its just hard to reach back there.

The heated pad is available from the dealer (like I said, really overpriced). I have not installed one, mine has worked fine with the new seperator and hoses. If I had to install a heater pad, I was going to use a 12 V heated handlebar grip pad from a snowmachine or fourwheeler, they are available for 20-30 bucks and should in theory work just fine. My idea was to use a relay triggered by ignition power and an underhood mounted toggle switch, so I could turn the heater on during the winter months and off during the summer. If you want to go this route, let me know, I'll provide more details and some pics of the parts needed.

But, so far mine has worked fine without anything. :popcorn:

One way to prevent this from happening is to switch to 0-40 oil during the winter months (as recommended by a dealer). I have gone three winters straight without a freeze-up. (Froze twice while on warranty.)

01 3.0
Toronto

That may just be a coincidence. The freezing is more likely caused by condensation (too many short trips) and by a plugged vent line, than by the oil viscosity.

All I can say is that when this happend to me, it came on a day of freezing below zero temps. Thank God for my ext. warranty. But shame on BMW for putting this stupid design on there cars. I've never heard of this being a problem for a Ford, Chevy, MB or any other manu. I think there should be a perm. fix. So far I've had this heater thing on since my brake down last winter. So far no problems, but again it hasen't been below zero yet. I guess we will see...

It is freezing condensation in the line or breather, no question. My travel pattern did not change over 6 years so I'm starting to believe the dealer was correct in prescribing 0W-40. I'm not sure why this makes a difference but I'm hoping for a 4th problem-free winter.