Hello! New to Xoutpost, and questions
 

Hello! New to Xoutpost, new to X5s, not new to Bimmers...

Also new to the N62. 160K, smoking at extended idle, read up and found it is probably the (32) valve seals among other things.

I also read that an ECS catch can might help with removing some of the oil from the blow-by;

1) is that correct?
2) if correct, where have people mounted? I have the 4.8i

Also, my bulkhead partition is attached at the ends, but nowhere else. I can see a couple of screws, but nowhere do I see where on the sheet metal it is attached. It sags down in the middle.

Thank you all!

Skip the catch can to try and mitigate the smoking due to VSS. Use 10w50 oil with one (or two) Lucas oil additive bottle at each oil change. Mine (2006 4.8is) using 10w30 full synth will smoke from every stop light and need a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Using the above method I only smoke if idling for 10 minutes or more and use about 1 quart every 3000-4000 miles.

Do not change to thicker oil to elimniante smoking as this may be sacrificing bearing/wear. You can see smoke- think oil may leak less and smoke less- BUT, thick oil may not provide the hydrodynamic properties you need for wear protection and you will never know it (unless you run used oil analyses (UOA)).

Do not change oil viscosities unless you are also running serial UOAs to understand what you are trading

This could very well be true... but been doing it on BMW engines for many years. Haven't had an engine failure yet on 15 BMW's. I don't think switching to a 10w50 will have a negative effect, and there are many more E53 N62 guys using the same oil change characteristics to stave off needing to immediately do the valve stem seals.

That said, I am going to have the VSS done in the near future as I miss the little bit of extra power you get from the thinner oil.

Bought the bimmer waiting for my 2001 Tahoe with low oil pressure (310k miles) to die, replaced oil pump and still have low oil pressure (and now minus $750).

Running 40w oil and HyperLube oil supplement in an effort to keep oil in rockers and lifters. Will investigate a similar scenario for the bimmer. Thanks for all viewpoints!

I have zero doubt people are doing this and getting away with it- at least not seeing manifestations during their limited ownership.

"miss the extra power"? lol. You cannot feel that difference

Limited ownership? I did it for 7+ years on one vehicle, and 5 years on another. 1.5 years on the 4.8is so far.

And yes, I can feel the difference between 10w30 and 10w50 + Lucas Additive. That stuff is as thick as the motor honey I use to rebuild cylinder heads. Takes forever to pour into an engine. And it's throttle response more than power, should have clarified I suppose. I can also feel the difference between fresh oil and 6000 mile oil, but I'm sure you'll dispute that too.

Hey, you do your thing on your engines. :thumbup: The OP asked a question, I gave a suggestion based on experience with lots of different BMW engines, and the specific engine asked about. OP can decide to do whatever he/she decides.