What are the symptoms of a failing CVV?

[hitbyastick]

You can't clean these, you have to replace them. Want the new one to last? Get the updated oil dipstick tube and change the oil on a reasonable interval, not the factory oil change interval.

[berny2435]

You can't clean these, you have to replace them. Want the new one to last? Get the updated oil dipstick tube and change the oil on a reasonable interval, not the factory oil change interval.

yeah, I definitely don't do the Factory Oil interval change. 3.5K-4.5K depending on how much track time and summer time.

No idea if I have the updated dipstick tube. I'll have to check into that.

I'm not sure how long this thing has been bad. purchased at 104.5K and is now 109,350. When I got the car, the oil level was a little low, drove it for 1,500 or so, then it went below the 1qt low mark and took 1.5qt to get to the full mark. I was alarmed but read it was normal. Guessing it's been going on for 6-10,000 miles. About time for another oil change. I overfilled it by about 1qt for AutoX and I'm thinking that the amount of take up oil in the last 4K has been at least 2qts but I haven't done a good job of keeping track.

Any links to the updated oil dipstick or what the new features are?
I know mine has two o-rings at the top.
edit looks like this one
http://www.bimmerdiy.com/diy/e36oilchange/OilLevel.jpg
picture lifted from here http://www.bimmerdiy.com/diy/e36oilchange/

[MRPOWER]

I had same noise.
I cleaned up every airway i could possibly pull out including taking apart oil separator and cleaning gunked up membrane and all tubing attached.
Put everything back together, checked valves (hydraulic self adjusting, thought i'd need to adjust but turned out not to) but the noise did not go away.
It sounds even worse with the top cover off.
I think the water damage is inside the head
I have no clue what might be damaged down there and i am afraid to deal with head removal (that that i wont be able to take it off, but to timing is something i am scared of since i dont have any tools to deal with timing)

SUCKS

you should have just replaced it if you went through all the work of disassembly. there are relatively few parts for which a good cleaning eliminates problems and restores something close to full functionality... looks like the ccv isn't one.

[MarcoZandrini]

Ok, thanks for the responses. I fall into category 3 (lots of short drives with car never getting up to operating temps) so I am concerned. I'll check for these symptoms this weekend.

Pull the DISA valve and inspect the intake manifold. If it's oily your CCV valve is bad. Replace it and its hoses, and the oil consumption should revert to normal. I did mine this week (@107k miles) and the intake manifold had an oily coating!

[redarrowfan]

Longtime lurker, first post. I'm in the process of troubleshooting and trying to get resolved a bunch of SES codes. Looking for guidance on logical next steps. Want to get my car ship-shape without spending a ton more $$$.

I've spent many hours reviewing various threads on this site and others. Sorry in advance for long post, but I wanted to give as much background about my car as possible.

Should I check DISA valve to see if it is working properly?

No obvious cracks in vacuum hoses, but I haven't really looked very thoroughly yet.

Underside of oil filler cap is fairly clean -- some black crystallized oil, but no yellow goo or anything like that.

Removed oil filler cap with car idling. Cap did not want to come off and there was significant vacuum and hissing when I finally used enough pressure to remove it. Idle got worse, but still wasn't terrible. Does this point singularly to the CCV system needing replacement? Or could it be something else such as bad DISA valve? Or possibly more than 1 problem?

2001 E39 Touring, 185k miles, 3rd owner, bought March 2011 @ 119k miles. Shop replaced spark plugs and pre-cat O2 sensors last week but most of my trouble codes are still showing up in my cheap code reader: P0444, P0171, P0174, P1083, P1085. The misfire-related codes I was getting -- P0300, P1349, P1351, P1352 -- have not returned, which suggests the new plugs were needed? Previous NGK plugs installed myself June 2012 and had only 32k miles on them, but shop said they were oily and recommended replace.

Car seems to run fine. Perhaps starts to give up around 4,000 RPM -- the tach pauses around that point. It will rev out smoothly to 6,000+ if downshifting.

Fuel economy has remained steady throughout my ownership. Getting 24mpg overall with a good amount of highway driving, 28-29 at steady 75mph, 26mpg @ 80 mph.

Lots of long (100+ mile) highway trips, not very many short trips.

Noticed blue smoke at startup (approx 15 seconds) in the past couple months.

Oil consumption seems to be higher in the past 6-12 months than it was in the couple years before that, but until recently haven't tracked it as closely as I should've. I've added 4 quarts in the past 5,000 miles. Running Shell Rotella T6 (synthetic) 5W40, average change interval 8-10k miles (approx 4 months). The car seems to use less oil in first 2-3k miles after being changed, then consumption increases.

In Michigan, which means fairly cold winters.

@ 137k, BMW dealer 'installed new air boot at throttle' to resolve mixture too lean fault codes. That ($$) was the last time I went to the dealer for maintenance!

@ 146k, indie shop which I trust did 'diagnose O2 sensor, replace air intake tube.'

[redarrowfan]

Test

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk now Free

[BMWAccelerator]

I don't drive more than 1 to 5 miles 1-3 times a week. Should I be concerned? My car seems to be running great and recently did some maintenance and had a ppi just months ago the car is great.

My car is a newer E46.

[AutoMahn]

I think the answer you will get is "Yes". But what I've gathered from my recent troubles with this part, is that if you drive your car for 30 min at highway speeds once a week you don't need to worry. If your car has 100k and this part has not been replaced, it's going to be good preventitive maintenance to replace it. Also, your climate will have more to do with this part failing than anything. If you live in a warm climate you're not going to need to worry as much as someone who lives in cold climates. There are warning signs and ways to check for this part failing. Just google and you will find them.

[BMWAccelerator]

I think the answer you will get is "Yes". But what I've gathered from my recent troubles with this part, is that if you drive your car for 30 min at highway speeds once a week you don't need to worry. If your car has 100k and this part has not been replaced, it's going to be good preventitive maintenance to replace it. Also, your climate will have more to do with this part failing than anything. If you live in a warm climate you're not going to need to worry as much as someone who lives in cold climates. There are warning signs and ways to check for this part failing. Just google and you will find them.

how much is a cvv and is it hard to replace?
I should check my records and see if it's been replaced already.

Also I live in a warm climate, where although it gets cold at night (around 50-60 degrees), during the day even around Christmas we're talking 80 - 88 degrees. In the 70s is more regular but some days are warmer than others.

I did however find a video on how to replace it, and quote:
"this is a fairly hard job that will take about 5-7 hours the first time and lots of patience. Most of the time you will be removing parts just to get at where you need to go. symptoms of a bad ccv valve could include white smoke, noise coming from motor like something sucking, or excessive oil loss after you blow your seals out"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ve7S8sZcI

So in other words if you can't or don't want to do it yourself then you're talking a pretty expensive job, $500 to $1000.

Here's another DIY I found: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=417819
And another: http://blog.bavauto.com/5434/bmw-m54...30i-525i-530i/
And another: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...he-M52TU-Motor

More youtube video DIY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWXtiCwRH-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjkHDTjQecE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...3D9298965D9D14

So fortunately if you need to do this repair there are ample materials and documentation so you can do it yourself.

FYI I'm fairly certain my car does not have this issue.

[AutoMahn]

Haha. Sweet. I will check all of those out. I found a pretty good one already that explains how to do it without removing the manifold so that is the route I will go, but you can never have too much info! My shop quoted me at $1000. Lucky for me I like to do my own wrenching if it's not inside the engine or tranny or other stuff like that. I can now remove my auto cooling fan in 10 min probably lol. So I'm gonna hit this one as long as nothing else happens in the meantime.... (PLEASE GOD NO MORE!!!)

[berny2435]

Its really not that hard. Definitely a DIY project. If u want to be super thorough, get all the vac hoses and gaskets done in that area.

[jusitn32089]

Hey guys so i have the yellow goo I first jumped to thinking it was a head gasket issue but I'm leaning toward the CCV now. I do not have any troubles with overheating or running at all only the goo on the oil cap... if i make sure to get it up to temp until the parts arrive for me to replace them will it be alright? reason I ask is that I have to make a 300 mile drive from Iowa back home to MI on thursday with that long of a drive it will obviously get hot enough to burn off vapors but will that cause it to blow up??

[dedmans]

If I take off the oil cap the engine revs rise. Also,with the cap off it went through MOT but not with cap on. The emissions with it on were up the creek.
Do I have a blockage in the oil return or a knackered CCV?

[speedyguy95]

Ccv I think is over rated. It only takes like 2 to 3 hours if you just cut off all the old hoses with a pair of dikes and putting on the hoses is fairly simple except for the hose that connects to the top of the engine and runs behind the oil filter housing, that one connects by twisting the hose a little and it will snap in

[takeitez]

Agree new CCv is probably the issue

[Siddy]

Sorry to dig this old thread up but it is the no. 1 hit on google for "e46 ccv". A few months ago when I was first reading up on the ccv system this thread confused the hell out of me but after replacing mine it makes sense now.

When I have the motor running, and I take off either the oil fill cap or the line on the front of the valve cover, the engine will start to idle rough but wont completely die.

So I guess the question is, should I replace the CCV? try to clean it out or??

It probably is the CCV. Replace rather than clean out as most people find cleaning does nothing as the CCV vacuum diaphragm is busted and does not close on idle the way it should.

Should I check DISA valve to see if it is working properly?

Underside of oil filler cap is fairly clean -- some black crystallized oil, but no yellow goo or anything like that.

Removed oil filler cap with car idling. Cap did not want to come off and there was significant vacuum and hissing when I finally used enough pressure to remove it. Idle got worse, but still wasn't terrible. Does this point singularly to the CCV system needing replacement? Or could it be something else such as bad DISA valve? Or possibly more than 1 problem?

Car seems to run fine. Perhaps starts to give up around 4,000 RPM -- the tach pauses around that point. It will rev out smoothly to 6,000+ if downshifting.

Noticed blue smoke at startup (approx 15 seconds) in the past couple months.

DISA valve is hard to diagnose, just because the flap and spring work doesnt mean it operates properly. Mine seemed fine but I bought a new one and it totally fixed my low rpm hesitation.

Underside of oil cap with yellow shows water getting into the oil which is not related to CCV, and crystallized black deposits is from far too many miles between oil change.

High vacuum in crank case (gurgling when oil cap or dip stick removed at idle) really sounds like a busted CCV.

There a normal dip in the torque curve at 3,800RPM for M52TU and M54 motors which which your but dyno feels and why your tach is pausing around 4k. Apparently getting your DME updates or installing shark injector helps but I can not confirm.

Blue smoke is oil getting into the combustion chamber, almost always CCV because the only other way is cylinder wall wear or valve stem seals which in these motors is pretty rare. (When I tore down my M52TU at 190k miles it still had slight cross hatching on the cylinder walls and valves held perfect pressure!)

---

I think everyone wants to know how to test the CCV before shelling out the 300-500 for the replacement parts.

I tested a few things before and after doing mine and here is what I came up with.


Simple way to test CCV / Symptom / Diagnosis etc...

Disconnect CCV breather hose from valve cover.

Wrap hose with plastic or tape etc to stop it sucking in air. DON'T LET ANYTHING GET SUCKED INSIDE! IT WILL END UP INSIDE YOUR ENGINE!
I think it is ok to just leave the valve cover side open while you test briefly.

Test and see if problem (erratic idle, hesitation, blue smoke...) has gone away.

Re-connect CCV hose and see if problem comes back.


---
If this doesn't isolate your problem, other common issues worth checking are:
Vacuum leaks: Upper intake boot, lower intake boot, valve cover gasket
DISA valve: I don't believe there is a 100% way to diagnose or even repair these so I just bought a new one and never looked back
ICV: Clean out with throttle body cleaner etc...
Spark plugs: They have a tenancy to get loose, seems to only happen with bosch plugs?
Coil: Faulty coil pack, usually get a code from obd
Cam sensors: Usually get a code from obd
Fuel pump: Hard to test with out a pressure gauge you can plug into the fuel line, but sometimes they start to die and cant pump enough pressure.

I have done most of these fixes my self from diys on sites like this so search and you will find
My 2000 323i had most of these issue when I bought it, 150k miles full bmw log book. Bit by bit these fixes brought the smooth motor back to it's former glory and after replacing the sludge in the auto that BMW calls lifetime oil, it's driving really well!

[j0hnc]

Want to open this up again and ask a question for an 06 325i : When I was looking at the pulled intake manifold, oil would come out one of the runners when I was turning it. Is this a sign the CVV is faulty?

[j0hnc]

"Braille" aide for installation of the CVV: After getting the CVV off, you have to find the mount holes by feel. Think it would be lots easier reassembling if you put studs in the mount holes? This would make it easier to position the CVv and put nuts on the studs. I lieu of this, using headless bolts finger tight has helped me line up things like this.

[Flaboy75]

I just want to say ty to all the BMW loves on this site. I have been having a lot of problems with check engine light coming on with a lot of misfire and cylinders 3 4 5 and 6 along with really bad gas mileage rough ideal. I seen on here about the ccv delete. I did it at the shop today and my 323ci runs like a new car. Thank you to all of you for your help. Flaboy75

[Derekwh]

I replaced my CCV a couple of weeks ago. It is so much easier with the oil filter housing removed and it is a good time to replace the OFHG which was my original intent anyway.

[Bultaco]

my car i just got has 36000 miles its a 04 do i need to worry and what is cvv

Well, first off, what it ISN'T is C V V.

It's C C V.......and it stands for CrankCase Ventilation.

You're welcome. :-)