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Thread: CCV Delete/PCV mod

  1. #1
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    Post CCV Delete/PCV mod

    After battling with massive massive oil burning issue for months, I caved in this weekend and installed the PCV mod from here: https://xoutpost.com/1040895-post41.html

    So far I have driven the car only about 100 miles since the mod and while it is too early to notice any change in the oil level - the blue/gray smoke coming out of the exhaust is mostly gone! Also, the idle is dead smooth

    PCV mod.jpg

    I am hoping that my oil consumption becomes manageable with this mod. Here's what I have tried so far:

    Step1: When I bought the car March this year it had all the tell tale signs of a broken CCV. Replaced the CCV and all requisite hoses with the updated cold weather ones and the oil consumption went from 1 qt every 800 miles to almost 1 qt every 400 miles

    Step 2: Next, I applied the O2Pilot mode (a vacuum line from CCV to the back of intake) which improve the oil consumption a little (abt 1 qt every 600 miles - still worse that before). But my local indie shop browbeaten me to remove it. Upon remove, my oil consumption promptly went 1 qt every 400 miles or probably even worse.

    Step 3: Soak Cylinders with AC Delco x66p for over 24 hours. Install new plugs. Pray for improvement - Nothing

    Step 4:
    Run MMO thru intake - result: No improvement.
    Run MMO in the engine oil - result: No improvement.
    Run Bar's Leaks VS-1 Additive (I know that's desperate) - result : No improvement

    Now I know, I have a weeping rear main seal but not to an extent to make me lose a qt of oil every tank full. The other signs of my car burning off the oil instead of leaking it (IMHO at least):
    Oil in intake
    Oil in spark plugs
    Blue/gray smoke out of exhaust

  2. #2
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    I should add my car has about 153k miles
    Bimmer addict since 2016

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  3. #3
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    Update: A little over 250 miles and the oil level hasn't really dropped. I am getting my hopes up

    Has anyone else dealt with oil consumption of this magnitude here?
    Bimmer addict since 2016

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  4. #4
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    For my '02 540i, fixing the oil consumption was a two-step solution. I had to fix the CCV and fix (or by-pass) the oil separator. Don't know about your 525i, but I suspect both should be checked/fixed. (When an oil separator becomes clogged it performs the opposite function. Instead of separating the oil from the air, it adds oil to the crankcase air going to the intake. That's pretty much the only way you're going to get oil into the intake manifold (through those to devices).

    You didn't say anything about external leaks. Or oil spots on the ground. How does the outside/bottom of your engine look? If any part of it looks dirty and wet with oil, you should check that out.

    I had oil consumption AND leaking chain cover gaskets that made the engine lose oil at that rate. Fixed both on a engine with 160,000 and now it doesn't lose any from one oil change to the next.
    Last edited by R Shaffner; 11-16-2017 at 10:33 PM.

  5. #5
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    Thanks for post. I think the only my main rear seal is seeping slightly. Which should not really contribute to oil us significantly. There are no spots on the ground.
    My local indie shop thinks that its either the low tension piston rings or weak valve seals that are letting the oil into to combustion chamber
    This PCV mod is supposed to apply extra vacuum to the top end of the engine. Hopefully that would help provide better seal to the combustion chamber. Many others one other forms have reported positive results so I'm hopeful

  6. #6
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    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Yeah... I hate these "CCV" hacks a lot of time but... The M54's can be notoriously tricky.

    Full credit for trying a bunch of stuff first then and clearly wanting to avoid "hacking around instead of fixing it".

    Notable oil consumption can only really come down to a short list of things..
    - Leaks
    - Truly bad ring sealing / blow by
    - broken PCV supplying oil to the intake
    - Valve seals

    The M54 is notorious for both the CCV and the rings so you get a double whammy there.

    I just looked at the O2pilot threads and seems entirely consistent with your problem... this is still early in his old thread but it seems to sum up his hypothesis and his fix... (and you know how old threads are... the last 120 pages are mostly n00berz chiming in with "I HAVE PROBLEM TOO HOW I FIX LIKE YOU!!?!??" or even "I DON"T HAVE THIS PROBLEM I HAVE ANOTHER ONE BUT SORTA LIKE IT SO I THOUGHT I'D SCREW UP THIS THREAD AND POST HERE!")

    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...8#post23714558

    Lookin at the fact that when you messed with the CCV, oil consumption got worse... that seems like a telltale and just like his situation. The fact that his consumption was on decel only and extra vacuum fixed it right up points straight at blow-by and/or valve seals. Can you ID if yours is the same, aka smoking while decel'ing?

    There was a recent thread I read that discussed how the rings work and how on those tricky M54's once the rings get TOO FAR GONE clogged and stuck there's no way a soak job will loosen them up really, the grooves get completely gunked hard and just can't be quick and dirty cleaned up anymore.

    If that's the case on these M54, then the only options are PCV "hacks" or a quicky rebuild. Sadly probably those situations were avoidable with frequent/quality oil changes but I bet a lot of these jammed up motors were owned by family folks who went for "new style" long interval oil changes and maybe using JiffyLube vs M1 etc.

    BTW - lastly this isn't really a touring issue - please PM a mod like JimLev or philly98540 to move it over to the main forum section? Get more eyeballs there...
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  7. #7
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    Thank you gear grinder for your post.

    My car was smoking like a chimney on decel - so I think I do have a case of gunked up rings and/or valve seals.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Update
    I now have put about 500 miles since the "hack" and am certainly not seeing any loss of oil. This is actually unbelievable since I doubted this hack very much from the get go.

    Also tried to remove the oil filler cap with engine running to see out much vacuum is being applied, and could not get it off at all with moderate effort!! I did not go full gorilla-mode on it
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  8. #8
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    At 700 miles post PCV install, I have yet to see the oil level drop - so I am cautiously optimistic.

    I also have a new problem - It seems like I have introduced a vacuum leak with the new setup. I am getting Long and Short Term Fuel trim over the limit errors. Oh well, that gives me something to do over the weekend
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by cheapE46 View Post
    At 700 miles post PCV install, I have yet to see the oil level drop - so I am cautiously optimistic.

    I also have a new problem - It seems like I have introduced a vacuum leak with the new setup. I am getting Long and Short Term Fuel trim over the limit errors. Oh well, that gives me something to do over the weekend
    I have found the cigar test to be the easiest way to ID intake leaks (unless you have access to a real smoke machine, of course). Good luck.

  10. #10
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    Cigar test? I must admit I hadn't heard of it before. But found a Scotty Kilmer video on youtube. Thank you for the suggestion.
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  11. #11
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    Another update: 1000+ miles with the mod and I haven't added any oil yet. The oil level shows ever so slightly lower than before, but nothing that would warrant topping off.
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  12. #12
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    Glad to see someone else that has gained success with this mod. I was the very first to add this set up to my 525 touring about 6 years ago. My engine was using 1qt every 800 miles or so. I tried 3 new ccv systems and never could get the engine to stop with the oil usage. I then thought back to my hot rodding days, and remembered using vacuum pumps, with vac applied to the crankcase sump as a way to control piston ring sealing on drag racing engines. I tried running the pipe from the valve cover straight to the distribution unit and then drove the car for about 1000 miles. I noticed there wasn't any oil usage afterwards, but the engine would throw a code every few days , with the engine running too rich, I then put the oil catch can into play, along with a pcv valve, and that was the trick that lasted over 100,000 miles to the engine, until it burnt a valve with 265,000 miles on her. Great to have more folks finding this actually works. I'm working on a new system for my engine with the M56 valve cover that I installed about a year ago. Hope to have it all worked out in the next month or so. Hope all continues with the good news you have posted.

  13. #13
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    Yay! I got a visit from Poolman! Thanks to your idea, I have now put about 1500 miles on with this mod and have yet to see any appreciable drop in oil level. I am seeing codes for vacuum leak but it's too cold to check them - lol.
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  14. #14
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    Your vac leaks , on these engines happen primarily, at the back of the intake , on the drivers side of the car. There are two capped off vacuum ports back there , that need attention from time to time, The caps can dry rot and allow air in. Along with that, there are a couple of vac hoses that go to the secondary air pump system, Those should be replaced also. You need to remove the cabin duct work to access that area, and will need a small mirror and flashlight t0o check every thing out. If you touch one of those vac hoses and your fingers are turned black from doing so, that is a good indication that the hose needs replacement. Next big spot to check , would be the air bonnet, where it hooks to the throttle body and the idle control valve. Lots of failures here, in the accordion section, between the TB and ICV,,that's where that part goes wrong. Hope that helps

  15. #15
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    Thank you for the suggestions.

    When I got my car last spring, the accordion tubes were in cracked in several spots and the DISA valve seal was all but gone and most of the vacuum lines were generally decrepit. I think I have replaced all the vacuum lines (and caps you mentioned) in the last 6 years. Only two exceptions: the tubing that serves the check valve for secondary valve and the tube that goes to fuel filter regulator.

    I left the SAP alone because I intend to have Kessel Performance flush my DME to get rid of the whole SAP business. Once I have the flush, I will just cap off the rear of the manifold where the tubes connect.
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  16. #16
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    Here's my new fabrication for my M56 valve cover CCV Delete. Little costly , but it's simple

    http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1203233

  17. #17
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    Ooh, that's ingenious!

    My car went into a local Indie shop for an unrelated issue and their resident BMW "expert" literally lost his sh*+. I got a free lecture on how it is only a matter of time before before the high amount of vacuum applied to the top end will make my engine start blowing seals. He also had hard time pulling the dip stick out to check oil because of the vacuum and told me that the vacuum is being pulled in the crank case too, which is doubly bad!
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  18. #18
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    Yep, there's more vacuum in the crankcase, and you have to make sure it's sealed good, I now glue my valve cover gasket down completely , just to be sure. All these systems that are using the pcv and catch can, are better than OEM in my op.

  19. #19
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    Here is a pic, with the valve cover installed. This is working wonderfully !

    https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...V6cmRsMkM3TU9R

  20. #20
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    Looks high tech!

    Mine is working like magic too. I haven't had to add a drop of oil in a while. I do get vacuum leak codes from time to time and my indie shop thinks it is my suction jet valve or DISA valve gasket but, I am a little scared that if I eliminated all the vacuum leaks there would be too much pressure/vacuum for the engine seals to handle. The last thing I want to deal with is the failing oil seals on this engine.
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  21. #21
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    Fix what ever vac leak yoou have. I ran a system like this for over 170,000 miles and had no problems with seals going bad, and that includes , valve cover gaskets.

  22. #22
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    I would like to do the same guys, where should I start what parts do I need?

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poolman View Post
    Here's my new fabrication for my M56 valve cover CCV Delete. Little costly , but it's simple

    http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?t=1203233
    I've been running the m56 cover on my m54 for 6 months and 3500 miles. I had no oil consumption before or after, just trying to eliminate the ccv. I don't use a PCV valve, just connected the valve cover to the distribution manifold and capped the dipstick and second port on the distribution manifold.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

    Gave away my BMWs, driving a VW and an Audi now.

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