[JK07]

Hi Guys

Just bought a second hand 2007 e90 320i with 60,000ks on the clock. Before purchasing i took the car to bmw to get a pre inspection done.
They identified timimng cover gasket , vaccum pump change.

The car dealer changed both items but who really knows the truth.

Now- I have had a small oil leak where I can see oil collect on the metal plate that sticks out under the cylinder head, I can also seel oil at the back of the cylinder, when I run a tissue around the back.

I have had the profile gasket replaced, and the problem went away for about a week , but now its back!? - Small collection of oil on the metal plate an oil on tissue when run around the back of the cylinder head.

Also i can hear this abnormal sound sometimes when i stop at traffic lights but its not always there.
I took it back to bmw tech and while test driving there was no noise.


What to do now

[makkan00]

Couple of things to consider.
If your CCV is blocked it creates more pressure and will create oil leakage from profile gasket and vaccum pump.

When you got your profile gasket replaced, was proper torque applied on tighting screws? And if not that can lead to oil leak from profile gasket.

If I would be you, would do followings,
1- Vaccum pump changed (expensive from BMW).
2- Profile gasket changed with correct torque.

If you get the oil leak again, you will require new CCV + all hoses.


This is common problem on 320i.

Also remove the engine cover and inspect properly to find out oil leakage source.

[JK07]

Thanks

Can you tell me How can i find out if ccv is blocked? Any diy how to replace it?
Pics etc

[JK07]

Ok i am a little bit confused now.

Is the vaccum pump , oil seperator, crank case Ventilation etc all same or different?

Where are they located exactly? By looking at this the vaccum pump is right behind the engine but what about ccv if it is different


http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E9...attached_parts

[makkan00]

Originally Posted by JK07

Ok i am a little bit confused now.

Is the vaccum pump , oil seperator, crank case Ventilation etc all same or different?

Where are they located exactly? By looking at this the vaccum pump is right behind the engine but what about ccv if it is different


http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E9...attached_parts

Ok, Lets make it simple.

1- Vaccum pump is what you attached in your link. It is not same as CCV.
Signs of leakage: As you mentioned, touch the back of it, and you will get plenty of fresh oil coming out.
Another typical sign is, you get smell of burning oil coming into cabin, especially when you are stationary on traffic signal or on a junction.


To confirm, you can take two approaches.
a) You have to remove the plate which keeps air pollen filter in place. Remove oil cover lid.
Now pull the engine cover up and it will come off.
You should be able to have a good look at vaccum pump from there. (Top view)
b) Second option is to remove engine tray and have a good look from the bottom of car and you will be able to spot the oil leak coming from there.

I am not sure about Australia, but it is about £200-250 in UK.
Try a breaker in Australia to get good price and if you struggle, give me a shout. I may be able to source one for you here.

It is not DIY unless you are very competent. The space at the back of engine is not much and very hard to undo bolts (M8 size). It is held by 3 bolts and one at the bottom is difficult one.
The other problem can be, you may drop bolt in that space, which is very narrow, and later you will end up removing the bottom engine plate.
You can use mirror to have a good look, or small camera kit with monitor, if you are very keen to work on it yourself.

As I said, it is not DIY thing, as you may have to tilt the engine from the bottom to approach. Try your local garage if they are competent. On TIS, it is 2.5-3 hours job.


CCV:

It is completely different thing, as purpose is to separate oil drops from gases going to exhaust and also create some -ve pressure at lower RPMs.
It is very complicated and beyond the scope of this writing.

Here is link showing you CCV and all hoses.

CCV

This is under your exhaust manifold, and you can only inspect it with camera kit and lots of patience.
Or physically remove the exhaust manifold and have a good look.

Signs of wear:
1- In cold weather, you get orange, creamy stuff under your oil cover lid.
2- Also blocked CCV will give you different engine running noise. Only competent/ experience person can tell you.
3- If one of the hose is broke, your engine noise is loud on lower RPM, when pressure changes b/w CCV and hoses.
4- White / bluish smoke from exhaust.


BMW was changing CCV on each E46 car when due for major service (60K).
On E90, they redesigned it, and it can last upto 80-90K depending on your oil service history.
Funny enough, it is not on BMW maintenance schedule for E90. It is only changed if somebody picks it up or knows about it.

To be on safe side, I would personally change it on 80K if my car is being serviced at 20K intervals. or 100K if I follow 10K service intervals.

It is again not DIY. TIS suggests, it is 2 hour job.

CCV itselfis about £30-35 but with all hoses, whole kit comes upto £110 in UK. DON'T just change CCV only, as blocked hoses may not help. Also two of hoses may break while taking it off.

Looking at your car history, you may not need CCV at this stage.

Forget it at this stage, unless your vaccum pump start leaking again.


I would suggest you to take engine cover off (not the one which hold profile gasket) and inspect properly to find out source of oil leak.

There is another suspect for oil leak on 320.

See number 7 in this link
Seal Flange

Inspect that also, and if any signs of oil leak, this is cheap fix. But you must apply correct torque when putting new one on.

Let me know if you need any help.

All the best.

[gchild]

Out of interest what did BMW charge for a pre inspection? Do you know extensive and what checks they do exactly?

[JK07]

Makkan mate thanks for taking time time and responding. Wow ur knoweldge on the topic is very informative.

Before purchasing this car e90 i used to drive e46 318i which was written off by accident.

I took this car to BMW for pre inspection they charged 400 bucks to do a complete inspection 350 points.
End reault they said car is all good but needs the follwing

Computer updates 8 of them
profile gasket
Vaccum pump oil leak
Battery

Apart from that all is good.

Anyway the dealer agreed to perform all the above as part of warranty and took 1 week to do the job.

I purchased the car after that. Its has full service history only 67000ks on the clock.
But recently i hear this random noise coming from the engine when i stop at traffic lights and a very slight vibration. Also when i moved my hand behind the rocker cover at the back of the block i found some oil on my fingers and a little bit on that tray which is under rocker cover.

Now i am not sure what the car dealer has changed or IF he has changed anything??????

So i thought i might as well tackle the job myself and fix it properly.

Any ideas are still welcome

[makkan00]

JK one more thing.
Ask somebody to inspect the vaccum pump and try to find out, if oil is coming out of O-ring which goes b/w vaccum pump and engine block or vaccum pump itself is leaking.
If it is O ring, you will see oil coming from the neck of Vaccum pump (near to engine block / front of Vaccum pump) but if it is vaccum pump, then you will see seals of vaccum pump leaking.

In most instances, it is O ring, which fail very easily.

I guess due to all these problems + coils 320i isn't liked very much.

[Terryk]

@ makkan00 : many many thanks for sharing all these knowledge with us!