Catastrophic oil loss

[richardliebert]

My wife's X5 sat out in 7 degree air last night. It sits out every night, nothing new, but it was very cold last night. I started it, let it warm up for 5 minutes at idle, and drove away. Within a minute smoke began pouring into the car. I shut it down and popped the hood. All the oil poured out rather fast from somewhere near the side or rear of the engine, right side. I'll have it towed asap. Meanwhile, does anyone care to guess what the most likely cause is? I think it's a 2003, honestly not sure. It has the 300 horse V8 motor. I'll post the cause once I learn.

[jcl10]

Most likely a failed oil separator. They collect the condensate from the crankcase, and if it builds up enough they can freeze. If it freezes closed, it pressurizes the crankcase as the separator is the breather. Likely oil leak is from the valve cover gasket, but could be another one, or one of the breather pipes. The dealer or shop should check the separator, and not just fix the oil leak.

[juniorh]

I would be interested in what your dealer says. I am waiting for a truck to come pick up my wifes 04 X5. I opened the hood today and there is oil sprayed all over under the hood. Sounds like may be similar problem.

[richardliebert]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. The dealer (Montoursville, PA) says the crankcase valve was cracked and stuck open. This is what caused the oil to leak out. He also said there might be a valve cover gasket leak. We won't know about the gasket until Monday when he rips it apart.

[soldmystang]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. The dealer (Mountoursville, PA) says the crankcase valve was cracked and stuck open. This is what caused the oil to leak out. He also said there might be a valve cover gasket leak. We won't know about the gasket until Monday when he rips it apart.


hey homey not to be rude, but it is Montoursville. :p class of 78. :thumbup:

good luck with the X

[richardliebert]

Sorry, just a typo. My wife and I are new to the area. We moved from Philadelphia to Sullivan county last year and never looked back.

[richardliebert]

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[richardliebert]

By the way, the 'rest of the story'. I woke up New Years day to find my teenage son had not brought home my dear old 98 E.B. Expedition with 182K on the odometer. I took my wife's X5 out to go looking for it. Well, I found the Ford sunk up to it's belly in a field 90 feet from the road and only 1/2 mile from home. The LF tire was literally ripped off of the rim due to his efforts to free himself. Just as I saw my Ford in the field I noticed smoke pouring into the cabin of the X5 so I shut it down right there in the middle of the road, not to be started again. What a sight, a big white whale of a Ford dying in the field and a beloved X5 hemorrhaging all over the road. One minute I'm asleep, next minute I have two thirds of the family fleet incapacitated. It took a tow truck and a flat bed to make my world right that morning.

[geecroz]

Here in the hinterland X5 and X3 owners face this problem all the time. The PCV valve freezes closed and the motor builds pressure until something blows like the valve cover gaskets, vent hoses, oil dipstick or filler cap! This is a poor design by BMW and is a constant problem in cold weather. Should a 4 wheel drive vehicle be cold weather tested? Why?!!! Complain to BMW, they have a redesign kit they can install but won't do it when the car is out of warranty and they want $2400 to do so.

[soldmystang]

Sorry, just a typo. My wife and I are new to the area. We moved from Philadelphia to Sullivan county last year and never looked back.

pretty country to be sure.

sorry to hear about New Years morning, i had to chuckle just a little however. :)

i threw a head gasket @ 17 on Rte. 87 around the intersection to your neck of the woods. about a five mile walk home at 2 in the morning. needless to say, the old man wasn't pleased.

[seabass23]

Same problem. Happened to me last week in Alberta, Canada. 2005 4.4 X5. We've been experiencing a brutal cold snap of sub 0°F weather for about 8 weeks now.

Following the repair, my local dealer cautioned me about not letting the vehicle idle for long periods of time in cold weather and also to avoid short trips. They also stated that my engine appears to have an abnormally high level of moisture. They performed a hot oil change in an effort to remove it, and after that, they still noticed steam rising out of the dipstick tube!?!?!?!

Their recommendation is that I drive the vehicle in manual mode and keep the revs high for 1000km (600mi). They want the engine to run as hot as possible. After 1000km they want to do another oil change. Has anyone else been given this recommendation by their dealer???

My concern is this: I've always avoided idling in cold weather and on the day of the freeze-up, I had just returned from a 5 hour road trip. Is there any other potential cause for moisture build-up in the engine?

I'm also wondering about their logic in doing a "hot" oil change? With the engine warm, all moisture would be vapor. Wouldn't it be better to do this cold, in the hopes that the vapor would condense in the oil pan and drain out with the oil?

[jbeene]

Do you park in a heated parkade ?

This could be the culprit. I found this out years ago with a golf GTI. It would go through an exhaust system every 6 months. The dealer blamed it on moisture build up caused by parking the car in a cold garage at home and a warm one at work after only driving 15km to work.

He suggested I find a spot outside instead.

[seabass23]

Nope, I don't park in a heated garage. I park in a cold garage at home and I park outside when I'm at work.

[jcl10]

The condensation in the oil pan happens over time, not just once. If the engine doesn't get good and hot every now and then, it doesn't get boiled off and it collects in the crankcase ventilation valve.

I wouldn't do a hot oil change myself (just warm), but I would do a second oil change. I would also avoid lots of short trips and idling, but even then it can build up over several years. Best bet is to plan to clean out the CCV every now and then, it doesn't have to be replaced each time just cleaned and the hoses cleaned.

[seabass23]

When you say "clean out the CCV", are you referring to the white gunk that appears? Is that a job the average owner can do?

[mrbmw09]

Yes, I'am familiar with this issue. The same thing happened to me last winter. I had to have the Crankcase Ventilation Valve replaced, costed me over $1700.00 because my X5 is out of warranty......