BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

DIY: change of the CCV / Pressure regulating valve / oil separator

153K views 56 replies 36 participants last post by  Talented1 
#1 ·
The following diy is for a '99 528i automatic. the pictures are for the most part self explanatory of the process, but i will say you don't need a whole lot of tools, mainly torx (2 sizes), sockets: 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, and 13mm some flat screwdrivers and patience.

Just make sure that you connect back all the plugs you disconnected before, there are like 6 of them, but it is easy to find where they belong, they are matched to the sensor.

The result after the installation of the new CCV and hoses is incredible. the car drives way smoother, it accelerates better, there are no more weird noises and the "intake manifold control unit" doesn't shake anymore.
 

Attachments

See less See more
12
#3 ·
Great work Aioros--Those pics are going to help alot of the diy'ers out there wanting to tackle this job--it's gonna take a lot of the guess work out. I have a question--that last pic above--the small vac hose thats right in the middle of the ccv--that hose you state--goes back to the top of the intake and plugs in. On my 2003 model--that vac port is not utalized-but the vac port on the ccv is there on the part--I'm going to try to use that vac port on my car--I'm wondering just where it would hook up on the intake---is the spot just a normal vac port, or is there a check valve or something like used?
Thanks
 
#4 ·
Aioros - GREAT write-up and pics. Will save this thread to my favorites. This was a great service to your fellow Bimmer nuts. BRAVO.
 
#8 ·
Nice, I plan on doing this soon...thanks for the good pics!
 
#9 ·
to answer Poolman's question: if you look in the first set of pictures, in the "second-to-the-last picture" you can see the thin-long-orange striped vacuum hose on top of the engine, if you follow the hose to the left you will see where it ends there is a small tubing and that's where is goes connected.

these are the parts I changed:
CCV #11 61 7 501 566 $75.20
Vent hose #11 15 7 532 649 $19.80
Vacuum hose #11 74 7 797 175 $24.25

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/h/e/54.png parts 4 and 6
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks Aioros--I went back a looked at the top of your engine and saw where the connection is made--the metal tube up top. That tube goes to the back of the negine--I suspect that there is another vacuum hose and the other end connecting at the back top right of the intake--you might should check there and make sure those hoses in that area have not given up the ghost --as did the one connected to your ccv valve. I checked mine back there and found them to literally falling apart.
 
#11 ·
Aioros--I spent some time over at real oem trying to find just where the vac line hooks up on that metal tube thats at the top of your engine. I had no luck find out this though--would you check for me concerning where that metal hose hooks into the intake and if there is a chack valve with the part.
Thanks
 
#14 ·
Poolman- I checked the vac line and there is another hose after the tubing. this hose goes towards the wall where the steering wheel is located. I have no idea where it goes from there, but I don't think there is a check valve connected to it.

Mudbone- If your engine looks like mine then it maybe the same type of valve, get the last 7 digits from your VIN and check on realoem.com
 
#21 · (Edited)
Thanks Airos

My car started buring oil out of the exhaust tip in light blue clouds. I was so upset because everyone kept telling me I blew by engine or cracked my head. My dad was mad at first because that's what he tought too and as he said (Kels, cars don't blow oil out of the exhaust because nothing happened) but that's exactly what happened. I was driving responsibly and all of the sudden I'm crop dusting. I live in Florida so there was no "freezing" issue that caused my CCV to break. It just did.

Anyways, I went online to see if anyone else had this problem and found my way here. After looking at the pictures and not having an extra $500 to donate to the BMW dealer I decided (with proding from my Dad) to do the repair myself. Keep in mind I am a 16 year old girl with little to no car repair experience. I picked up the part for $68 and went to work. I would look at the first picture and then go out to the garage and do the first step, then come back and check to make sure the step I did was correct. One step at a time being real careful I was able to work through it. My Dad kept tabs on the progress and helped a little with tool selection and hidden bolts. Even though I was real careful, I did have to replace one hose that fell apart when I touched it. (the lower hose) Since mine was a 3 series and not a 5 series some of the pictures were not identicle, but I could see what I was supposed to do anyway.

My Dad said that nobodywould believe that a 16 year old girl could do it herself so I have pictures to prove it! Car ran GREAT when I was done and no more SMOKE!! I was so excited and proud that I did this. So, no excuses you guys, get to it. Oh, and for the man in Germany that designed that hose routing and CCV placement on this engine, you should be working for a Hampster cage factory because you suck.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
My car started buring oil out of the exhaust tip in light blue clouds. I was so upset because everyone kept telling me I blew by engine or cracked my head. My dad was mad at first because that's what he tought too and as he said (Kels, cars don't blow oil out of the exhaust because nothing happened) but that's exactly what happened. I was driving responsibly and all of the sudden I'm crop dusting. I live in Florida so there was no "freezing" issue that caused my CCV to break. It just did.

Anyways, I went online to see if anyone else had this problem and found my way here. After looking at the pictures and not having an extra $500 to donate to the BMW dealer I decided (with proding from my Dad) to do the repair myself. Keep in mind I am a 16 year old girl with little to no car repair experience. I picked up the part for $68 and went to work. I would look at the first picture and then go out to the garage and do the first step, then come back and check to make sure the step I did was correct. One step at a time being real careful I was able to work through it. My Dad kept tabs on the progress and helped a little with tool selection and hidden bolts. Even though I was real careful, I did have to replace one hose that fell apart when I touched it. (the lower hose) Since mine was a 3 series and not a 5 series some of the pictures were not identicle, but I could see what I was supposed to do anyway.

My Dad said that nobodywould believe that a 16 year old girl could do it herself so I have pictures to prove it! Car ran GREAT when I was done and no more SMOKE!! I was so excited and proud that I did this. So, no excuses you guys, get to it. Oh, and for the man in Germany that designed that hose routing and CCV placement on this engine, you should be working for a Hampster cage factory because you suck.
GREAT JOB!!!! so you changed out your oil sperator ? how long did it take you ? did you get burning oil smell from inside the cabin ? or just outside the exhaust ? excellent job for a 16year old girl..... imagine you were 30 ? you prolly own the world lol....

GUYS I FOUND THE LINK... take a look
http://www.bmwservicect.com/oil_separator.html
 
#23 ·
It took a lot longer for me than the 4 hours some people did it in. I did most of it one day and then finished it up the next day. I did not have smoke in my car, just a lot from the exhaust. It just started happening so it did not get driven a lot like that.

Oh, and I'm planning on owning the World. Or at least a big chunk of it. :)
 
#29 ·
THANKS Big Time CN90! Looks like My Wednesday is covered. 189000 miles and this car is wonderful. Except for the F-16 sound. You should work for Chilton/Haynes. In 13 years working in the automotive aftermarket, I have never seen such a detailed and easy to understand DIY.
 
#30 ·
CCV 2001 525i Wagon

Good work on this CCV monster. I just returned from an out of town trip where the stealer banged me for $808. to do this valve replacement, one connecting line, a vent pipe, and a return line at top drawer BMW OEM pricing. I cross checked the parts with the ones found on this thread...same.

To add insult to injury it did not fix my stalling problem. For when I dropped into the seat after paying the bill...I sat down easy as you might suppose after this serious reaming, there I was with the original complaint and a trouble light. So another $500. or so bucks later I also got a new fuel pump.

I'm thinking the BMW Group ought to cut a deal with Denso of Japan, because their electrical components might as well be made by Lucas....a.k.a. "The Prince of Darkness"; I had an Exhaust Camshaft Sensor fail before I left on the trip...then the fuel pump. 45k miles on the odometer.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Removal/cleaning of dipstick housing a MUST

Having recently undertaken this replacement on my E39, I thought I would add my experience and unequivocally recommend removal and cleaning of the dipstick even if you thought you could do this diy without removing it. This could explain why some owners do not see an improvement in oil consumption after replacing the CCV and tube if they do not do this.

My E39 has now done 158k. She is in very good condition and I am loathe to get rid of her. She is quiet, comfortable and mainly reliable. However, the excessive oil comsumption made me think it was the end of road.

Oil consumption has always been an issue, using 1L every 1000miles from halfway through the service interval. BMW said this was in spec but I think this is appauling when you have to add 6L (costing GBP70) of oil between changes. For the last couple of years though she has used 1L every 1000 miles all the time, but recently this has increased to 1L every 250 miles (local) to 500 miles (long journies). I had a compression test carried out which showed all cylinders ok at 220psi. Internet searches suggested the problem to be valve guides or CCV. I chose the lower (CCV) cost option and hoped!

I decided to replace CCC and all tubing (£120 for all parts) as BMW had to order the parts in, and I didn't want to be short of parts over a weekend or have to repeat this again at a later date for a perished tube.

I decided to leave the inlet manifold in place as my tools capacity is limited these days, and didn't want to get into something deep! This resulted in not being able to get to one of the two mounting bolts for the CCV, so I snapped the old CCV away from the hidden mounting, behind the throttle actuator. Keeping the manifold in place made the CCV extraction tricky, but with a lot of manoevering and twisting and forcing (well it was being replaced anyway) it came out of a tight gap.

Inspection of the removed CCV showed a presence of thick oil at the bottom outlet, though I wouldnt say it was blocked. However, the return pipe (from the base of the CCV to the dipstick carrier) was blocked solid. I decided I didn't have to remove the dipstick housing as the return inlet from the CCV into the housing seemed clear (by proding with a wire) and it had oil in it. But I am SO glad that I had to remove it to make the reinstall easier....

Close inspection and investigation (its a long story!) of the bottom outlet of the dipstick housing confirmed that the oil flow from the CCV into the sump does NOT flow through the big hole in the middle of the dipstick. No... Instead it flows through the tiny weeny little gap getween the dipstick outer and inner walls, which are crimped together in 2 places (See photo of the cleaned housing sump drain). Mine was blocked so solid that I initially thought it was a thick walled tube until I checked for flow through it (sorry no pre cleaning photo). Why oh why did BMW design such a narrow flow channel! I am sure this was where the initial blockage ocurred, then backed up to the tube between the CCV and sump, and then into the CCV.

Having turned the dipstick housing upside-down, I prodded and poked the tiny gaps with wire. Flat metal from an old wiper blade is recommended but I had just thown a set away. I then worked white spirit into the gap with the wire. Others recommend using carburettor cleaner but white spirit was all I had. I finally got some flow to the CCV inlet and from then on it got freer until finally it poured through. I purged and dried all the white spirit from the housing using a pump from a hand sprayer, and alternately blocked the various outlets with my thumb to ensure all the channels were free flowing.

Installing the new CCV meant that I had to break the fixing eyelet on the new one to match the shape of the bit that was left behind (see earlier). This isn't too drastic as its a snug fit and is stable with only one bolt holding it in place. Incidentally, it was much harder to manoever the new CCV into place to the gap under the manifold than it was to remove the old one, and it only slipped into place after I sprayed the CCV casing with WD40 to lubricate it past the manifold.

In summary, the CCV and plumbing blockages explains the varied symptoms of my problem:

(i) Excessive oil consumption (1L every 250-500 miles)
(ii) A slight oil leak from the crankcase gasket due to the pressure forcing oil past the gasket onto the exhaust manifold.
(iii) Oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold after one long journey
(iv) Occasional difficulty starting where, if the engine did not start immediately, I had to keep her turning over constantly for 3-5 minutes until she caught. I suspect this was due to oil in the inlet manifold and/or oil getting past the valve guides (as others have reported with blocked CCV) and filling the cylinders, affecting the plugs or fuel mix.

She hasn't used a drop of oil in 700 miles now, and has a new lease of life and I am so pleased and relieved.

Although the crankcase gasket leak was noticed and replaced by a non-BMW garage, they didn't find the cause of the problem. This was only possible by the postings on the internet. The excessive oil has worried me for several years, and resolving this it is down to all you contributors in the numerous forums.

Thanks a million.
 

Attachments

#36 ·
Having recently undertaken this replacement on my E39, I thought I would add my experience and unequivocally recommend removal and cleaning of the dipstick even if you thought you could do this diy without removing it. This could explain why some owners do not see an improvement in oil consumption after replacing the CCV and tube if they do not do this.

My E39 has now done 158k. She is in very good condition and I am loathe to get rid of her. She is quiet, comfortable and mainly reliable. However, the excessive oil comsumption made me think it was the end of road.

Oil consumption has always been an issue, using 1L every 1000miles from halfway through the service interval. BMW said this was in spec but I think this is appauling when you have to add 6L (costing GBP70) of oil between changes. For the last couple of years though she has used 1L every 1000 miles all the time, but recently this has increased to 1L every 250 miles (local) to 500 miles (long journies). I had a compression test carried out which showed all cylinders ok at 220psi. Internet searches suggested the problem to be valve guides or CCV. I chose the lower (CCV) cost option and hoped!

I decided to replace CCC and all tubing (£120 for all parts) as BMW had to order the parts in, and I didn't want to be short of parts over a weekend or have to repeat this again at a later date for a perished tube.

I decided to leave the inlet manifold in place as my tools capacity is limited these days, and didn't want to get into something deep! This resulted in not being able to get to one of the two mounting bolts for the CCV, so I snapped the old CCV away from the hidden mounting, behind the throttle actuator. Keeping the manifold in place made the CCV extraction tricky, but with a lot of manoevering and twisting and forcing (well it was being replaced anyway) it came out of a tight gap.

Inspection of the removed CCV showed a presence of thick oil at the bottom outlet, though I wouldnt say it was blocked. However, the return pipe (from the base of the CCV to the dipstick carrier) was blocked solid. I decided I didn't have to remove the dipstick housing as the return inlet from the CCV into the housing seemed clear (by proding with a wire) and it had oil in it. But I am SO glad that I had to remove it to make the reinstall easier....

Close inspection and investigation (its a long story!) of the bottom outlet of the dipstick housing confirmed that the oil flow from the CCV into the sump does NOT flow through the big hole in the middle of the dipstick. No... Instead it flows through the tiny weeny little gap getween the dipstick outer and inner walls, which are crimped together in 2 places (See photo of the cleaned housing sump drain). Mine was blocked so solid that I initially thought it was a thick walled tube until I checked for flow through it (sorry no pre cleaning photo). Why oh why did BMW design such a narrow flow channel! I am sure this was where the initial blockage ocurred, then backed up to the tube between the CCV and sump, and then into the CCV.

Having turned the dipstick housing upside-down, I prodded and poked the tiny gaps with wire. Flat metal from an old wiper blade is recommended but I had just thown a set away. I then worked white spirit into the gap with the wire. Others recommend using carburettor cleaner but white spirit was all I had. I finally got some flow to the CCV inlet and from then on it got freer until finally it poured through. I purged and dried all the white spirit from the housing using a pump from a hand sprayer, and alternately blocked the various outlets with my thumb to ensure all the channels were free flowing.

Installing the new CCV meant that I had to break the fixing eyelet on the new one to match the shape of the bit that was left behind (see earlier). This isn't too drastic as its a snug fit and is stable with only one bolt holding it in place. Incidentally, it was much harder to manoever the new CCV into place to the gap under the manifold than it was to remove the old one, and it only slipped into place after I sprayed the CCV casing with WD40 to lubricate it past the manifold.

In summary, the CCV and plumbing blockages explains the varied symptoms of my problem:

(i) Excessive oil consumption (1L every 250-500 miles)
(ii) A slight oil leak from the crankcase gasket due to the pressure forcing oil past the gasket onto the exhaust manifold.
(iii) Oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold after one long journey
(iv) Occasional difficulty starting where, if the engine did not start immediately, I had to keep her turning over constantly for 3-5 minutes until she caught. I suspect this was due to oil in the inlet manifold and/or oil getting past the valve guides (as others have reported with blocked CCV) and filling the cylinders, affecting the plugs or fuel mix.

She hasn't used a drop of oil in 700 miles now, and has a new lease of life and I am so pleased and relieved.

Although the crankcase gasket leak was noticed and replaced by a non-BMW garage, they didn't find the cause of the problem. This was only possible by the postings on the internet. The excessive oil has worried me for several years, and resolving this it is down to all you contributors in the numerous forums.

Thanks a million.
The new CCV Service bulletin lists a new dispstick tube. I was able to get everything replaced by the CPO warranty. Now I understand why a new dipstick was required. The old SB listed a means such as using a wiper blade metal insert to clean out the crud. Apparently, this did not work well, hence the new redesigned dipstick.

On a 850 Volvo, there is a much simpler design with a large return tube to the engine block. I'm still thinking that the crude PCV valve with the baffles on the valve covers is the right solution following the KISS principal. Keep It Simple Stupid.
 
#33 ·
Expansion tank and radiator

Is the expansion tank a resivoir tank for radiator fluid?
Is the expansion tank an add on?
Sorry, it shows I really don't know.
Have studied the cn90 thread for DIY.
 
#34 ·
Is the expansion tank a resivoir tank for radiator fluid?
Is the expansion tank an add on?
Sorry, it shows I really don't know.
Have studied the cn90 thread for DIY.
Hi dalekressin,

Wrong place for this question because CCV is nothing to do with cooling system.

The expansion tank is there to allow coolant to expand as it heats it.
Without coolant reservoir, hot coolant will flow out of the cap and on the ground, when cooling down, air gets sucked in, the problem will be worse and worse.
So yes, every gasoline engine car has a coolant reservoir.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top