Klifex Oil Filter Housing Anti-Drainback Valve

429 Views 16 Replies 4 Participants Last post by 325TI_Compact, 9 d ago

b106b

Discussion Starter · 10 d ago (Edited)

4

I had on-going P0011 issues. At some point, I realized it was the anti-drainback valve allowing the OFH to drain, which in turn led to low oil pressure on startup to the VANOS. Symptoms were the red oil light stayed on for a few seconds on each start (like a normal car would, after an oil change) and freeze frame of the P0011 showed it triggered at or right after startup.

Normally, one would just change to a new housing and change it again, when it fails. I am cheap and decided to try the anti-drainback valve replacement. I bought mine off ebay, from the Ukraine, for $30 shipped. Yes, the same one that is at war with Russia, but it still arrived in 9 days. It comes with a new OFH gasket also.

vanos-bmw.com

Oil valve BMW M50TU M52 M52TU M54 M56 11421713838 - Vanos BMW Repair kits for cars

Valve supplied without a spring. The spring is necessary to take out the old valve. to ensure correct operation of the valve. M50TU, M52, M52TU, M54, M56 BMW E34 E36 E38 E39 E46 E53 E60 E65 E85 11421713838 11421738640 11421722513 11421738639 11421740001 BMW plant is not sold separately, but only...

vanos-bmw.com

No instructions come with it in the box, but ebay listing (and the link above) showed a picture of using pliers to pull out the old unit, then installing the new unit, after lapping the plunger to seal surface. You reuse the spring from the original drainback valve. It's a really tight fit, so I ended up drilling sections of the original valve, until the rest of the old valve fell out. Original valve, mangled, but out of the housing:

Here you can see the grooves that the stock plunger eventually grinds into the housing, which is one of several reasons why it was no longer functioning:

The other issue with the stock design is that the plunger is too short. The Klifex design has a longer plunger which goes into a guide hole, keeping the plunger from dropping back in off-axis, when oil pressure is absent. Additionally, the replacement has wider plunger fins to spread the abrasive force of the plunger, as well as a better sealing surface shape.

If I remember. I'll report back on how well it's holding up.

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4aceman

· #2 · 10 d ago

Fascinating. Never heard of/seen this solution before.

I wonder if there's any particular cause for the drain valve wearing, or if it's just inevitable

Reactions: 1

b106b

Discussion Starter · #3 · 9 d ago

It's inevitable in the design that I have. Maybe theres a newer design? The plunger is too short. You can see on the non-sealing part of the stock plunger that there's grooves worn from the spring binding on it, while it was off-axis.

4aceman

· #4 · 9 d ago

jjrichar said:
For those interested, I removed my OFH this morning. Lots of stuff was out due to me changing the hard coolant pipes under the intake manifold, so I thought I'd remove the OFH and take a look.

Very interesting. It had a good sized groove in the valve housing like in the photos previously posted, but it was not aligned perfectly with one of the valve blades that causes the problem. I've changed the OFH gasket a few times in the life of the car, and clearly when I had the OFH off in the past I had played with the valve, and unintentionally rotated it a small amount. Only about 10 deg. It was now grinding a new groove in the location of where the blade was now. It was barely visible, but clearly it was starting the groove grinding process again.

So what is the solution? When you remove the OFH, push in the valve and rotate it so the blades are not aligned with the groove. Have a look at the photo I posted on page 1 of this thread. This is how I would make it look. Obviously this needs to be done as preventative maintenance. If the valve is leaking like RayLivingston's, it's all too late and a new valve/OFH is required.

I own two E46 330s, and the OFH will be coming off the other very soon to adjust the valve.

Saw this post

Very, very interesting. Wish I knew this back when I did my OFHG.

325TI_Compact

· #5 · 9 d ago

I have bought this few years ago. Still not installed yet.
Those slots in OEM valve housing is machined from factory.
Not causing by the plastic valve.

b106b

Discussion Starter · #6 · 9 d ago

Can you clarify if you mean the slots in the housing or the plastic? From my reading, I'd seen various depths of grooves in the housing. I assumed it was from varied amounts of wear.

325TI_Compact

· #7 · 9 d ago

No those slots are to keep valve from rotating and guidance.
I can make some prictures from my car oil filter housing.

Or have a search for some pictures...
Here you can see one of the slots.

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4aceman

· #8 · 9 d ago

b106b said:
Can you clarify if you mean the slots in the housing or the plastic? From my reading, I'd seen various depths of grooves in the housing. I assumed it was from varied amounts of wear.

Ah sorry, here's a link to the thread for context

www.e46fanatics.com

Stupid Question Re: Oil Filter Housing

I've noticed recently that when I do a cold-start, the red oil pressure warning light stays on for several seconds after the engine has started, indicating it's taking a while to build any oil pressure in the system. I have the impression when the engine shuts off, the oil filter housing should...

www.e46fanatics.com

www.e46fanatics.com

325TI_Compact said:
No those slots are to keep valve from rotating and guidance.
I can make some prictures from my car oil filter housing.

Or have a search for some pictures...
Here you can see one of the slots.

What are the purposes of the slots then, why does it matter if the valve can rotate?

325TI_Compact

· #9 · 9 d ago

Well when there is oil flow and it can rotate , the plastic will wear very quickly.

b106b

Discussion Starter · #10 · 9 d ago

The plastic fins can only touch the aluminum when the plug falls back, off axis. The new unit does not allow the plug to fall back in off axis. That's why it prevents grooving and leakage.

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b106b

Discussion Starter · #11 · 9 d ago

One more benefit of the replacement design: the new plug is ABS or reinforced Polypropylene. The stock part is likely Polyamideimide (PAI). PAI is significantly harder and stronger than steel, let alone aluminum. It's used to replace bearings in modern transmissions.

The new plug won't damage the valve metal.

jjrichar

· #12 · 9 d ago

I'm pretty confident the slots aren't machined, and the valve can quite happily rotate if you just push it in and turn. When I change the OFH gasket, I rotate the valve so the slot begins to be worn in another position. When I change the gasket a few years later, the slot has begun in another location. I just rotate it a bit each time I change the gasket, which is every few years. This avoids the issue of the valve leaking over time and is an alternative to the valve discussed above.

I always assumed the slot was caused by the plastic material being glass reinforced. Glass is extremely abrasive, and will wear away aluminium pretty easily. Ever tried to cut a piece of cured fibre glass with a band saw. The blade will be blunt in about 10 secs of cutting rendering it useless. Carbon fibre by contrast can be cut by the same blade for years will little degradation. Glass reinforced materials are great, but this is one of the downsides.

Reactions: 1

325TI_Compact

· #13 · 9 d ago

When I bought new oil filter housing , it has slots. So explain that?

And what about this picture

https://www.e46fanatics.com/attachments/screenshot_20230522_202016_firefox-jpg.979629/

jjrichar

· #14 · 9 d ago

325TI_Compact said:
When I bought new oil filter housing , it has slots. So explain that?

And what about this picture

https://www.e46fanatics.com/attachments/screenshot_20230522_202016_firefox-jpg.979629/

Honestly I can't explain what you have seen on a new housing or the image posted. I can only comment on my observations, which is that rotating the valve stopped the enlargement of the original groove and showed another being created that was aligned with the fin when I consequently changed the OFH gasket. I had deliberately looked at it because I was attempting to avoid the start up oil pressure issue that had been discussed in the linked post above. The origin of the first groove was simply speculation on my part based on my observations. Maybe it is deliberately machined into the housing. Seems a bit strange considering the consequences.

325TI_Compact

· #15 · 9 d ago

Yup that is why confused, when I bought new housing years ago.
Brought it back to dealer and replacement has the same grooves.

4aceman

· #16 · 9 d ago

The valve

325TI_Compact said:
Yup that is why confused, when I bought new housing years ago.
Brought it back to dealer and replacement has the same grooves.

How deep are the grooves? Maybe the valve is tested from factory, or caused by the assembly process

325TI_Compact

· #17 · 9 d ago

No it is really looks machined, it can't be from assembly.
I have another two old oil filter housings ( from engine M54b25 and M54b30) all grooves looks same.

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