hum.... could be your head gasket or worn rings. Those are the only two ways I can see oil getting in your chamber. Not likely that all your rings are worn, so could be your head gasket.

 

CCV failure.

 

I agree with the CCV failure

worn valve guides will do that too, allowing oil to escape through them , and into the combustion chamber... however, seeing as it's on all cylinders, I would say that it would NOT be a head gasket, rings or valve guides... when the ccv goes out, excess crankcase pressure builds up and you end up with oil blow-by past the rings ...

if you are mechanically inclined at all, do it yourself and save a ton.... it's time consuming, but not difficult.

 

when the yellow oil light came on, did you check the oil dipstick or did you just assume it needed oil?
It could be as simple as having added an additional 2 quarts of oil, too much oil, that passed through the piston rings and coated your spark plugs. And all you need is new plugs.
Check your oil level. If it's too high, drain some oil till you have the right level and replace the plugs.

 

when you put too much oil in an engine, the crankshaft counter-weights aerate the oil while it's in the pan, creating bubbles. They're picked up by the oil pump and when these bubbles get into all of the oil passages and they wreck an engine just as badly as when you are SEVERELY lacking oil. It doesn't create more blow-by. And by the way, oil makes black/bluish smoke, anti-freeze makes white smoke.

 

Yea I checked the dipstick first and it needed oil, but it's entirely possible that I poured in too much, shrug. But even if I did, it need oil again a week later so I don't think its that. I replaced the spark plugs a couple months ago so rather not spend 50 bucks only to ruin those as well. Should I change my oil to ensure there is the correct amount and clean off the plugs to see if they get fouled up again? Or should I go ahead and look to replace my CCV?

On a side note, I pulled out the MAF box so I can analyze stuff, but didn't know which was the CCV, perhaps you need to take off more parts to see it? I did notice that the whole side of the engines has fresh oil all over it perhaps due to a messed up CCV? I also noticed a little white smoke from tailpipe when I start up, but it goes away after a couple minutes.

 

check/replace CCV.
you mentioned oil on the side of the engine. Check your head cover gasket.
White smoke is due to cold weather or sometimes just the extra oil you have in there.
Check your oil level. Clean your spark plugs so that you can see if you still have an oil problem after CCV work.

 

Ah yes, forgot about the ccv.

 

So as I said in a previous post I couldn't find the CCV after removing my MAF/Air box, but figured I'd have to take off more parts before I could see it. So I was about to order my CCV/hoses right now and I went to realoem.com and looked up my vehicle using my vin number but couldn't find the CCV in any diagram. So I went back to check what my specs were and it says I have the M56 instead of the M54 engine and have no idea what that means. I looked it up on wikipedia and saw this:

* Crankcase ventilation system:

The crankcase ventilation valve (1) is incorporated in the aluminum cylinder head cover (2).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M56

can anyone let me know what that means in laymans terms? All I can interpret from that is more bad news :bawling:

 

So as I said in a previous post I couldn't find the CCV after removing my MAF/Air box, but figured I'd have to take off more parts before I could see it. So I was about to order my CCV/hoses right now and I went to realoem.com and looked up my vehicle using my vin number but couldn't find the CCV in any diagram. So I went back to check what my specs were and it says I have the M56 instead of the M54 engine and have no idea what that means. I looked it up on wikipedia and saw this:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M56

can anyone let me know what that means in laymans terms? All I can interpret from that is more bad news :bawling:

I've never worked on a M56 , but here's my educated guess.

You need a new valve cover, since the CCV system seems to be built into this.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=11_3102&hg=11&fg=15

Part #1 , 600 dollaras

EDIT :
http://www.bmw-planet.com/lib/M56sulev.pdf

Im sure that is the part you need , sucks on the pricing , yey on the ease of changing (no need to remove intake )

 

1 - Unless your valve cover is shot you don't need to replace the whole valve cover, just the Valve Cove Gasket and other seals, check on tischers site, they sell a kit.

2 - The CCV that other people are refering to is in this DIY http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=643639

GL and keep us up to date

 

I actually know for a fact that I need a new valve cover gasket from an indy telling me I need one because it's leaking. He noticed it during my last oil change, so that part makes sense.

However that CCV everyone mentioned here doesn't seem to exist on my engine (M56). If I'm reading this correctly, the CCV is built into the valve cover on this engine which really sucks. I think that's why Pir4t said he thinks I need the entire cylinder head cover if my CCV is shot. However, it seems to be a really expensive part so I'm not sure if I should try to change it or what. Could a messed up valve cover gasket be the reason I have oil in my spark plug wells? If so maybe just the valve cover gasket replacement will fix the issue?

 

exactly... since you need to replace the gasket and spark plugs anyways, I'd get in there and clean it out and check it out ... also you should be able to trace the CCV system from the dipstick up... just follow the hose that comes out of the dipstick, and you can trace it back to where everything is situated. Also - I'd pick up a bentley manual for your car...

 

Cool, this isn't expensive and difficult so it's worth a shot and hope for the best. I'll get the parts ordered and do it over Xmas weekend. Would you suggest I clean the oil off my old spark plugs instead of putting in new ones and ruining those as well if my problem continues or will that not work? The plugs that are in now are only two months old along with the coils. thanks

 

you could probably get away with cleaning them up, but if there is any damage due to burning oil, toss them ...

 

Does the fuel smell go away with the smoke? My E36(with M52) smells like fuel real bad when it's first warming up during the winter, and of course the white smoke. It all goes away once it's warmed up, no big deal. If it doesn't go away, it's probably because of your fouled plugs not burning enough of the a/f mixture. And you've already discussed the source of that, I hope you get out of this one cheap :thumbsup:

 

A bit of white steam after a cold start is normal for any internal combustion engine. It's just water, which is a byproduct of gasoline combustion.

Additionally, to the average user it can be difficult to differentiate between coolant smoke and synthetic oil smoke. Either way, I wouldn't worry about it until getting the CCV fixed.

 

I just called a reliable indy in Orange County that I've used a couple times before and told him my issues. He said he's put in an SULEV engine before and from what he recalled it has no CCV so it's probably going to be something else. I asked if the valve cover gasket leaking could have caused my fouled up plugs and he said only if the oil poured into the socket well, so the entire spark plug should be oily, not just the part that sparks. Of course mine are only soaked on the part that sparks and the tops are dry. He told me he'd be glad to take a look at it next week.

I'm thinking I might just take it in since all we can do is guess what's wrong and not pinpoint much. I have $2k to spend, but I'm afraid this will be a $3k+ job if its engine related which might not even be worth it since that's how much I owe on the car. Especially since I just read that these M56 engines have tons of expensive problems. Grrr :censor:

 

people here tell you alot of things without reading that you have an M56.

the CCV is integrated into the valve cover, i was shown one at the stealer today

You will not have a oilline to your dipstick , since the valve cover will only let vapours escape , and those are directed to the intake runners directly.

Which explains why you have oil in your cylinders.

How a leaking VCG could affect this i dont understand , since the oil would then escape onto the engine block , or into the sparkplug area.
And what are the chance of all 6 "gaskets" failing at once.

And even if they did , the oil would be ontop of the plugs , not near the electrode.

Easiest way to check this is simply to unclip cable from CCV and look for oil, if you have liquid oil in there , chances are even higher that your CCV is shot.

EDIT : Im 99% certain it's your CCV , since nothing other than all of your piston rings/valve guides and ccv could cause this..
The hose you should look at is #10
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=11_3405&hg=11&fg=40

Save yourself some cash and check for oil there , if you've got any , get a cover and be done with it

 

Ok Pir4t, I think you're on to something. I just got home and pulled out hose #10 and sure enough it had oil all up inside of it. I took pics to show all the mess I found.

Vent Hose (oil leaking from it):

Diagram showing my engine layout and where the vent hose connects I also noticed a bunch of oil near the filler cap so does my cap need replacement as well? :facepalm:

Hose connection to the Valve Cover (notice the big puddle of oil sitting there):

Hose connection to the intake manifold (again a puddle of dirty oil in there):

I also noticed fresh pools of oil in these two spots pointed by the red arrows which are located by the back two spark plug wells. How the heck did oil end up there? Could it from a leaky valve cover gasket?

So what do you guys think? Looks to me like the CCV/Valve cover combo is broken right? So replace valve cover, vc gasket, vent hose #10, six plugs and oil/filter change is what needs to be done? I can def DIY this, but I cant DIY a head gasket! :yikes:

Thanks!

 

So what do you guys think? Looks to me like the CCV/Valve cover combo is broken right? So replace valve cover, vc gasket, vent hose #10, six plugs and oil/filter change is what needs to be done? I can def DIY this, but I cant DIY a head gasket! :yikes:

Thanks!

With that amount of oil in the hose connections (it's ok if it's just a bit oily , but a puddle.....) i'm 100% that your CCV is broken.

The oil around aprkplug area is due to your VCG, i dont know about your oil-cap though.
It could be caused by the VCG , since you shouldnt get any oil there(much less pressure to oush it out)

Headgasket you need to check the oil for foam (sign of water in oil) or take a compression test , though im almost 100% sure you HG is fine.

Thanks for the pictures :thumbsup:

 

Sweet, thanks for all the help! My oil isn't milky in the dipstick or radiator, but I guess we shall see how the oil looks once the valve cover is off (*knocks on wood*).

I found a reputable dismantler of newer BMW's in southern california called Harout and gave them a call and found an M56 valve cover for $150+20 for shipping so I just ordered it. That saves me $430! I also ordered the gaskets and rubber grommets from Tischer, so I plan to do tackle this over the New Year's holiday. So i need to vacuum oil out from the spark socket wells or anything like that? Or can I use a shop towel?

I will keep you guys posted. :thumbsup:

 

Just get the towel in there

 

any update?

 

Yep, here's my update. I haven't taken it to an indy yet, but it turns out I'm a real idiot. :dunno:

I replaced the valve cover/ccv combo, the VGG, new spark plugs, an oil/filter change, and cleaned my engine thoroughly.

Well, once everything was back in place, I excitedly turned my car on and it idled normal. Then I took it for a spin and sure enough, same problem. I had no power once again and was lucky to get up to 10 mph. I drove around the block and came back to sadly park in the garage. First thing I do is check my plugs and sure enough, all six of them are black again. :censor:

Here's the part where I realize I'm an idiot... it's not even oil that's on the spark plugs, they're carbon fouled! ugh. I think twice and remember where I've seen that powder before. The chrome part of my exhaust pipe is also covered in the same black fuel smelling dust that's on my plugs. I'm guessing this means my valves/head gasket are alright, right? :facepalm:

Let me know if you guys have any other ideas. I'm gathering that it's probably a fuel/oxygen related problem? Oh well, the VCG had to be done anyway, but I'm bummed a killed yet another brand new set of plugs, I should have used generic ones for the test drive.

Here's a pic of one of my plugs:

Here's pics of my valves and my old cover (oil wasn't milky)

At least my engine looks clean now :/

 

are you getting any trouble codes popping up? can you do a compression test? have you actually changed the oil in it? Airfilter/MAF sensor clean? those plugs look like a rich condition problem... all of which should have been caught by the ECM...

when it loses power how does it act when you give it throttle?

 

are you getting any trouble codes popping up?

I definitely have error codes, had about 7 when I took it in about 6 months ago (o2 sensor codes, fuel codes, misfires are the ones I remember). I was trying to pinpoint the major problem (loss of power) myself to save some money at the shop. I'm sure the valve cover will save me a bit.

have you actually changed the oil in it?

Yes, after the test drive I did an oil change since I already had all the stuff there, again to save me some more cash from the shop.

Airfilter/MAF sensor clean?

I got a new air filter put in two months ago, but done nothing to the MAF sensor.

when it loses power how does it act when you give it throttle?

I held down the throttle and it would max out about 10 and rpm's would rise. Also, at times it did a weird jerking motion like I was pumping between my throttle and then brake to make a passenger dizzy, vomit or something. Actually my friend even asked if I was doing that on purpose, but all I was doing was pressing down on the gas. :thumbdwn:

 

first off... you need to figure out if it is pre cat or post cat o2 sensors... if they are precat then they need to be replaced. They are probably fouled just like your plugs...

secondly you need to figure out the ignition problems... to do this though, you are going to need a BMW scanner or a Peake tool ... if you have neither, then I'd suggest taking it to an indy shop and have them give you the specific codes before you or they do any work.

Post 'em up hear if you can ...
i suspect that it's most likely a o2 sensor and or throttle position sensor error that's fouling you all up ... but hard to say without those codes ...

 

first off... you need to figure out if it is pre cat or post cat o2 sensors... if they are precat then they need to be replaced. They are probably fouled just like your plugs...

secondly you need to figure out the ignition problems... to do this though, you are going to need a BMW scanner or a Peake tool ... if you have neither, then I'd suggest taking it to an indy shop and have them give you the specific codes before you or they do any work.

Post 'em up hear if you can ...
i suspect that it's most likely a o2 sensor and or throttle position sensor error that's fouling you all up ... but hard to say without those codes ...

Thanks, yea that's why I've come to the conclusion that I've done as much as I can and the next step is tow it to the indy shop. I don't think my o2 sensors have ever been changed and I hear you should change them every 100k miles and I'm sitting at 115.

However, I don't think I'm having ignition problems so I'm confused about that.

 

let us know how it goes - I'm curious to see how this one works out ...

 

Yea, I'll keep you guys updated. I'm sitting on it for a couple weeks because I only have 1,000 bucks to spend right now and since I'm towing it to the indy I'd rather have 2k saved just to be prepared for more. The good thing is at least I saved some money on the stuff that I did DIY thanks to all the info here. I'll be taking it in on the 26th. I definitely know for sure that it needs at least one 02 sensor if not all of them. :/

 

So I finally took my car in to the same indy that had diagnosed my car before I lost complete power and due to the long weekend and being busy I finally got my answer today. They said because I kept driving it, I ruined the catalyzer and that they are 1,000 a piece just for the parts. He said that the lack of power is because the engine can't breath out.

I'm confused with what is it exactly he was talking about though because when I look up my car there is only one catalytic converter and it's $2,000:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=18_0503&hg=18&fg=10

So maybe this is what he meant instead? I see there are two listed of this at $1,000 a piece:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=18_0502&hg=18&fg=10

Anyway, among the other things it needed is a new radiator because its cracked from the top and leaks, which I have heard before from a previous indy.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=17_0145&hg=17&fg=05

Finally he said it's giving error codes for two coils, so it may or may not need them depending on what happens once the new cats are installed but he added them to the price as well as new plugs:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AZ33&mospid=47721&btnr=12_1104&hg=12&fg=05

Total price of parts (2 cats, radiator, 2 ignition coils, and set of plugs) plus labor.... $3,500 :bawling:

He didn't want to tell me what's wrong because it's the second time they diagnose it and I get nothing done on it so it costs them money for time, so I agreed to pay for their time if I didn't go ahead and do it because I wanted to talk to my dad so he could front me $500. So what do you guys think of the diagnosis and damage? Thanks for all the helps.

 

Duuude , do you even need cats ? .. I mean , do you have smog testing ?

You can get cheap universal cats for about 200$ each , or go with a slightly bigger and weld a Y pipe to it (you can even earn some hp this way)

Radiator ... i just ordered a new one from ebay totaling me $200 bucks.

Plugs from a shop will run you about $15 per plug for a high quality one

Coils are the only thing i haven't touched yet , but i've heard of $1k for a complete set.

Most likely this indy is bendning you over..

 

Honestly, I would not spend that kind of cash on a 2003 325i...just not worth it with that many miles. You can buy another 325i for 7-9K probably in CA.

If I were you this is what I would do:

By Pre-cat O2 sensors, new spark plugs and just change those, unplug the MAF sensor and drive it to see if it is fine...my guess, your pre-cat O2s are bad. Your post cat 02s dont do anything just tell the computer if your cats are working properly or not...will not effect the timming of your engine or put it into limp mode. As for cats going bad...its going to take a lot more then a few weeks of rich output to kill them. The INDY is trying to screw you. DIY! If you want to chance cats, just get them used from junk yard or get aftermarket ones for cheap!

 

The problem is I still owe 5k on it, otherwise I would just use the 3,500 for a down payment and trade it in. The engine sounds fine when you turn it on, but when you drive it won't go faster than 15 mph since the spark plugs are full of carbon due to either that cats or 02 sensors I'm assuming. I drove it for months (not weeks) and from May through Oct I added 17-20 quarts of oil every 2-4 days because it was leaking/burning and I was too broke to fix it. (yea stupid). I'm pretty sure that would be enough oil to ruin an old cat if indeed it was burning through there.

 

Ok, here is a list of what the indy is going to fix for $4,000 total. I said yes because I'm stuck with this car for a little while. Lesson learned that when check engine light comes one, I'll stop driving it. :facepalm:

-Exhaust manifold with catalyst front $1,000
-Exhaust manifold with catalyst rear $1,000
-Radiator $500
-Secondary Air Injection Pump $400
-2 ignition coils

The mechanic told me that he'll guarantee it and he's not going to make me pay if he doesn't fix it. I'm co-workers with the owner's friend and said that he's been repairing hers for years so she can vouche. We'll see I guess, I just want my car to work again because I miss it.

 

any updates..