[josephi]

Why not remove the throttle? It would save you tons of pain

Will definitely have to do that when I replace the hose. I was able to feel around and look the old one over fairly well while I was in there, and it still seems to be in good shape, so I will probably put it off for now. When the time comes, that throttle will definitely have to come off.

 

[gsbmw]

josephi, there should be no need to take the throttle out, as shown by me and others. Here are a few suggestions that may help:

- This is obvious, but be sure to unclip every electrical connection in the area (label them if you need to), and tilt the steering fluid reservoir out of the way (as you have done). Spread the wires in this area out of the way to give you access.

- Place a light down next to the fender pointing toward the oil separator and take a good look at your pinch clip target, so that you can get a good mental image of where your hand needs to go and where on the pinch clip you need to apply pressure. Use a mirror if necessary to get a good look, or snap a digital picture.

- Check out the picture in post #57, and be sure to apply pressure to the ribbed portions of the pinch ring (on both opposite sides of the ring). As you know (others may not), pinching on these ribbed portions will cause the "clip" portions of the ring to spread away from the oil separator so that you can pull the clip and its tube down off the oil separator. For those that don't know, the clip portions of the pinch clip are those two vertical support strips of plastic that go from the ring down to the plastic elbow itself. Pulling the tube off may take some wiggling, because there are some O-rings on the plastic elbow of the hose that give it a snug fit to the oil separator. It might help to initially push up on the connection as you pinch the clips -- perhaps that will allow them to release more easily. Note from the picture in post #57 that part of the plastic elbow fits up into the oil separator, so don't pull on the separator itself when trying to pull the hose off. Also, don't wiggle too vigorously, so as not to crack the oil separator.

- Another idea is to cut the hose near the plastic elbow. Then the plastic elbow with pinch clip can be rotated on the oil separator to a position that is more comfortable for squeezing it properly and for having a better grip to wiggle it off.

- If you still cannot pinch the clip completely, rather than taking the throttle or other parts of the engine out, you could try cutting the pinch ring with some wire snips and then spreading the two clips away from the oil separator by pushing in small screwdrivers (or ice picks or whatever) between the clips and the oil separator. (Cutting the clip strips themselves with something [wire snips, Dremel?] would serve the same purpose.) Then you should be able to pull off the hose without needing to simultaneously pinch the clip with your fingers. (Be careful and don't cut anything else besides what you want to cut!)

This replacement is very easy and should not require removing any other engine parts, unless your engine is set up much differently than mine and others. Hope these suggestions help you out so you don't spend more time on this than you should.

 

[josephi]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I was able to get my fingers on the grooved parts of the clamp, but couldn't seem to squeeze it hard enough with my hand in that awkward position to undo it. Seems like cutting the hose could be a good option. I'm planning on trying this again sometime in the near future and will definitely refer to these suggestions, as well as some of the others I have seen in this useful thread. Thanks!

josephi, there should be no need to take the throttle out, as shown by me and others. Here are a few suggestions that may help:

- This is obvious, but be sure to unclip every electrical connection in the area (label them if you need to), and tilt the steering fluid reservoir out of the way (as you have done). Spread the wires in this area out of the way to give you access.

- Place a light down next to the fender pointing toward the oil separator and take a good look at your pinch clip target, so that you can get a good mental image of where your hand needs to go and where on the pinch clip you need to apply pressure. Use a mirror if necessary to get a good look, or snap a digital picture.

- Check out the picture in post #57, and be sure to apply pressure to the ribbed portions of the pinch ring (on both opposite sides of the ring). As you know (others may not), pinching on these ribbed portions will cause the "clip" portions of the ring to spread away from the oil separator so that you can pull the clip and its tube down off the oil separator. For those that don't know, the clip portions of the pinch clip are those two vertical support strips of plastic that go from the ring down to the plastic elbow itself. Pulling the tube off may take some wiggling, because there are some O-rings on the plastic elbow of the hose that give it a snug fit to the oil separator. It might help to initially push up on the connection as you pinch the clips -- perhaps that will allow them to release more easily. Note from the picture in post #57 that part of the plastic elbow fits up into the oil separator, so don't pull on the separator itself when trying to pull the hose off. Also, don't wiggle too vigorously, so as not to crack the oil separator.

- Another idea is to cut the hose near the plastic elbow. Then the plastic elbow with pinch clip can be rotated on the oil separator to a position that is more comfortable for squeezing it properly and for having a better grip to wiggle it off.

- If you still cannot pinch the clip completely, rather than taking the throttle or other parts of the engine out, you could try cutting the pinch ring with some wire snips and then spreading the two clips away from the oil separator by pushing in small screwdrivers (or ice picks or whatever) between the clips and the oil separator. (Cutting the clip strips themselves with something [wire snips, Dremel?] would serve the same purpose.) Then you should be able to pull off the hose without needing to simultaneously pinch the clip with your fingers. (Be careful and don't cut anything else besides what you want to cut!)

This replacement is very easy and should not require removing any other engine parts, unless your engine is set up much differently than mine and others. Hope these suggestions help you out so you don't spend more time on this than you should.

 

[jfoj]

I find if you get the end of the hose off the dipstick it makes it easier to rotate the snap fitting on the bottom of the CCV.

I think use a long (14-16") flat blade screw driver to help push off the CCV oil drain hose from the bottom of the CCV once I squeeze the release bail. I do not remove anything other than the air filter box to make room. It is not easy to get your hand down there, but it is possible.

Make sure you hear a sharp click when you reinstall the oil drain hose, otherwise your bail connection is not secure.

 

[josephi]

I find if you get the end of the hose off the dipstick it makes it easier to rotate the snap fitting on the bottom of the CCV.

I think use a long (14-16") flat blade screw driver to help push off the CCV oil drain hose from the bottom of the CCV once I squeeze the release bail. I do not remove anything other than the air filter box to make room. It is not easy to get your hand down there, but it is possible.

Make sure you hear a sharp click when you reinstall the oil drain hose, otherwise your bail connection is not secure.

That's a good suggestion. Wish I had thought of it while I was in there. Thanks.

 

[Alfyman]

Hi there, I have the same exact situation, I was wondering how you removed and replaced the hose? any suggestions would help.. Thank you

 

[cdrshm]

Finally

I have an 01 330i and i have been Chasing Lean codes for ever!!! I am so glad i came across this thread!! I attached a pic...well just cause I am so excited!!:clap:

This certainly looks like the culprit.... one question, do i take the plunge and do the whole CCV? i have 150,000 Miles on her...and i don't have any of the symptoms of a bad CCV, no chewbacca noises, did the plastic bag test, and it acted as it should...I live in Arkansas, so the cold really isn't an issue....I can not wait to get this install!!

 

[gsbmw]

Yup, it's a great relief to finally track this lingering problem down to a simple hose replacement.

I would say not to change the CCV at this time - it's a big job for something that is not giving any trouble. Your oil filter housing gasket will eventually fail, and you could much more easily replace the CCV then (the alternator and OFH will be out of the way), if you still feel inclined to do so at that time.

 

[nimmo01]

just got the ccv kit and there is a small nipple that comes out from the middle of the oil seperator, but i can't find the hose that connects to it, i have an 01 325i, should this be plugged? i saw that it was on my old one but it got broken off on the removal and i have no idea if anything connected to it.

 

[ThreeFinger]

I've been reading this thread and having some similar problems, would this hose being broke be associated with a "white smoke" leak?

 

[gsbmw]

Well, probably not, I'm afraid.
White smoke from the exhaust pipes or from your engine is almost always steam due to a coolant leak.
Where is the white smoke coming from exactly? How much is coolant is down from normal?
Hope that you dont have thick chocolate milk (oil/water emulsion) floating around in your water, or have chocolate oil -- that's a cracked head or blown head gasket (gasket is best of the 2).
Maybe it's not serious and is just a thermostat or water pump leaking a bit, but definitely you need to attend to this right away. Like today, before your expansion tank explodes and sends your temp gauge into the red zone in about 1 second.
Attend to it right away, because your cooling system is what prevents your multi-thousand dollar engine (and automatic transmission) from running low on water, overheating, cracking and then turning into a expensive pieces of scrap metal worth practically nothing at a scrap yard.
Then you are just left with the choice of getting it repaired (not advised), buying another car like it for parts (maybe), or swapping in a used low mileage engine (not a bad choice).
You just have one purpose now... find out why you have white smoke pronto while keeping your coolant full with bmw coolant + distilled water. Sounds like the damage is done, but you might get lucky as mentioned above.
BEST OF LUCK TO YA!

 

[ThreeFinger]

Thanks for the help, while I have no room to dispute (with my very limited mechanical experience) I do have to say that all the symptoms I was experiencing I posted about and people were saying that a bad vgc could be the culprit. I changed that out and the white smoke is non existent, hope it's not just a coincedence. I also am NOT noticing any coolant leaks or any type of odd heating of the engine (except for when the s belt was fried.....) as of right now I'm def noticing disa symptoms (rough idle, marbles in intake sounds, hiss like a vacuum leak from disa area.) did ccv tests, oil is good, went to dealer and bought a disa but was given the disa for 330 not 325 (pain!) also have a slight hole in upper intake boot that I'll change out with disa swap. Thanks for your help an please keep the info coming!!! (any tips on above are greatly appreciated also)

Well, probably not, I'm afraid.
White smoke from the exhaust pipes or from your engine is almost always steam due to a coolant leak.
Where is the white smoke coming from exactly? How much is coolant is down from normal?
Hope that you dont have thick chocolate milk (oil/water emulsion) floating around in your water, or have chocolate oil -- that's a cracked head or blown head gasket (gasket is best of the 2).
Maybe it's not serious and is just a thermostat or water pump leaking a bit, but definitely you need to attend to this right away. Like today, before your expansion tank explodes and sends your temp gauge into the red zone in about 1 second.
Attend to it right away, because your cooling system is what prevents your multi-thousand dollar engine (and automatic transmission) from running low on water, overheating, cracking and then turning into a expensive pieces of scrap metal worth practically nothing at a scrap yard.
Then you are just left with the choice of getting it repaired (not advised), buying another car like it for parts (maybe), or swapping in a used low mileage engine (not a bad choice).
You just have one purpose now... find out why you have white smoke pronto while keeping your coolant full with bmw coolant + distilled water. Sounds like the damage is done, but you might get lucky as mentioned above.
BEST OF LUCK TO YA!

 

[gsbmw]

In your case, if you're getting smoke coming from the engine compartment (vs the exhaust), along with a fairly strong smell of burning oil, especially when your car is on a hill (front end pointing up the hill), then your smoke problem probably was a bad valve cover gasket.

 

[jssamm]

The REAL gift that keeps giving: gsbmw's post!

Chasing lean mixture codes for a year; rough idle and hissing noise in last week. Prepared myself for a weekend in the garage and lots of cursing. Found this post right before I dove in. Checked and VOILA., large hole just below separator. Temp sealed with gasket sealant and problems (and codes) disappeared!!

Trip to dealer parts dept will save me $$'s and embarrassing the neighbors with my profanities!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! Karma headed your way!

 

[yoshii]

I justed started getting these codes p1188 and p1189 after doing a CCV overhaul changed all the hoses to the CCV I have checked the the oil dran back use twice it is brand new and connected.. is there anyway this hose could be getting squezzed towards the middle?

 

[Alfyman]

From my experience I had the same thing happen. I put new hoses, But no change, I actually had to take out and replace the CCV because it was cracked on the bottom tip, but I couldn't see it until I took it out ( buy a new one first before you take it out)I had to tear mine out. Anyway after that the check engine light came But not the 20 codes that were there before, So then I changed the O2 sensor located towards the front right (the shorter one)and it worked, I erased the codes drove 70 miles so the car can reprogram itself. No Codes, and then I got my car Smogged, but sometimes check engine light still comes on and off because I know I need to change the back O2 sensor and spark plugs..

 

[yoshii]

From my experience I had the same thing happen. I put new hoses, But no change, I actually had to take out and replace the CCV because it was cracked on the bottom tip, but I couldn't see it until I took it out ( buy a new one first before you take it out)I had to tear mine out. Anyway after that the check engine light came But not the 20 codes that were there before, So then I changed the O2 sensor located towards the front right (the shorter one)and it worked, I erased the codes drove 70 miles so the car can reprogram itself. No Codes, and then I got my car Smogged, but sometimes check engine light still comes on and off because I know I need to change the back O2 sensor and spark plugs..

I replaced the CCV as well I took the old CCV out it was in pieces.. But I'm going to take a good look at the lines this weekend and see if I find anything disconnected or maybe cloged.

 

[eweis]

I just finished up doing the whole CCV job. If you have any hesitation about doing it....as others have said....Don't do the whole thing if its just that one hose that's cracked. It's too big of a pita. My symptoms were that I had a small crack in the bottom hose #4 similar to others and I was getting a small amount of oil leaking but no codes.
Now....I'm usually the overkill type that replaces everything in sight....as I did this time but I wish I would have just changed that one hose.
Other lessons learned:
-I am glad though that I pulled the dipstick as that little feeder tube was clogged. So, you may want to chk that. You'll probably need a screw driver to remove the old o-ring and it's definitely down in there but just very hard to see.
-Be sure to fully connect the throttle body electrical connector or you'll get all kinds if scary codes.
-I've got the M52TU so my distribution piece does not have the second connector that the #7 hose connects to towards the firewall. So, I just plugged the nipple on the #3 hose at the other end.
Anyone know if there's any benefit to getting the newer style distribution piece with the two ports?

Sent from my EVO

 

[jfoj]

nimmo,

That nipple is not used on all applications. If your original CCV did not have this, you need to plug it.

 

[editwizard]

Add ANOTHER to the "replace the hose before the whole CCV" list! All I can say is "WOW" and "THANK YOU!" Like many others, I've replaced MAF, intake air boots, DISA valve - all chasing down those 'too lean' codes. Yes each has made an improvement for a while, but now with idle getting worse everyday and over 140K miles on the clock... it was looking like the next job was to replace the CCV and all hoses.

Well, before digging into that long troublesome DIY I did some looking as gsbmw suggested and my oil separator hose was severed straight in half -- PRECISELY as in his picture. I was in my garage and started yelling and laughing so loudly that my wife came out to see if my 330 fell on me or something!

While I wasn't able to quite get to it myself, I brought it to my local indie shop to do it. At first he recommended replacing the whole kit but since there haven't been any other CCV symptoms and I'm selling the car soon I was fine paying $45 labor just to try.

My old 2001 330 is just purring along now and so far the SES light has stayed off. Runs so nice I almost don't wanna sell it.