CCV Valve & Burning Engine Oil,
Oil Level Issues and VANOS info:
BMW 330I E90 2006
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| Mobil 1 5W30 |
I've been putting off making this particular post because I thought maybe it was something so basic that maybe it didn't need to be said. I will tell you which oil to use in your E90, and if your car really is burning so much oil, or not... keep reading and you will find out. The Answer may surprise you.
Which Engine oil should you use:
5W-30 Mobil 1
Car: BMW 330i 2006 E90
I have been using Mobil 1 5W30 for years with great success.
When to check the oil:
I typically check the oil every 3 months, to top it off. You always burn a bit of oil as you drive, more so if you CCV (crankcase ventilation valve) is ripped. I have another post on how to check it.
NO, your car isn't burning oil like Crazy, it's actually being siphoned out, because of a broken CCV valve diaphram:
I see a lot of people posting that their car burns a lot of oil. It doesn't burn oil it is getting getting siphoned out. Through a bad CCV Valve, don't believe me check your CCV and if broken replace it, then note how often you have to add a significant amount of oil to the car.
Check out this post for more information:
https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/2018/04/ccv-valve-crankcase-ventilation-valve.html
YES BMW E90s will burn oil, a little, just from old age even, but not a lot. If you have to add half a quart every month, when you drive a lot... then your CCV valve is bad.
CCV (Crankcase Ventilation Valve) Siphoning oil through the broken diaphragm:
Long story short, when broken/ripped Diaphragm (CCV Valve) it siphones oil out of Engine and into intake and burns it by sending it through the air intake manifold, through the broken CCV valve diaphragm. The Engine loses oil like crazy this way.
The CCV valve normally sends oil fumes back into the engine, but it doesn't do that when broken. It sends it straight into the engine intake.
YES this is very bad, if a lot of oil goes through, it can damage the engine, Catalytic converter, Oxygen sensors, and spark plugs(coated in soot).
How does this happen, well the CCV valve uses vacuum to engage, but when the diaphragm gets ripped which will happen over time, it sends the pressured air right into the intake manifold, when the engine is warm or hot, the fumes build up in the CCV Valve and as you drive the OIL fumes gets accumulated then siphoned out with pressure from the engine Vacuum, when pressure goes up. When the CCV valve is working normal of course it doesn't do this, but when it's broken it does siphon a lot of oil out of the engine, the more you drive, if you rev the engine hard you will actually see white smoke come out of the tailpipe.
Lots of smoke when Hard acceleration, but non when you drive Normal: During hard acceleration from a standstill you will see white smoke, well... that is oil being siphoned out of the engine... and it does this because of the broken Crankcase ventilation valve diaphragm. When it takes a big gulp of oil, that has been accumulating in the CCV Valve, it burns a lot of oil and smoke comes out the tailpipe, then when you drive at normal speed there is no smoke. This is why a lot of people assume that nothing is wrong, when in fact there is.
At low speed there is not much vacuum pressure, this is why the car doesn't smoke when you drive at low speed. When you rev the engine hard, you build up a lot of vacuum, and this is when the oil gets siphoned out.
Pictures of CCV Valve (Crankcase Ventilation Valve) Broken diaphragm
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| The Diaphragm is in Orange |
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| it normally rips around, like this one, I opened my CCV to see inside, you can see the Oil build up here. |
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| Please note: I removed this boat from the CCV Valve |
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| This was all the oil inside the crankcase ventilation valve, AFTER i removed it from the car, FYI it should NOT have any inside. The oil should circulate back into the engine, when you have a good CCV (Crankcase Ventilation Valve). Mine had a bad Diaphragm, and this was all the oil inside it. |
The Crankcase Ventilation Valve is located under the intake manifold.
DON'T TRUST THE OIL LEVEL CLUSTER LEVEL:
My personal observation is that right after you add oil to the engine, is not a good time to check the oil level. YOU HAVE TO DRIVE THE CAR FIRST. Otherwise you will not get the true reading.
You have to turn ON the car to check the oil level, but if you wait for the oil level to change it won't happen. Drive the car for a mile or so and then you will get the true reading, after you add oil.
Cluster vs IDrive Oil Level difference
Now I don't see people talk about this, and maybe it's just my car, but what I've noticed is that the cluster's oil level will read a drastic difference from the Idrive level. See picture:
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| IN BLUE: note that they don't read the same. One read Full and the other below full. |
Do this and let me know if you find the same results.
with the lever on the left of the steering wheel go to the Oil level and then go to the IDrive oil level and you will notice that they don't read the same.
When to replace the oil:
Every 6 months is good practice, don't trust the BMW diagnostics to tell you to change the oil, because it waits ONE year or 12 months to warm you to change the oil. YES, the oil is supposed to be changed every year, according to BMW onboard diagnostics. Change it every 6K miles or 6 months, that is what I do. It's the best way to keep the car Happy.
Vanos:
Everyone should know that the intake and exhaust VANOS run better with a lot of oil. Not Normal level, but FULL oil level. If you have OK level and OLD oil, then vanos start to stick and the car will run rough. This is FACT, I've proved this many times over.
Solution: You need Fresh OIL, and clean vanos a good CCV valve and your car will run GREAT. I've made a post on the Vanos because they get overlooked so much, see the link below.
Clean both of the vanos with air compressor and they will work normal. I see a lot of people replace the Vanos because they get stuck. I've had a Bad or sticky vanos about 5 times, I clean then and I change the oil and my car runs normal. I still have the same vanos, never replaced then, I've cleaned them 5 times and they work good. Only replace the vanos, when it stops working.
Check out this post on how to clean then:
Clink this link:
Vanos cleaning plus all you wanted to know about the Vanos.
Usually Code P0012 when they get stuck.
Good luck to you, and if you find this post helpful please let me know...
until next time.
To see more about my E90, go to the top of the Vlog :
https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/
