Infamous Oil Separator CCV Repair - DIY.

[das boots]

I was just reading through Mike Miller on this month's Tech Talk. Paid particular attention to his 3rd article concerning The Mysterious Oil Separator. Anybody have a copy of the SIB 11 08 03 (revised)? I was wondering if any of you folks have encountered this situation or have already tackled the CCV. I found this DIY at the Fanatics as a reference. Maybe I should have posted this under the DIY. I should also have seen this before and done this when I had all the guts out when I was inspecting and cleaning the ICV & DISA. Moderators..please transfer when you think this is due.....Thanks.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=870406&highlight=disa+removal

[SoarinZHP]

I heard the CCV is a complete pain in the ass. If someone could confirm otherwise?

[danewilson77]

I heard the CCV is a complete pain in the ass. If someone could confirm otherwise?

I would rather do 4 VANOS Jobs, naked in 30* weather, wearing only SnapOn socks, than do 1 CCV job.

Good enough?

[das boots]

The way the DIY went, it looked straight forward. Replace parts one-on-one.....Any idea what or specifiic area makes this a PIA? Because sooner or later, this CCV/Oil Separator thing will have to be done due to repair or as a PM.....Or to put it another way, is there a way around to prevent on doing this as in oil maintenance or cleaning something else to prevent the CCV from clogging?

[kayger12]

My understanding s that when you get to the actual valve, it is in a really tight spot with very little room to maneuver tools/hands.

That is supposedly the part that sucks, iirc.

[das boots]

I guess..this is one of those projects that we will cross the bridge when we get there......In the meantime, replace oil and filter diligently. Anybody have access to the SIB?

[shadowpuck]

coming in here a bit late now so it might not matter.

i did a quick google search on that SIB and found numerous hits with PDF's available so you should be able to find it.
i thought that Mike would provide SIB's? Maybe I dreamt that.....

Bav Auto actually has a really nice blog post about this repair.
http://blog.bavauto.com/8003/diy-video-replacing-the-bmw-m54-crankcase-ventilation-system/

seems like the biggest concern is for folks in cold weather climates. for those outside of that realm (first off, congratulations), it sounds like the biggest issue might be potential leaks from failure of this system.

i've been checking my system since i am in a cold weather area. with 130k on the car, almost all miles either highway or track, my system is actually pretty clean. that said, i'll be replacing mine soon as i believe its causing an oil leak.

[spencers]

CCV isn't that bad. Granted I've only done it on two different cars, but it's just a matter of removing a lot of stuff.

Hardest part is connecting the pipes to the actual CCV while it's in place.