M56 sulev info

So Ive been trying to solve a rough idle problem (misfires I think).

While going through another members steps for resolving misfires and I realized something pretty interesting. The M56 engines do not seem to have a CCV. Please correct me if i am wrong. As you can see in the real OEM diagram, the dipstick tube goes straight into the oil pan.

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...03&hg=11&fg=10

I guess thats one less thing for me to check while trying to find the reason for my misfires

Also the air intake boots seem to have a much better design which would limit the usual cracks at the bottom. These have more meat on them and less of the folds where the cracks usually occur (I think).

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


Crankcase ventilation system:

The crankcase ventilation valve is incorporated in the aluminum cylinder head cover.

Thanks for that insight SpoonerDee.

I guess this is another headache for us M56 owners-_-

Does anyone know if this CCV can be repaired/replaced? Im assuming its aluminum as well. cant it be removed and cleaned or fixed?
ive noticed bolts in the underside of the valve cover.

You probably replace the whole Valve Cover.

crap

i really ope it turns out to be something else and not my CCV. This mechanic that came by the other day mentioned he might be able to fix it. I hope he can.

If not thats $500 minimun

you probably replace half the car and spend $5000...that's SULEV for ya

Check the link in my sig. You may still be covered under warranty - if you are, you can take it to the dealer to have them deal with the issue. All the documents are in that thread. Let me know if you need any help.

Originally Posted by briangl92

Check the link in my sig. You may still be covered under warranty - if you are, you can take it to the dealer to have them deal with the issue. All the documents are in that thread. Let me know if you need any help.

Thanks for chiming in. I have gone over your thread plenty of times. Thankyou for creating it. I didnt know that the CCV could be covered under te emissions warranty !! If so thats wonderfull news! My car is still under the 150k/ 15 yrs. Now ill just have to prove to BMW that the CCV is my problem. I dont wanna let them try and end up with a bill.yu know how good they are at that

Originally Posted by chillinhardinanE46

Thanks for chiming in. I have gone over your thread plenty of times. Thankyou for creating it. I didnt know that the CCV could be covered under te emissions warranty !! If so thats wonderfull news! My car is still under the 150k/ 15 yrs. Now ill just have to prove to BMW that the CCV is my problem. I dont wanna let them try and end up with a bill.yu know how good they are at that

CCV/valve cover is listed on page 2 of that first attachment Glad to hear that thread is helpful!

I know all about them trying to stick you with the bill. I recommend printing out that attachment and bringing it with you. They were refusing to cover mine until I showed them their own TIS document.

Actually, you're in luck. First, CCV is likely going to be covered by the 15year/150k miles warranty by the dealer.

Second, even if you were to replace it yourself, CCV is a part of the valve cover on M56-- no need to spend 4-5 hrs contorting yourself to replace it or paying someone for that much labor as you would with M54. The cover itself sells online for about $470 brand new. This valve cover is made of aluminum and doesn't crack, and is actually easier to replace than the plastic valve cover on M54 due to easier access.

Third, there's only one short plastic hose involved going from the VC CCV to Intake. Pop it off and check if you see oil pooling there. To access that area, just pull up the black engine cover -- it's just friction-mounted with rubber grummets unlike on M54.

Check the picture in post #28 here. It shows where that hose connects
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...=726141&page=2

Thanks for the post and information guys.

I think I have found the problem!

briangl92: Thanks for that information I will print this out and take it with me. I recently rolled the dice with BMW...
Took the car in for code P0430 and they said CATS were good. I told my buddy jokingly that they would say its an airleak when i dropped it off. When i picked it up they stated it must be an air leak after the MAF or a faulty MAF. So I got charged lol.

Tech4tech: THANK YOU. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I dont know why i couldnt find that posting earlier. I swear i tried searching. I checked out the picture as you mentioned and guess what!! I found oil where you said to check.

Look at this picture attached. I took this before I left work.. car was sitting minimum of 4 hours.

After I saw this I didnt wanna drive my car anymore after what I read in the other post you linked.

So am I dealing with a failing CCV here guys? Im assuming yes but would like to confirm.
Also if I go back to the dealer and tell them what I found, what is the likelyhood that they will admit or say that the CCV is at fault? Is the oil in the hole a definite sign of a failing CCV or can something else lead to this?

I will be taking the picture and the TIS document with me. I will probably have to wait until wednsday.


BTW i appreciate your guys help.

Originally Posted by chillinhardinanE46

Thanks for the post and information guys.

I think I have found the problem!

briangl92: Thanks for that information I will print this out and take it with me. I recently rolled the dice with BMW...
Took the car in for code P0430 and they said CATS were good. I told my buddy jokingly that they would say its an airleak when i dropped it off. When i picked it up they stated it must be an air leak after the MAF or a faulty MAF. So I got charged lol.

Tech4tech: THANK YOU. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I dont know why i couldnt find that posting earlier. I swear i tried searching. I checked out the picture as you mentioned and guess what!! I found oil where you said to check.

Look at this picture attached. I took this before I left work.. car was sitting minimum of 4 hours.

After I saw this I didnt wanna drive my car anymore after what I read in the other post you linked.

So am I dealing with a failing CCV here guys? Im assuming yes but would like to confirm.
Also if I go back to the dealer and tell them what I found, what is the likelyhood that they will admit or say that the CCV is at fault? Is the oil in the hole a definite sign of a failing CCV or can something else lead to this?

I will be taking the picture and the TIS document with me. I will probably have to wait until wednsday.


BTW i appreciate your guys help.

I was recently working on replacing the valve cover gasket on my friend's car (M56 SULEV) and saw the same pooling of oil at the CCV outlet. However I am not convinced if that means the CCV is bad.. possibly this sort of oil accumulation over a long period of time is normal. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable on this topic could chime in. And you're right, it's pretty hard to find info about the SULEV engine because there isn't that many of them around. Please keep us posted on the progress.

Yea most everyone doesnt want anything to do with them.
I ended up with one because im lucky

Does your freind have a rough idle? Loss of power?

Also would somone with a new or properly working CCV with M56 engine post a pic of what this hole looks like on their car?

I dont really want to drive the car in fear of hydrolocking. But I want to clean the hole and see how much oil accumulates after a drive.
What do you think?

He had other issues, so it's hard to say. Vanos seals were completely fried though.. hard as plastic. How many miles do you have on your car? Yeah, I'd say clean that up, and take it for a drive. Do you have any codes?

Did he have to replace his Valve Cover?

Car has 114k or 115k I believe. I replaced VANOS at about 111k. Then for a while everything felt perfect except for a tiny almost unnoticeable vibration. I figured it was normal since it is a 10 yr old car. This was about June/July. The past 2 months ive noticed the unnoticeable vibration become a big annoyance as the car vibrates very noticably at stops. Which I think yu guys have helped me diagnose to be my CCV. I read the other post that was similar to mine. The OP had similar oil puddles

We just changed the VC gasket so far. The spark plugs should be getting fouled up if the CCV is bad, no? Did you check/replace the plugs recently? What about the vacuum leaks (intake boots) and cleaning ICV and MAF ?

Heres pics of my plugs i checked last week they. I only checked the 1st 3 and they all looked similar. I replaced em at 111k Ive checked for leaks cleaned ICV and MAF. I will be having mechanic smoke test my car for leaks soon.

I got my car back and the mechanic said that I needed a new CAT and that my spark plugs were no good due to being over tightened. So he said put some new ones in an it shuld fix the vibrations at idle. When I removed my spark plugs they all had a yellow ring around the porcelain top part like in the picture of post #17. What is this?

I put the new spark plugs in and drove to work this morning. The vibrations were much less noticable but still there. I feel like in time it will just go back to the way it was. I did buy a torque wrench but when I set it to the 22 ft/lb, i felt like i was tightrning them to much. I didnt want to over tighten them. What i did was screw them in by hand with the extentsion, when tight i brough out a 3/8 rathet and tightened them about a little less than a quarter turn. It felt pretty tight but when I out the torque wrench on there was still more to go before the click but i didnt wanna push it so i left it. Any ideas? Car does feel like it has a bit more power now. almost back to normal but not quite.

Originally Posted by chillinhardinanE46

Heres pics of my plugs i checked last week they. I only checked the 1st 3 and they all looked similar. I replaced em at 111k Ive checked for leaks cleaned ICV and MAF. I will be having mechanic smoke test my car for leaks soon.

So i figured out that the discolorationi on my spark plugs may be "corona staining" which seems to b e pretty normal. Would you guys agree that this what the staining is? If this is normal, then why did my vibration problem slightly improve with the new plugs? What could be causing this ""corona staining".

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I really want to get this fixed


I also read somwhere that i\it culd be related to the driveline. Is this possible? I was doubtful as the due to the spark pplugs helping with the vibrations. Maybe there is something i am missing? also there is still this suction sound when i turn off the car.

I don't know if I missed it, but are you getting any codes? With a rough idle you should be getting codes. If not, then I'd start considering stuff like engine mounts.