DIY: CCV, DISA, ICV, Oil Separator. STEP BY STEP - PICTURES

I am having the cold weather oil separator replacement done on my 2002 330i. The shop looked up the kit components and it called for replacing the dipstick guide tube. The tube cost was $350.00. Why would that need replacing. Does the new oil separator and additional pieces not match up with the existing guide tube. I am having a shop do the work, and they too were surprised. I am going to have them compare the existing one to the new one before installing it. Any thoughts?

The complete kit of parts from Tischer costs $150 free shipping, I wouldn't probably buy a bunch of stuff not on that kit...

Excuse my naiveté` but what does this DIY solve?

Originally Posted by Indy330i

I am having the cold weather oil separator replacement done on my 2002 330i. The shop looked up the kit components and it called for replacing the dipstick guide tube. The tube cost was $350.00. Why would that need replacing. Does the new oil separator and additional pieces not match up with the existing guide tube. I am having a shop do the work, and they too were surprised. I am going to have them compare the existing one to the new one before installing it. Any thoughts?

The "old" dipstick tube has a thin crescent shaped chamber inside where the oil separator line connects that tends to plug up. However I've never had a problem and I replaced everything other than the dipstick tube when I saw the $350 price tag! If you want you can modify the original tube by cutting out the crescent or drilling a new hole, I didnt bother.

Originally Posted by spennI

Excuse my naiveté` but what does this DIY solve?

For me it was two things: Upgrade to the cold-weather crankcase ventilation system and fix an oil leak that was caused by the worn valve/hoses.

Nicker, a huge thank-you for taking the time and posting this! I just completed replacing the oil separator (and a few misc hoses) and your step-by-step guide was spot on, thanks so much.

For those considering this tasks, know that you can do it. Take your time, follow the process, take pictures and label things if you need to. Also, be patient, there are some tight spots and some of the connectors will be difficult to remove. But with patience and perseverance, you can do it...there's nothing too difficult.

Wayne C
01 325i

Yes, thanks Nicker--I am currently in the process of attempting this. I wondered whether I should attempt taking off the intake manifold, but I guess I really do not have to since I do not want to deal with what I read about the fuel mess.

I'm trying to remove the heat shield and the hose elbow that is connected from the jet sucker to the brake booster is in the way. Anyone know how to remove these retarded pinch clamps? I don't know why BMW went cheap with these--half pinch clamps and half premium worm clamps...what gives BMW?

edit: got them off--just had to bend that little hook that goes into the middle of the ring. I just wonder what kind of tool really removes and puts on these things. I would like to see it--does anyone have a picture? Surely these things cannot be such a PITA to put on or take off.

Nice writeup.

Just did this on my E39 (2000 528iT 5M Sport) with M52TU motor. Original lasted 10 years and 180K miles.

If your E39 is leaking oil from the oil filter housing (6 bolts, attaches to side of block), removing this makes access to everything under the manifold much easier.

Oil filter housing on, alternator removed and PS pump dropped, airbox and MAF / rubber boots removed:



Oil filter housing removed:



Cheers,

Great DIY I took mine off yesterday, and there was ice in it.

Hopefully I get the parts this weekend and get the car back up and running

I've been doing this for last couple days. It's very cold here so I am taking my time.

After spending hours trying to connect VC Vent hose to CCV, I finally got it hooked up. I then got throttle body/icv back on and finally I am having a hell of a time getting the oil dipstick tube back on. I've tried first putting the o-ring on the tube, but I just cant get it to seat in fully. I then tried carefully installing the o-ring into the oil pan hole but then dipstick tube just won't go in

Could anyone provide some feedback?

Thanks

wow.

i cant thank you enough for the info and foto's of how to replace the ccv if it wasnt for them i would have spent all day trying to remove stuff (didnt even know the heat shield came off around the brake booster ) made it so much easier got the ccv in and installed and everything put back together now im just waiting on a car so i can pick up some rtv and, parts and throttle cleaner so i can finish putting the vc back on and start it up looking good and thanks again

I did this job also today and wanted to give thanks. It was so much easier than it looked, with the right tools of course. I spent 5 hours but that included replacing the steering u-joint which is also way back in there, that took about an hour of the time. I am a bit perplexed why Tischer put vacuum hose in the kit, I didn't use it. It was also good to get another look at that lower intake boot, I had replaced it a couple years ago so I didn't buy one and it was in good shape still. I hope that my DISA will not get so oily now, not sure why that's kind of messy around there in the intake, tried to clean inside there but you can only get so far.

I followed these instructions a couple of weekends ago and the job was a breeze... Just need patience and time and nimble hands, thanks for the great write up!

Unless you know you definitely have a bad oil separator (perhaps complete with Chewbacca noises), you may simply have the commonly broken lower oil separator vent hose. You can see the broken hose rather easily with a light by just taking off the air filter box and the MAF and looking under the front side of the electrical junction box under the intake manifold. It's a $10 part and easy to remove and replace by hand; no tools needed. Just reach in and replace it. Some pictures to help you look in the right spot can be found here:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=773551

It just might save you a lot of time and trouble. It worked for me and got rid of a slew of codes all at once including my rough idle and SES light.

Is it worth getting the cold weather items if my car isn't going to see very extreme cold weather? I live in CA and will never be driving in snow or any conditions of that nature, but the cold weather items are only a few dollars more than the regular parts. Should I get the cold weather versions anyway?

Thanks,
Sam

I hear the cold weather version is more difficult to put on, I live in the Northeast, and plan on doing mine this summer, with the normal kit, not the cold weather one.

Great, did ICV and DISA this morning. No oil leaking, so don't bother the oil seperator.

I'm in the middle of doing this and having some issues. I got everything out, but when it comes to attaching the connecting hose (has the 90 degree bend in it) how do you get it to snap in place? it's the one that needs to do the 1/4 turn to lock in, the issues is there is no room to have the hose turn that much. Any help would be great thanks guys.