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

319K views 223 replies 123 participants last post by  Arcsaber 
#1 · (Edited)
This is a DIY an other member (Elbert) put together and I assisted with by email last year. Seeing how there are many issues with the OS due to the cold weather I thought I would post the DIY here for everyone to use. He is on bimmerfest.com and I am here on e46fanatics.com so we're trying to help everyone out.

Hope this help some people save money in these tough times.




DIY removal of the:
***8226; Oil Separator Valve (also known as: Pressure Regulating Valve, or Crankcase Ventilation Valve ***8211;CCV, PVC valve)
***8226; Idle Control Valve (ICV)
***8226; Intake Manifold Resonance Valve (also known as DISA Valve)

This is a journal of the work I did on my car-a 2001 BMW 325i E46 sedan, auto transmission. To the best of my recollection, the following tools, parts, and procedures are what I used in working on my car. Your particular car model might differ.

Tools
***8226; T-40 & T-25 Torx
***8226; 6mm, 10mm, & 13mm sockets
***8226; Ratchet ***8211;1/4***8221;
***8226; Extension bars, various lengths ***8211; 1/4***8221;
***8226; Universal joint ***8211; 1/4***8221;
***8226; Throttle body cleaner
***8226; Mirror
***8226; Long screw driver
***8226; Magnetic pick up tool (you***8217;re a bound to drop something)
***8226; Small blade knife
***8226; Optional (nice to have but not absolutely necessary)
o 6 mm reversible ratchet wrench ***8211; For less than $10.00, this will pay for itself to facilitate removal of the hard to access lower air intake boot clamps
o Assembly lube
o Electrical connector cleaner and dielectric lubricant
o Hose cutter, i.e. PVC pipe cutter

Shopping List
***8226; 11617501566 Oil Separator 1 47.95
***8226; 11611432559 Oil Separator Hose to Valve Cover 1 22.97
***8226; 11157532629 Oil Separator Oil Dip Stick hose 1 8.48
***8226; 11617504535 Oil Separator Connecting Hose 1 32.90
***8226; 11617504536 Return Pipe from Connecting Hose 1 31.49
***8226; 13541435627 Air Intake Boot; Lower 1 12.43
***8226; 11431740045 O-Ring Oil Dip Stick Tube to Oil Pan 1 0.70
***8226; 11611716174 Throttle Housing Gasket 1 4.92



***8226; If your funds are low, and considering how unreasonably expensive these hoses are, try removing the Return Pipe from Connecting Hose without breaking it. If you are successful and decide to reuse, flush clean inside of hose with throttle body cleaner and blow air through the hose to make sure it is clear of any blockage




Helpful suggestions

***8226; It is best to order all 4 plastic related oil separator hoses. These plastic hoses get brittle with age. The older the car, the greater the likelihood the connector/hose will break during removal. These connectors are easy to connect but could also be a challenge to disconnect due to seizing and the restricted working area. Another benefit of having the parts is you can practice how they connect/disconnect to each other. In addition, to facilitate removal, it is sometimes better to cut the hose or the connector
***8226; Either drive the front wheels on a ramp or raise the front wheels. This working position is easier because the access to the work area is more convenient than stooping low. In addition, you may need to access the car from underneath, although I did not have to this. I just like the car being higher; it is easier on my back
***8226; Unlike the upper air intake boot, the lower air intake boot will likely need replacement. The small elbow tube of the lower air intake boot is susceptible to splitting.
***8226; Although the wiring harness connectors are keyed to prevent cross connection, it is good practice to place a label on the connector and the unit that it attaches to. Also, count the number of wiring harnesses you are disconnecting. It is easy to miss a connector during installation.
***8226; The wiring harness connectors have a metal locking wire clip that is pushed down and pulled to disconnect. To re-install, hold connector without touching metal clip and insert connector until you hear it click.
***8226; It also a good practice to label all screws and bolts, replace to its location, or tape it to the removed part. The more diligent you are in doing this, the smoother your installation process will be.
***8226; Take several digital pictures as you go along during removal to serve as reference during installation just in case you forget how things go.
***8226; Lubricate the ports of the new hoses with assembly lube to ease assembly
***8226; Clean all electrical connectors with electrical cleaner and use dielectric lubricant.
***8226; Check the condition of surrounding vacuum lines and hoses while you are there





It is best to REMOVE the following parts in the order given. Underneath each heading are the fasteners and instructions for removal of the part.


1. Micro-filter housing assembly. Photo 1
a. Micro filter cover - 3 half-turn clips
b. Micro filter
c. Cable harness cover - lift clips to open
d. Micro filter housing base - 4 T-25 torx screws, location is underneath the micro filter and towards the firewall


2. Fuel rail cover. Photo 1
a. 2 plastic caps
b. 2 10mm bolts underneath plastic caps



3. Front air duct. Photo 1
a. 3 plastic expanding fasteners. Raise middle pin and pull out expanding fastener


4. Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF) Photo 1
a. Disconnect wiring harness to MAF sensor
b. Loosen hose clamp between MAF and upper air intake boot
c. Leave MAF connected to the air filter box


5. Air filter box assembly. Photo 1
a. Detach wiring harness behind air filter box
b. Remove 2 10mm bolts on air box base
c. Remove both air filter box and MAF as a unit


6. Air intake boot -upper. Photo 1
a. Loosen hose clamp
b. Disconnect vent hose coming off the top of the upper air intake boot or leave it connected and just lay the upper air intake boot on top of the intake manifold


7. Middle boot connector
a. Loosen hose clamp


8. Oil dipstick guide tube
a. Detach or slice off hose from the dipstick to the oil separator
b. Unhook wiring and vacuum lines from oil dipstick guide tube
c. Remove 13mm bolt holding oil dip stick bracket
d. Clean surrounding area and base prior to pulling dipstick assembly off. Replace o-ring at its base. No oil catch pan required as long as the oil pan is not overfilled
e. Insert a plug on the hole to prevent anything from falling in
f. Clean passage way of guide tube going to the oil separator with a thin piece of metal such as a clothes hanger wire and spray clean with throttle body cleaner



9. Heat shield. Photo 1
a. 2 quarter-turn twist fasteners
b. Move hose and weather strip out of the way, and lift heat shield



10. Lower air intake boot. Photo 2 & 4a
a. Before removing this boot, with the aid of a small mirror, notice this part has large rubber tab at its base. This tab aligns between 2 raised guidelines located on the outside bottom of the throttle body port. Align the tab when installing the new boot
b. 2 hose clamps ***8211; 1 clamp for the throttle body port and the other for the Idle Control Valve port


11. Intake Manifold Resonance Valve, also known as DISA Valve. Photo 3
a. Disconnect wire harness
b. 2 T-40 Torx screws
c. Spray clean the inside flaps


12. Wire harness box, Photo 3 & 5
a. 3 10mm nuts. One of the nuts is located at bottom right of the throttle body, next to one of the throttle body bolts. You will need a mirror as an aid to view location
b. Remove additional electrical connectors, not all, so you can move the wiring housing aside


13. Fuel Tank Venting/Breather Valve and mount bracket. Photo 5
a. Disconnect wire harness
b. Slide out fuel tank venting valve from mounting bracket. There is no need to remove connecting hose


14. Fuel Tank Venting/Breather Valve mount bracket. Photo 5
a. Remove 2 T-25 mount bracket screws


15. Idle Control Valve ICV. Photo 5
a. Disconnect wire harness
b. 2 T-40 screws
c. The other port end of the ICV is held via friction to a rubber grommet - pull out ICV to remove. Clean rubber grommet and lightly coat with assembly lube. Spray valve ports clean with throttle body cleaner


16. Throttle Body. Photo 4a
a. Disconnect wire harness
b. 4 10mm bolts ***8211; outside corners
c. Clean ports and butterfly plate with throttle body cleaner


17. Return Hose - Photo 6 & 7
a. The connector that is close to the firewall is difficult to remove due to very restrictive space. Insert a screwdriver between the fuel rail and locking ring to pinch ring and coming from the opposite position press the other side of locking ring with your finger and pull out hose. Another option is to cut locking ring off with a blade. Without the locking ring, pull connector out.
b. Remove other end of connector that is attached to the connecting hose


18. Oil Separator Hose to Valve Cover. Photo 7
a. Notice 90 deg elbow of this hose goes to the valve cover and the other end goes to oil separator
b. Squeeze locking ring and pull out. If the lower connector is difficult to remove, cut hose and leave connector attached to the oil separator


19. Oil Separator Connecting Hose. Photo 6 & 7
a. Unlike the other hose connectors, the connector going to oil separator does not use a locking ring. Curl the flex hose to get clearance if necessary and turn connector about 50 degrees or slightly over ¼ turn counter-clockwise until it stops. Then pull out hose to disconnect


20. Oil separator. Photo 8
a. 2 T-25 screws
b. Important: One of the ports has a rubber plug. Remove rubber plug and transfer rubber plug to the new oil separator. If your car has a hose attached, ignore.




Installation tips

1. It is best to re-install the parts in reverse order given
2. Fasten the oil separator first to the engine, then insert the connecting hose through the intake passage way. Important: Tug the hose to make sure you have it on securely. Also get a visual confirmation you have it attached properly; use a mirror if you have to
3. Position air intake hose clamp nuts for easier access for future projects
4. Pre-install oil separator oil dipstick hose to dipstick guide tube before assembly
5. Insert the oil dipstick o-ring onto the base of the guide tube before installation. Before fully inserting the guide tube to the engine port, tuck in the o-ring into the chamber and fully seat the guide tube



This job has a high level of difficulty. Some have rated it as a 7-8 based on oil change as level 1 and engine rebuild as level 10. Do allocate at least 5 - 7 hours of work depending on your level of proficiency. Hopefully the instruction above brings the level of difficulty down by one and shave off an hour or two off the project.
 

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#2 ·
Great write-up, a quality addition to the site.

Though dare I say I imagine the job would be much quicker if you were not to do it so ideally or diligently, for someone just replacing the faulty part, and not meticulously cleaning other parts, or labelling or photographing.
I know a job always takes longer when I'm attempting to do it perfectly, particularly when I'm noting things for such a DIY guide.
 
#16 ·
I've searched around and couldn't really find any answers. I've been reading up on "catch cans". Do you think that it's a viable option in lieu of replacing the OS? A catch can is actually cheaper and from what I've read, more efficient. Looking for professional opinions.

FYI, most applications of a catch can were for turbocharged or supercharged applications. Not sure if it's a coincidence or not.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I just did this Saturday. Man does it suck. Of course I didn't have the lower intake boot and it ripped when I took it off.

I do have a problem now and I don't know if it is related or not. I had an SES code for the exhaust side camshaft position sensor. So I ordered one and replaced it at the same time. However, not my car cranks over and hesitates starting. It does start. I still have the code for the exhaust camshaft sensor too. To check this out I put the old sensor back into the car and it still has trouble starting. Once it is running it seems to be fine. It just doesn't like starting.

What could be causing this?

Thank you so much for the DIY it helped so much
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the help. Just did this today without removing the intake. Took at most 5 hours with breaks. Also I installed the cold weather version with all of the insulated hoses.
a BREAK is what you take at work....BRAKES are what stop your car


and i think i'll add this to my sig
 
#21 ·
dip stick guide tube

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?
 
#24 ·
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.
 
#26 ·
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
 
#28 · (Edited)
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.
 
#29 ·
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,
 
#31 ·
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
 
#132 ·
Well, the job wasn't too hard, but the god damn dip stick tube o-ring was a nightmare. Maybe because it was 11'C (52'F), but I could not get the tube in with the o-ring. I tried a mallet, I tried slamming it in, I tried getting on top and applying at least 300 lbs of force but it would not go in.
I then tried putting the o-ring first, but that cut the new o-ring. Fortunately I saved the old o-ring.
I eventually got it in by seating the o-ring first, then gently sliding the tube in, being careful not to push the o-ring into the oil pan. I think twisting the tube while inserting helped.

The other issue I had was being left with one extra connector. I couldn't find where it need to plug into. It didn't help that I took a long break when we had some guests over for dinner.
Anyhow, I did find the connector under the #1 cylinder intake runner, on the back of the oil filter housing.
 
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