Another CDV Help discussion... this one seems more serious though

syl2us · 07-19-2010, 08:36 PM

THE SHORT:

Did the CDV mod this weekend, did not have brake fluid to top off after realizing I needed some. The car sat on ramps for about 2 days, front end raised. After completing CDV mod, went to test, stopped to check engine, saw smoke. Oil looks like its leaking from cylinder head/gasket area... signs of liquid on engine and surrounding parts. What caused this?

THE LONG:

So I went do the CDV mod this weekend, lost some brake fluid and thus had to add some more fluid to return my clutch to its original position. After fiddling around with it and getting it back to what seemed its original position I backed it off the ramps and checked under the hood while the car was running to ensure everything is ok. I noticed a very little amount of smoke coming up from the engine, I looked where it was coming from and it seemed like a little oil somehow got onto the exhaust manifold and it was burning it off. I turned it off just to look over everything, and then wanted to test the CDV see how it felt. I drove it down the driveway a little and stopped right before I got to the street to do another look over. Now I think I missed this from when I checked it earlier, but now I see some sort of moisture coming from the surrounding of the cylinder head cover/gasket.... from what I could tell it looked and smelled like oil, the electrical cords and looming that was below where the leak was had a slight gleam to them as well from the liquid. There was nothing coming out it seemed, so it puzzled me how it got moist and continued to start smoking. Now the car is sitting there, I am at a loss to whats going on.

I did not mess with anything but the brake/clutch fluid reservoir and bleeder screw below, I do not know what caused this.

MY ASSUMPTION:
My only guess is it was sitting on the ramps for about 3 days because I needed to go out and get some brake fluid... I am thinking, maybe because it sat there for so long the oil shifted and caused this due to the prolonged period it was on a slant...

Any advice is appreciated, let me know what you guys think... I have attached some pictures...

To clarify, I am speaking about the left side of part 1 and 2, cylinder head cover and gasket. The moisture is on the left side mainly as when it is installed its on an angle with the left portion farther down.

The first attached picture shows the top of that area, you may notice there is what looks like drip marks on the side of the engine cover leading to the same area the spill is, I think this is coincidence as it is dry and the only liquid that could have got there was rain when the hood was open for a little and it started to pour before I closed it.

2nd picture is looking at the side of the engine where are electrical connections show that gleam from some liquid.

3rd pic is the actual side of the cylinder cover and gasket where you can clearly see what looks like oil and grime built up a little.

4th is an overhead view of the same area about.

Sorry for a lengthy read but I like to try and be as detailed as possible.

Barbera335 · 07-19-2010, 08:58 PM

Its your valve cover gasket. Most likely a few of the aluminum bolts holding the cover on have broken. This is a very common problem on 06 N52 engines with the magnesium valve cover. Replace the valve cover and the aluminum screws and you will be good as new. Also having the car tilted probably caused more oil to drip onto the exhaust manifolds due to gravity.

syl2us · 07-19-2010, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbera335

Its your valve cover gasket. Most likely a few of the aluminum bolts holding the cover on have broken. This is a very common problem on 06 N52 engines with the magnesium valve cover. Replace the valve cover and the aluminum screws and you will be good as new. Also having the car tilted probably caused more oil to drip onto the exhaust manifolds due to gravity.

I take it that it is not safe to drive correct? The dealership is about 20 minutes away with majority of that time being on the freeway at high speeds... should I have it towed there and will they replace it under maintenance? I am out of factory warranty but have CPO warranty still. Also do you know what causes this, why would this happen then and there?

Thanks for your help btw.

syl2us · 07-19-2010, 10:18 PM

Btw, is the screws you speak of that snap the one that is shown in the 3rd picture with the blue top or are they hidden under the engine cover itself?

Chriztofor · 07-19-2010, 10:25 PM

You are fine, you can drive it. If you lost the written warranty call the dealer and tell them that the valve cover is leaking and is it covered under the CPO warranty. Post an update.

Barbera335 · 07-19-2010, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syl2us

Btw, is the screws you speak of that snap the one that is shown in the 3rd picture with the blue top or are they hidden under the engine cover itself?

Your fine driving it in, also yes you can see a few of the aluminum screws with the blue tops. The rest of them are under the plastic engine cover. Also your valve cover gasket and the screws will be covered by your CPO waranty.

syl2us · 07-21-2010, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

You are fine, you can drive it. If you lost the written warranty call the dealer and tell them that the valve cover is leaking and is it covered under the CPO warranty. Post an update.

Update: car was taken to local BMW dealership, when describing the problem to service manager over the phone about snapped aluminum screws in magnesium valve cover he had no idea what I was talking about. After mechanic took a look, low and behold 2 screws were snapped. They are replacing them and gasket, do u think they will replace all 5 or 6 screws or just the 2 snapped ones? Car will be done tomorrow morning according to service manager. Also, there is a $50 deductible for CPO... Since this is the first time the car has been under CPO I wanted to make sure this was accurate, can anyone confirm? Thanks for all your help guys!

e90pilot · 07-21-2010, 07:41 PM

You need to replace all the bolts. It says very clearly do not reuse blue aluminum bolts on a sticker on your intake. This is a common problem with the N52s that have aluminum bolts. They were overtorqued from the factory and are prone to break. When they are replaced they are torqued to the correct spec.

syl2us · 07-22-2010, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e90pilot

You need to replace all the bolts. It says very clearly do not reuse blue aluminum bolts on a sticker on your intake. This is a common problem with the N52s that have aluminum bolts. They were overtorqued from the factory and are prone to break. When they are replaced they are torqued to the correct spec.

Ok great! I'll make sure they have replaced all screws, do you or anyone know that the CPO warranty deductible is standard $50

consumer9000 · 07-22-2010, 02:05 AM

Yeah there is a $50.00 deductible (lol co-pay) for any service visit while under the CPO warranty.

07-19-2010, 08:36 PM	#1
syl2us Second Lieutenant 29 Rep 262 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: SoCal iTrader: (2)	Another CDV Help discussion... this one seems more serious though THE SHORT: Did the CDV mod this weekend, did not have brake fluid to top off after realizing I needed some. The car sat on ramps for about 2 days, front end raised. After completing CDV mod, went to test, stopped to check engine, saw smoke. Oil looks like its leaking from cylinder head/gasket area... signs of liquid on engine and surrounding parts. What caused this? THE LONG: So I went do the CDV mod this weekend, lost some brake fluid and thus had to add some more fluid to return my clutch to its original position. After fiddling around with it and getting it back to what seemed its original position I backed it off the ramps and checked under the hood while the car was running to ensure everything is ok. I noticed a very little amount of smoke coming up from the engine, I looked where it was coming from and it seemed like a little oil somehow got onto the exhaust manifold and it was burning it off. I turned it off just to look over everything, and then wanted to test the CDV see how it felt. I drove it down the driveway a little and stopped right before I got to the street to do another look over. Now I think I missed this from when I checked it earlier, but now I see some sort of moisture coming from the surrounding of the cylinder head cover/gasket.... from what I could tell it looked and smelled like oil, the electrical cords and looming that was below where the leak was had a slight gleam to them as well from the liquid. There was nothing coming out it seemed, so it puzzled me how it got moist and continued to start smoking. Now the car is sitting there, I am at a loss to whats going on. I did not mess with anything but the brake/clutch fluid reservoir and bleeder screw below, I do not know what caused this. MY ASSUMPTION: My only guess is it was sitting on the ramps for about 3 days because I needed to go out and get some brake fluid... I am thinking, maybe because it sat there for so long the oil shifted and caused this due to the prolonged period it was on a slant... Any advice is appreciated, let me know what you guys think... I have attached some pictures... To clarify, I am speaking about the left side of part 1 and 2, cylinder head cover and gasket. The moisture is on the left side mainly as when it is installed its on an angle with the left portion farther down. The first attached picture shows the top of that area, you may notice there is what looks like drip marks on the side of the engine cover leading to the same area the spill is, I think this is coincidence as it is dry and the only liquid that could have got there was rain when the hood was open for a little and it started to pour before I closed it. 2nd picture is looking at the side of the engine where are electrical connections show that gleam from some liquid. 3rd pic is the actual side of the cylinder cover and gasket where you can clearly see what looks like oil and grime built up a little. 4th is an overhead view of the same area about. Sorry for a lengthy read but I like to try and be as detailed as possible. Attached Images __________________
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07-19-2010, 08:58 PM	#2
Barbera335 Captain 169 Rep 660 Posts Drives: F25 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: socal iTrader: (0)	Its your valve cover gasket. Most likely a few of the aluminum bolts holding the cover on have broken. This is a very common problem on 06 N52 engines with the magnesium valve cover. Replace the valve cover and the aluminum screws and you will be good as new. Also having the car tilted probably caused more oil to drip onto the exhaust manifolds due to gravity.
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07-19-2010, 10:18 PM	#4
syl2us Second Lieutenant 29 Rep 262 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: SoCal iTrader: (2)	Btw, is the screws you speak of that snap the one that is shown in the 3rd picture with the blue top or are they hidden under the engine cover itself? __________________
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07-19-2010, 10:25 PM	#5
Chriztofor Colonel 103 Rep 2,783 Posts Drives: '06 325i and '13 X5 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Chicago Burbs iTrader: (1)	You are fine, you can drive it. If you lost the written warranty call the dealer and tell them that the valve cover is leaking and is it covered under the CPO warranty. Post an update. __________________ If no codes are being thrown use Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner (concentrate). It solves rpm fluctuating upon cold start-up. Also, for most BMW problems start off by scanning your car with the Peake Research Tool. It contains the actual BMW codes. If you want to register a newly installed battery for free (just buy a $10 cable) and google/download BMWLogger
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07-21-2010, 07:41 PM	#8
e90pilot Freight Dawg 104 Rep 2,103 Posts Drives: E90 325i Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oakland, CA iTrader: (3)	You need to replace all the bolts. It says very clearly do not reuse blue aluminum bolts on a sticker on your intake. This is a common problem with the N52s that have aluminum bolts. They were overtorqued from the factory and are prone to break. When they are replaced they are torqued to the correct spec. __________________ --Marcelo '06 Arctic Metallic 325i \| Sport Package \| 6MT \| Dinan Stage III suspension \| Dinan exhaust \| 330i manifold swap! Click here! \| Active Autowerke tune \| 135i Brake Calipers \| Deiselboost caliper brackets \| E46 M3 front rotors
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07-22-2010, 02:05 AM	#10
consumer9000 New Member 2 Rep 20 Posts Drives: E92 328i ZSP ZPP 6MT Join Date: May 2010 Location: SF Bay Area, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 E92 328i [0.00]	Yeah there is a $50.00 deductible (lol co-pay) for any service visit while under the CPO warranty.
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