Bmw breather check

Ian jones · Apr 24, 2013

Hello all , has anyone that has fitted the BMW crankcase breather mod , checked it since fitting ? and if so what did you find , mine has been done for 3 years now , and i am wondering should it be checked , cheers ian

johnsbwgood · Apr 24, 2013

Been looking into this as I've just got a freelander and was asking about it. Hd3 said that BMW suggest a 3 year turn around. Think he suggested/thought u could remove the seperator and flush it with white spirit to "clean" it.

Ian jones · Apr 24, 2013

johnsbwgood said:
Been looking into this as I've just got a freelander and was asking about it. Hd3 said that BMW suggest a 3 year turn around. Think he suggested/thought u could remove the seperator and flush it with white spirit to "clean" it.

Thanks , i will do that and report any findings

johnsbwgood · Apr 24, 2013

Post number 13 Ian;
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/diy-96000-mile-service-222610-2.html

hd3 · Apr 24, 2013

i rekon what needs to be checked .. and possibly cleaned ..
is the depression valve itself ..

that be the red part in the attached .jpg
( courtesy of .. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/bmw-crankcase-breather-170050.html )

so in reality the whole casing .. including the bmw separator part ..
should be cleaned ..

i think how dirty or gunked up it might get .. will depend on engine oil type
and quality of fuel .. .. either way .. sooner or later it will gunk up ..
'cause it's cylinder combustion blowby gasses plus oil vapour that go through it ..

in essence .. similar to what goes through the standard egr valve ..
( recycled exhaust gasses plus whatever oil mist is in the intercooler hoses )
and folks know what a gunked up egr valve consists of .. putty like oil substance

so if the crankcase breather valve .. and it's housing .. separator unit etc ..
gets like that .. it will cease to function as a 'breather' ..
same as having a clogged up 'filter' type cranckase breather thing ..

IndiTd4 · Apr 25, 2013

hd3 said:
i rekon what needs to be checked .. and possibly cleaned ..
is the depression valve itself ..

that be the red part in the attached .jpg
( courtesy of .. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/bmw-crankcase-breather-170050.html )

so in reality the whole casing .. including the bmw separator part ..
should be cleaned ..

i think how dirty or gunked up it might get .. will depend on engine oil type
and quality of fuel .. .. either way .. sooner or later it will gunk up ..
'cause it's cylinder combustion blowby gasses plus oil vapour that go through it ..

in essence .. similar to what goes through the standard egr valve ..
( recycled exhaust gasses plus whatever oil mist is in the intercooler hoses )
and folks know what a gunked up egr valve consists of .. putty like oil substance

so if the crankcase breather valve .. and it's housing .. separator unit etc ..
gets like that .. it will cease to function as a 'breather' ..
same as having a clogged up 'filter' type cranckase breather thing ..

I just had mine replaced as it was full of ****e and not breathing after 6 months, Fairly low mileage 4079 miles in that time.
I have gone back to the Land Rover part for now, to see if its the part I got from ebay that was at fault, or as has been suggested it could be all the very short journeys that caused it, meaning the service life was reduced due to the short distances, I have been told by some that it didn't look quite right, also Land Rover themselves said it could if left much longer have killed the turbo..not quite sure how, but I suppose they know what they are on about..
I would change it quicker than every 3 years if I was you..
Just my 2 penneth mate..

hd3 · Apr 25, 2013

also Land Rover themselves said it could if left much longer have killed the turbo..not quite sure how,

first week i had my hippo .. took it down to the local LR dealer .. for a full service and inspection ..
( very good .. but expensive labour fees ) ..
anyhow .. they volunteered the same info regarding the crankcase vent ..
sayin' if it's neglected it will screw the turbo up ..

.. the crankcase pressure builds to the point where it interferes with the oil circulation for the turbo .. i.e. pressurises .. in the wrong direction .. where the turbo oil drains into the sump .. ( something like that )

I would change it quicker than every 3 years if I was you..

cheers

.. i aim to check it's condition soon-ish .. ..
it's been in 12 months / 14k miles now .. trips of 40 mile min. .. usually more ..
figured i'd clean it out every 12months anyway .. like as if it had the lr yarn filter ..
will be interested to find out how clean .. or not .. it is ..

so far .. no outward symptoms of it being gunked up

nickcc · Apr 25, 2013

The diaphragm on mine had started to show signs of wear when I fitted the BMW mod, as I'd only bought the modified part and not the full breather I decided to leave changing the full breather until next service. As previous post BMW advised me that their service schedule requires a full breather change every 3 years.

hd3 · Apr 26, 2013

' nickcc'

The diaphragm on mine had started to show signs of wear when I fitted the BMW mod

what signs of wear were there ???

am curious what to look for when i dismantle mine for cleaning ..
( haynes is not forthcoming with info )

had though about seeing if the valve moves smoothly .. no idea how much pressure it takes ..

today .. i took out the dipstick while the engine was idling ..
no oil came out .. 'n held my finger over the dipstick hole .. didn't feel any pressure at all ..
so am assuming all is well ..
( no other signs or symptoms whatsoever )

nickcc · Apr 27, 2013

hd3 said:
' nickcc'

what signs of wear were there ???

am curious what to look for when i dismantle mine for cleaning ..
( haynes is not forthcoming with info )

had though about seeing if the valve moves smoothly .. no idea how much pressure it takes ..

today .. i took out the dipstick while the engine was idling ..
no oil came out .. 'n held my finger over the dipstick hole .. didn't feel any pressure at all ..
so am assuming all is well ..
( no other signs or symptoms whatsoever )

The top of the diaphragm had started to rub through and showed signs of the material perishing.

hd3 · Apr 27, 2013

The top of the diaphragm had started to rub through and showed signs of the material perishing.

thanx for the info.

Ian jones · Apr 28, 2013

Update , cleaned my breather/pcv valve today , and found it to be quite clean , compared to the oem filter , gave both parts a good soak in white spirit , and that removed any gunk that was there , i think my egr blank mod has helped to keep it clear , i also replaced the air filter and the turbosolenoid vent filter while i was at it

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