[sdahm]

I have an 06 325i and have a quick question about a possible oil separator problem. First off let me explain my situation. To make a long story short. I purchased my car used with 64k miles in January. When I purchased it the bumper needed to be re painted and the belt tensioner needed to be replaced. The used dealer I bought it from fixed the bumper but never made time to fix the tensioner. So a week ago, the tensioner failed and the belt blew off. I live 80 miles from his lot so I got him to pay for the towing and still fix the tensioner.

I went to pick the car up and the check engine light was on and it was idling low and inconsistant. So I told him to take a quick look at it. He said that it was an air flow issue and swapped the MAF sensor and it didn't do anything so he said he'd look into it. That was Friday and I got a call today saying that the problem is unrelated to the belt blowing off and it was an issue with the oil separator. I am not a mechanic but I've done my fair share of engine work over the years. I've never had a problem like this with the car up until right now. Is this issue really not related to the belt blowing? What exactly does the oil separator do and from the research i've done it looks like there is a much greater chance that a hose was cracked or broken when the belt broke causing this. He quoted me about $850 to fix it. What are your thoughts on this? Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!