[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Txs330D

Haha! Good tip, I’ll give mine a good clean next weekend. I don’t even know how much oil I am burning as I have no flat areas to check it on a regular. So when I get a chance and it’s flat I take it. But I did about half a litre a few months ago. However, I don’t do huge miles anymore, so maybe I’d burn more with more miles. Will be a good 150 mile journey next weekend and it’s flat where’s I’ll be doing my car so can check it a few times. It was filled last weekend with the turbo replacement.

I just did the maf trick and my blue smoke reduced a lot, but it’s still there. So confused!

Yeah I'd definitely see if you can clean the built in oil separator in the valve cover because it's near impossible any other way, I absolutely detest BMW for choosing this flawed design.. any CCV issue and BMW would charge for a new valvecover which is so much money!

Anyway, An alloy cracked a couple of days ago and after having it welded I noticed oil towards the back of the sump by the flywheel. I had a repair to the sump in 2017 so maybe it's started to fail. I'm going to get some pictures and videos soon once I put the front on axle stands

[MrSweet1991]

Okay, I removed the radiator and intercooler to get an idea of the CCV system and to me it looks pretty good? Intercooler has a thin amount but doesn't seem excessive and you certainly wouldn't be able to pour it out. EGR is a but messy considering I spring cleaned it some time back and the EGR Vacuum pipe is blocked and EGR mapped out.

But then we move onto the sump it seems to be seeping from all around the gasket but the back right looks to be leaking more but I can't see any particular reason why? I was wondering if maybe the oil isn't getting burned so much but getting lost through the sump, but I don't have a splash panel so any droplets of oil would clearly be seen on the drive but there's absolutely nothing despite losing 1 litre per 1000 miles.. Unless when the oil gets to temperature and pressure forces it out but I would have expected oil splashes on the transmission.

I found a block of wood at the bottom maybe this was causing some of that low down knocking lol.

The transmission seems okay until you get near the exhaust mount?

Boost pipes seems okay so whats people opinions?

This is a video of the Engine Sump, Transmission Sump, Engine Mount, Boost Pipe and finding the wooden block

This is a video of the intercooler

This is a video of the EGR bare in mind its disabled both physically and ECU

[DG330]

Maybe CCV? Seems to be a problem for the 335d guys too. Not sure the standard set up is up to much. More so with a straight pipe, the dpf probably catches it?

Pipes look a bit oily, but vaguely remember mine being the same!

Compression test? Will post my results Saturday/Sunday

[DG330]

What’s the symptoms again? You’ve not got idle smoke?? It’s just the odd blue smoke?

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Txs330D

What’s the symptoms again? You’ve not got idle smoke?? It’s just the odd blue smoke?

Well this is the strange thing, I used to get blue smoke if I let the car idle for long periods or if I left it a few months then done a quick acceleration you'd see the smoke but lately I've not actually been noticing any visible smoke. But the oil loss continues and as we seen on the oil cap test the loo roll got clogged with oil within 2 months.

Be really good to hear the compression test results as well.

[DG330]

Reckon you’ll build a catch can? My loo roll was soaked too when I checked it. Also had lots of oil in the pipe from it. I’ve gone back to the vortex, but need to check that pipe again. Lots of checks and testing coming up. 👍🏻

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Txs330D

Reckon you’ll build a catch can? My loo roll was soaked too when I checked it. Also had lots of oil in the pipe from it. I’ve gone back to the vortex, but need to check that pipe again. Lots of checks and testing coming up. 👍🏻

Not too bothered about a catch can after discussing it on here mate, reason being is a vortex breather should be more than enough to stop this oill loss so if its not then I need to start looking at the root cause.

I drove to Blackpool last night, my oil level was around half (500ml from minimum) I went to leave this morning and it was just about on minimum! Like this is seriously weird. 500ml should do me for about 500+ miles

So, focusing in on my drive to Blackpool I drove seriously steady between 50 to 60MPH and got an incredible MPG

18 miles into trip



100 miles into trip



But anyway, I drove really steady all the way and was followed by a relative and he said he seen absolutely no smoke. So, I'm baffled where its all going, the CCV side of things should be at high rpms whereas mine was really low all the way, no smoke (from what I was told) so I'm a bit baffled.

[DG330]

Incredible mpg! I drove to parent last night at the national speed limit 😂 and got 44k on the dial. It’s a 70 journey.

Have you checked for oil leaks everywhere possible?

To update you on compression findings - it’s a weird one, one that I need help with. I did these with my dad and results were all 380/390psi

Condition of the test were cold and ran through the glow plugs.

However, the first two tests on cylinder three gave me 250/260. I thought F#ck sake. So we checked cylinder 1 again to make sure it hadn’t broken. Nope, was fine 390 again. So we went back to cylinder 3. 8-10 cranks I was up at 380.

My thoughts now are do I have a bad ring? And did it draw in oil during the first few cranks to seal it by 120psi??

Will check cylinder 3 again tomorrow after rocker is changed and injectors are back in.

But yeah, the results are there for information.

Hope it helps someone

[DG330]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

I doubt it's headgasket, I don't have any of the usual signs. My blowers get really hot, coolant temps are great (get to temp and maintain) oil cap shows no signs at all and the car really does run pretty well if I'm honest. After Removing the filter it seems to have a bit more poke as well.

Done a compression test yet? Or leakdown?

Any progress on this, bit of a strange one with the oil loss.

[def1nity]

Hi everyone, I stumbled across this thread by chance and it's funny because I've had mine e90 330d m57 231ps since 2015 and I have very similar symptoms to OP.

Initially, DPF clogged and wouldn't regen. Had it gutted and that's when all of this started...

1. Light white/grey steady stream of smoke at idle + very bad smell behind the car. Doesn't matter if the car is cold/warm. Smells of burned oil and is irritating to the eyes.

2. Same like OP, if driven calmly for a period or sitting in traffic or just idling for awhile and then when booted it will puff out a cloud of smoke. Due to 5% window tint on rears I cannot make out the exact color but looks like grey/brownish, definitely not black. Best visible with a set of good xenons directly behind me Smoke comes after boost actually hits and it pulls away, not before.

3. An indy had the car diagnosed and drove it for a bit while reading live data and concluded the turbo is boosting fine but late... Not sure what to make of this, however it coincides with my feeling of lag in the lows.

4. Oil consumption, on the other hand, is pretty low for me... About 2 liters per 10k km. The coolant level is steady and doesn't move.

Before reading this thread I was convinced it is the turbo, but seeing how OP had it changed and the issue remained I am no longer convinced.

FYI I've tried the following so far:

Got the vortex type breather filter, which had absolutely no visible/noticeable effect on anything.

Replaced MAF. This I believe had a small effect on the problem. If nothing else, the car is more responsive and mpg is a bit better. Also, it feels like it's not smoking so much but still plenty of smelly...

Injectors adjustments look decent in INPA, all well below 1.00 under acceleration and ~0.10-.20 when idling.

Something I noticed when changing the MAF... The plastic hose connecting the MAF with the turbo inlet and some small third hose in between, not sure what it connects to, but I think I saw someone said its exactly the breather filter. So the small hose for the breather filter is drenched in oil, the whole low 2/3 of the plastic hose is actually pretty oily both inside and out. When inspecting the turbo inlet, there is a visible small puddle of oil under the compressor wheel... I found conflicting information on whether this is normal or not but to me it looks excessively oiled up.

Also, I had the swirl flaps removed 3 years ago but recently noticed the intake manifold is oily on its right side (when standing in front of the engine and looking at it), not sure if this is related since the problem was present before that.

Throttle body valve is kapput, reported by INPA and verified by symptom of shuddering when shutting down the car. Can this be related?

EGR is in-place and working. Recently changed cracked egr cooler, no difference.

I had the timing chain replaced on this car in 2016, along with every possible gasket along the way (which made sense) + glow plug and relay. Not sure if this eliminates the valve cover gasket or the seals as I am pretty sure at least one if not both of them was changed in the process.

Smoke/smell did not change before and after this service

So now I am left with two options:

1. Turbo on the way out... This would explain the smoke/smell, the oil consumption + the other symptoms

2. Injectors ... This would explain the smoke/smell, but not sure how it could be connected to oil consumption. Don't see how to be honest

3. Both injectors and turbo are on their way out and I am dealing with two costly causes for all these problems, instead of just one

P.S. Took some photos of the turbo to show the small puddle but on closer inspection of the photos you can clearly see a HUGE carbon/soot buildup on each fin of the compressor wheel

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...Tm?usp=sharing

This looks awful, can't believe I've been driving like this...

[Tambohamilton]

But is yours burning/using oil? That's the OP's main problem...

Sounds like yours has bad turbo or injectors or turbo actuation system, which is causing the smoke which lead to the demise of your dpf.

Unless it's using oil though, I don't think you have the same problem as the OP.

[def1nity]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

But is yours burning/using oil? That's the OP's main problem...

Sounds like yours has bad turbo or injectors or turbo actuation system, which is causing the smoke which lead to the demise of your dpf.

Unless it's using oil though, I don't think you have the same problem as the OP.

As I mentioned, it is using oil, just not so much as the OP... About 2l per 10k km or thereabout.

The DPF had a lot going against it. The spark plugs + relay had failed with no error code and no indication. Thermostats were shot and it didn't go above 70* C, also without any indication and unless I checked the hidden menu I wouldn't have noticed. The Throttle valve is throwing a code and acting out. There are so many variables in order for the regeneration to kick in it is absurd. My favourites are the silent fails, no code, no error, no indication until it is too late

I removed the throttle valve and EGR today, as expected they are also full of soot, albeit not as bad as I expected... I will give them a brake cleaner bath tonight and I'll see if this changes anything.

[Tambohamilton]

Ah yes, sorry, missed that. I haven't measured, but I think mine must use a similar amount to yours... It's never bothered me though.

To be honest, I think your issue might be the spark plugs in your diesel engine..

The turbo doesn't look great. I don't know much about what a failing turbo looks like, but I don't see how it could get so coked up like that without something being amiss. That said, the problem may well be the excessive oil coming from your crankcase breather rather than the turbo itself.

What oil do you all run on? (OP included)

[robnitro]

You might have a boost leak if the turbo is slow to spool and you have smoke at wot. Or your tune could just be garbage and set to fuel like crazy. I've seen that on TDIs who think smoke =faster
Did you fully delete the dpf on the ecu? Why do you guys in europe tune out the dpf but keep the egr? I don't understand this practice!

[DG330]

Can we get another thread going, your symptoms sounds just like mine, although mine just appears despite being dpf and tuned for years before I got the dreaded constant smoke out the exhaust. Smell wise that's the lack of the dpf.

Interested to follow both the issues here, so a new thread would be good to avoid confusion.

Check out my threads and YouTube videos to compare. My old turbo looked just like yours, had lots of oil in the breather pipe being sucked through. I'm building a provent system to deal with the crank pressure and separate the oil.

[Mindukas055]

Did you find the solution?