[capncurt86]

I have used these forums a lot for help over the last year, but this is one of my first posts, as I am feeling helpless on an issue. I have a 2009 e93, 328i with the N51 engine with about 79,000 miles on it. I will start at the beginning:

-75,000 miles oil leak found

-77,000 miles I found out it was the oil filter housing gasket. Replace gasket and changed oil, oil filter and oil seemed ok. ie no large amounts of crud/sludge and not that dark for being so long. Note: I used 0w-40 Royal Purple where I have been using 5w-30 the first 3 oil changes. (It had been long overdue, almost 13,000 miles...I know idiot me. Until this point I changed the oil every 5k miles with Mobil1 5w-30)

-Ran great until...

-79,000 miles loud whistle and poor idle. I bought an OBDII code reader and it pulled: P0015-camshaft over-retarded on exhaust side. I did research and found this code generally meant something wrong with vanos solenoid. (I do not have an INPA code reader so this will be all in terms of OBD codes. I know I “should” get one, but they are a lot of $ for a 2009.)

-Pulled exhaust vanos solenoid and cleaned it with compressed air and replaced.-->No resolution

-Pulled both solenoids, cleaned with gasoline and compressed air. Switched them.--->No resolution. Code DID NOT switch to saying intake side.

-Bought 1 new solenoid, put in exhaust side. --->No resolution. Same code: P0015

-Switched old two solenoids. (i.e. put the old exhaust solenoid in the intake spot and left new solenoid in the exhaust spot)---->No resolution. BUT now I have two codes: P0012 and P0015. So this is saying both intake and exhaust are having issues.

-Switched back to original solenoid in intake spot--->No resolution. Still both codes P0012 and P0015.

-This whole time the whistling is getting worse and I have to shut the car off at stop lights to get it to go away. When switching/cleaning the solenoids I realized there were a lot of chunks of crud/sludge on them.

-I had done research and found that the whistling in a few others’ cars was attributed to the oil filter getting a hole in it.

-So I changed the oil to see what it looked like. The filter was packed with sludge after only 2k miles. I also noted that there seemed to be a fair amount of sludge in the valve cover when I looked in the oil inlet. I could easily scoop some off the inside walls(like 1/8”). So I switched back to Mobil1 5w-30 oil and a Bosch oil filter.--->No resolution whistling same and codes still there

-I found out that a bad ccv valve can cause this sound and a way to check is by trying to open the oil inlet while the car is running. Well I tried, and it was difficult to open, i.e. a lot of vacuum going on. Also, the sound goes away when I open the oil inlet. And there seems to be a very small leak at the bottom of the bell housing, i.e. rear main seal, which apparently is a potential symptom of the ccv being clogged/broke and it seems that the sound would be coming from that area as air is trying to get into the crankcase.

Here is a video of my car and the awful sound:

The below video is from another car I found on youtube that has a very similar sound and the diagnosis is that the CCV is bad and the vacuum is causing a leak in the rear main seal, which would make sense why the sound is much louder underneath my car than in the engine compartment.

This post seems similar, but they didn’t get any codes:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=469937


At this point I cannot figure out what is causing the codes and the whistling. It seems that the codes for a bad ccv are not related to timing like mine. I have found that a bad ccv valve can cause the whistling, but the codes do not seem to match up to the valve problem. And on my e93, the ccv is collocated in the valve cover which runs $400 that I really don’t want to spend. (Every other vehicle I have owned the ccv/pcv is a $10 to $20 part that I can change in minutes, not hours.)

So my questions are:
Does this sound like a ccv problem?
Can I just clean the valve cover/ccv or will I need to replace it?
Is there a way to clean it without removing the valve cover?
Can driving with a bad ccv cause my rear main seal to go out?
Can there be something else causing these issues other than the ccv/valve cover?
Could it be multiple problems at one time?
Is there any steps here I screwed up/should try differently?

Thanks for your help!
-Curtis

[capncurt86]

So I took it to an Indy shop and they confirmed it is the ccv which is integrated into the valve cover...great idea BMW let's make a $20 part cost $400.

Here is a link I found on how to check if its the ccv from the 5-series forums. Its a different ccv but checking it is the same procedure. Also, you could buy a manometer to check vacuum, per Nick's instruction from Pelican Parts.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=534005


In addition to the OBDII codes, the shop also found these codes:
p0400-misfire #4
2a06-air mass system
2a82-vanos inlet
29d1-#5 misfire
29cf-#3 misfire
29d2-#6 misfire
29ce-#2 misfire
29cl-combustion on several cyclinders



I plan on fixing it myself and purchasing the below valve cover from ecstuning. they are the lowest price I could find.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E93-328...Cover/ES18577/

[Econ2001]

Im having similar problems and symptoms.
Was your issue resolved by replacing the valve cover?

[MakkkD]

Did you eventually resolve this issue?

[ClintClovis]

I had the exact same problem in my 2011 E90 N52B25.
Replaced the valve cover and problem solved.
I disassembled the old CCV and found a cut diaphragm.