Updated: E39 530i Year 2001 Oil leaking and smoking from the engine...

[Arata 30]

Hi guys. I was driving my e39 530i on the other day and noticed the smell of the engine oil burning and shortly after 5 mins or so the smoke slowing started appearing from the engine and the air vent. Had to get my car towed and checked the engine and found that the typical creamy brown coloured engine oil appeared on the oil cap and valve cover (not a lot just on the top where the oil cap is) and suspected that the head gasket is blown... OMG.

 

So I have decided to replace a new one. But apart from the head gasket is there any other parts I should be replacing since I'm going to take out a lot of parts. Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

 

By the way, before this smoking, I had replaced the valve cover gasket as there were some oil leak from the coil/spark plug which is the closest to the windscreen side. I had some little smoke came out for less than 30 seconds then it was gone and did not appear. However I only turned the engine on and was not actually test driving after the valve cover gasket replacement.

The car has done over 249,000km already.

 

 

Thank you very much in advance team!!!

Edited November 21, 2019 by Arata

[zero 1162]

Get it tested first to see if its headgasket.

If it is definitely replace cvv and associated hoses, dipstick o ring, oil filter housing gasket, rocker cover gasket, the rubber bungs on the back of the inlet manifold, inlet manifold gasket, throttle body gasket, both intake boots, disa gasket.

Of course you will also need new headgasket and new head bolts.

I would also replace waterpump and thermostat if they havnt been done already. And of course check belts, filters and plugs.

[zero 1162]

Also I would question the maintenance on this engine as there appears to be a heck of alot of gunk in the engine.

It looks like it has missed alot of oil changes.

[Allanw 1071]

That's pretty standard for an M54.

The crap solidifies on the coldest part of the rocker cover. The cream is just from condensation.

Your valve cover will have a crack somewhere. Also standard for M54's Buy a new one.

It's not the cleanest of engines inside, but you'll notice the crusty stuff is limited to the cold areas, and the cams etc aren't too bad for the mileage. The change intervals or oil quality is possibly lacking a little. DON"T rely on the service indicator for oil changes either - ours used to go out to about 22K, but I shortened it up to about 15K, which is fine with the volume of oil in there and getting up t temp properly. If you do short trips all the time, reduce the mileage a bit.

You possibly do quite a few short trips and/or your thermostat is a bit dodgy - taking too long to warm up. Don't trust the gauge, use the OBC secret menu - the gauge is a waste of time for telling engine temps - straight up covers from about 75C upwards, which is still very cold for an M54.

See here:

 

[Arata 30]

7 hours ago, zero said:

Also I would question the maintenance on this engine as there appears to be a heck of alot of gunk in the engine.

It looks like it has missed alot of oil changes.

Hi Zero. Thank you very much for reply and suggestions.

 

Yes I'm gonna start disassemble most of the parts to see what I need to replace. I'll post several photos once I've done.

The story is I bought this off auction very cheap and the dealer said they had no understanding of how the last owners have treated this car. When I changed the oil about 3 weeks ago or so it was way darker than black... Poor car...

 

[Arata 30]

3 minutes ago, Allanw said:

That's pretty standard for an M54.

The crap solidifies on the coldest part of the rocker cover. The cream is just from condensation.

Your valve cover will have a crack somewhere. Also standard for M54's Buy a new one.

It's not the cleanest of engines inside, but you'll notice the crusty stuff is limited to the cold areas, and the cams etc aren't too bad for the mileage. The change intervals or oil quality is possibly lacking a little. DON"T rely on the service indicator for oil changes either - ours used to go out to about 22K, but I shortened it up to about 15K, which is fine with the volume of oil in there and getting up t temp properly. If you do short trips all the time, reduce the mileage a bit.

You possibly do quite a few short trips and/or your thermostat is a bit dodgy - taking too long to warm up. Don't trust the gauge, use the OBC secret menu - the gauge is a waste of time for telling engine temps - straight up covers from about 75C upwards, which is still very cold for an M54.

See here:

 

Thank you very much Allanw. 

 

Yes I've ordered the valve cover itself already as I have noticed several small places chipped off and it is very brittle on edges where gasket sets in. 

Will probably looking at to change all the coolant thermostat and hoses, as well as CCV hoses. Will be posting several photos once I've taken them out. Thank you for your help.

 

[Arata 30]

7 hours ago, zero said:

Also I would question the maintenance on this engine as there appears to be a heck of alot of gunk in the engine.

It looks like it has missed alot of oil changes.

Also, if I decided to change the head gasket, do you know the settings on the torque wrench I should be applying on when I put the new one in?

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

I would be getting time serts installed on this motor. Have you checked on the tools and equipment you will need to carry out this repair ?

[Arata 30]

38 minutes ago, B.M.W Ltd said:

I would be getting time serts installed on this motor. Have you checked on the tools and equipment you will need to carry out this repair ?

Hi B.M.W Ltd.

Not really sure I'm sorry I'm not a pro mechanic I'm just a dirty chef lol.

But if I find anything that I need or use any tools/equipment I'll list up all with more details.

[B.M.W Ltd 950]

31 minutes ago, Arata said:

Hi B.M.W Ltd.

Not really sure I'm sorry I'm not a pro mechanic I'm just a dirty chef lol.

But if I find anything that I need or use any tools/equipment I'll list up all with more details.

I strongly suggest that you do quite a bit of researching on this repair before you start ripping it apart. Some "mechanics" would struggle to do this repair properly

Edited October 30, 2019 by B.M.W Ltd

[BM WORLD 1283]

oil cap looks normall , seen that many times, just wipe it away and drive it hard for a while 

[Eagle 1662]

I'm not sure why you think it's the headgasket?. If you had just done the valve cover then you may not of sealed it correctly or parts are bad and it has leaked. 

[Eagle 1662]

Also oil may have dripped onto the manifold when you did the job, which would smoke for awhile once warmed up

[Arata 30]

9 hours ago, Eagle said:

I'm not sure why you think it's the headgasket?. If you had just done the valve cover then you may not of sealed it correctly or parts are bad and it has leaked. 

Hi Eagle. That's what I first thought. When I changed the valve cover gasket the engine smoked for about 5 mins then disappeared. Not half an hour though when I had to stop in the middle of the road.

[Arata 30]

3 hours ago, NRJ said:

Totally agree. Looks normal. Usually caused by short trips which don't allow the engine to get up to operating temp. 

Hi NRJ. So what would you suggest me to do? Just put everything back together and run like hell?

 

Either way I need to replace CCV hoses and oil separator as some had tiny cracks on them. Also lower air intake boot had the typical hole on elbow-shape hose which I kinda knew (I had to replace on my e46 before as well).

[zero 1162]

On 10/30/2019 at 11:58 PM, zero said:

Get it tested first to see if its headgasket.

 

[Allanw 1071]

The smoke will be from a rocker cover crack. It drips onto the exhaust. The Mrs old E39 looked like it would catch fire occasionally... until @Young Thrash Driver put a new one on, after he adopted it. Common problem.

And like Glenn said - IF you EVER take the head off a M54, get the block threads replaced with time-serts. If it's been hot, you'll probably never get the head bolted back on. If it hasn't, you're still asking for trouble.

It is NOT a simple job, you need the right tools and screwing it up means new block time.

[Arata 30]

16 hours ago, NRJ said:

Replace the CCV valve and all the hoses, including the one that goes from the CCV to the dipstick tube. Replace the intake pipe. Then drive it. That small amount of white build up can be caused by a cracked CCV diaphram  or CCV hose. It's certainly nothing to be alarmed about. Just drive the car after that and enjoy it. Make sure the cooling system is in good condition. Maybe change the coolant. Use genuine BMW coolant if you do.

As with any car just service it properly, and don't just service the engine. There are loads of other things in a car that need changing/replacing.

Coolant changes, brake fluid changes, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, cabin air filters, transmission and diff oils brakes etc.

Thank you very much for advice. 

[Arata 30]

15 hours ago, Allanw said:

The smoke will be from a rocker cover crack. It drips onto the exhaust. The Mrs old E39 looked like it would catch fire occasionally... until @Young Thrash Driver put a new one on, after he adopted it. Common problem.

And like Glenn said - IF you EVER take the head off a M54, get the block threads replaced with time-serts. If it's been hot, you'll probably never get the head bolted back on. If it hasn't, you're still asking for trouble.

It is NOT a simple job, you need the right tools and screwing it up means new block time.

Yes we'll see if that's the case. Fingers crossed but I'll be prepared for the worst case scenario anyway.

[Eagle 1662]

In the worst case scenario you'd certainly be off getting a new engine or even a new car depends on whats yours is like. As you probably know most of these cars aren't worth very much these days, so if you going to sink some coin into one it should one that's in reasonably good condition and spec from the start.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

On 11/1/2019 at 7:20 AM, Allanw said:

 @Young Thrash Driver ... ...adopted it. Common problem.

Yeah I solved that problem by not adopting any more BMWs ? @Arata get this thing compression checked. The symptoms are not convincing for HG failure. Also listen to B.M.W LTD, he's a grumpy old bastard ? but that's because he's been fixing these things since forever.

[Arata 30]

Update: just waiting all the parts to arrive within 1-2weeks maximum.

I have ordered CCV hoses, new air intake hoses, vacuum lines, new valve cover and gasket. And hope this stops smoking again... 

I will also replace the coolant and upper and lower coolant hoses as well as the atf reservoir tank with new hoses with new clamps (it has a little leak from where old type clamps are).

 

I’m also thinking of replacing the Vanos O rings and rattle kit but does this necessary to stop causing the smoking? In the future I will be as I’m replacing for my E46 at the moment.

 

By any chance, does anyone know if I were to take intake manifold out, do I need to use the torque wrench to put that back? If so, what torque settings should I be using?

Also I want to flush the engine as well. Any suggestions to this? I have a standard engine flush with me and also the engine oil and filter ready.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Arata

[Arata 30]

So I've taken out the intake manifold and found out that the hose from CCV oil separater to the oil dip stick was completely torn apart. Could that cause the leaking to smoking??? Underneath the intake manifold was quite oily and not so much on exhaust manifold side. I've checked any other leak but no visible ones apart from this. 

I have replaced the all CCV system and also cleaned the throttle body and the idler controller vaIve. Also replaced the gasket to the intake manifold and the throttle body as well. Just started to putting things back together and half way through I have few connectors I don't recognise. I'll post another photo of it if anyone can help me would be very awesome!

[Arata 30]

*Update on 08/09/2020

 

So my e39 still produces smoke from the exhaust manifold side. I had my dad come have a look at it too and we both agreed that it’s not from the engine oil burning. It’s almost like the smell of something plastic burning and smoking. I have replaced the exhaust manifold gaskets and have put the manifolds back in nice and tight and also pipes not touching anything else like O2 sensor cables but still does smoke.

 

I will jack up the car and have a look but does anyone have confronted this sort of issue?

 

*Updating this post again. Successfully found the sourse of the smoke. It was leaking from the valve cover and the gasket were new and sealed fine but ended up finding the valve cover itself had multiple small cracks that lead to leak down to the exhaust manifold. Bought a new one and no more smoke no leak.

 

Thank you for those who helped me out.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Arata