Black soot coming out of exhaust

[Thrustyjust]

Rachel, for the cost of the cap, I would just change it , incase the seal is worn. Febi caps are about £12 or so on ebay.

[Smartbear]

Rocker cover caps can show oil by hamfisted people who miss the hole when refilling the engine from top ups or oil changes. I found the same issue as you and cleaned up the oil and monitored and never returned for me.
This could still be a problem with pressure with the ccv which may cause excessive pressure though on yours and oil to vapourise out the cover.

Thanks, a tiny bit has returned after cleaning it up and driving it so it doesn't appear to just be a spillage.

The car isn't using any oil though which seems to be the main symptom usually from what I've found through Google Does this just mean it's not got that bad yet and that's what would happen next if left alone? I topped up with 1 litre in Nov and it's only 1 bar down on the digital gauge and has been for ages.

How many miles have you covered in that time, that’s more telling than the period elapsed
Rob

[Rachel!!!!]

[/quote]

How many miles have you covered in that time, that’s more telling than the period elapsed
Rob
[/quote]

I'd say approximately 3000 miles.

[Rachel!!!!]

I've just spoken to my friend who looked at the car and he's been watching some video's and says from the video you should be able to open and close the disa valve with your hands and he couldn't. Is that broken as well? Would the ccv being blocked have caused it to break? or could this be the issue instead of ccv?

All I will say is I'm learning a lot with this car, I didn't even know what these things were before lol

[Smartbear]

I've just spoken to my friend who looked at the car and he's been watching some video's and says from the video you should be able to open and close the disa valve with your hands and he couldn't. Is that broken as well? Would the ccv being blocked have caused it to break? or could this be the issue instead of ccv?

All I will say is I'm learning a lot with this car, I didn't even know what these things were before lol

Even if the disa valve was solid it couldn’t coat the inside of the inlet manifold with oil, it’s the ccv that’s responsible for that.
Rob

[Rachel!!!!]

Thank you Rob, I appreciate your knowledge on this.

[zriha]

Dropping again, as we have the same problem, so what is the diagnosis? And how to fix it?
Changing the whole oil separator https://www.ebay.de/itm/162995140257?ha ... Sw0TVfPne2 ?
And also Vanos kit - https://www.ebay.de/itm/253750246379?ha ... SwEt9e6dSY ?

Thanks!

[Smartbear]

Dropping again, as we have the same problem, so what is the diagnosis? And how to fix it?
Changing the whole oil separator https://www.ebay.de/itm/162995140257?ha ... Sw0TVfPne2 ?
And also Vanos kit - https://www.ebay.de/itm/253750246379?ha ... SwEt9e6dSY ?

Thanks!

As already mentioned, the vanos has zero effect on oil burning issues.
Rob

[zriha]

Dropping again, as we have the same problem, so what is the diagnosis? And how to fix it?
Changing the whole oil separator https://www.ebay.de/itm/162995140257?ha ... Sw0TVfPne2 ?
And also Vanos kit - https://www.ebay.de/itm/253750246379?ha ... SwEt9e6dSY ?

Thanks!

As already mentioned, the vanos has zero effect on oil burning issues.
Rob

And the oil separator ?

[Smartbear]

Dropping again, as we have the same problem, so what is the diagnosis? And how to fix it?
Changing the whole oil separator https://www.ebay.de/itm/162995140257?ha ... Sw0TVfPne2 ?
And also Vanos kit - https://www.ebay.de/itm/253750246379?ha ... SwEt9e6dSY ?

Thanks!

As already mentioned, the vanos has zero effect on oil burning issues.
Rob

And the oil separator ?

Definitely.
Rob

[zriha]

As already mentioned, the vanos has zero effect on oil burning issues.
Rob

And the oil separator ?

Definitely.
Rob

Thanks mate, nice to see early birds... I just washed my Mini hahahah

[enuff_zed]

Hi Rachel!!!!, just catching up after a week away.
It seems you have a list of jobs there, but I'd think as most people have said, it is the CCV that kicked it all off.
So pointless really to swap all the other stuff around until the CCV is fixed.
Of course, as it all needs to be dismantled I suppose the simple answer is to gather up all the bits, then do it in one hit.
That'll dent the old bank balance a bit.
I'm assuming, by the work your friend has done already, that he would be able, given time, to sort all this out?

If you remember, I did take the oil filler cap off when you came over to mine initially. At that point there was no evidence of leaking around it. nor was there any noise from the oil filter that I recall, so I guess it's gradually getting worse.

I'm assuming the main issue you will have is getting to work without a car? So it'll need to be done over a weekend?
If that is the case, and your friend thinks an extra pair of hands would speed things up, then by all means give me a shout.

I am not sure on your engine, whether the DISA can be overhauled? If so, a kit to do that would be the answer, but f course, if it come down to available time to strip and fix the whole thing then you may be better off having a good spare to swap straight over.
Possibly a forum member could help you there? worth asking to see if anyone has a spare DISA?

Keep us posted on progress.
You'll be an expert in no time.

[enuff_zed]

I've just spoken to my friend who looked at the car and he's been watching some video's and says from the video you should be able to open and close the disa valve with your hands and he couldn't. Is that broken as well? Would the ccv being blocked have caused it to break? or could this be the issue instead of ccv?

All I will say is I'm learning a lot with this car, I didn't even know what these things were before lol

Even if the disa valve was solid it couldn’t coat the inside of the inlet manifold with oil, it’s the ccv that’s responsible for that.
Rob

I know on Vall's M54 I could open and close the DISA flap by hand and it would spring back into position.
However, having watched a couple of youtube warriors it looks like the N52 version is basically solid, unless you have play in the spindle?

I hope an N52 expert can come along and confirm this? If so, Rachel!!!!, you only need to clean yours and put it back.

[Rachel!!!!]

Sorry for the delay it's been a busy week.

I spoke to a bmw specialist last Friday, he suggested that if the soot on the bumper is watery and not oily it could just be a condensation issue. He said once condensation has built up from short journeys it's then very difficult to get rid of.

The disa valve was missing the pin and stuck in the open position, this has now been replaced. The mechanic said to change this and see if there was any improvement and go from there as he said it could solve the problem. I'd already ordered the part and my friend did this along with an oil and filter change which has stopped the noise on the oil filter. The noise was only present when revving the engine not at idle.

The oil from the filler cap couldn't be seen until we took the engine cover off. I'm going to check it again tomorrow to see if any has come back since the oil change.

So at the minute it's still up in the air. But I will update again as and when I get anywhere.

Thanks for the offer of help, that's much appreciated, I will be in touch if needed. I was thinking of getting a mechanic onto the job if it is the ccv as it seems like quite a big job taking everything apart to get to it.

[enuff_zed]

Sorry for the delay it's been a busy week.

I spoke to a bmw specialist last Friday, he suggested that if the soot on the bumper is watery and not oily it could just be a condensation issue. He said once condensation has built up from short journeys it's then very difficult to get rid of.

The disa valve was missing the pin and stuck in the open position, this has now been replaced. The mechanic said to change this and see if there was any improvement and go from there as he said it could solve the problem. I'd already ordered the part and my friend did this along with an oil and filter change which has stopped the noise on the oil filter. The noise was only present when revving the engine not at idle.

The oil from the filler cap couldn't be seen until we took the engine cover off. I'm going to check it again tomorrow to see if any has come back since the oil change.

So at the minute it's still up in the air. But I will update again as and when I get anywhere.

Thanks for the offer of help, that's much appreciated, I will be in touch if needed. I was thinking of getting a mechanic onto the job if it is the ccv as it seems like quite a big job taking everything apart to get to it.

Hi, thanks for the update. I must admit I thought the spots looked quite watery. It was mostly water that hit my hand over the exhaust tbh.
I'd be more than happy to help, but if you need it done quickly for work etc then you may be better asking a decent Indy to sort it. I can do most stuff but necessarily to a tight deadline. (Must be my age )
As you say, if you have known faults like the DISA then it is always best to fix each one and see what happens. Changing loads of stuff may cure it, but you'll never know which bit fixed it.
The sun's out and just crying out for a completely pointless blast to the coast or something. Get it nice and hot and hopefully it may sort itself out.