Thread: I just don't believe it!

I looked at the oil drip tray under my L322 this morning and there wasn't a single drop of oil. Yes, I immediately checked the oil level.

To quote Professor Julius Sumner Miller "Why is it so?"

This is a car that has, ever since I bought it 3-1/2 years ago, left its mark. Lately, it's been leaving a pool of oil, not just a few drops.

The lack of oil drops may be explained by the fact that I changed the PCV valve and associated hoses over the weekend. The PCV valve was original (dated 2003), the cyclone had been changed (dated Mai 2008). Two of the hoses had rotted through.

Whoever in BMW designed the PCV system on the M62TUB44 engine in the L322 should be hung, drawn, quartered, and burned at the stake! And that's being too easy on him.

The PCV valve (LKR000040) is the greyed item in the image below:

L322 PCV System.JPG

I started at 4:30PM Saturday and finished at 2:30AM on Sunday (with 30 minutes off for dinner).

It took 2 hours to get the PCV valve off.

I used Storey Wilson's suggestion of kneeling on the engine to get access. It's not as easy to remove as Storey suggests in his video(s):



The initial problem was releasing the hose clamps. They may have been great in the factory but almost impossible to release in situ. I had to remove the valve with some hoses still attached. Even releasing the clips on the bench was extremely difficult. I had to destroy them to get them off. That didn't matter as I wasn't going to use them again. Unfortunately, I didn't pre-prepare and hadn't bought any Cobra clips (which I quite like) to replace the clips BMW used and had to use conventional Jubilee hose clamps. The Cobra clips require a special tool to install but they can be released relatively easily with a screwdriver.

These are the original clips. One can't get a screwdriver blade under the end to lift it. In addition the "long" piece sticking through is turned over to lock it in place.

L322 Hose Clamp 2.jpg L322 Hose Clamp 1.jpg

Cobra clips:
Norma-Cobra-Clip.jpg

The PCV valve is bolted on with T30 Torx screws. They were so tight they were stripping out the head. In the end, I had to fight them with a pair of Vice Grips. Once I had managed to crack them loose, there was enough Torx socket left to unscrew them with a Torx bit. On reassembly, I replaced them with M6x25mm hex head bolts.

As can be seen in this pic, the hose 6C342B (part no. LLH000120 / LR003814) in the above image had failed at the PCV end so oil dribbled out of it instead of been fed down the dual pipe 6N664 to the sump. (Note: LR003814 supersedes LLH000120. 3814 is a straight piece of hose with small diameter tubes at each end. 0120 appears, from the diagram, to be shaped to go around various protrusions at the back of the engine.)
L322 PCV Valve Hose.jpg

When I removed the cyclone/oil separator 6B673 (P/N LLP000010) (which I cleaned rather than replaced), the hose at the bottom 6C342A (P/N LLH000110) had also rotted away at the top end at the separator.

L322 Oil Separator.jpg

Now this hose is a mongrel to replace as is the hose above 6C342B, It is impossible to release the clips in situ. One needs to save the clips (particularly the ones on 6C342A) for reuse which, fortunately can be done. Trying to find a conventional hose clamp to fit the smaller diameter hose may be difficult. Cobra clamps would be ideal here.

Oh, I removed a few other brackets to improve access but I don't know that it helped.

After struggling for some time, I decided the best way was to remove the drain tube 6N664 from the sump and pull it out from under the car. This, of course, meant draining the sump. Once it was out, I was able to release the clamps and pull off the hoses. For reassembly, I fitted the hoses 6C342A and B with the original clamps before poking it back up from underneath the engine - I had access to a car hoist. (I had to remove the separator as I couldn't feed the assembly down from the top.

L322 PCV Hose Assembly.jpg

It took several attempts to thread the hoses up between the coolant manifold at the back of the engine. I had forgotten to take a pic of the hose routing before pulling it out. If you go this route, make sure you fit new sealing washers on the banjo connection at the sump. I didn't and was welcomed with a severe oil leak (about 2-3 drops per second) so I had to drain the engine oil again and redo the banjo connection.

Reconnecting the oil separator bottom drain outlet to hose 6C342A has to be done where one cannot get one's hands. Naturally, trying to hold a hose clamp and fit the separator was an exercise in futility and only ended when I lost, down under the inlet manifold, the only clamp of the right size that I had. In the end, I had to fit it without a hose clamp. Even then, I couldn't get the outlet into the hose until after I'd run a file around the end to give it a taper and I'd put some rubber grease on the tip. Which, of course, meant it would slip out of the hose when I tried bolting the separator back onto its bracket.

In the end, I removed the bracket from the PCV valve, fitted the separator to the bracket and then offered it up to the PCV.

BTW, I opened up the old PCV valve today and the diaphragm is still OK, I may not have had to replace it. I may add some pics tomorrow.

If you decide to do this job, these are the parts you will need:

Diagram Ref LR Part No.
6759A............8510366 supersedes LLH000130
6759B............8510367 supersedes LLH000140
6C342A..........LLH000110
6C342B..........LR003814 supersedes LLH000120

L322 PCV Valve.JPG

9E434A..........LKR000040 PCV Valve (transfer the blanking plug from the old PCV to the new PCV valve)
9E436A..........LKJ000060 PCV Valve Gasket

I have just completed this job last night [2005 Vogue 4.4 M62TUB]. Once parts arrived it was 16hrs (for me) to install and start engine. I opted to remove the inlet manifold and also the metal drain tube for the PCV, it's banjo bolt is easy to get to from underneath. Removing the manifold made it easy to replace the small tube that runs through the valley and it's also easier to get to the fatter hose below the oil separater. The inlet manifoled is not that hard to R&R - fule rail and accoustic cover mounts remain attached to it so it is easy to handle.

My symptoms were poor fuel economy (20lph) and also a howling/screaming sound, which was either the PCV diaphram or the cracked hoses. I had oil leakage into the plug wells, which eventually caused a misfire.