[holmefield]

Right so i have a E90 330 d msport, its a 56 reg pre Lci which i believe is the M57 engine???

Mines got FSH from Bmw, but its just turned over 107000 miles and after reading about cam chains snapping and what not im doing some maintenance.

Mines been oil serviced every 10000 miles from new, i've just last weekend done another oil and filter change and am now looking @ what else needs doing and came across the issue of OIL CRANK CASE BREATHER.

Now i've looked online into what this does and so fourth, but im unsure of whether its something that needs replacing or not?

What DOES IT DO???

Should you change them?

Will it have ANY benefit to my car?

How hard are they to change?

I've changed my main stat and put lowered spring cups on myself so im ok with spanner work....

[Aragorn30d]

The purpose of it is to seperate oil from the crankcase fumes. All engines have gas leakage from the combustion chamber into the crank case. This gas needs to be vented, so the engine routes it back up to the intake and feeds it into the engine to be burned off. The gas having flowed thru the crankcase picks up a mist of oil, and the seperators job is to remove as much of that oil as possible before the air is discharged into the intake.

The newer style ones used on the M57N2 (E90 engines) dont really have as big an issue as the older ones. The older ones were paper and basically clogged up and thus were a regular service item. The newer ones dont do that.

We changed the one on my brothers M47 (same later type as the M57N2) and it was pretty clean even at 200k miles old.

However some folk suggest that changing the newer type semi-regularly is a good idea. The worry comes from the fact that if the older type clogged up it could cause turbo failure due to crankcase becoming pressurised from the gas being unable to escape.

[Calluhan]

Take a look at my post mate:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1105836

[makkan00]

Being 56 reg, have you considered changing the swirl flaps to blank plates.
Done on my 2008 330d and it made significant difference especially on high rpms.

[holmefield]

Originally Posted by makkan00

Being 56 reg, have you considered changing the swirl flaps to blank plates.
Done on my 2008 330d and it made significant difference especially on high rpms.

Cheers yep mines already got the swirl flap delete done by the previous owner....

[old grey steve]

On the earlier diesels swirls are more prone to failure than the later spec, ingestation being the biggest hurdle, signs to look for are under the manifold leakage from the base of the swirl flap housing that'll cost the inlet underside as well as the near side block area. Remove them replace with blanks, ensure the actuator rod is also out of action and once fine you'll find as the other posts have pointed out a more responsive csr, with better, crisper throttle response plus you've negated the issue of swirls ruining the day(we've got an older E46 in with us now that's taken 3 out of the 4 flaps) which = curtains. Great news is someone's taken care of this for you... But it's good advice for those who still aren't sure.

Apart from that best way forward re prevention is to deal with the breather valve, on the older cars with mileage I'm of the opinion that if its chsnged at every air filter service(though it may sound a tad OTT)money aside (there around £54.00 + VAT) trust me will help matters.

Change the oil at least every 7-10K , if you really want to be Mr thorough you could go as so far as to swap out the feed/return pipes for the turbo as well(these can over time have issues re congealed or emulphised oil) this will stifle oil supply to the turbo leading to starvation of much needed oil) and can kill a turbo. When pulled apart usually with turbos the evidence is there for all to see and carbonisation is usually high on the list and boils down to a fair amount of the above, but like all things all depends on how far do you go.

For future refrence if you don't do it now, allow the car to idle from cold before pulling off and after a journey idle down before switching off, get in to the habit regardless of journey though slightly inconvenient it will prolong life of the turbo plus other components.

Re the chains abut more of an issue, I've got one dead M57 in our workshop with a broken chain. It's non serviceable it's covered so you can't inspect so unlike a petrol where you can swap out a tensioner within an hour easily you're powerless to really prevent issues, all you can do is do your bit for the cars health

[holmefield]

Cool thanks for all the info, I'm going to ring up and get a price from the place I use for parts tomorrow..

Is it a big job to fit?

[holmefield]

Originally Posted by Calluhan

Take a look at my post mate:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1105836

How long did it take you to replace yours Callan?

[Calluhan]

Originally Posted by holmefield

How long did it take you to replace yours Callan?

15 minutes mate. Very easy.

[holmefield]

Originally Posted by Calluhan

15 minutes mate. Very easy.

Cool I like those sort of time frames.....

[holmefield]

Happy days just check my service history and my had the oil crank case breather changed @ around 92000 miles 18 months ago. ( I'm currently on 107000 miles )

So that's one less thing to change...

[Ess]

Mine got clogged and had to be replaced at circa 60,000 miles. Or so said the dealer...

[dy63]

think you meant to say am i being abit thick

[MattOz]

Originally Posted by holmefield

Happy days just check my service history and my had the oil crank case breather changed @ around 92000 miles 18 months ago. ( I'm currently on 107000 miles )

So that's one less thing to change...

I did try and look after it!

[holmefield]

Originally Posted by MattOz

I did try and look after it!

I that you did matt....I'm trying to keep it looking good...

Just did the oil and filter @ the weekend..it took 8 litres to fill it to the max level on the dip stick...

[ade146]

I changed mine a good while ago and took the old one to bits. The diaphragm and spring do nothing in these cars. The diaphragm is designed to be sucked closed by a vac pipe that is not fitted. Unless it is blocked and looking at it would appear unlikely in the extreme it isnt worth changing.
They may as well have fitted an empty box despite what you may read. Some have filters some have a dyson thingy and some have nothing at all but the diaphragm and spring which they all have do absolutely nothing.

[holmefield]

Originally Posted by ade146

I changed mine a good while ago and took the old one to bits. The diaphragm and spring do nothing in these cars. The diaphragm is designed to be sucked closed by a vac pipe that is not fitted. Unless it is blocked and looking at it would appear unlikely in the extreme it isnt worth changing.
They may as well have fitted an empty box despite what you may read. Some have filters some have a dyson thingy and some have nothing at all but the diaphragm and spring which they all have do absolutely nothing.

That's a bit strange isn't it.

[ade146]

Yes it is but I assume this part was robbed from another vehicle or BMW changed their mind after it was designed. The breather has been issued three times but in each case the valve part hasn't been active. Take one apart and have a look. The vac lines to operate it aren't fitted

[dy63]

Did you buy the car off matt?

[holmefield]

Yer i got my 330 D of matt, do you know him?