[jin]

Im considering doing this myself and have a few questions.

Do you need to have an OCC for the high side?

Can you just weld the ports shut instead of tapping and plugging?

[Team503]

So the general opinion is that it's worth doing both to keep excess oil out of the intake tract?

Originally Posted by Team503

So the general opinion is that it's worth doing both to keep excess oil out of the intake tract?

Depends on how you drive your car.

In most cases, the low side likely will collect ~99% of it.

[Team503]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Depends on how you drive your car.

In most cases, the low side likely will collect ~99% of it.

Well, I've already got the BMS OCC. I guess what I'm asking is if people feel like it's worth doing this in addition to the BMS solution?

Originally Posted by Team503

Well, I've already got the BMS OCC. I guess what I'm asking is if people feel like it's worth doing this in addition to the BMS solution?

This is the equivalent of asking "my new house has wall-to-wall carpeting, but I already own a broom...is it worth buying a vacuum cleaner too?"

[titium]

Originally Posted by Team503

Well, I've already got the BMS OCC. I guess what I'm asking is if people feel like it's worth doing this in addition to the BMS solution?

IMO no.

For one you'll constantly be emptying the low side occ every few 1000mi (which also means topping up oil).

It also relies on your occ being better then the stock cyclonic seperator while not being a significant restriction (generally the case but good to check anyway).

Also clogs up the engine bay with more stuff.

Do some reading and develop an understanding of how the system works and make up your own mind.

Originally Posted by titium

IMO no.

For one you'll constantly be emptying the low side occ every few 1000mi (which also means topping up oil).

It also relies on your occ being better then the stock cyclonic seperator while not being a significant restriction (generally the case but good to check anyway).

Also clogs up the engine bay with more stuff.

Do some reading and develop an understanding of how the system works and make up your own mind.

Are you sure you know how the system works?

Yes, dumping out the canister every/every other gas fillup is a chore, but so is cleaning the valves themselves. Once you see how much crap this thing collects, you're gonna be happy that none of it had the chance to make it that far.

Topping up oil? Where do you think all that oil would have ended up otherwise, back in the crankcase? lol

No, it absolutely is not a restriction of any kind, not sure where you got that.

Clogging up the engine bay? Given that there are a 1000 other uglier things under the hood that can safely be removed for better aesthetics, etc. this has almost no effect on visual appeal.

Do some reading and develop an understanding of how the system works and don't make up your own facts.

[titium]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Topping up oil? Where do you think all that oil would have ended up otherwise, back in the crankcase? lol

yes thats the whole point of the cyclonic seperator in the valve cover..... to separate the heavier oil particles and return them to the crankcase leaving other contaminants which get pulled into the intake and removed/consumed by the engine.

From another post on here:

"Cyclone Separator

A cyclone oil separator is used in the N54 engine. Here, four of the described cyclones are integrated into the oil-separator housing. The oil mist drawn in from the crankcase is set into a spinning motion in the cyclone. As a result of the centrifugal forces, the heavier oil settles on the cyclone walls and from there drips into the oil drain. The lighter blow-by gases are sucked out from the middle of the cyclone. The purified blow-by gases are then fed to the air-intake system."

It's not perfect by any means but it does work.

Originally Posted by titium

It's not perfect by any means but it does work.

In theory, sure, when you have an otherwise stock vehicle, all the stars align, and you have brand new everything, etc. and then, guess what; you STILL get gunked up valves. Hence the main benefit of adding the catch can in the first place.

[titium]

In my opinion (I'll spell it out this time just so we are clear)
you're much better off going down the path of removing or reducing egr via valve overlap/vanos in your tune if you're concerned and want to reduce carbon buildup.

[Esixty1]

In light of photobucket being complete a'holes, does anyone have a PDF of the OP's DIY? Thanks

[E92 420]

Originally Posted by RCB

This installation of the RB External PCV system with Mishimoto catch can was performed on an E61 and outlines the full procedure for the E60/E61 chassis. For all other models it is a matter of gaining accesses to the back of the valve cover to start the conversion. The instructions beyond the cowl removal portion of the job apply to all N54 powered cars. I will label this as Step 1 so for all others Step 2 will be your pickup point.



I am using a BMS OCC on the high side which I retained and also decided to mount my Mishimoto catch can on the bar along side of it. The mounting location and the mounting solution I used may or may not be permanent. Where you mount the can and route the hoses to is up to you and does not affect the rest of the procedure.

Step 1:
Cowl removal-


Remove the cabin air filter housings by releasing the clips and turning the 13mm plastic nuts until the tabs release.
Remove the hood seal, battery cable cover and rubber gutters along the fender edges.
Now release all of the plastic 13mm nuts on the cowl covers as well as the 2 torx screws at the rear of the strut towers then remove the cowl cover.
Now remove the battery cables from the guide, remove the 2 plastic push pins from the strut brace and remove the plastic cable guide.



Step 2:
You will now be able to remove the 4 hex bolts holding the engine cover in place. Remove those bolts and then the engine cover.
*If you are still using all 4 bolts it is recommended that you do not reinstall the 2 rear bolts when the cover goes back on. It will not cause any issue and it makes it much easier to remove later.



Step 3:
Locate and remove the internal PCV valve at the rear of the valve cover.
You will see the PCV valve cap bellow the #6 fuel injector feed line. (I found it easier to work with the injector feed line removed. If you choose to remove the line with a 14mm open ended or box wrench remember to pull the fuel pump fuse before doing so. )
Once the fuel line is removed you can then take a 13mm wrench and remove the PCV cap. From there you will see the internal PCV valve sticking out. It is pressed in with an O-ring keeping it tight. You can grab the end of it and pull it out. If you have trouble try threading a tap or drill bit in to it and grabbing that with vicegrips. Be sure to carefully pull straight back to avoid cracking the plastic valve cover. You can now discard both of those pieces.





Step 4: Install the new RB external PVC fitting.
You will first want to make sure you lubricate both O-rings with fresh engine oil. Now push the valve in to the valve cover as far as you can and begin to thread the fitting in with a 1 3/16” open ended wrench.
It helps to apply pressure to the valve as you begin threading the fitting but be very sure that you have it square considering the fragile plastic threads in the valve cover.





Step 5: Choose the catch can location, mount your can and run the “IN” hose.
Use the supplied aluminum catch can fittings that came with the RB kit and discard the plastic fittings that Mishimoto sticks in the can.
You can now cut the hose to the proper length to run it from the PCV valve to the “IN” side of the catch can. Use the supplied clamps and install the hose.
*Make sure you have enough hose left to go from the catch can to the throttle body. If not, choose a different location or get more hose!


Reinstall the #6 fuel injector feed line.

Step 5: Remove your DCI, Air Box or whatever filter setup you may have unless it’s a turbo side setup 

Step 6: Install the T-Fitting to the throttle body.
To do this you will press the sides of the plastic clip holding the EVAP line to the back side of the throttle body and disconnect the line. You have also have to run your hand down the line towards the back of the manifold till you feel the rubber holder that keeps the line secured to the intake manifold. Pull the rubber holder off of the bracket. You need to do this to allow the line to back up so you have space between the throttle body and the line for the new T-Fitting.
Now you can push the T-Fitting in to the throttle body and lock it in with the supplied E-Clip then reconnect the Evap line to the other end of the T-Fitting.



Step 7: Run the “OUT” hose
Attach the remaining hose to the T-Fitting along with the supplied clamp. Route it up to the catch can and make sure you do so in a way that will not interfere with the Air filters, etc.
Now cut and extra length off of the hose and attach it to the “OUT” side of the catch can with the supplied clamp.





Step 8: Reinstall the air filters, engine cover and cowl parts.

Step 9: Enjoy not having to walnut blast your intake valves for a long time and remember to check your catch can every 500 miles until you have a good understanding of how quickly it needs to be emptied.

**Plugging the ports on the cylinder head is recommended but the kit will function without doing so.

Part 2: Cylinder head PCV vent plug install

To install the provided 10-32 head plugs you will need to remove the valve cover and intake manifold. I'm not going to cover the VC or intake removal process since both are well documented on these forums and in the Bentley manual. I am going to focus on the correct procedure to avoid introducing aluminum shavings to the motor and getting a good thread coil at the correct angle. I will however remind you to pull the fuel pump fuse and make sure the engine is cold before you start this process!
Also well doing this it is a great time to take some maintenance items off the list. A new valve cover gasket and new intake runner seals are recommended. It's also the perfect time to perform the walnut blasting service and replace your spark plugs if needed.

To do this job you will need a good 10-32 tap with a T-handle, shop towels, wheel bearing grease, brake cleaner, blue loctite, a vacuum and compressed or canned air.

Once you have the intake manifold and valve cover off you are going to start buy making sure the valves are closed on the applicable cylinder then stuff a half sheet of shop towel in each intake port. I'm suggesting that you use a half sheet because you only want to fill the individual valve ports up to the divider. The reason being is you want to stay bellow the exit of the PCV vent port in the cylinder head so that you can collect debris in a controlled manor.



Next you will fold up a piece of paper so that it is just wide enough to fit in to the intake port, coat it liberally with wheel bearing grease then slide it in the intake port being sure that it is bellow the PCV vent hole. This is going to catch most of the metal shavings that fall through the port as you run the tap.





Now you will want to stuff some shop towels in the cylinder head along the camshaft bearing ledge to avoid metal shavings or a 10-32 plug falling in to the motor.
*** I ONLY HAVE THE TOWLES REMOVED SO I COULD TAKE CLEAR PICTURES***

Apply a coating of grease around the top of the port on the cylinder head and also to your 10-32 tap. Grease is your best friend right now, it is going to collect a good portion of the metal shavings.

Now you are ready to tap.
The angle is the key to this so you will want to stand along the left fender and look at the cylinder head along the intake ports. You will be able to see the shape of the port running from the valve cover mating surface down towards the intake runner in the casting. This is the angle that you want to make sure you set your tap to. Once you feel comfortable with the angle slowly start to run the tap in the hole a few turns and recheck your approach angle. If everything looks good you can run it in about 1/4-3/8" turning it in a few turns at a time and backing up a turn in between passes.
Don't worry about going down a little too much, as long as you have the plug bellow the top of the head and not all the way to the runner it will serve its purpose.
Now remove the tap slowly and try not to tip it on the last turn coming out since you will only have thread on one side of the hole that you could damage.



Now wipe the grease and metal off the top of the hole, shoot some brake cleaner and air in the hole and pull the paper out. If you did it right your paper should look like the one in the picture above. From there you will vacuum out the port and remove the shop towels.



Next you'll apply a drop of blue loctite to the 10-32 Plug and thread it in to the newly tapped port with a 3/32 hex key. Be very careful not to drop the plug into the cylinder head or you will be sorry.



One is done and you are ready to set yourself up for the next cylinder. Repeat the process until all 6 are installed then put the engine back together and enjoy!

Great DIY. Would be great if you could reupload the photo's though???

[titium]

Originally Posted by E92 420

Great DIY. Would be great if you could reupload the photo's though???

photobucket....

the pics seem to work if you click on them in the bimmerpost android app dunno why though.

[Tim603]

Originally Posted by Esixty1

In light of photobucket being complete a'holes, does anyone have a PDF of the OP's DIY? Thanks

I had to go through one of my threads and re-do EVERY pic from photobucket and switch to imageshack. Fuck photobucket lol

[Tim603]

Originally Posted by titium

yes thats the whole point of the cyclonic seperator in the valve cover..... to separate the heavier oil particles and return them to the crankcase leaving other contaminants which get pulled into the intake and removed/consumed by the engine.

From another post on here:

"Cyclone Separator

A cyclone oil separator is used in the N54 engine. Here, four of the described cyclones are integrated into the oil-separator housing. The oil mist drawn in from the crankcase is set into a spinning motion in the cyclone. As a result of the centrifugal forces, the heavier oil settles on the cyclone walls and from there drips into the oil drain. The lighter blow-by gases are sucked out from the middle of the cyclone. The purified blow-by gases are then fed to the air-intake system."

It's not perfect by any means but it does work.

I would love to see where this "drain" is. I'm fairly certain once the air passes by the check valve the only place to go is through the factory PCV ports in the cyl head (otherwise a pressurized cc scenario would be possible).

If that is the case and the drain is pre-check valve, the catch can would only be intercepting what is going back into the intake tract anyways therefor it would have zero effect on the "drain" or "cyclonic separator" and would only be improving the system, just with the added maintenance.

[Rob@RBTurbo]

Originally Posted by Tim603

I would love to see where this "drain" is. I'm fairly certain once the air passes by the check valve the only place to go is through the factory PCV ports in the cyl head (otherwise a pressurized cc scenario would be possible).

If that is the case and the drain is pre-check valve, the catch can would only be intercepting what is going back into the intake tract anyways therefor it would have zero effect on the "drain" or "cyclonic separator" and would only be improving the system, just with the added maintenance.

The drain is internal valve cover, and what the cyclonic separators "whip" out of the vented crankcase vapors are indeed channelled back to this drain that drips back down into the crankcase.

The cyclonic separators are pretty sweet actually. We see a lot of guys saying they do not work, etc.; however they certainly DO work. Many also think getting rid of them is the answer, which is a very uneducated assertion.

They do work just aren't 100% effective and nothing will ever be 100% effective. The cyclonic separators function along with the RB External PCV with a finely filtrated catch can (such as the one we recommend) we believe will get you very close.

If we were to redesign the valve cover we would like to keep the cyclonic separators however just add more of them to increase efficiency for those who may need it (ie. extreme performance builds). The RB External PCV OCC still would likely be a great idea to catch whatever still makes it past.

Rob

[Tim603]

Hey Rob, I've had a couple people tell me the -6AN lines look too restrictive for the Low Side PCV system but I'm not sure if I agree with them. What are your thoughts?

[Rob@RBTurbo]

Originally Posted by Tim603

Hey Rob, I've had a couple people tell me the -6AN lines look too restrictive for the Low Side PCV system but I'm not sure if I agree with them. What are your thoughts?

They are incorrect so disregard their thoughts.

[Tim603]

Originally Posted by Rob@RBTurbo

They are incorrect so disregard their thoughts.

Lol pretty much what I did. Just out of curiosity how did you come up with that size? Just wondering what the rhyme or reason was behind it

[Rob@RBTurbo]

Originally Posted by Tim603

Lol pretty much what I did. Just out of curiosity how did you come up with that size? Just wondering what the rhyme or reason was behind it

Several reasons...

1) This is a low load PCV function and not some VTA setup where big hoses matter.
2) The hose itself is under significant vacuum with the intake manifold as a vacuum reference source, and the valve itself adjusts the vacuum flow upon the crankcase per vacuum conditions applied via the intake manifold reference. The valve is closed under boost, thus hose size matters not in this condition.
3) The valve orifice is ID .167" and the hose ID is ~.350", so the valve is more of a restriction than the hose.
4) The OEM internal route is slightly smaller at points than the area of the -6AN hose.
5) The only way to get more low load vacuum while retaining the PCV function is to add another PCV Valve with a separate vacuum reference, but there is not a need for MORE LOW load vacuum so this is a moot point.

In short watch your sources especially on this topic where less than 1% of the masses seem to understand the function.

Thanks,
Rob

[Tim603]

Originally Posted by Rob@RBTurbo

Several reasons...

1) This is a low load PCV function and not some VTA setup where big hoses matter.
2) The hose itself is under significant vacuum with the intake manifold as a vacuum reference source, and the valve itself adjusts the vacuum flow upon the crankcase per vacuum conditions applied via the intake manifold reference. The valve is closed under boost, thus hose size matters not in this condition.
3) The valve orifice is ID .167" and the hose ID is ~.350", so the valve is more of a restriction than the hose.
4) The OEM internal route is slightly smaller at points than the area of the -6AN hose.
5) The only way to get more low load vacuum while retaining the PCV function is to add another PCV Valve with a separate vacuum reference, but there is not a need for MORE LOW load vacuum so this is a moot point.

In short watch your sources especially on this topic where less than 1% of the masses seem to understand the function.

Thanks,
Rob

Heck yeah, thanks Rob

[Tim603]

Hey Rob, the T that connects to the throttle body, where does that OEM vac line go to? The fuel tank or something?