Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 60
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417

    Talk Me Down From the Ledge, Please?

    After a long night shift, I headed home today in -9ºF weather. About 20-25 minutes from home, I noticed the yellow oil pressure warning indicator. Being in no position to immediately investigate during a -30ºF windchill on the interstate, I kept driving. At a stoplight about a mile from home, I smelled what seemed like road tar—or burning oil. I arrived home, threw open the iced-over hood, and discovered oil all over the right side of the engine bay. I impulsively pulled up the dipstick, and black oil literally boiled up from it, splattering my jacket as I jumped back. And being as tired as I am right now, I’m not sure whether to cry and plan to buy a new car, or whether I just need to replace the valve cover gasket (I think), fill the ZHP with fresh Mobil1 0W40 and LiquiMoly Ceratec, clean up the engine bay and drive on.

    Thoughts?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    Last edited by MsRN; 01-25-2019 at 09:03 AM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Kitchener, ON
    Posts
    6,034
    don't jump!!

    first off - this sucks, and mostly because it's the middle of winter.

    if oil is bubbling out of the dipstick, then you have positive pressure in the crankcase. do you still have a CCV with the supercharger? regardless... with those temps you're experiencing, it sounds like you may have some frozen oil condensate somewhere in the CCV/PCV plumbing. that would cause pressure buildup in the crankcase, head, etc - oil will escape at the path of least resistance, which is usually the valve cover gasket. hopefully your valve cover didn't crack.

    i have experienced this firsthand with my old ZHP - before i figured out how to heat the oil catch can so that the system wouldn't freeze over (we have a similar climate here).

    get some sleep, and then have a look for the source of the oil leak. you got this!
    peter

    2004 330i ZHP
    2005 330iT ZHP
    2010 328iT M Sport

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417
    The car still has crankcase ventilation—there’s a PCV hose between the valve cover and the S/C. So are you thinking that the PCV hose could have frozen? Or by CCV are you referring to another part of the CV system?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417
    The dealership had one valve cover gasket in stock; I’ll pick it up with oil and a filter after a nap. According to the parts guy at my dealership, this is a common problem for E46s in this climate, and there are a few fixes for it. More later!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Kitchener, ON
    Posts
    6,034
    Quote Originally Posted by MsRN View Post
    The car still has crankcase ventilation—there’s a PCV hose between the valve cover and the S/C. So are you thinking that the PCV hose could have frozen? Or by CCV are you referring to another part of the CV system?
    yep... exactly, that hose. pull it off and check the insides!


    Quote Originally Posted by MsRN View Post
    The dealership had one valve cover gasket in stock; I’ll pick it up with oil and a filter after a nap. According to the parts guy at my dealership, this is a common problem for E46s in this climate, and there are a few fixes for it. More later!
    if there is positive crankcase pressure, you need to find the root cause - hopefully it's the PCV hose (or the PCV itself!).
    peter

    2004 330i ZHP
    2005 330iT ZHP
    2010 328iT M Sport

  6. #6
    I get mayo in the winter and I have been running around around in 5th gear to see if it being at higher rpm levels helps combat that, I will let you know if that helps.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    6,149
    The whole OEM CCV system is eliminated with the TS supercharger. It replaces the stock manifold. All there is, is one hose from the valve cover to the PCV valve on top the the supercharger manifold. My bet would be that PCV valve got frozen. That PCV valve is a BMW part but I don't know the part number.

    My car had mayo in that PCV valve and it's been down here its whole life. Michele, I'd consider getting an oil catch can. That's the route I'm going to take. I already had one in it but the baffling wasn't good enough. It's gotta have good baffling
    Dinan CAI &Throttle body, ESS Tuning TS2, Bimmerbrakes gen3 headers, UUC SSK & DSSR. Achilles oil pump, VAC oil pan baffle
    M3 Motor mounts, UUC Trans mounts, Modified clutch style LSD 3.15, TMS front subframe reinforcement, Koni Yellow sports,
    H&R sport springs,
    UUC sway bars, BMW Perf. Rotors, UUC SS brake lines, Hawk HPS pads, CSL replica wheels,
    Rotora strut bar, FXR HID conversion, M3 Mirror conversion, BSW stage 1 speakers

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417
    Quote Originally Posted by Sockethead View Post
    The whole OEM CCV system is eliminated with the TS supercharger. It replaces the stock manifold. All there is, is one hose from the valve cover to the PCV valve on top the the supercharger manifold. My bet would be that PCV valve got frozen. That PCV valve is a BMW part but I don't know the part number.

    My car had mayo in that PCV valve and it's been down here its whole life. Michele, I'd consider getting an oil catch can. That's the route I'm going to take. I already had one in it but the baffling wasn't good enough. It's gotta have good baffling
    I assume by ‘mayo’ you’re referring to congealed oil/sludge? I’ll look at the PCV valve when I replace the valve cover this weekend. And I’ll look into an oil catch can, while I’m at it.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417
    I jut had a look at the Radium catch can; I think I now know what you mean by ‘mayo’. That model of catch can doesn’t appear to use baffles, but instead uses stainless mesh material. Do you think that would work, or should I look elsewhere?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    South Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    417
    Also, does the fact that I changed to a mechanical thermostat, which runs the engine cooler, have any bearing on this scenario?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Talk me off the ledge
    By Lorenzo in forum General -- ZHP Related
    Replies: 119
    Last Post: 04-17-2016, 04:09 PM
  2. Bay Area Cop Talk
    By trancenation in forum California
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-12-2012, 12:48 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •