[whinojosa]

Hello,

Needed a quick second opinion on a proposed VCG job I'm gonna diy before I order parts. I purchased car in December of '14 and had PO address a leaking VCG at that point. I was hoping it wasn't it again but I do remember replacing it a few times on the old M54. I've got plenty of experience on my E46 but not much on my E90 yet. I'm noticing a decent amount of oil loss indicated by needing a quart every other month or so (average about 15k/year).

Was gonna throw on an OFHG but cleaned area recently and did not notice any new deposits of oil in that area. I'll prob leave that alone for now unless there's significant overlap in terms of parts removed to the VCG DIY.

I snapped some low quality iPhone pics. Perspective is varied from right side up to upside down. Any thoughts? Is this definitely the VCG?

(Vehicle is a 2006 325i with a manual transmission).

[BSM n54iS]

Not sure from pics, but pull out coil packs and check the cylinders/spark plugs. Any oil sitting in them? Do you have any smoke from oil being burned from engine bay?

[fun2drive]

I don't see any visible oil which to me indicates it isn't the VCG. When I changed them there will be some visible oil. Maybe you have it elsewhere but I don't see that as the issue. Is the underside on the pass side showing streaks of oil? At 1 qt per every other month there should be a lot there.
I do wonder if you are sucking it into the intake rather than leaking out of VCGs.
Maybe higher res pictures would help but yours look like a very dirt covered engine or maybe that is sand all looks normal to me. Where I live that is what the sand I get looks like.

[tlow98]

That much loss I'd investigate the pcv, cooling system for slush symptoms or maybe you're simply burning it? Plus what these other guys say about spark plugs etc.

Those pictures look like old issues that were never cleaned and have accumulated a lot of dirt.

Poke around some more before going under the knife.

Do you live in an extremely dusty area?

[PhaseP]

Check the oil pan gasket

[BruceJ]

Not trying to be critical, but I would clean the entire engine before I pulled the VC. That's a lot of dirt. Opening the VC presents risk. Always best to minimize beforehand. Plus, once its clean you can monitor and find where the leak(s) is/are coming from. Who knows, if you are not the first owner, maybe there was a mishap that was never cleaned and it just looks like gasket failure.

Good luck
Bruce

[whinojosa]

Wow thanks for all the feedback! While I don't live in a very dusty area (Southern California), it does seem more like dirt/sand rather than oil now that I look back at the pics.

It seems the general consensus is that VCG most likely NOT the culprit of the dirt/sand/grime. However, the oil loss is somewhat indicative of the PCV/CVV system. I never did get around to doing that job on the E46/M54 but remember reading it was going to be a bear.

I did check coolant for sludgy-ness when I first noticed the consumption of oil and didn't notice anything. I'm very familiar with that as my head gasket had gone out on my old E36 with the M50. I'll definitely recheck this just to rule it out (fingers still crossed).

I've also ruled out oil pan and other leaks that would fall to ground by way of cardboard while the car sat for the weekend after a normal commuter's week.

I'll do my diligence and research oil/intake consumption. I'll post back with updates. Also I'll be doing a deep clean of the area to check for actual leaks.

Again, thanks for all the feedback. It's much appreciated.

[ctuna]

Clean your engine
then you might be able to find a leak
if there was one.

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by whinojosa

I've also ruled out oil pan and other leaks that would fall to ground by way of cardboard while the car sat for the weekend after a normal commuter's week.

The "belly pan" plastic splash cover under the engine works like a diaper, it won't let oil drops until they are a lot. The accumulated dirt on it keeps the oil dripping on it. You need to remove it and look. With your 2006, if oil pan gasket has not been changed already, I can bet it is leaking. Look at the passenger side towards back of the engine block oil pan intersection. The leak shows itself there, you will likely see oil drops on the oil pan bolt heads.

CCV (a.k.a oil separator valve, a.k.a PCV) on the 2006 N52 engines (with the metal valve cover) is separate unit under the intake manifold. If you have problems with this, my guess is you would also be experiencing unstable idle problems, some drivability isssues, or MIL codes thrown.

On later year N52's this unit became integrated with the plastic valve cover

[ozziewizzle]

I have an 06' e90 with an N46 engine - 90k mileage and I was having to add oil after every other motorway journey before I realised I had a big problem. We started with the CCV, then various gaskets oil pan, rocker cover, Vanos, vacuum pump etc all in the bid of avoiding the dreaded valve stem seal job. I drove for another month and I was still losing oil. The valve stem seal thing was a £1400 job as I decided to get a new timing chain set and head gasket set, head skim etc done remaining o rings and gaskets at the same time while the head was off. In hindsight I should have done the valve job first as I have now paid a total of £2000 in quick succession. However, I feel like I will be picking up a new car this evening but I will be sure to give an update after pushing it for about a week.