[beeming]

hello guys. i'm getting really bad white smoke coming out of my exhaust at times and its becoming really annoying. it only happens when car is warm at operating temperature-never at start up and it only happens at idle or very low speeds, never at cruising speeds.

i've read a couple of threads and i figured it could be the turbos going bad or engine is just burning oil. i have already installed the bms occ in hopes that it would fix the problem but it has been almost a month and not a drop of oil has been caught. i'm starting to think it might be the broken pcv and then if the pcv isn't working then where would the blow by gas be going?

what do you guys suggest i do next? i heard about the rb pcv upgrades but i can't find any links for the info or how to purchase.

thanks,
eric

[BES335xi]

I have the same thing going and will go to a shop on tuesday to see what they find, but as for Robs pcv just go to n54tech(.)com and youll find the info there.. Please keep thread updated if you find whats happening..

[slowSwede]

White/greyish smoke is water, so it's not oil you're burning.

[beeming]

Originally Posted by BES335xi

I have the same thing going and will go to a shop on tuesday to see what they find, but as for Robs pcv just go to n54tech(.)com and youll find the info there.. Please keep thread updated if you find whats happening..

good luck to you bro. which part of queens you from and which shop you take your car to? how's your occ working?

eric

[beeming]

Originally Posted by slowSwede

White/greyish smoke is water, so it's not oil you're burning.

definitely doesn't smell like water and once it starts, it will keep burning as long as i stay idle at operating temperature.

eric

[kmoto]

Valve cover gasket is probably leaking.

That was the problem with mine. ~$800 fix (I think, mine was covered)

G'luck, OP.

[tibra1]

Turbo seals?

[beeming]

Originally Posted by kmoto

Valve cover gasket is probably leaking.

That was the problem with mine. ~$800 fix (I think, mine was covered)

G'luck, OP.

did you have symptoms like mines? smoke never at start up only when car is warm?

eric

[beeming]

Originally Posted by tibra1

Turbo seals?

hope not.. are there any reputable upgraded turbo manufacturers besides rb and helix around the 3 grand price range? if it was indeed the turboos i would take this chance to upgrade.

eric

[slowSwede]

Originally Posted by beeming

definitely doesn't smell like water and once it starts, it will keep burning as long as i stay idle at operating temperature.

eric

Water, when exiting the exhaust doesn't smell like water anymore.
Hard to describe by smell, but white exhausts would be water getting in the mix somewhere.
Is it like a cloud or just puffs of smoke?
Do you drive your car for longer stretches, like more than 100 miles in one trip?

[beeming]

Originally Posted by slowSwede

Water, when exiting the exhaust doesn't smell like water anymore.
Hard to describe by smell, but white exhausts would be water getting in the mix somewhere.
Is it like a cloud or just puffs of smoke?
Do you drive your car for longer stretches, like more than 100 miles in one trip?

Where would the water be coming from? I do run drive w/o a cowling even if it rains but it does this on a dry day- any day. Its a continuous cloud of smoke that happens sometimes at start up on an already warm engine and only goes away when i cruise past approximately 20 miles. I drive in the city where I drive short distances 4-8 mile trips.

What can I do to confirm that it is indeed water?

Thanks,
Eric

[kmoto]

Originally Posted by beeming

did you have symptoms like mines? smoke never at start up only when car is warm?

eric

Yessir. Car would start fine...as soon as I got onto the fwy (about 2 minute drive from the office) and sat in traffic, that's when it would start.

[slowSwede]

Clouds of smoke wouldn't be condensation from many short trips, especially if you get it in summer time.
If it's the valve cover gasket, I'd be surprised to see white smoke, but hey anything is possible.

[boostaholic786]

Originally Posted by slowSwede

Water, when exiting the exhaust doesn't smell like water anymore.
Hard to describe by smell, but white exhausts would be water getting in the mix somewhere.
Is it like a cloud or just puffs of smoke?
Do you drive your car for longer stretches, like more than 100 miles in one trip?

Hey just curious what would driving over 100 miles have to do with it smoking? Its good for the car to take longer than normal driving trips especially if you romp on it a few times here and there on your trip lol. Keeps everything functioning as it should and i like to call it "letting the engine and turbos get a good work out" lol. Instead of city, stop and go traffic when the car is hot as crap because its summer time and down here in texas its hot as hell lol.

but back on topic, if its thick white smoke its your seals. Depending on what kind of relationship you have with whatever BMW dealership you take it to, you might be able to get new turbo's. I think BMW made it some kind of bulletin until 80K miles, if im not mistaken. And honestly if your looking to upgrade turbos I would only do Rb's. I love mine unconditionally and the car is still "drivable" so to say... I know the ASR's arent to cool. Had a friend get the ASR's on and had bad fitment issues and the car just doesnt feel like a car with RB's for some reason... Personally if you want to drive the car (not have it sitting at the shop because somethings wrong with it) and maintain that reliability and driveability then the RB's are the way to go. trust me my friend you wont be dissapointed. but if your tight on cash, then try the BMW bulletin thing... it might only be for wastegate rattle....im not sure...but you should def look into that because I know they (BMWNA) can replace turbos now if you have the right advisor and the turbos are really bad with less than whatever miles they set it at..They made it kinda like the HPFP recall thing or something similar.

[slowSwede]

If you only make shorter trips your car will produce more smoke due to condensation, it won't be a cloudmachine as the OP's problem so that's out.

[Syndicategt]

Mine did the same thing on "shorter" trips when the car was at operating temps. After my RB turbo install, the problem seemed to fix itself Gonna have to say either your valve cover gasket (as mentioned) or turbo bearing seal. It's easy to tell which if you have divorced exhaust pipes.

[joro2077]

Originally Posted by BES335xi

I have the same thing going and will go to a shop on tuesday to see what they find, but as for Robs pcv just go to n54tech(.)com and youll find the info there.. Please keep thread updated if you find whats happening..

what happend? did they fixed it?

[BES335xi]

Originally Posted by joro2077

what happend? did they fixed it?

They needed me to leave the car there for awhile and i had no time for that, so now im looking to go one day early in the am...Some reason though its not happening as often as it did last week, but i will still go when i get the time tho, hopefully sometime this week or early next, will report back.

[joro2077]

Originally Posted by BES335xi

They needed me to leave the car there for awhile and i had no time for that, so now im looking to go one day early in the am...Some reason though its not happening as often as it did last week, but i will still go when i get the time tho, hopefully sometime this week or early next, will report back.

Thanks

[jb's335]

So how long have you had the OCC on the car without catching any oil? If you have been over 3k miles with the OCC installed and have not caught ANY oil then there is something wrong with your PCV system. I remember even with the poorly designed Riss Racing OCC that I had before the BMS one I still caught plenty of oil, enough to empty it every 3-5k miles.

So yeah if that is the case I would suggest replacing the PCV valve with the upgraded Rob PCV and see if you start catching that oil. If your PCV valve is broken you would be letting boosted air into the crankcase which is not good for the engine or valve cover gasket.