BMW M54 M52TU CCV PCV Crankcase Vent Catch Can Discussion - VERY Important Points E46 E39 E53 Z4 E60 

Thanks for putting it all in perspective. Concise considering all the details. Your delivery bleeds of experience. Thanks from the community!

Awesome education mate, thanks heaps! I now understand much more about the CCV system than ever before , and I agree, the catch can system is a bad idea!

good video, well spoken...I can agree that 02Pilod Mod works, at least works for me. I have 330 and I had oil consumption about 1L on 1000km after I refreshed whole CCV with every single hose and O-Ring as preventive maintenance with Genuine BMW parts...after 02mod, consumption almost completely gone, and I am not a grandpa driving.

Thank you so much for this video! You are addressing all the points that seemed strange / wrong to me.

Good and relevant info for our newly bought M54 project! Another good case of It's There For a Reason. Many thanks for the advice.

Nicely done. You presented your argument well. I think one big takeaway from this video is that these CCV systems last 100,000 miles. Who can complain about replacing a wear item that lasts that long.

One of the best explanations ive seen thanks for sharing your knowledge

Thank you for the information! I currently work on a M52TU coming from a M50. All this is new to me.

Best explanation I’ve seen. Really appreciate how you lay out the whole system and failing of these alternate concepts. Btw - fluid flow resistance is proportional to 1 over the radius of the pipe to the fourth power. This is why just a small build up in the intake manifold port can have such a large impact on performances.

Brilliant, very informative video. Thank you, Tyler. 🏁

Your video just popped up as I was watching videos on catch can installs. I had just watched the 50s Kid on his installation. And then yours shows up! Perfect timing! After watching yours I am going to go with OEM CCV system as you suggested. Thanks for your insight.

I'm new to troubleshooting BMW vehicle, so your information is helpful

Thanks for the very thorough explanation, loved it.

Epically clean e46 engine space , looks like new :D Congrats! I started with total reparation also. Almost entire bottom setup is new

Thank you for being so comprehensive. I will not run the delete. Just replace what's necessary

I'm so glad I found this and the follow up video. I have a 2000 E39 528i wagon M54 Auto. 144xxx miles Diagnosing a oil leak and overheating amongst other minor issues. First time bmw owner and first time tearing a motor down. Used to the older 90s Ford😅🤣. Inline 6 for the win! Bought it off a good friend around the First Stimmy check. He had bought it from a shop and had it for a month and it blew a upper radiator line. Parked it, later on gave me a good deal and I fix the line, got it running and drove home. Have Had it for a embarrassing long time and it had overheating issues . Didnt drive it much cuz of the issues. So We towed it at our family mechanics but before he could get to it he had medical issues come up first. Got the car back and decided to try to fix it myself with my father. We've Torn the motor down to the cylinder head (intake off, exhaust system dropped, front bumper removed, cylinder head removed) and I'm getting ready to start the rebuild. Going to redo to entire cooling system along with deleting both fan clutch and Aux fan to a single electric dual speed fan mounted on the radiator. Cooling lines, water pump, thermostat and since I'm already down to the head I'm going to replace the headgasket too. I think I got a fix for the fans but havnt yet tackled that issue. More importantly. The CCV system on the intake I found when removing it. The oil return hose to the dipstick was blown. So I did my research and found Nathan'sbmwgarage and 50s Kid videos very helpful on the whole teardown process but I was thinking about going to a oil catch can on a stock NA system but seeing these videos I believe I'm just going to replace the CCV with a new one and continue on the rebuild. Too much hassle with a oil catch can unless I go full send and turn this wagon into a racecar. Once I get the whole car running again I may looking into a transmission swap to a manual but I've heard those are a pain with German vs GM spec transmissions so maybe..maybe not. A topic to discuss after the cars fixed🤣. Great information. Great explanation. Loved every minute of it. Thank for taking time to make this. Very helpful for first time bmw owners and people who are going thru the trouble of fixing these cars.

God bless you. The only one telling the WHOLE story. I would like to see your ideas on the PCV valve cover design, I have had endless problems with the diaphragm and excessive vacuum in the engines(on 07 328i,330xi,X3 3.0L)valve cover gaskets and eccentric sensor seal. Dan

You have so much experience with these motors. Awesome discussion

Thank you so much dude, I was debating on doing a catch can because I’ve seen a bunch of people doing on the 330i, but after this it makes sense why the ccv is very stout and holds up. Definitely going to go oem again due to it being a daily and I’m not tracking it

I’m going to replace my CCV on a ZHP and well done on the explanation. You should always remember engineers spend years figuring this out.

Awesome discussion!, thanks a million bro.

Very well said!!! Thank you for all of this!

Hi I found your channel and I want to say that you to a Great job of explaining what you are doing and why! Love learning new perspectives on things I already know something about!! Haha like this video! I have to say I agree with you on this ...but .. in learning a lot from Nathan also, I put a oil catch can on 3 of my M54 engine x5's first about 5 years ago and still running fine. I am not sure it is running primo but still going. Basically my thoughts are like this ... not everyone knows everything and not everything needs to be perfect because these are not aircraft carrying people they are just (old) cars!! But love it! You do an awsome job here! Thanks!! Have a Happy Day!!((

Thanks for all of the info and experience. Love (and hate) my 2004 330i ZHP.

I’m so glad I stumbled upon this video ty you my good man

I enjoyed this I’m trying to get my e46 running again

Great Video! You saved me much time & money. Very knowledgeable A+

😮so glad I learned this before swapping it out for a catch can and down sizing the hoses like Nathan said. But he knows this by now. Doesn't want to be wrong so he won't say anything probably

Keep up the good work!!!

Great video. Really appreciate the info on the upper engine cleaner. I just picked up another m54b30 and its showing low compression on 2 cylinders dry, but good compression across all 6 with oil squirted in. Might give the upper engine clear a try. By the way, I picked up a bunch of 330 body parts from you back in the fall. Those are already coming in handy for some of the Spec E46 guys. Keep me in mind if you're ever parting out another! thanks man.

That tiny hole on the back of the intake is wild! There is a reason the turbo boys on the forums talk about adding more vents to the valve cover to very nice catch cans

Thanks for the great explanation and discussion. I daily drive my 2003 325i (currently 240K miles), and am encountering the oil consumption issues like many others. I've bought the ACDelco Upper Engine Cleaner. I plan to try the heat-soak in the Spring of 2023. I also appreciated the explanation of the O2Pilot Mod. All of this has helped me (a non pro, who likes DIY repair & maintenance) to understand what's going on. With your skills of presentation and explanation, I'd love to see a video of the heat soak process.

Glad i found your video, im curious if having an open filter on top of the catch can would reduce the high vacuum that you say a catch can would produce. Ive owner my e46 since 13 and was on the verge of installing a CC due to the high milage and not caring so much about doing things by the book

1998 BMW 528i M52 "330,000" and still going strong. I agree 100% I learned the hard way with my 2005 Audi TT. Unless you have a custom built race car with a custom tune, don't delete and just run with the OEM systems

I couldn't find a single negative comment on this video and that's because you did an excellent job with it. I'm convinced you know exactly what you're talking about and I've decided against the catch can method. It must be nice being really smart?

That's me educated! I'll stick with OE set-up and a smoke test on those hoses. Great, as always!

great job explaining

Great video! Now you just need to review the GAS solution.

great job my friend many thanks ❤❤❤

Appreciate the education, thanks

great explaination, can't thank you enough

Great information man

very educational. thank you

The ccv and intake should both be replaced at the same time. It's about 2/2 the price to replace both with Amazon items vs the catch can set-up. Maybe if you were going turbo a catch can would be necessary. 👍 Great video Thank you for helping to stop damage to individuals vehicles. Once I seen the vacuum pressure on the crank case in those other videos... Lol 😮

Good stuff. Any thoughts about bypassing the original failed ccv to a new ccv but relocated to a more accessible place in the engine bay?

Excellent explanation. I'm glad I always stick to stock! Do you have any recommendations on how to take care of a code P1092? Thanks in advance!!!

Ok , I’m huge Bmw & e46 m54/m52tu fan . I believe this is the best explanation I’ve ever seen an heard. I personally just replaced mine with aftermarket an personally I ordered oem an replaced again . With time I learned only oem made in Germany parts work on these cars . Thanks for the information

Hello! Great informative video! I have the m54b25 and have just completed the m50 manifold swap. How should I go about ccv/catch can? Car is tracked with occasional driving! I planned to run a catch can ran to valve cover, and intake manifold. But thinking filtered catch can ran to valve cover only may be best? Hoping to hear back from you!

Thank you for that Video!

Instant Subscribe! Good shit!

I recently had a b30 engine swapped into my car and the guy that did it put a oil catch can setup in it, it’s a Amazon baffled catch can I don’t know if it’s setup wrong but it smells bad when I drive the car like gas and oil I can’t take it, I know he used a pcv valve and the hoses look ok, I ordered a oem ccv kit hoping that will take care of the problem, appreciate your input on this subject 👍🏼

🏆🏆 great info

Thanks for the video you really helped me understand exactly what this system does… im currently sorting out my 330ci msport and want to replace everything on the ccv, if original bmw isn’t an option due to the cost in aus is there a aftermarket brand that stands out for quality? Febi, rein, meyle etc etc ?

pls drop more knowledge, as much as i know everything around my e46 id like to learn "secrets"

Very informative video. I am looking into doing a M50 manifold swap on my M54B30 engine. Would I have to re-install my CCV system so I don't run into those issues?

I remember that comment. Might switch back to CCV after watching this. Lmaooo, cheers from e46 owners group! (Richard Sagra)

Thank you for your response and assistance. Misfires. I think it’s the CCV is burnt and I’ll swap it to make sure it is. I will look that up. When you say to smoke tested, do you have any videos on how to do that test?

Great explanation and answers a lot of questions I’ve had!! I do have to ask though, how do you feel about the m56 valve cover to stock Ccv option? Or even m56 valve cover with an o2 pilot mod,

Thank you!

Good info

Excellent video, Tyler, thank you. Just wondering about the three vacuum ports at 9:20 - should they not be plugged in normal operation? Otherwise aren’t they a constant vacuum leak?

hey there, im driving a supercharged 325i (Infinitas/G-Power) with water/meth injection, runs very fine. CCV is about 2 years old, OEM. I have a massive oilconsumption, about 1 liter per 500-700km atm. Got worse after installing the Supercharger. I read a lot about thos Oil Catch Can stuff or the O2-Pilotmod, cause i thaught that might help a bit. But as you mentioned in your Vid, i am not a big fan of those "mods". O2PM might be worth the try, but read bad things about this either. Also the CCV-Piping is now a bit different due to the Supercharger setup. As im planning to do a renewed b30 swap, i dont want to change to M52 Piston Rings, but do you have any recommendation what might help to reduce the consumption? Oil is getting more and more expensive though ^^ Currently running a 5W-50

My e46 has 140k miles and still original CCV with yellow sauce inside. I am ready to replace new CCV but one hose has yellow sauce in the tube to the oil pan bottom. I need to take that out and also replace oil pan gasket.

I had my ccv swapped out and my car started drinking oil more. It has 224k on it , M54 motor.. My car only has smoking issues when I leave from a light ( not all the time ) , off the throttle and getting back on the gas.. 50's kid mentioned that people have installed new ccv's and had issues with more consumption , more than likely due to the piston ring moving out of its groove etc.. I have a feeling it's my valve guides. It's about a quart every 500 miles.

Yeah I'm just in the process right now I'm replacing CCV on E39 528 I destroyed my e34 by fitting catch can it just wauld not run correct so I put I back to stock but it still never did run right I ended up selling it catch can is a no go zone on bmw

Glad to see someone appreciate the design of a component. BMW will spend more today on R&D than any of us will earn in a lifetime (or two). There’s a reason that everything that’s on the car is there. And you need a very good reason to think that someone else has come up with something better. Especially a used coke can and a couple of straws. The muppet comment is classic UK… and another one for WAT for you - Thumping the nuts off it

Great video.What if I adapt this BMW sistem on a VW TDI ENGINE?

Man I’m a LS1 guy. Bought a E46 for my daughters first car. And I’m learning what to replace before I toss her the keys

Amazing video and very thorough. Have you ever replaced the piston rings on one of these? (Are they serviceable for an engine builder?) I love working on the M54 family and I’m planning a B30 swap for my 325i for fun. This month I’m doing my 100-150k+ maintenance on two E46s I have and the cold weather CCV is on the list for both. It’s actually the main thing. I love the placement of it, it’s out of the way during other minor maintenance items and when you take it off to do the long term maintenance, you then get to change everything else like the hard coolant lines and misc gaskets. I honestly think a lot of people that take these off are scared of normal maintenance or don’t do it themselves, so they feel that labor burn at the dealer. People that “delete” the OEM stuff for “ease of use” really don’t think it through in my opinion. You can’t usually out engineer a German. 😂

Thoughts on vacuum from exhaust going to radium catch can

Good video, well explained and laid out, nice job. One thing you never told us is, "why do people feel tempted to do the catch can set ups? " is it because they feel it makes the car faster somehow? what's the appeal to even do it in the first place?

Very useful video! Do you think I can leave the crank case breather out and daily drive it? Got a m54b30

Any equivalent product to that ACDelco stuff? Having a heck of a time finding it.

My original CCV was still working after 130k but replaced it anyway. They usually go wrong when they get gunked up from driving short journeys and not letting engine fully warm up.

Hey, I found your channel because I bought an e39 with 3.0 have you ever had an issue when you get in it, it cuts out completely?

Hello, thanks for the vídeo, my m54b30 e60 is driving me crazy and now is undriveable, on cold start has an rough up and down idle and it stalls, lot's of white smoke like vapor, lot's of fuel in the mix and smell, little's pops on the coils, isolated spark plugs with fuel, lambdas accusing bad mix, and all almost disappear after the 70+ temperature system mark, a lot of sensors and mechanics revised and changed for nothing, now I'm focusing in the ccv my last hope and thinking it might be it 200k km and never changed, your vídeo is the most logical one. Do you think this is related to my problems? My car consumes oil at an alarming rate 1l in 3k to 5k km before this problem the rotation in idle sometimes goes up 500rpm to 800rpm briefly and and without warning wouldn't start at first try like it was flooded... I've tested and changed injectors and the rail completely, maf, checked disa, idle valve, lambdas, thermostat, electric cables and terminals, dme, you name it.... I'm losing my mind

Hey im building a drift car so i don't want plastic stuff. Im venting to atmosphere and im consuming 1l per 1000km or so. Keep in mind i sit on limiter alot. M54b30 car. I want to have a catchcan and some crankcase vaccum. Stock stuff is 3/4" lines. My catchcan is 1/2" so i think it will be ok for flow. Just trying to figure out where to hook it up. I guess i need a big inline pcv or just go straight to the intake manifold? Local bmw guru said intake between tb and maf. So then i don't need a pcv and i just get slight vaccum at wot which is when i care about it.

Not sure if you’ll see my comment but about a year and a half two years ago I had a lot of issues with my car E 53 b30 n54 I fixed all of them and ended up doing the AC Delco cleaner on all of the cylinders and the car ran amazing after haven’t had issues besides little things. Fast forward to now I’m getting weird rough idol sometimes when it’s cold and other things and a lot of oil consumption as of recently, I went through and checked a lot of my vacuum lines and seems good. Do you think I should do the AC Delco cleaner again? And CCV was replaced about the same time. I did the cleaner also no check engine lights.

Very good explanation 👏🏼! I recently got a conversion done from European n42b20 engine to m52tub28. The guy who done the conversion has applied the o2 pilot mode and the vaccum is crazy ,it’s difficult to remove oil cap when the engine is running. I knew that this wasn’t necessary mod as it’s the m52tu. Now I’m questioning if this excessive vaccum can do any harm to the engine ? Before I had a standard CCV set up on my old engine and installed a catch can to the valve cover out put and the the return to the original CCV pipe that was originally connected to valve cover. Is it worth doing this again while I have the o2 pilot mod ? Or should I just leave it as it is ? Thanks !

Very informative! I came across your video while researching my sudden increase in oil usage on my 1999 BMW E36 M3 convertible. I also own a 1999 E36 323i convertible. I’m thinking the CCV valve is bad on the M3. I guess my first question would be is the system on the E36’s the same as the E46’s? The M3 has the S52 engine and the 323i has the M52. If they are the same, do you have a video showing how to remove and replace the CCV valve and hoses on the E36? Thanks so much for the great video…I was about to do one of the suggestions of Nathan’s on the M3. I hope he’s not incorrect when it comes to adjusting the bands in my 323i auto transmission because I just followed his procedure when I changed my trans fluid and filter!

Hello! I have a m54b25 with m50 manifold swap. I’m wondering if routing the catch can to valve cover, and then to the large ICV port? Since I deleted the icv could I use this and save my rear main seal?

i have a 2009 128i.. im getting the occasional blast of blue smoke amd rough idle... im thing pvc/ccv... how do i know if its the one under my intake manifold or the one in my valve cover ? i seem to have 2 ?

What about converting to an m56 valve cover? Im putting together a 328 for my 325 wagon and using an m56 valve cover with a serviceable valve.

Hi man! Can you answer me to a question? Why my N52 engine runs rough with the stock ccv (a new one) and when I install catch can betwen valve cover and CCV it is running smooth like a new baby :)).When I m running without catch can the pressure on the oil cap is higher, it is open harder then with catch can. I m trying to figure what is the best mode for my engine.I run a day with catch can, it get some moisture, smelling like gasoline, and after I read somewhere about the pressure on the VCG I removed it imediately.Now I m searching for a solution, I know that my engine doesnt require a catch can so hard but I don;t want any moisture on my disa anymore ... THX!

So... correct me if I;m wrong , the best way to delete a CCV is to just vent the valve cover with a hose downwards into the open ... loosing some oil but best and simplest if you don't care the potential smell

Two questions I have about the video: 1- All the catch cans you mentioned both didn't have baffles to catch vapors & had undersized ports. If these weren't the case, would they function as intended? 2-You mention venting to atmosphere for track cars only. If you're building a wheel to wheel race car would you vent to atmosphere and delete the factory CCV?

What is your opinion on better "catch can" set ups that function as Air Oil Separator - Return (AOS-R) systems such as Radium and IAG. They run heater hoses through the system to facilitate evaporation of air/water/fuel and filtering systems (IAG even has a spiral) to ensure only oil returns to your engine. I guess technically the CCV system is an AOS-R of sorts. However, I have read quite a bit that runs contrary to the longevity and durability of the stock CCV system. Wondering if you think they would be better overall than stock CCV if done properly (ie crank case pressure, oil consumption and durability)...

Exactly what Im telling people for years, but nobody listens when there are so many tuning companies advertising their next catch can over and over again. Just take a look at professional products, like the Mann & Hummel Provents to get a perspective how big these systems need to be.

Great vid. How much, if any, vacuum is acceptable in valve cover? With car running when I open my oil filler cap I have vacuum and when removed the engine runs rough. I've been told when this happens it means the CCV is bad (or hoses....etc) Is this true or should I always have vacuum in the valve cover?

Thanks for this great video. I'm running a M52b25 with M50 inlet. The PCV is removed and the hole in the maniefold is plugged off. I'm running a AN10 line from the valvecover to a catchcan with an airfilter on top. No vacuum. The car is only used for trackdays, and has no numberplates. When I drive the car with full throttle down the straight and let off the throttle in to the corner, there is comming alot of blue smoke from the exhaust. Is the because of the missing vacumm or is the pistonrings ready for a replacement ?

This is exactly what I was thinking. The engineers designed the drivetrain the way they did and these hack mods can cause various damage. The people doing these mods are not mentally on the level to be modifying these systems. Further, they are deleting parts like throttle regulators, etc... Which is way beyond their mental authority. Also, the mods are a liability dealing with California smog tests, mechanic shops and trying to sell the vehicle and preserve the value of the car.

Great explanation of the CCV system, best I have seen so far. I wonder what you think about a catch can setup which works inline with CCV. I have a catch can lying around and want to install it while keeping the CCV, my goal is collecting all the liquid instead of burning or recirculating or returning to crankcase (oil, gas vapor, water wapor etc) I replaced my CCV with a Febi one and I think it works well since my oil consumption is almost zero (except sustained spirited drives for days) but oily film in manifold and throttle always disgusts me. Living in a relatively hot and humid climate. Didn’t see any mayo anywhere yet. What are your thoughts?

Outstanding! Where is a good source for OEM CCV system?

im swapping my valve cover out soon with the m56 with the ccv already built in i just have to figure out where that port is going to go and how to block the old system off

Hey, so how can I reduce oil comsumption without overhauling?

Hey man! Great video and just the one I needed right now, since I am almost done changing the CCV on my 330i. Actually not as difficult, but it depends on previous experience. I wanted to do a pilot o2 mod and now I am definitely try the heat soak method. BUT - if I do end up doing the o2 pilot mod - does it require the addition of a non return valve to the lowest hose, the one going into the dipstick? 50's kid also recommends it as a way of preventing the oil getting into the intake, but I am not sure if that sort of valve wouldn't obstruct the oil from the vapours getting into the oil pan. Please help me out - does it require this extra one way valve or can it also work without it?

Hey! Do the three vacuum endings on the intake, on its right side(cabin side), should be closed?

very informatice video thanks i was thinking of doing a catch can but probably wont now thanks to your video, Btw i have done the o2 pilot mod and my oil consumption is still high what do you think about that?

I like this guy...bye Nathan

And number 3 people also move that catch can away from the engine it's close to the engine on purpose that way it can heat up the oil and separate the oil from vapor