S55 PCV 'SQUEAL' - Easy Fix (so you don't have to replace the entire valve cover)

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by Bobdubich

Thank you F82 for all your hard work and sharing! I'm about to try it this weekend, I've watched several videos to replace the whole Valve cover. Is there anything I can leave on or any shortcuts to get to the PCV Valve? Basically what do I need to remove (minimum) to get access to it?

Minimum for proper access is going to be:

1. Engine Cover
2. Cowl Covers
3. Carbon Strut Bar
4. Driver Side Intake
5. Charge Pipes

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

Originally Posted by rmanm4

Ya there is no long term data that shows it holds the correct amount of pressure.

Not totally following this post or what is being asked? Are you referring to the breather cap which we sell almost 2000 of per year, for 4 years?

Holds the correct amount of pressure? It's not designed to hold pressure, it's designed to VENT pressure. Your statement doesn't really add up in talking about a PCV system They are never designed to hold pressure, the name of the game is getting rid of unwanted crankcase pressure. The oil cap breather is NOTHING but a 1" one-way check valve that can be installed in ANY system to increase venting on the HIGH side. This means under boost if the crankcase is pressurized it lifts the ball (as little as .1psi will lift it), and vents the pressure.

If the stock PCV high side it up to par, the crankcase would never see pressure, and the ball would never lift. You would just have an oil cap in place, as vacuum/gravity holds the ball down closing the system.

As far as the OP saying it doesn't fit, again 2000 sold a year, most BMW VCs take the same style cap including the S55. It of course comes with a gasket, it is literally the SAME exactly lower design we have on the Oil caps, but with the breather assembly on top rather than a cap. It's always baffling when people make claims that do not even line up with the facts at all.

No where do we claim the breather is the end all be all for crankcase pressure, but coupled with a properly set up, and working PCV system it allows venting of ALL crankcase pressure.

Breather on the left is old Style BMW two prong. You can clearly see the gasket, on the right is the new style which fits B58 TU, and S58.

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by Chris@VargasTurboTech

Not totally following this post or what is being asked? Are you referring to the breather cap which we sell almost 2000 of per year, for 4 years?

Holds the correct amount of pressure? It's not designed to hold pressure, it's designed to VENT pressure. Your statement doesn't really add up in talking about a PCV system They are never designed to hold pressure, the name of the game is getting rid of unwanted crankcase pressure. The oil cap breather is NOTHING but a 1" one-way check valve that can be installed in ANY system to increase venting on the HIGH side. This means under boost if the crankcase is pressurized it lifts the ball (as little as .1psi will lift it), and vents the pressure.

If the stock PCV high side it up to par, the crankcase would never see pressure, and the ball would never lift. You would just have an oil cap in place, as vacuum/gravity holds the ball down closing the system.

As far as the OP saying it doesn't fit, again 2000 sold a year, most BMW VCs take the same style cap including the S55. It of course comes with a gasket, it is literally the SAME exactly lower design we have on the Oil caps, but with the breather assembly on top rather than a cap. It's always baffling when people make claims that do not even line up with the facts at all.

No where do we claim the breather is the end all be all for crankcase pressure, but coupled with a properly set up, and working PCV system it allows venting of ALL crankcase pressure.

Breather on the left is old Style BMW two prong. You can clearly see the gasket, on the right is the new style which fits B58 TU, and S58.

This would've been a way easier solution for me (or anyone) than having to pop the PCV off and replace it with some Amazon hack job because the issue I had was lack of PCV ventilation, not vacuum. This in theory would provide exactly that.

But it did not fit on my M4, not without being forced on and potentially chewing up the plastic valve cover. Maybe I just was unlucky and received a bad breather, I had to send pictures and videos to the shop just to get a refund, which I finally did after about a month:

[Bobdubich]

Originally Posted by f82.959

This would've been a way easier solution for me (or anyone) than having to pop the PCV off and replace it with some Amazon hack job because the issue I had was lack of PCV ventilation, not vacuum. This in theory would provide exactly that.

But it did not fit on my M4, not without being forced on and potentially chewing up the plastic valve cover. Maybe I just was unlucky and received a bad breather, I had to send pictures and videos to the shop just to get a refund, which I finally did after about a month:

Did you use the rubber gasket from the oil cap like it’s described on their online instructions? Just wondering as about to try you fix and if it works wouldn’t mind adding their breathing cap as well.

Thank you F82 for dissecting this!

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by Bobdubich

Did you use the rubber gasket from the oil cap like it’s described on their online instructions? Just wondering as about to try you fix and if it works wouldn’t mind adding their breathing cap as well.

Thank you F82 for dissecting this!

I was about to but it felt like it was going to tear (has about 90K on it, it's pretty well-baked on) and considering it wouldn't fit without it I didn't see the point of picking/prying off the factory gasket which would've just added more 'friction' or thickness to the fitment.

[Bobdubich]

Your repair seemed to work! I did have to redo it once as the 1/16 must have been too small for me also. It started squeezing after a couple miles. When I took off the oil cap and revved no more squeal. I really want to add the oil breathing cap, not sure after yours would not fit though. I will order a new oil cap and use the gasket from that, if I have to return everything so be it. Did it appear the filter when attached was going to fit under the hood? Didn't look like a lot of clearance.

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by Bobdubich

Your repair seemed to work! I did have to redo it once as the 1/16 must have been too small for me also. It started squeezing after a couple miles. When I took off the oil cap and revved no more squeal. I really want to add the oil breathing cap, not sure after yours would not fit though. I will order a new oil cap and use the gasket from that, if I have to return everything so be it. Did it appear the filter when attached was going to fit under the hood? Didn't look like a lot of clearance.

Glad it's working. I would try the breather honestly, I was probably just unlucky. Clearance was no problem.

[tauzins]

curious... did anyone try the n55 diaphragm and see if it works? Looks like jordan from RK tunes did this and it seemed to work?

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by tauzins

curious... did anyone try the n55 diaphragm and see if it works? Looks like jordan from RK tunes did this and it seemed to work?

Essentially that's what I have but it didn't work without removing the flap/diaphragm. Results might be different for someone else. The flap itself on the S55 is much different than any of the others that are included in these $30 patch kits.

[Bobdubich]

Originally Posted by f82.959

Essentially that's what I have but it didn't work without removing the flap/diaphragm. Results might be different for someone else. The flap itself on the S55 is much different than any of the others that are included in these $30 patch kits.

That's what I used too thanks to this thread. I did have to go back in once and drill slightly larger holes. But it's running perfect. Using tin snips or similar is very easy to cut a piece from the side breaking the seal and using a flat head screw driver at that point you can basically pop it off, very easy!

[slaughter.mode]

Just an update for me. It's been a good 10,000 miles since I performed this PCV fix and I did notice some very, very minor PCV squealing in 2nd gear at a very quick interval when the car is just about to drop to the 1K/coast RPM point. I took everything apart and noticed a lot of leaking from the Valvetronic Actuator Seal. It never occurred to me to change this so I did. Squeal gone.

I think it's important that if you're in there doing the PCV fix, you should definitely do this too. It takes a few seconds and the part is $10. I just didn't think of it at the time.

Note: This image on the left is both the housing and the actual seal (middle piece). I didn't realize you can buy them separately as well but the cost difference is next to nothing so I just went with the all-in-one solution.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...502022#fitment

[slaughter.mode]

Just adding additional details, there's actually two parts to this seal, 7502022 and 7502023. The latter, circular part is probably the most impactful piece to change if you for some reason don't have access to getting the combined part. It is the rubber ring in the middle. Visibly I cannot see any damage to it but clearly it's not doing it's job. I suppose the plastic piece could also be warped at a micro level but it lines up with the screws so I doubt it.

[slaughter.mode]

I constantly receive PMs about this fix asking for details of the parts and if I'm sure it worked...well 13,000 miles later and it's still just as good as the first day. The temperatures have changed dramatically due to the seasonal changes and, yep, still fine.

If you understand how the PCV system works, you'll understand why this works. All I did here was essentially turn one of the PCV components into a breather which allows the engine to vent properly (effectively cancelling the squeal). As bullet proof as this fix has been, and I have zero signs of any problems with any seals, I do have a new valve cover but I figured I'll hit the 100,000 mark on the odometer before I install it since I'll be doing a lot of work on the engine at that point.

[slaughter.mode]

Just wanted to update. I just clocked 100,000 miles on my M4 and that means I've had this fix in place for just about 20K miles and it's still showing zero signs of failure. The tiny dust particles that are being sucked into the engine are being destroyed almost instantly from the heat. I do have a brand new valve cover sitting waiting to go but at this point I'll have a racing (Vargas or something similar) valve cover since I'll need to rebuild this motor to support the 800+ whp I intend to go for sometime this year. Good luck out there if you're doing this fix.

[slaughter.mode]

Just wanted to update. I just clocked 100,000 miles on my M4 and that means I've had this fix in place for just about 20K miles and it's still showing zero signs of failure. The tiny dust particles that are being sucked into the engine are being destroyed almost instantly from the heat. I do have a brand new valve cover sitting waiting to go but at this point I'll have a racing (Vargas or something similar) valve cover since I'll need to rebuild this motor to support the 800+ whp I intend to go for sometime this year. Good luck out there if you're doing this fix.

[manguin]

Originally Posted by f82.959

Just wanted to update. I just clocked 100,000 miles on my M4 and that means I've had this fix in place for just about 20K miles and it's still showing zero signs of failure. The tiny dust particles that are being sucked into the engine are being destroyed almost instantly from the heat. I do have a brand new valve cover sitting waiting to go but at this point I'll have a racing (Vargas or something similar) valve cover since I'll need to rebuild this motor to support the 800+ whp I intend to go for sometime this year. Good luck out there if you're doing this fix.

My car just started squeaking. If doing this PCV Delete mod, the holes would eject oil vapors out, how much oil deposit do you have since the mod and does it cause oil smells outside or inside the cabin?

How about adding the oil cap breather in addition to doing the PCV delete, could it create another escape for crankcase pressure so that less stuff comes out of the modded PCV holes? Hoping to do this PCV delete and not have to touch it again for a few years.

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by manguin

My car just started squeaking. If doing this PCV Delete mod, the holes would eject oil vapors out, how much oil deposit do you have since the mod and does it cause oil smells outside or inside the cabin?

How about adding the oil cap breather in addition to doing the PCV delete, could it create another escape for crankcase pressure so that less stuff comes out of the modded PCV holes? Hoping to do this PCV delete and not have to touch it again for a few years.

Depends what your PCV failure looks like, it could be a vacuum issue or a venting issue. Validate by opening the oil cap while it's idling, if it hisses and the squeal goes away, try JUST getting a breather first. It's way less invasive and sometimes can provide adequate venting that the engine needs. If that doesn't work, try the cap without the holes. I have thousands of miles and every now and then (when I change spark plugs) I have very minimal oil on the PCV cap.

[chicken1]

Just did this and replaced the other part as mentioned. At first I drilled 8 1/16 holes and there was still a slight squeal in 2nd gear so I drilled 1 more hole and the car has not squealed yet again. I'll update as well further down the line

[chicken1]

I am now getting a p112f code has anyone else gotten this?

[slaughter.mode]

Originally Posted by chicken1

I am now getting a p112f code has anyone else gotten this?

I did once. It was because I didn't re-install my intake properly. Check the vacuum lines and make sure everything is nice and snug. I'm confident removing/re-installing carefully will resolve that.

[trungnguyen28]

Thanks for the update! 20k miles with no issues at your power level is reassuring. I'm actually surprised there isn't more pushback on this fix.

[bmwgvsc]

Hey all.. I need to do this as well. I like the idea of having a cap I can take off and inspect as in the fix, but my question is what is the best tutorial or video on how to remove and cut the existing PCV valve off, there are so many out there hard to find one that works best.. The f82.959's video shows it off really well so curious which method you used.

Thanks!