Smoke issue

Domr32 · 12-21-2022, 11:42 AM

Hi guys.

Car is a BMW X5 e70 with the 235hp engine.

Symptoms are puff of smoke when starting it, then a constant flow of smoke that gradually gets worse as the car heat up. When driving it doesn't seem visible, only at idle. Smoke also appears on the left side of the engine bay.

The car has been remapped, DPF gutted and deleted from the ECU, EGR deleted and removed except the cooler. It was remapped by Jason at BWchiptune who are highly reputable so I'm not thinking it's a bad tune.

Replaced the CCV breather today and no luck.
Injector readings are :
+0.65mg/stk
-0.17mg/stk
-0.67mg/stk
-0.26mg/stk
+0.33mg/stk
+0.07mg/stk

Issue is the same with MAF unplugged.

Only codes I have are for glow plugs 1,2,4 & 5, which I don't think would cause this amount of smoke ?

I'll attach a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Byf4ja062k&t=6s

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance

Domr32 · 12-29-2022, 09:40 AM

Any advice ?

Domr32 · 12-30-2022, 11:10 AM

Did a head gasket test today with one of those blue liquid testers and it stayed blue, had it on for 20 minutes so doesn't seem to be the head gasket.

No mayo, no oil in the coolant either.

It doesn't seem to be drinking oil, last oil change was in January and the level has remained the same more or less.

I am noticing more smoke on the left side of the engine bay, near the turbo or possibly the intercooler.

I'm pretty sure there's a boost leak too because the low end boost is nonexistent... All these issues seem to be indicating towards the turbo or the cooling system maybe ?

Video of the smoke coming from the engine bay:

wcs531 · 12-31-2022, 03:04 PM

I'm assuming its a xdrive30d with single turbo? Not familiar with the single turbos but fewer points of failure.

How many miles/km does the car have? You changed the oil in January but how many miles/km since then? Are you taking measurement from the dipstick? I dont trust the electronic measurement and dont understand how you couldn't be losing oil.

Just re-read your first post...so your EGR is coded out but the EGR cooler itself is still in place? Since youre not losing oil, I would guess coolant leak from the EGR cooler.

If you dont have the EGR cooler in place still, then maybe turbo seals, valve cover gasket, and/or oil feed/return lines for turbo.

Domr32 · 01-01-2023, 09:50 PM

wcs531 Yes, it's the single turbo m57n2 235hp version.

The car has around 250,000kms, and usually perform oil changes every 8-10,000kms or yearly. Since the last oil change it's maybe had around 3,000kms.

Coincidentally i checked the oil from the dipstick earlier today and it was well over max!! Had to empty 2 litres for it to be under max. So i'm not sure if it was overfilled ( it was the only time i didn't do the oil myself ) *the oil was black, with a stronger than usual diesel smell*

The EGR was codded out, along with the DPF around 3 months ago. Which is when this smoke appeared, i imagine the DPF was masking it because you could smell it but no smoke from the exhaust.

The EGR was removed initially with the remap, but the cooler was still in place. I went ahead and removed it today and the smoke remains.

Inspected the turbo and all seemed good apart from the air inlet pipe, the seal has deteriorated quite a bit, so i've ordered a new one and hopefully will be able to fit it soon. Also ordered oil and filter.

Do you reckon it's worth looking at the intercooler too ?

wcs531 · 01-04-2023, 06:55 AM

Air to air intercooler can only leak boost/air, it will definitely get some oil pooling in it from an oil leak elsewhere though.

Since you were overfilled and dont have a baseline measurement I would assume that you are definitely losing oil.

If its not the EGR cooler my best guess would be two leaks because you have smoke inside the engine and coming from the exhaust.

1. Valve cover gasket leaking and dripping oil on the exhaust manifold. You should be able to see this i think?
2. Turbo seal leaking oil into exhaust. Not sure how to insect this personally, I think you can really only check the bearing from removing the inlet pipe but I could be wrong

There are a bunch of existing threads with info on e90post with suggestions as well. Here is one for example with ideas but didnt seem to have any resolution

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1555099

Domr32 · 01-04-2023, 09:52 AM

The reason for the overfilled oil is looking like fuel has mixed with it. Possibly from a leaking injector or from the previous DPF regeneration attempts as the oil hasn't been changed since then. It would explain the smoke in theory.

The smoke from the exhaust is identical in smell and colour to the blowby smoke, and there's a lot of blowby.
( https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R3JNkTyZbcA )

After some smoke tests, there's a leak on the red intercooler pipe.

1. The valve cover gasket was changed around a year ago, maybe with the excess oil it could've damaged it ?

2. I wouldn't know how to check this either. I imagine the turbo would need taking apart ?

I remember reading this thread and a future one he posted, he got rid of the car and said it was likely the rings or bad turbo.

I'll change the oil, clean out the intercooler, replace the red pipe and the turbo air seal. I'll be sure to update the thread.

12-21-2022, 11:42 AM	#1
Domr32 New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW X5 E70 235 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Spain iTrader: (0)	Smoke issue Hi guys. Car is a BMW X5 e70 with the 235hp engine. Symptoms are puff of smoke when starting it, then a constant flow of smoke that gradually gets worse as the car heat up. When driving it doesn't seem visible, only at idle. Smoke also appears on the left side of the engine bay. The car has been remapped, DPF gutted and deleted from the ECU, EGR deleted and removed except the cooler. It was remapped by Jason at BWchiptune who are highly reputable so I'm not thinking it's a bad tune. Replaced the CCV breather today and no luck. Injector readings are : +0.65mg/stk -0.17mg/stk -0.67mg/stk -0.26mg/stk +0.33mg/stk +0.07mg/stk Issue is the same with MAF unplugged. Only codes I have are for glow plugs 1,2,4 & 5, which I don't think would cause this amount of smoke ? I'll attach a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Byf4ja062k&t=6s Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance
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12-29-2022, 09:40 AM	#2
Domr32 New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW X5 E70 235 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Spain iTrader: (0)	Any advice ?
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12-30-2022, 11:10 AM	#3
Domr32 New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW X5 E70 235 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Spain iTrader: (0)	Did a head gasket test today with one of those blue liquid testers and it stayed blue, had it on for 20 minutes so doesn't seem to be the head gasket. No mayo, no oil in the coolant either. It doesn't seem to be drinking oil, last oil change was in January and the level has remained the same more or less. I am noticing more smoke on the left side of the engine bay, near the turbo or possibly the intercooler. I'm pretty sure there's a boost leak too because the low end boost is nonexistent... All these issues seem to be indicating towards the turbo or the cooling system maybe ? Video of the smoke coming from the engine bay:
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12-31-2022, 03:04 PM	#4
wcs531 Second Lieutenant 97 Rep 282 Posts Drives: E90 335xi / E70 X5d Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (1)	I'm assuming its a xdrive30d with single turbo? Not familiar with the single turbos but fewer points of failure. How many miles/km does the car have? You changed the oil in January but how many miles/km since then? Are you taking measurement from the dipstick? I dont trust the electronic measurement and dont understand how you couldn't be losing oil. Just re-read your first post...so your EGR is coded out but the EGR cooler itself is still in place? Since youre not losing oil, I would guess coolant leak from the EGR cooler. If you dont have the EGR cooler in place still, then maybe turbo seals, valve cover gasket, and/or oil feed/return lines for turbo. Last edited by wcs531; 01-02-2023 at 06:50 AM..
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01-01-2023, 09:50 PM	#5
Domr32 New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW X5 E70 235 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Spain iTrader: (0)	wcs531 Yes, it's the single turbo m57n2 235hp version. The car has around 250,000kms, and usually perform oil changes every 8-10,000kms or yearly. Since the last oil change it's maybe had around 3,000kms. Coincidentally i checked the oil from the dipstick earlier today and it was well over max!! Had to empty 2 litres for it to be under max. So i'm not sure if it was overfilled ( it was the only time i didn't do the oil myself ) the oil was black, with a stronger than usual diesel smell The EGR was codded out, along with the DPF around 3 months ago. Which is when this smoke appeared, i imagine the DPF was masking it because you could smell it but no smoke from the exhaust. The EGR was removed initially with the remap, but the cooler was still in place. I went ahead and removed it today and the smoke remains. Inspected the turbo and all seemed good apart from the air inlet pipe, the seal has deteriorated quite a bit, so i've ordered a new one and hopefully will be able to fit it soon. Also ordered oil and filter. Do you reckon it's worth looking at the intercooler too ? Attached Images
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01-04-2023, 06:55 AM	#6
wcs531 Second Lieutenant 97 Rep 282 Posts Drives: E90 335xi / E70 X5d Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (1)	Air to air intercooler can only leak boost/air, it will definitely get some oil pooling in it from an oil leak elsewhere though. Since you were overfilled and dont have a baseline measurement I would assume that you are definitely losing oil. If its not the EGR cooler my best guess would be two leaks because you have smoke inside the engine and coming from the exhaust. 1. Valve cover gasket leaking and dripping oil on the exhaust manifold. You should be able to see this i think? 2. Turbo seal leaking oil into exhaust. Not sure how to insect this personally, I think you can really only check the bearing from removing the inlet pipe but I could be wrong There are a bunch of existing threads with info on e90post with suggestions as well. Here is one for example with ideas but didnt seem to have any resolution https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1555099
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-04-2023, 09:52 AM	#7
Domr32 New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: BMW X5 E70 235 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Spain iTrader: (0)	The reason for the overfilled oil is looking like fuel has mixed with it. Possibly from a leaking injector or from the previous DPF regeneration attempts as the oil hasn't been changed since then. It would explain the smoke in theory. The smoke from the exhaust is identical in smell and colour to the blowby smoke, and there's a lot of blowby. ( https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R3JNkTyZbcA ) After some smoke tests, there's a leak on the red intercooler pipe. 1. The valve cover gasket was changed around a year ago, maybe with the excess oil it could've damaged it ? 2. I wouldn't know how to check this either. I imagine the turbo would need taking apart ? I remember reading this thread and a future one he posted, he got rid of the car and said it was likely the rings or bad turbo. I'll change the oil, clean out the intercooler, replace the red pipe and the turbo air seal. I'll be sure to update the thread.
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