Oil spurting out of dipstick - help please!

[Seany88]

Hi all,

Bit of a long story, but it started with a knackered flexi-pipe, which was due to be replaced. Garage fixing it broke a stud and had to bodge it as I needed it back that day to get home/work for the next few days.
In that time its been blowing (a lot of) white smoke out, and the oil light came on a few times. I topped it up (was nearly empty!) and then tried to check the oil level after a couple of mins. It flew out at me! So left it overnight and topped it up again, put it in garage this morning and it happened again.
Garage seem to think pistons seized which is creating the pressure to shoot out oil and need a new engine but the engine wouldn't run if it was seized?

Having a quick search online suggests maybe cleaning the PCV valve might be the case? Car is 320d 2003 with 140k on clock. I'm fully aware I might need a new engine, but has anyone any ideas first before I fork out however much it costs for a new engine?

Thanks

[noumenon]

Not sure I follow exactly what you mean. If the dipstick is shooting out, that indicates too much pressure in the crank case. Normally this is piston blowpast (not seized) which is not good. (I know for peugeots, the dipstick shooting out is terminal in almost all cases.)

If you mean that oil spits out of the dipstick tube when the car is running and the dipstick is out, I'd suggest you put it back in. Don't know with BMWs but may not actually be a problem with the car.

If it's using oil, then it needs to be determined where it's going. Smoke on overrun suggests the turbo or blowpast. If it's just at startup that's something like valve stem seals. A puddle on the ground suggests just a leak. Are you sure the smoke is white and not blue (oil smoke)?

[Seany88]

noumenon said:

Not sure I follow exactly what you mean. If the dipstick is shooting out, that indicates too much pressure in the crank case. Normally this is piston blowpast (not seized) which is not good. (I know for peugeots, the dipstick shooting out is terminal in almost all cases.)

If you mean that oil spits out of the dipstick tube when the car is running and the dipstick is out, I'd suggest you put it back in. Don't know with BMWs but may not actually be a problem with the car.

If it's using oil, then it needs to be determined where it's going. Smoke on overrun suggests the turbo or blowpast. If it's just at startup that's something like valve stem seals. A puddle on the ground suggests just a leak. Are you sure the smoke is white and not blue (oil smoke)?

Its spitting out when engine is off but hot. I think the smoke probably is blue, it smells like burning oil.

The smoke is all the time while driving...could it be from the oil spitting out in the engine bay and burning off on the manifolds etc? There's no leak.

[noumenon]

Forgot to say, a compression test will show if it's blowpast on the piston rings. Worth doing.

A blocked PCV is also possible. A cheap option to try.

[GreenV8S]

Either you have a truly massive amount of blow-by past the rings or the breather is blocked.
If it's engine wear sufficient to cause that much blow-by off load then you will probably also have a lot of oil coming up past the rings which would cause a huge smoke trail. So unless you see the smoke trail, I'd be inclined to suspect the breather.

[Seany88]

noumenon said:

Forgot to say, a compression test will show if it's blowpast on the piston rings. Worth doing.

A blocked PCV is also possible. A cheap option to try.

Yes i've instructed the garage to clean it, they didn't know what it was so i've had to show them. Fingers crossed. Will try and get a compression test done too.

What am I looking at for a new engine and associated bits? Scrapyards should be cheaper right, but is it worth the hassle?

[Seany88]

GreenV8S said:

Either you have a truly massive amount of blow-by past the rings or the breather is blocked.
If it's engine wear sufficient to cause that much blow-by off load then you will probably also have a lot of oil coming up past the rings which would cause a huge smoke trail. So unless you see the smoke trail, I'd be inclined to suspect the breather.

I do have a huge smoke trail...so i've fried the piston rings?

[noumenon]

Don't get too excited just yet. Wait to see what they say about the breather.

After the breather, a compression test is the next simple thing to do. Actually, does anyone know if you can compression test a modern diesel? No spark plug or glow plug holes! Presume you can use the injector hole?

Edited by noumenon on Friday 9th January 12:48

[E30M3SE]

Seany88 said:

Yes i've instructed the garage to clean it, they didn't know what it was so i've had to show them.

I would be taking it to a different garage at this point.

[magpie215]

E30M3SE said:

Seany88 said:

Yes i've instructed the garage to clean it, they didn't know what it was so i've had to show them.

I would be taking it to a different garage at this point.

+1 I would hear alarm bells at that statement.

[Seany88]

I would, but i'm stuck in the middle of nowhere at work(Buxton) and they have a monopoly of being the only garage in the town/village

[VerySideways]

the only gay in the village?

[GreenV8S]

magpie215 said:

E30M3SE said:

Seany88 said:

Yes i've instructed the garage to clean it, they didn't know what it was so i've had to show them.

I would be taking it to a different garage at this point.

+1 I would hear alarm bells at that statement.

It's not as daft as it sounds. A PCV system for a diesel engine would be completely different for a petrol one and probably doesn't have a check valve at all. And if there's an EGR system in there it could be quite tricky to work out what's what.

[E30M3SE]

GreenV8S said:

magpie215 said:

E30M3SE said:

Seany88 said:

Yes i've instructed the garage to clean it, they didn't know what it was so i've had to show them.

I would be taking it to a different garage at this point.

+1 I would hear alarm bells at that statement.

It's not as daft as it sounds. A PCV system for a diesel engine would be completely different for a petrol one and probably doesn't have a check valve at all. And if there's an EGR system in there it could be quite tricky to work out what's what.

But they should know this, unless they have limited diesel, BMW or BMW diesel experience. In which case OP needs to take it somewhere that does know what is what before forking out for a, possibly, unnecessary 'new' engine.

Edited by E30M3SE on Friday 9th January 14:22

[< FORZA WEST]

First crankcase breather filter its servicable every 60k

[< FORZA WEST]

Garage seem to think pistons seized which is creating the pressure to shoot out oil

lol

if the pistons have siezed the engine cant run therefore no pressure can build up.

[Seany88]

Well they're just getting on with it now using an internet step-by-step that I printed out for them...

So worst case scenario now as i'm finishing work soon and need to get to nottingham then birmingham tonight/tomorrow, how bad would it be for me to continue driving the thing? Keeping on minimal throttle and possibly coasting where possible? I mean, i've already driven 300miles with it in this state (on motorway), yet the water temp has never risen above the mid-way mark. I do put the inside heater on full to help remove heat from the engine. Any opinions?

[phelix]

I'd be worried about the engine ingesting or losing its oil and then seizing. Don't drive it until it's sorted.

[noumenon]

phelix said:

I'd be worried about the engine ingesting or losing its oil and then seizing. Don't drive it until it's sorted.

+1. You loose the oil, you _will_ need a new engine.

Got breakdown cover? If so push it outside the current garage, get them to recover it to the new one.

[Seany88]

Just an update, made it home. They cleaned the PCV and seems that it stopped the smoke, there was no smoke whatsoever on the way home. So have I had a lucky escape or should I still be wary? They didn't do a compression test, i'm going to take it to a friend's tomorrow and hopefully get it done there.

Cheers for all the help btw, appreciated!