After noticing white smoke coming from my exhaust constantly, I did a deep dive on the subject. After extensive research, it seemed to be related to either: the PCV and hoses, or the Valve stem seals. After inspecting my car, I noticed one of the PCV hoses was completely split in half due to it drying out and being brittle. I used duct tape to secure it temporarily but it’s very hard to secure in a small tight spot. Then I found out that there was a recall on the valve stem seals for my car but realized the time frame had expired. Regardless, I took my car to BMW to see if they could diagnose the problem.(Big Mistake). I told them what I thought was wrong, wanted to know what the culprit was ,and the price of getting the engine seals replaced. Since the engine has to be fully taken out of the car to replace the valve stem seals, I knew the price would be high, however I hoped for it to be something else. Also I noted that the hose was split in half. The next day I get a call to come in and discuss what they found. Basically they agreed it was the Valve stem seals and gave me an insanely high quote. If I remember correctly, the quote was well above the price of my car in whole. Obviously they didn’t test anything, and just gave a speculative guess. (Which I now regret telling them what I thought it was). So after charging me a couple hundred to do nothing, I took my car and started researching more. I saw a post that claimed replacing the PCV hoses stopped the white smoke. But then I saw posts saying that it didn’t stop it. So I looked in my engine and took a picture of the part and number to find it online. I came across this product and it matched what I needed, so I bought it. The price was low enough that it was worth taking the risk, especially considering the price to replace the Valve stem seals. I’m not a mechanic or even super knowledgeable about fixing cars. I can do most basic repairs and everything else I just follow what I see online (YouTube of DiYs). The installation was fairly simple, I just took note of parts I needed to remove to get the PCV hose and took pictures as a backup. Basically it was the engine cover, Air ventilation + ducts, and a couple fasteners loosened. The space is pretty narrow and the angles are tough but I was able to do it. Now the one thing I do wish I knew was about that tool needed to unscrew the bolts holding the part in. Since I didn’t have it and the tiny space wouldn’t allow me to use a screwdriver with a rubberband, I ended up stripping the screws and could not get them loose. I ended up using a long wrench and yanked at it forever trying to loosen it with leverage. It took a long time but I did it. Then I installed the parts on each side, fastened the screws by hand and then used the wrench to tighten. After that it was easy to put the vent and ducts back. If I would have had the tool to take the screws out, this whole project would have taken 30 mins to 1 hour total and that’s taking time and pictures as a backup. CONCLUSION: It worked!!! I was surprised this was the main culprit. I’m sure the Valve stem seals could be replaced as well, but when relating to the constant white smoke coming out of the exhaust, this part took care of it. Rarely I’ll see a little smoke but it’s very rare. My car was smoking constantly the second i started it and while driving. I’d even have people pull up next to me to tell me my car was blowing out a lot of smoke. It was embarrassing, even though the car was functioning perfectly fine. This product saved me THOUSANDS and I hope this review can help anyone with the same problem.
