How do you get a new bottom pipe on the oil separator 2003 4.4 BMW ?
Can the other small pipe from pcv be changed without removing the valve unit ?
Any help appreciated

I have found the solution to my problems on the BMW forums
as no response here

This may help if you are planning on doing the job

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic20268.html

Thanks for the reply holidaychicken i am going to change just the oil separator and put new bottom pipe on
this weekend i have read the post on pcv changes and will do that in the future if needed.

There is not much going on with the oil separator but it can get blocked. You can see on the attached where the connections are buried but whether you can undo the two bolts on the separator and then remove it with the pipes going to the sump still connected to it or even move it to a position where you can access the hose clips better by removing the bolt that attaches the pipes to the sump. let us know if you have fun.

Thanks for the pics Holidaychicken ,i can now see what i am up against
the oem bottom pipe is very short i think i will try to get a longer piece of pipe
before i start the job. getting the pipe clips off is going to be a task .

You could always pop your transmission out !
The bottom clip that attaches to the cyclone, if it is original is one of the crimped type rather than a jubilee.
I am not sure if this is possible but the two bolts that go to the cyclone are relatively easy to reach so i am wondering if you can release the pipes at the sump and then pull the cyclone up to access the bottom clip although looking at the attached, where it says bracket in photo, i am guessing it is attached there as well but you may be able to get at that from underneath, or not
You will have to keep an eye on the little orange pipe as well that runs under the inlet manifold and connects to the end of the PCV as this breaks off at the pcv very easily.

It might be worth considering cleaning the cyclone in situ and if you have seen on the other PCV thread, he has the same dilemma about removing the sump bolt.

Click image to enlarge

Thanks for the info holiday chicken , i managed to do the job this weekend
Fitted new seperator and new bottom pipe its a struggle but got there finally
working from top of engine only Top 2 bigger pipes have been changed so
engine is breathing again, pcv looks like its been changed in the recent past
so leaving alone at the moment ,cam cover gasket change next week end
hopefully that should cure some more oil leaks.

Top Job then
cam covers aren't too bad, unless you have LPG as that can make it a bit tricky, there is a wiki on here i think.

Cam covers are nearly always bad if not done before, just make sure you get the correct sealant, there is a thread here somewhere for the loctite product and it needs to go in certain places as you probably know.
Mine still leaked a bit from the front vanos solenoid seals and the upper timing chain seals until i did my vanos but the cam covers should help a lot.

Keep us posted
Andy

Yep i have got the seals and the landrover oem sealant i have done the front vano seal covers
so ready to go for next weekend for cam cover seals