Well, 2 weeks ago I was checking fluids as a pre-flight for a trip up to Omaha, and... uh, oh..... oil in the coolant res. No other symptoms!!

So now:
Head is 7 thousandths straighter (pressure test ok)
Intake, valve cover, and thermostat housings are painted black
Intake manifold is gasket-matched to head
Take-off Bosch Design III 19# injectors
Fresh BMW coolant (again!)
New vacuum hoses
New exhaust studs and nuts
Probably 5 pounds lighter due to carbon removal!

Grand total with the injectors was around $425, obviously doing it all myself but the head milling. So not too bad, really. Thanks BMA and FiveOMotorsports!

Things I learned:
The engine compartment looks WAY better with stuff painted
1 little 5'10" guy CAN lift the head off and on unassisted, even with the intake manifold attached, without damaging anything other than maybe my back. :)
Bleeding M30s is a pain. Well, I already knew that.
You need MORE than 3 gallons of coolant when the system has been totally drained.
The intake manifold casting is WAY off from the head! I mean, that's terrible!
At 181k, this was still the original HG. Things actually looked pretty good, too.

Things I have to do yet:
Idle is pretty bad. Hoping DME adaptation helps, and then I'll do a valve adjustment (guess I don't really trust the machine shop), and then a 3.5 bar FPR.
Timing chain is also original. Guides are kinda worn, too. So, add that to the list... I didn't have time or the inclination to attack that without a serious tool for the crank pulley.

Impressions:
Wow, it's so smooth!! Once your'e off idle, it runs really smooth....it's been a couple of weeks, but I swear it runs way better...must be the injectors and de-carboning. There was TONS of crap in the intake manifold, surprised it ran at all before.

I've been driving my 300E in the interim, and I forgot how much faster and more responsive the BMW is. :) Steering is really dead, though. :(

So, another M30 HG bit the dust, but it's back, and better than ever. Just had to share! Pics when I can get my hands on a camera.

this is pathetic... mine still isn't DONE DONE... just sorta done...

and I'm glad I got home last night when I did, otherwise, this post wouldn't be happening!!!! (re: coolant)

I WISH I was only into it for $425.... its like playing those "add a digit" games on the price is right!!!!

re: steering... I need to talk to you about a "situation"

call me if/when you see this... I left you a VM too...

wow 181 on the head? i did mine at 130ish leakin all over the place.

why are u hoping a 3.5bar fpr will settle the idle out? i'd check for
vacuum leaks first, then get a eat chip, then clean the afm

Already have an EAT chip, found a vacuum leak, and did a valve adjustment. That took care of the idle. Runs great now!

Ok, here are some pics of the new hotness. :)

http://home.earthlink.net/~twobadeers/images/BMW_EC_Painted.jpg

Overall much nicer than before... very glad I spent the time and effort on the paint. Not perfect, but I really think a little paint makes the M30 look a lot more 'modern'

http://home.earthlink.net/~twobadeers/images/BMW_VC_Detail.jpg
Close-up of the VC

http://home.earthlink.net/~twobadeers/images/BMW%20Valve.jpg
For 181k, I'm REALLY happy with how clean the head is!! It came back from the shop looking like new.

BEautiful..and the painted valve cover looks great..is it powdercoat?

Already have an EAT chip, found a vacuum leak, and did a valve adjustment. That took care of the idle. Runs great now!

Ok, here are some pics of the new hotness. :)

Overall much nicer than before... very glad I spent the time and effort on the paint. Not perfect, but I really think a little paint makes the M30 look a lot more 'modern''sup fellow sexy M30 guy

http://home.comcast.net/~rjchristie2/SA/535i/1639m.JPG

So, tell me.. In that $425, did you have any valve work done? I'm at 165k and still running great (with the exception of a shitty, shitty idle), and I'm trying to prepare myself for what may be fast approaching...

On the 'shitty, shitty idle' note - I think I'm going to be replacing a lot of vacuum hoses in the near future, because all of mine look to be original. Where'd you find your leak?

Nice!! I thought about silver for the intake and therm housing, but I didn't want to buy more paint! :D

It's a single-stage urethane paint, I have an HVLP gun, so it was a lot cheaper and easier than powdercoating for me. It won't hold up as well as powdercoat, but it should be pretty durable.

No valve work. I just had the head decked and pressure tested for leaks/cracks. It passed the pressure test with flying colors, so I didn't have anything else done. That cost $185. It runs really well, and doesn't seem to burn a significant amount of oil, so I figured I could wait for any valve work. It does leak out the front cover, which I'll have to re-seal when the timing chain guides and such get changed eventually.

My vacuum leak was in the plastic check valve that goes between the intake manifold and the brake booster. The plastic was cracked underneath. For now, I patched it up with JB Weld and it's as good as new. I'll replace it next time I order some parts.

There's only 2 small vacuum lines: (these were both pretty bad on mine)
1 - underneath the intake to the FPR
2 - underneath the intake to the PCV hose
Then a 2 medium-sized ones:(#3 was really bad)
3 - from under the intake manifold to the evaporative emissions check valve
4 - from the evap. valve to the charcoal canister
Then some big ones:
5 - from underneath the intake to the ICV
6 - from the drivers' side of the intake to the brake booster
7 - from the PCV to the intake boot

Then of course the huge hoses that make up the intake boots can crack and leak.

I'd do a valve adjustment too, both times I've done it it's made a big difference in the idle. I'm running at .013 and am quite happy with it.

Valve adjustments on M30's are easier even than m20's, more room, I feel

I'll add that the car runs "good as new" smooth at idle and above... the only real problems left to address on that car is that check valve for the brake booster and the flywheel is working on being toast....

armen, I was just thinking, do we have the right vaccuum feed for the FPR on my car???

thinking about the W124 got me wondering.... would explain my poor run-quality.

i'm TRYING to mess up my flywheel so i can justify buying a e28 one hehhe
stupid dual mass pos

^^^ :rofl

I'll bet you can get one on taodfly for $50... then just add a new disc (like $75 at BMA) and go for it...

My vacuum leak was in the plastic check valve that goes between the intake manifold and the brake booster. The plastic was cracked underneath. For now, I patched it up with JB Weld and it's as good as new. I'll replace it next time I order some parts.

There's only 2 small vacuum lines: (these were both pretty bad on mine)
1 - underneath the intake to the FPR
2 - underneath the intake to the PCV hose
Then a 2 medium-sized ones:(#3 was really bad)
3 - from under the intake manifold to the evaporative emissions check valve
4 - from the evap. valve to the charcoal canister
Then some big ones:
5 - from underneath the intake to the ICV
6 - from the drivers' side of the intake to the brake booster
7 - from the PCV to the intake boot

Then of course the huge hoses that make up the intake boots can crack and leak.

I'd do a valve adjustment too, both times I've done it it's made a big difference in the idle. I'm running at .013 and am quite happy with it.Thanks so much for the vacuum line breakdown. I think I'm just going to order all the little ones up along with the brake booster check valve (the hose to which I just went out and inspected closer than I normally do, now I see it's got a nice fat crack in it.. hmm). I swear I can't reach wherever they connect under the intake manifold, but I probably haven't tried hard enough yet. Where'd ya get that nice blue vacuum line, if I may ask? ;)

I had my valves adjusted as a part of my inspection II service less than 5k ago, but they're gone loud already, so I'm gonna give a shot at doing it myself this time. I'm assuming .013 is what you set them to on a cold head, right? Even when they were quiet, my idle still sucked.

Any chance you think the 165,000mi old injectors might play a part in the shitty idle? I can totally imagine they're not atomizing like they used to - causing some uneven burn speeds... I really want to swap those out for those 19lb Mustang ones...


And yeah.. The fucking flywheel is the bane of my car's existance. My throwout bearing is all grindy at the moment, too - whee more to fix! :)

Blue hose came with the car...looks like the end went bad and the mechanic decided to just replace the end of the hose rather than the whole thing...lazy dork. At any rate it's nice silicone hose, so I left it there.

Chasing idle problems on an M30 can drive you nuts. :) Yep, .013 on a stone-cold head (overnight at least). Factory spec is .012, and if someone adjusted them to a really tight .012 5k ago, they could already have tightened up to the point where you could adjust them to .013 and see a benefit. Other things to check:

.035 gap on plugs (use regular plugs, not platinum!!!)
Clean IACV (ICV) out with carb or brake cleaner.

And sure, the injectors could be contributing. I used the design III mustang injectors, but I had to modify a couple of things to get them to fit correctly. I think the design II are a direct bolt-in, but not quite as efficient. A lot better than the originals with 165k, though! :D

Jeremy - found out the W124 FPR is a great deal at only $438. Fixed it for $1 at ace hardware. :D

Oh, and you can reach under the manifold to install/remove the vacuum lines with everthing else installed. It's a pain, but it's possible. You could remove the lower support that goes down to the engine block to make things a little easier.

Would you have PN# on those injectors?

0280155710-F6VE 19.4lbs
Design III

0280150556-D5B 19lbs
Design II

www.fiveomotorsport.com

You cornhuskers sure as hell are nice people :D

We sure are. That's why you should move here. :D

Already have an EAT chip, found a vacuum leak, and did a valve adjustment. That took care of the idle. Runs great now!

Ok, here are some pics of the new hotness. :)

http://home.earthlink.net/~twobadeers/images/BMW_EC_Painted.jpg
.

HOLY cRaP that's freaky.. when I saw your pic, I swear I thought you stole my pic lol!

http://www.gamite.net/bmw/images/engine.jpg

BTW, when was the electronic TB introduced into E34's?

We sure are. That's why you should move here. :D

Probably gonna drive through there next spring on the way to minnessota :evil2

BTW, when was the electronic TB introduced into E34's?

Wow, that's cool. Yeah, we're pretty similar. Nice Calypso. :)

The Electronic TB was part of the ASC or ASR or whatever they called that traction control system that was optional on the later 535i's. I think just '92 and '93 had that as an option, but I'm not totally sure.

323 - if you come through you have to let us know so we can grab a meal or something.

Do they have coffee in minnesota?

yes, they have coffee in MN....

G************ :mad:


I meant in Nebraska DOH!

:bash

Oh, no we don't have that here. We're not like those fancy-shmancy, hi-falutin' Minnesotans with their coffe and their....lakes. :D

I dont know what I would do if I couldnt get a good cup of coffee. I quit driving through Utah becasue they dont have any coffee shops..Im not talking Frapuccino and all that, Im just talking scalding hot, paint-peeling, fresh ground blood pressure skyjacking stuff

Yeah, being a college town we have a few. I'm not a drinker personally, but I'm told a few of them are pretty good by people who purport to know. :) I enjoy the tea, personally. :)

Other things to check:

.035 gap on plugs (use regular plugs, not platinum!!!)
Clean IACV (ICV) out with carb or brake cleaner.

And sure, the injectors could be contributing. I used the design III mustang injectors, but I had to modify a couple of things to get them to fit correctly. I think the design II are a direct bolt-in, but not quite as efficient. A lot better than the originals with 165k, though! :DYep - the plugs are not plat, and I gapped them all myself.. Made a small impact on idle, but mostly because the old ones were apparently pretty damn old judging by the electrode wear.

My IACV was brand new 10k ago. :( (though it could be nasty by now - it didn't help the idle at the time I replaced it)

You see how I keep running out of options here? :)

Oh, and my check engine light has now started coming on if I sit at idle for more than ~10 seconds - but it goes away as soon as I blip the throttle. Time to go down to the local shop and see what the fuck that's all about. I'm going to cross my fingers and hope it's related to vacuum at idle...

Thanks again for your help. If I remove the intake support there'd be no problem reaching under the manifold - I just wasn't quite sure how 'structural' it was. Cool - I wanted to get the cosmoline off that thing anyhow.

Do a "Stomp test" to get your codes for the CE Light yourself. Check Bruno's page if you haven't already for the procedure and the codes. www.bmwe34.net

I bet it's a nasty vacuum leak, and I bet you're getting the CEL because of it. Probably the "lean" code, which I think is 1222 off the top of my head (check Bruno's site)

And yeah, the support is not so 'structural' that you can't pull it out to re-do some vacuum lines. You could probably even get away with running without it once or twice, but over time I suspect it would crack at the flanges from the stress.

Do a "Stomp test" to get your codes for the CE Light yourself. Check Bruno's page if you haven't already for the procedure and the codes. www.bmwe34.net

I bet it's a nasty vacuum leak, and I bet you're getting the CEL because of it. Probably the "lean" code, which I think is 1222 off the top of my head (check Bruno's site)Someone want to explain how I didn't know I could do that?

*sigh* Ya think you know all there is to know about your car, then someone goes and points out something really important and useful like that.

Yeah, it's giving me a 1222. The link to the code table on Bruno's site isn't working, though - so I'm looking for a new one..

Edit: Looks like 'Lambda Control' - does this mean the o2 sensor directly - or does it just mean 'lean'? In all reality, I should probably replace my o2 sensor, too.

Last night I learne dhow to reset my oil servgice light with a jumoper wire


...and I totally learned how to rebuild the entire HVAC by myself...and I didnt know that!

Technically it could be either on the 1222, but experience is that it is nearly always a leak. Especially if you are having big time idle issues.

I think you can replace all of the rubber intake parts for far less than the O2 sensor. If so, I would go for that first, and then the O2 if you still have issues.

It's funny... with all the work I've done on my car (headliner, total A/C re-work, HG, valve adjustments, thrust arms, etc) I still haven't reset my service indicator. 10 seconds with a piece of wire...just need to do it. :)

For craps and grins, shoot a little starting fluid or alchohol around with a spray bottle, youll find that vaccuum leak real quick, watch out fo rthe lean backfires though

you're gonna get someone killed man!!! :D:D:D

and if you EVER EVER need stupid-early coffee that will shoot your BP into the stratosphere, jsut show up at my parent's place at about 5am, my mom is the queen of BLACK coffee... just don't try to get sneaky or my dad might blow your head off!

my place at about 8am is also a decent bet for "death coffee"

good coffee should be like a good mud-bottomed lake... anything more than 1/4-inch below the surface is a mystery!

other places for good coffee:

The Coffee House
Vincenzo's
Big Apple Bagels
Baccamai
somewhere else I ate a few weeks ago.... where was that????

Haha!
We used to do that stuff in dealerships (the alchohol) water mist works to, but is a "bleh" on the fun side

NEbraska sounds downright civilized, maybe I had the same view of you all that most people have of New Mexico

it is entirely possible....

anywho, I'm off to Omahole for work all day... joy.