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Thread: Just pulled th engine out of my 550...

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    13' 535I XDrive

    Just pulled th engine out of my 550...

    Doing some major preventative maintenance and repair. Figured it would be easier to pull the engine out to do so. There were no leaks but i figure there will be at some point so might as well do all of my seals while the engine is out.

    The List...

    - Upper oil pan gasket
    - Lower oil pan gasket
    - Coolant transfer pipe (OEM way)
    - Rear Water Jacket Seal
    - Rear Main Seal
    - Timing Cover Seal
    - Rail Guides
    - Valvetronic (Intermediate Levers, Eccentric Shaft, Rockers)
    - Valve Stem Seals
    - Transmission : Full rebuild (Already had a new mechatronic)


    Sorry for the www... stuff on the video but helps people find the ol' business

    Last edited by kaineb; 08-11-2013 at 07:26 PM.

  2. #2
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    91 318is sold. 97 audi a4 sold 95 m3 my daily
    This is how my dad dropped the engine on one of his customers 545s to repair the heads and chains. dropped everything out from the bottom. he said it was easier to do it that way. but then again, my dads been working on european cars for 40 years


  3. #3
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    It has to be much easier to do so. Unfortunately i dont have a lift or i would have done it that way. For now doing my best with what i have. So far so good.

  4. #4
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    91 318is sold. 97 audi a4 sold 95 m3 my daily
    Your doing a lot better then I would of been able to do! Good luck!

  5. #5
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    Do you have all your gaskets and such? I've got a couple sets of head gaskets and head bolts that I'd love to sell for less than the dealer charges
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  6. #6
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    Seems like way over the top as preventative maintenance is concerned. Might at well do valve stem seals to since those will likely go bad by 80k

  7. #7
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    Aug 2013
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    2010 BMW 650i
    Very impressive how you've cleaned the block. Even the dealer wouldn't do this.

  8. #8
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    I actually did not clean the block. It came out of the car like that. I am however using Berrymans parts cleaner in the cylinders. I suctioned it out after 24 hours and it was really black. So it is supposed to be good stuff and not harm metals. So far its working. I wanted to clean the ring sludge off and the pistons tops were a bonus. We will see.

  9. #9
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    E34 E38 E39 E60 E92
    Wow, that looks pretty awesome. Please keep us updated on your progress.

  10. #10
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    Sorry guys i didn't see i had updates. I took a few pics for ya. I know this may be overkill to many, but i wanted a 100% engine for a number of years. The only symptoms i had were a little smoking once in a while from the valve stem seals (Common), and Valvetronic wear causing idle vibration and cold start issues. I just ordered all of the parts you see where they are all laid out. Dropped about 5k between all of the Valvetronic and PM parts including the transmission rebuild stuff, but hey what does a new 550i cost 70k? This is peanuts if you tackle this over a winter yourself. Not for the faint of heart though. Lots of hours of work.

    1176258_710620835622188_1499769367_n.jpg

    1176258_710620842288854_1643750102_n.jpg

    1187217_710620838955521_1349088422_n.jpg

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Cupertino, CA, USA
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    2010 BMW 535xi
    Hope you changed the coolant pipe and seal etc.
    2010 535i xDrive AUTO
    PDC, NAV, HUD, HD & SAT Radio, Premium Audio
    Premium, Sport & Value Packages
    Black Sapphire Metallic
    Black Dakota Leather

  12. #12
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    Kernel,

    No reason to replace, at 135 they look like new with absolutely no wear marks at all. Because of the way they are routed and the fact that use 1 chain per side, I am not seeing the same issues as the M62 engines. Good luck with documentation on tolerances. I came to the conclusion after replacing every part imaginable pertaining to the performance of the engine and after reading so many valvetronic articles, that my idle vibration and cold start issues had to be the valvetronic assemblies. I decided to be a guinea pig and replace it and see. I did notice wear on all components and i understand that you cant measure it, they just fall out of tolerance and you must replace all of the components not just the intermediate levers.

    Maini,

    I have not yet but its on my short list before the engine goes back together. I am going to use the OEM method since the engine is out. I was unable to crack the jesus bolt with everything i got, so off to harbor freight for a bigger 3/4 or 1" breaker bar. At this point i think i need a 10' breaker bar! Its crazy tight.


    I will keep posting picks, maybe this will help someone some day.

  13. #13
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    e60
    Do you have an underside photo of the big rod end clearances to the crankcase? I'm looking at swapping the rods on my N62 and nobody makes a rod with 30 degree-rotated big rod end caps. Documentation states that BMW did this to work within the tight clearances of the crank case and was curious how close the clearances really were.

  14. #14
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    Updates!!! I decided to pull the heads off to have them checked, cleaned, decked, new valve guide seals, and repaired if needed. The exhaust valve guides tend to see issues on these cars so why not. I did make the mistake of cleaning the combustion chamber not realizing that the cleaning agent would leak down past the rings over 24 hours into the crankcase. I worried that maybe it could cause premature pan seal failure, thought probably not. So i removed them and will clean it out and replace the seals again. Not the end of the world.

    So when i popped the heads off i found though i thought i removed all of the cleaning fluid, there was residual fluid, chunks of carbon, etc left in there. So i used brake cleaner and a vacuum and did several rounds of spray and vac until it was squeaky clean. I then took turns spraying the cylinders with lubricant, turning the crank so i can fully clean all of the chambers all the way down, and cleaning in between again with brake cleaner. The last thing i need is to fire all the chunks of carbon into the cat and clog or mess it up, so peace of mind.

    New Transfer pipe installed:

    1235124_717611041589834_68174822_n.jpg

    Front Of Engine:
    1234674_717611034923168_138948020_n.jpg

    New Valvetronic Part$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$:
    1240161_717611038256501_1034397691_n.jpg

    Crank, Not a good shot:
    1233595_717611028256502_583579270_n.jpg

    Valvetronic disassembled..... yikes:
    942774_717611031589835_1227590476_n.jpg

  15. #15
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    So... just got back from the machine shop where i dropped the heads off to be checked. The guy was nice enough to do a vacuum check while i was there and found an issue with cylinder 5. I used to have high rough running values on this cylinder. Turns out the valves are leaking. Also said that the the excessive amount of carbon that the valves and exhaust ports have were due to Ethanol. Over all they were impressed and said the condition of the heads were amazing, no marks or scores. Cant wait to i get them back and pop them on the ol' engine.

    Having the following done:
    Surfaced, Cleaned, Valves and guides checked, if it needs replaced it will get a valve job, and valve stem seals.

  16. #16
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    Put the valvetronic assemblies back together this morning with new eccentric shafts and intermediate levers. Found that one of the spring retainers had a broken tab so i ordered new ones just to be safe. Don't want those breaking off inside the engine.

    994349_719305748087030_1251517077_n.jpg

  17. #17
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    2006 530 XI
    That's a lot of work for a "wannabe mechanic". I like how you go after every sign to find its source. Hopefully I grow up to be like you one day :-)

  18. #18
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    Thank you, yes it is quite the job indeed. Its a learning process. I had allot of experience on the 6'ers but i have to tell you the first time i pulled the under panels off to inspect this car before i bought it, i knew i was in a different world. It is a very tough car to work on compared, but fun. I hope after i am done i have a great car for quite a while and i can help others from my knowledge. The 550 is a heck of a machine.

  19. #19
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    Quick update and some handy info in case anyone may be doing a similar repair.



  20. #20
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    Ahh..... got the ol' heads back today from the machine shop. Decked, Valve Job (32), new exhaust guides (16), and new seals (32). The only issue is it had to be repaired due to the shop cracking one at the top by accident. Too much force when pressure checking. Wasn't too bad and a perfect repair. As a good faith exchange for the damage, the head was repaired with lifetime warranty and $750 worth of work reduced to $96 for parts only out the door. I say that was the right thing for them to do. I will use them again.

    The shop found that the exhaust guides had significant wear and were just barerly in tolerance which they showed me, rocking a valve or 2 back and forth. Also several intake and exhaust valves were out of round and not sealing correctly or at all. This required a complete valve job. This on and engine very well cared for with above average dealer servicing, oil, etc. For all of those with idle issues with any valvetronic engine, you may want to have those heads checked. BMW uses soft and biodegradable materials hence the premature wear.


    1234740_727321913952080_994755422_n.jpg
    Last edited by kaineb; 09-28-2013 at 01:20 AM.

  21. #21
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    Here is a pic of the bottom, valves, etc.

    1378259_728016700549268_407543338_n.jpg

  22. #22
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    Update... Lots of progress. Waiting for my Jesus bolt today so i can instal and do timing, etc. Cant wait until i have my car back, been way too long!

    526960_730081990342739_2023211133_n.jpg

    1380775_730081987009406_245943299_n.jpg
    Last edited by kaineb; 10-03-2013 at 06:28 AM.

  23. #23
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    Looking to move into an E60 stepping up from my E39 540, I decided to pop into this forum to see how well the newer V8's were holding up considering the issues with the M62TU. This is the first thread I opened, and it's not boding well for the newer V8's. Did I see it correctly that you only have 135K miles on it? Are all of the V8's needing valve jobs by that time, or is this a fluke?

  24. #24
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    Most of them need valve stem seals, timing covet gaskets, and valve cover gaskets by 80-100k. Some even earlier. Then there's the alternator bracket gasket, trans sealing sleeve, vacuum pump, etc
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jester4176 View Post
    Looking to move into an E60 stepping up from my E39 540, I decided to pop into this forum to see how well the newer V8's were holding up considering the issues with the M62TU. This is the first thread I opened, and it's not boding well for the newer V8's. Did I see it correctly that you only have 135K miles on it? Are all of the V8's needing valve jobs by that time, or is this a fluke?
    Well as White94RX points out they do see issues as he described. I was surprised to see that mine even though was a well cared for corporate car, dealer maintained, saw issues beyond normal. You can see in the pics how clean the engine was. Still the first thing that was found was all cylinders not pulling perfect vacuum and one was really low / bad. I was told allot was from major carbon buildup caused by ethanol. But the other thing is it needed a full valve job because almost all seats wee a little out of round as well as valves. So not sealing quite right though normally that wouldn't require you to tear apart the engine except the one cylinder badly leaking on both intake an exhaust sides. Again i had an idle vibration that drove me nuts that i couldnt track down. I assume it is a combination of what was found and worn valvetronic components as i got the cold start jumpiness as well. I did have an issue with a little smoking initially after sitting for a little while. The valve guides were at their wear limit and needed to be replaced with new valve guide seals. The valve guides are not available. Mine were custom blanks cut to each valve tolerance. Very nice work.
    Last edited by kaineb; 10-10-2013 at 09:38 PM.

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