Need Engine Mechanic- Atlanta Area- E38 Timing Guides, Vanos , rear seals

[delaneybob]

Hi - kind folks on another thread said there may be folks willing to do this for a fee. Looking to see if I can get it started by end of month if possible

[TheLadiesMan]

I would but I'm in Orlando.

[delaneybob]

I would but I'm in Orlando.

If I do not get someone in Atlanta area, I may ask for a quote/timing- make it a vacation and rent a car

[kahlilj]

Indy shops in Atlanta area: Harrison Motorsports (I've used a lot; not cheap, but top quality work done); German Car Repair is supposed to be good too (never used them, but they know their stuff from what i understand);

Forum members who are very helpful: Slimm, Cody3, e38bimmer, trasportador, chris33, gmorg1969 and there are others mostly lurking. lol! I have met most of these guys and they are all very helpful, but I'm not sure about their time to commit to wrenchturning

If nothing else check out the local forum:http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...on-Motorsports


sigh, I miss being back home especially winter about to start here in 2 days.

[Trasportador]

I'll dig through my contacts and send you a pm tonight

[delaneybob]

Thanks all- I called German Car Repair and they said to budget between $2500-$3500 but I did not mention doing the other seals/gaskets while they were doing the timing guides. I posted this thread because on the other thread it was suggested that people freelance in this sort of stuff here on the board and may do it for less. I am not on a time crunch.

I did attempt the LED repair on the instrument panel twice to no avail and that is getting shipped out to Hungary for them to take a whack at it.

Overall here is my situation (or I should say friends situation)
- Car $5400- body is in great shape as is interior 117,000 miles
- Replaced Nav Unit- bad Firmware update- i won't try that again ( I read all the foums etc)-$250
-Instrument Panel Pixels- Dealership wants $1000-sending to Hungary to try to get it fixed
- Bad upper radiotor hose according to dealership- $850 (I would replace all hoses myself or someone in the forum)
- Bad timing Guides/Timing gasket oil leak-- I noticed an oil leak when she purchased the car from underneath- she wanted the car though-$TBD
-New tires $750 Michelin Defenders

So adding it all up, I would have $6400 in it with the new tires and not touching the engine. Is the car really worth ~ $10000 after the engine is fixed (assuming I had to replace the instrument panel?

[TheLadiesMan]

I'd recommend you take a stab at it yourself. The job isn't really hard, just time consuming. It'll take a solid two days, a few BMW specific tools, and a good tool kit you can purchase at Sears. Parts + tools will have you well under $2K.

[delaneybob]

Ladies Man- appreciate the encouragement :-) My main issue is time available to do this and place. You are right on- the service estimate is 30-35 hours so maybe 2.5-3 days.

I am pretty good mechanically but at 48 my patience and eyes are not what they used to be. I did try a timing chain on my first car (64 Olds that went ok for a while but the nylon gears got me. Yeah was told they had nylon so the engine was quieter :-).

[TxDarth]

Thanks all- I called German Car Repair and they said to budget between $2500-$3500 but I did not mention doing the other seals/gaskets while they were doing the timing guides. I posted this thread because on the other thread it was suggested that people freelance in this sort of stuff here on the board and may do it for less. I am not on a time crunch.

I did attempt the LED repair on the instrument panel twice to no avail and that is getting shipped out to Hungary for them to take a whack at it.

Overall here is my situation (or I should say friends situation)
- Car $5400- body is in great shape as is interior 117,000 miles
- Replaced Nav Unit- bad Firmware update- i won't try that again ( I read all the foums etc)-$250
-Instrument Panel Pixels- Dealership wants $1000-sending to Hungary to try to get it fixed
- Bad upper radiotor hose according to dealership- $850 (I would replace all hoses myself or someone in the forum)
- Bad timing Guides/Timing gasket oil leak-- I noticed an oil leak when she purchased the car from underneath- she wanted the car though-$TBD
-New tires $750 Michelin Defenders

So adding it all up, I would have $6400 in it with the new tires and not touching the engine. Is the car really worth ~ $10000 after the engine is fixed (assuming I had to replace the instrument panel?

You are high on all accounts...and why are you sending cluster to Hungary - can be fixed locally for 150 to 250 with guarantee...

Your ca ris no longer worth ~10K either $6-7K would be a guess if it is perfect with bad guides $2500 max.

[TheLadiesMan]

My dad did the guides when he was in his mid forties.. and he's been working on his N73 V12 which is way more complicated than our M62TUs and he's a bit over 50 now. It's all in your mind. All you need is a driveway or quiet street side plus a few days. Do a little at a time, take pictures, read the countless guides on this procedure and you'll be fine.

[delaneybob]

You are high on all accounts...and why are you sending cluster to Hungary - can be fixed locally for 150 to 250 with guarantee...

Your ca ris no longer worth ~10K either $6-7K would be a guess if it is perfect with bad guides $2500 max.

Hungary guy sold me the ribbon. If there is a better place to send it off to be fixed- please send info.

[TheLadiesMan]

You also need to think- "You're maintaining the equivalent of a $90K car, not a $5K car. "
The problem when people buy 7 series and S classes is that they're like "Great! luxury for less than 6 grand!", but don't want to pay for the maintenance costs.

[delaneybob]

Very true- if I fix the guides- are there any other major repairs typical between say 100-200K miles?

[TheLadiesMan]

Needs less clouds and more booty. Sorry, what was your question?

[delaneybob]

Question is ( understanding it's a risk decision wiht no gurantees)
- Are there any major usual suspects from 110-200K i need ot take into account to determine if i move forward?

[Trasportador]

Needs less clouds and more booty. Sorry, what was your question?

Hahahaha. Good one.

[TheLadiesMan]

lol I was being sarcastic.
The majority of the thing you remove should be replaced. Just a list off the top of my head-

-Valve cover gaskets
-Upper and lower timing cover gaskets
-Thermostat and water pump +gaskets and bolts. Sometimes the bolts break.
-Cooling pipes to the accumulator seals (4)
-Accumulator gaskets (cross pipe on the back of the engine) are optional. I've never heard of them going bad, but they're really cheap so why not?
-All the cooling system hoses and heater hoses behind the engine
-Expansion tank is a big one
-Radiator is optional. They usually last a while but it's recommended.
-oil pan gasket
-oil lever sensor seal
-seal for the dipstick
-intake manifold gaskets are optional- and they do go bad
-all components of the crankcase ventilation system from the oil separator under the bank 2 guide, the pipe and seals under the intake mani, and the pcv on the back of the intake
-Crankshaft main seal
-vanos solenoid gaskets
-the two o rings for the PS lines into the cooler (radiator). It's probably a good idea to replace the PS lines. They leak a lot.
-Spark plugs are always a good idea
-belts
-crank bolt
-upper oil pan gasket. You can cut off a small part of it and silicone it to the upper oil pan instead of dropping the whole thing.
-Fan. The plastic get brittle and can break off sending shrapnel all over the engine bay, and damaging the hood.
-fan clutch- can cause overheating. Or you can remove the mechanical fan in favor for an electrical fan.
-Because BMW decided to be stupid and opt for a water cooled alternator (which I will forever be pissed about), they're between $400-$500 dollars so if you'd rather not drop the extra money on that while the guides are being done, that's understandable. Mine did go out 3 months after I did the guides though.

There's probably a few small things I forgot but when you look through he write ups, you'll find exactly what you need. At the top of the E38 section, there's a DIY section with an excellent write up of the timing chain job with a parts list that I just remembered about lol

- - - Updated - - -

Also, realoem.com is your friend. After filling int he last 7 of your VIN, click "Engine" and have a blast.

- - - Updated - - -

P.S. This is how you do it.

[delaneybob]

OK thnaks- back to the instrument panel- someone said i can get that fixed for like $250?

[psjr]

http://www.germanautorecycling.com/r...r-pixel-repair

[TxDarth]

Try VDO I think they are a sponsor on here or they were. There are several others cheaper but don't have links.

[delaneybob]

Thanks- I already did the drill method unfortunately. I did not hurt the board because there were no changes in pixels after first install of the silver ribbon LED cable. So I am keeping my fingers crossed pixel folks in Hungary can fix it.

[TxDarth]

Thanks- I already did the drill method unfortunately. I did not hurt the board because there were no changes in pixels after first install of the silver ribbon LED cable. So I am keeping my fingers crossed pixel folks in Hungary can fix it.

whatever floats your boat........

[psjr]

Is the Hungary fix free or something?
Just curious why you wouldn't go for 24 hour turnaround with warranty for $130.

[delaneybob]

psjr- Yes Hungary will fix it for free. However, I came to my senses and got in touch with germanautorecycling. I will send it to him. Sometimes one does not see the forest thru the tress

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks to all for the pixel suggestion- it's off to German auto recycling.

Back to the timing guides.

Friend took it to German Auto Repair and they said it definitely sounds like timing guides are starting to make noise (did not drop the pan). They said they could go in 500 or 5000 miles so I will await to see if the dashboard/instrument panel comes back fixed before deciding to fix the motor

[barry8108]

Ladies Man- appreciate the encouragement :-) My main issue is time available to do this and place. You are right on- the service estimate is 30-35 hours so maybe 2.5-3 days.

I am pretty good mechanically but at 48 my patience and eyes are not what they used to be. I did try a timing chain on my first car (64 Olds that went ok for a while but the nylon gears got me. Yeah was told they had nylon so the engine was quieter :-).

I am 54 and am going to do the guides. Just ordered the first parts. I am an aircraft mechanic and do all my own work. Only thing that has me a little worried is the cam settings, have never messed with that. It was either do it my self or scrap the car, no way am i going to pay 3 grand for someone else to work on my car. Since they let me work on 100,000,000 dollar airplanes, i should be able to handle a BMW.