Getting Ready to Pull the Head on the M52 , anything I should look for / do ?

[Jason5driver]

Well , the m52 on the 1997 528i is not doing the best .
It’s not overheating , but , it gets lots of condensation on the oil cap , steams intermittently out the tail pipe , and the coolant / water in the expansion tank is getting eaten away , and the oil gets crazy thin / used up / destroyed .

The good thing about the M52 , is that the block is iron , and I hopefully won’t have to timesert the head bolts . Also , needed specialty tool is less , I think ?

If anyone has done this job , and has the special tools to rent out , or has any advice , that would be most helpful / excellent …

Thank you ,
Jason

I’ve been looking at these …

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?363966-Head-Gasket-Replacement-DIY

https://www.amazon.com/maXpeedingrods-Double-Camshaft-Alignment-Timing/dp/B078S5YKLZ/ref=asc_df_B078S5YKLZ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693634200425&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4058972405552457562&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9024246&hvtargid=pla-1279624817018&mcid=229a055bc3f83b0c93d6d20b7240c809&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_-GxBhC1ARIsADGgDjsVsKWVivRp9sPw249etylAzCCvA86TLQYe BLN5ksISqunhxRScTjgaAibDEALw_wcB&th=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtV-mfhOEiE

Link to the 528i thread :
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2464141-1997-E39-528i-M52-Not-Starting-%85

[ross1]

Before you spend a nickle on anything else get the head inspected for flat and cracks. The blocks on these are always fine.
Those timing tools (maXpeedingrods:rolleyes) are more than you need. You need the blocks to hold the cams, the pin spanner wrench to move the VANOS and the long E12 head bolt socket.

Oh, you'll also need a slender E8 socket for the chain guide(one screw is in a shallow recess) and a pin to lock the flywheel in place.

[Jason5driver]

Before you spend a nickle on anything else, get the head inspected for flat and cracks. The blocks on these are always fine.
Those timing tools (maXpeedingrods:rolleyes) are more than you need. You need the blocks to hold the cams, the pin spanner wrench to move the VANOS and the long E12 head bolt socket.

Oh, you'll also need a slender E10 socket for the chain tensioner (one screw is in a shallow recess) and a pin to lock the flywheel in place.

Awesome , thanks for the reply !
Well , I have to remove the head first to have it inspected . lol .
Not sure if it typical to do the valves yourself , or to have the machine shop do them ?
Also , where do you recommend getting the tools ?
Thank you !
Jason

[ross1]

Jason, Got your PM
I'll reply later, I'm a bit under the weather right now. Note my edit about the E torx screw above

[dannyzabolotny]

Doing a head gasket on an M52 is a piece of cake. The only special tools you'll need are timing blocks and the Vanos rotating tool. You pull the head, get it checked and cleaned by a machine shop, have them do a valve job if you care, clean the block surface real good (it's an iron block so you can kinda use whatever you want), clean out the head bolt holes with compressed air, bolt the new head on, use a torque angle gauge or a digital torque wrench that supports torque angle, follow the procedure for the head bolts, and then reassemble everything else. The only tricky thing beyond that is installing the Vanos correctly, but there are a million guides for how to do that.

[Jason5driver]

Doing a head gasket on an M52 is a piece of cake. The only special tools you'll need are timing blocks and the Vanos rotating tool. You pull the head, get it checked and cleaned by a machine shop, have them do a valve job if you care, clean the block surface real good (it's an iron block so you can kinda use whatever you want), clean out the head bolt holes with compressed air, bolt the new head on, use a torque angle gauge or a digital torque wrench that supports torque angle, follow the procedure for the head bolts, and then reassemble everything else. The only tricky thing beyond that is installing the Vanos correctly, but there are a million guides for how to do that.
Thanks Danny !
The cheapy Ebay tool set came in a bit ago .
Similar to this guy : https://www.ebay.com/itm/283598346525?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110 006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D26702 5%26meid%3Df1773c608b1c4d4881380a9aca1e89e7%26pid% 3D101875%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D355347802556%26 itm%3D283598346525%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332 490%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda 85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRan kerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3EmbeddedAuctionsCPCAutoWi thCassiniEmbRecallManual%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2332490.c101875.m1851&itmprp=cksum%3A283598346525f1773c608b1c4d4881380a9 aca1e89e7%7Cenc%3AAQAJAAABgP9d%252BMZSXlztIfYFu3kI %252B7ft0VcQix7rTrUVdiJwc2upzwLfM%252B2UEqu0ZqdXqu 2qWe6up6s9MSEY%252BWikIwEh4xLkizL%252BG%252Fyhg6cd W4xfkbb75erVQBYYISNxGN1au%252BE0eJ778JYYSAyLJRupNi Zky3B2UHpMsaEp7JRgW9fuueOszPlG9eCPE4mSzJx4EejjZE0v 1xx3s4HgKujjhEB3s6lhs%252BNWA6yiOvtjCy%252BxT0LJiQ %252B9tzLHSTu3O%252FNMpgrhPXVzCduExf6ODlJ7BzZZNMmo v3pIP6h31Ox829jynEsD6RbFmt3dcz1Fsz2r8BB3iyG%252BQL tJmxCGq6W4uQj9lEDNry9J4M2OmH8GuLB0ByP%252FVuXStS6B R0y5h0jP8c2PXK%252B8E3e0GB7ha6G%252Bf3tkgO9f2ftohn zaKJFcMJOAAoAkXbBakJ45BQtLhDONjVwWXSG%252Fmhut9gN% 252B0AXdDxWPVpe9aFdblHANOkQ1MyVCetg13lgC82GOBnNviQ MYdtEsJA%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A233249 0&epid=526862245&itmmeta=01J1WZ2TTXH2EX50868P9KW2QM
I need to buy the Elring head gasket set .
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-head-gasket-set-e36-11121427826

And , head bolts :
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-cylinder-head-bolt-set-elring-11121721938

Reference the attached pictures ...

I also need to get Single Vanos seals as well :
https://beisansystems.com/product/single-vanos-seals-repair-kit/

[RobertFontaine]

Coolant in oil can be Vanos, cylinder head, head gasket, not sure what else..... Head is an easy and obvious thing to check but you probably want to do a leak down test before you start pulling things apart.

Always best to do some diagnosis before you start tearing into things.

[Jason5driver]

Coolant in oil can be Vanos, cylinder head, head gasket, not sure what else..... Head is an easy and obvious thing to check but you probably want to do a leak down test before you start pulling things apart.

Always best to do some diagnosis before you start tearing into things.
Compression test was done 3 times , all with great numbers .
I didn't bother with a leak-down test because every time you run the car , huge amounts of water accumulate inside the crankcase .
When I removed the oil cap , water literally drips out from the cap ...
If you look at the video of the bleeding the cooling system / expansion tank , you can see the water / coolant level continuously raising and lowering ... lol ...

Original 1997 528i thread :
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2464141-1997-E39-528i-M52-Not-Starting-%85/page7

Video of bleeding the system :
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMm_VKwRKFynmWhAiwie_g2CFBzWo0UeqpBiW-Tb5aDqmm5mEOF39H03ADpRyJ9ig/photo/AF1QipPKaanP8UiKX0Gax3QhTIyARhge3PzIc9Z5N83U?key=a FQ4WXFJMENVZUZhU0g3QVZDSmlDbWNuRmVRWVl3