Journal: M54 Head Gasket Replacement & Other Stuff Too

[Jackcat559]

Down around the Catonsville / UMBC area. How about you?

[BaltimoreBimmer]

North Baltimore City. Close to Gilman Boy's School.

[Jackcat559]

I grew up in Towson. You are just 20 minutes away.

[BaltimoreBimmer]

I grew up in Towson. You are just 20 minutes away.

Excellent. We should plan a little bmore gtg at some point. I am always wrenching on something.

[Jackcat559]

Some of the guys have been getting together every so often in the B-more area. Not too many e39's. Mostly 3 series. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...8#post18131348

And there is always the local BMWCCA chapter. The largest in the world, I might say. No kidding. Events are usually centralized around the DC area http://www.nccbmwcca.org/index.php?o...list&Itemid=46

[LILrob]

Jack, I looked at the cams again and the wear is hardly noticeable now, but i recall when i first pulled the valve cover it caught my eye, but now it appears fine, maybe the machine shop polished the lobes or something? who knows...

[Jackcat559]

One Person Cam Shaft Removal

I picked up a spare head off ebay for a project. One of the ideas being to eliminate down time at the machinist. The head was $200, and had signs of some sort of oil starvation. Kinda confirmed by the seller, who said the engine threw a rod.



*****Proceed at your own risk and be careful!*****



Do one cam at a time.

This procedure is pretty much the same for the all modern DOHC BMW heads. Adapt as needed with caution.

Keep the parts organized. Take pics if necessary (recommend).

If nervous, get a second person to help.



Let's GO!




Get the bottom of the head off the table top. Wood blocks work great. This is done so the valves can move freely when rotating the cams. Also to prevent further damage to the mating surface.


Rotate the cam, either one, so the cam lobes are ONLY depressed on the cylinder 1 lifters. Use either the very rear of the cam (see pic) or there is a spot in the center of the cam where a crescent wrench will fit. This will leave no tension on the lifters in cylinders 2-5. These 5 cylinder lifters should spin freely in their holes. If not, something is wrong.


Fully depressed.



Crack (yes I say crack, cus it sounds like a crack), Crack ALL the nuts loose on the cam carrier by 1/8th of a turn. Then loosen 2-6 cylinder bolt by about 1 turn. They can now be taken off by hand.


Remove the carrier caps.



Part 1 of 2
With your left hand you are going to keep the cam from ROTATING with a wrench. No need to keep it pressed into the carrier as cylinder 1 bolts are removed. If you did keep the cam dpressed ther could be a chance of bending the cam, IMHO. For peace of mind , don't dpress the cam into the carrier. Let it naturally come up on it's own.
(Yep, same pic)


Part 2 of 2
With your RIGHT hand you are going to loosen the remaining 4 bolts EVENLY by a 1/4 turn each. The entire thread of the bolt is used. As the bolts are loosened they cam may want to rotate back a forth. Don't let it with your left hand. When you start you are committed to finish. Be careful! There is a lot of pressure pushing the cam out of the tray, towards you!


Done!

Now take off the remaining carrier tops. Them take out the cam



Time to test the lifters. Remember the head had signs of oil starvation. Here's what can happen to the lifters with only 46,000 miles. This debut video should clarify a good from bad lifter.
[ame]http://s40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/Jackcat559/?action=view&current=121-2175_MVI.flv[/ame]

Mark the bad lifters. They will need replacement. Each one is $17-24 approx.


Free up the lower cam tray. It will be pretty well stuck in place. Then put the head on it's side. When pulling the lower cam carrier off make sure the top (cam side) is pointed toward the floor. Essentially keeping the lifters in their comfy spots in the carrier. The lifters are dedicated to their spots in the carrier. Don't mix them up.



Done!


Now take the head to a good machine shop who works on BMW heads frequently. If you don't know of one, please contact your local BMWCCA chapter.

Ordered new non-OEM cams today.

[LILrob]

By all means LISTEN TO JACK....if they do not know BMW heads, LEAVE and find a shop that does...not so sure what kind of probs i may have later on but i know i will never use that shop again...

[turbo20psi]

Some of the guys have been getting together every so often in the B-more area. Not too many e39's. Mostly 3 series. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...8#post18131348

And there is always the local BMWCCA chapter. The largest in the world, I might say. No kidding. Events are usually centralized around the DC area http://www.nccbmwcca.org/index.php?o...list&Itemid=46

That would be great for a get together.I can add a another Supercharged E39 to the group.Nice work on the head tear down.

[Jackcat559]

That would be great for a get together.I can add a another Supercharged E39 to the group.Nice work on the head tear down.

The last monthly meeting in Columbia in September had close to 50 cars. The annual chapterfest had hundreds, seriously.

By all means LISTEN TO JACK....if they do not know BMW heads, LEAVE and find a shop that does...not so sure what kind of probs i may have later on but i know i will never use that shop again...

This was a big stressful point for me. Finding a good shop. Other ways of finding a decent shop could be:

1-call up your local BMW race shop that has a good rep. RRT out of Virginia helped me out.

2-find someone who has some experience in the SCCA. York Auto around here builds some SCCA spec cars, and highly recommended a shop.

3-forum supporters like Bavarian Solutions.

4-Trusted indy shop for a recommendation.

5-Ask around in the local forums on this board

[LILrob]

Well, got her fired up last night, ran like crap, idle was okay other than the lifter noise, hopefully it goes away, but as soon as i hit the accelerator it wants to sputter, now that i think back...i left a vacuum hose off, the front of the black canister near the starter, i couldn't figure out where it went to, then i forgot all about it, any idea where that plugs in to? I am getting lean, and missfire codes, so i think fuel pressure is low for whatever reason...hopefully its just a hose somewhere.

[Poolman]

If it's the one I'm thinking about--it goes from the jet valve to the back of the intake
behind the throttle body--a bitch to get to---might have to take the throttle body and all off again to get in there..

[LILrob]

Not sure what the jet valve is,idle control solenoid? but the diagram on realoem.com doesn't exactly match my setup...all i know is, it comes from the black canister towards the throttle body, and cannot remember where it actually plugs into...probably look at it tonight and figure it out...just sucks to tear back into it again...arms are already all tore up

Got home today, found another spot at the back of the intake manifold for another vacuum connection so i plugged it in...same ole story, idles fine and surges up and down when i press the accelerator...sound familiar to anyone?

[walpole5]

Not sure if this is it, but I have had problems twice with the large, round connector that goes to the throttle body that's toward the front of the car. You plug it in, then twist a collar to line up two white arrows. I've had the collar get twisted into the wrong position and it looks like it is tight, but it's not. Car will run, but not well and you get lots of warning lights (Check engine, ABS, Traction control).

If the collar twisted on easily, it's not right, it should be very tight. I've never heard of anyone else having this problem, but since it has happened to me twice, I though I would mention it.

[LILrob]

Not sure if this is it, but I have had problems twice with the large, round connector that goes to the throttle body that's toward the front of the car. You plug it in, then twist a collar to line up two white arrows. I've had the collar get twisted into the wrong position and it looks like it is tight, but it's not. Car will run, but not well and you get lots of warning lights (Check engine, ABS, Traction control).

If the collar twisted on easily, it's not right, it should be very tight. I've never heard of anyone else having this problem, but since it has happened to me twice, I though I would mention it.

Really? I do have alot of warning lights on and wasn't sure why, but i don't recall seeing or removing a connector on the throttle body towards the front of the car, hmmm...i am definetly going to check it though as soon as i get home, just can't picture it right now, thanks for the help man...i hope thats it, just sounds too easy and with my luck, its probably gonna cost an arm and a leg

[walpole5]

It sounds like it could be your problem. Not sure if all models have this connector. It's tough to get your hand on to twist, but you can do it. Take off the air filter assembly up to the throttle body. The connector faces towards the front of the car and is closest to the drivers side. It's about 1" diameter and is black with 2 white arrows on the collar and one white arrow on the base. The arrows must line up and the collar will tighten down with quite a bit of force.

I would get some pictures, but I would have to do some disassembly and it's 20 degrees out right now.

[LILrob]

I seen what you are talking about on some pictures, i pulled the whole throttle body off...didn't find it so i guess all models must not have it, i sure wish that was it though...thanks anyways....might have to take it to the stealer

[Jackcat559]

oh no, not the stealer. Sorry to hear of your bad luck LILrob.


We're getting a bit of snow here. No work today. Made the new head replacement part list. Found out the new cams are on back order, bummer. Took the dog out for his first real snow.



Fetch beacme ball search & rescue.

[LILrob]

Thats a nice snow Jackcat looks like the new addition to the family likes it too, but busted knuckles feel 10 times worse when its that cold, gotta hate that...oh, need your address so i can send out the helix alignment tool whenever you need it...just let me know

Hey, don't you need 7 quarts of oil? thought they hold 6.9??

[Jackcat559]

The snow is deeper now too. The neighbors hound dog is crashing threw the snow banks like a surfer on the North shore. Funny little doggie.

That sucks about working in the cold. Just remember oil and water don't mix, bit oil and blood do! No real consolation for your plight. Maybe something to mutter as you power through it.

I was going to order one of the cam tools, and the wifey divulged she ordered one on Tuesday. Thanks anyway.

Actually there is a ton of oil in the garage. The balance is to change to oil in the Subaru also. Damn, you read the list!

[Jackcat559]

Got a little bored last night after the Christmas festivities came to a close. So popped The Worlds Fastest Indian into the DVD player, and cleaned up the exhaust ports on the head. No porting, or manipulating the percentage of air flow. Just kinda polishing the casting seams out and such. A whole port & polish is financially outta the question.

Here's what they looked like. Besides being black from the exhaust. Notice the left side and how ruff the channel is from casting. Part of this is the seam, and the other is from where the SAP emissions ports are located.



Ground & sanded until smooth.


New cams are on backorder. Interesting the company they were ordered from won't take a cent for the purchase until the cams are ready to ship. Pretty cool.

[Jackcat559]

Still waiting for the back ordered cams oh well

The Turner Motor Sport cam alignment sprocket is ready and waiting. Thought it would be bigger.... .....yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what she said




Also came across this thread on another site about a guy who used a lighter battery from '05 Mini in his e46 M3. This may have also been originally in the e46 CSL. Good to know if the battery takes a terminal dive off the deep end. Smig of poundage here & there adds up. Some of the smaller batteries may not hold up to the e39's infrequent driving.

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...hlight=battery

[Jason5driver]

How did you polish up the exhaust ports so well?
What did you use?
What cams are you getting?
Shrick?

Also, when I replaced my CCV, and took out the Disa valve, I could feel inside the intake manifold - and feel sandy/gritty oil, like sand was inside the manifold...
Is this typical?
Should I remove and clean the manifiold?
If so, what should I use and how?

Thanks!
Jason

[turbo20psi]

Thats a eye full.Nice job on the porting basicly knocking down the really rough edges.If you need prices on any parts I know the parts guy at annapolis BMW.My whole CCV Winter kit was 144.00.Just let me know what u want see if I can help u out.

[Jackcat559]

How did you polish up the exhaust ports so well?
What did you use?
What cams are you getting?
Shrick?

Also, when I replaced my CCV, and took out the Disa valve, I could feel inside the intake manifold - and feel sandy/gritty oil, like sand was inside the manifold...
Is this typical?
Should I remove and clean the manifiold?
If so, what should I use and how?

Thanks!
Jason

I'll have to update the last pic with a finished exhaust port. The ports were just cleaned up with a basic set of grinders (similar to a Dremmel bit), and 3M emery cloth. No port matching, change of size or anything else. I'm not a wizard at air flow dynamics, so that kit of engineering is better left to the pros. Speaking of which, there are 3 companies who say they can do porting & polishing on BMW heads. Two of the three have bad reputations for screwing things up. While the third has good potential to bee very good, but is also hasn't been around that long. All in all P&P on a proper flow bench is very expensive.

The cams are designed for supercharging application from ESS. I believe Shrick does grind them.

Turner Motor Sport has a selection of Shrick cams for naturally aspirated M54's that yield good results. A forum member has used them in drag car build.

As far as the intake manifold the grittiness does seem typical. Think I used carb cleaner when the manifold was off to clean everything.

We always talk about the cooling system overhaul on the board. Wonder if there could be an intake overhaul comprising of cleaning the MAF, ICV & intake runners. Replacing the valve cover & vanos seals. Upgrading to the winter CCV.

Thats a eye full.Nice job on the porting basicly knocking down the really rough edges.If you need prices on any parts I know the parts guy at annapolis BMW.My whole CCV Winter kit was 144.00.Just let me know what u want see if I can help u out.

Thanks for the offer. Russel BMW has been treating me fairly well. It's nice to have another option just in case.

need a stock battery at a better price? Here's a good read.
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/232692