Lower chain case cover removal and reinstallation (M62TU)

[topaz540i]

after reading reviews on the crank holder at pelicanparts.com it seems it was recalled at some point for strengthening around the weld and there are a few old stock still floating around the shelves.

the one i have for rent is the newer beefy one. the old one would colapse the tube handle around the base.

[squinton1]

Hey I wanted to say thanks for this write up. I am midway through this project and I have created a write up as well. I linked your page in mine because there is no way I could have done this without it....I hope that is O.K.

I have set the timing and was hoping to get some feedback on the procedure. I was not able to get the drivers side Exhaust cam bolt loose but everything else has been done according to the directions. The Cams have been locked down the entire time and the crank (#1 piston) has remained locked in the TDC position. I have turned the VANOS unit to the left full stop at 40nm and I am getting continuity on both sides. I went ahead and torqued the Intake and Exhaust according to spec. So my question is this:

If the cams never moved and the piston position does not change do I need to look out for anything here or can I feel confident that the timing is set and everything will function as it should? When I removed the Cam Locks the passenger side intake cam moved back to the position it was in before locking the cams. Maybe that is what it is suppose to do but it concerned me. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1784621

[motion]

Great write up. I not trying to be a smart a**, but you should have removed the part identification sticker from the separator, you don't want the oil dissolving the adhesive and it ending up in the pan and partially blocking your pump intake screen. Also if you removed the oil pump replace the three "O" rings and properly set the pump chain deflection. Good luck

[rf900rkw]

Yes, the bank 1 intake will snap towards the advanced side at TDC due to spring pressure. This is normal. If you can turn the engine through two turns, lock the crank, then line up the cam blocks with the intakes pulled full retarded, then you should be good.

[squinton1]

Yes, the bank 1 intake will snap towards the advanced side at TDC due to spring pressure. This is normal. If you can turn the engine through two turns, lock the crank, then line up the cam blocks with the intakes pulled full retarded, then you should be good.

Thanks for the quick response....I am ready to wrap this thing up. I did what you instructed and as I came around to TDC each time the Intake made a popping sound and I think I caught in my peripheral the VANOS unit coming out then snapping back in. I am assuming this is part of how it functions and a result of the oil filling back into the unit.

Just so I know I am fully understanding.....should I lock the cams and then go back through the entire timing process or should I just check for continuity?

[topaz540i]

The vanos gear rotates on a spiral cut gear sorta like a corkscrew so as it turns it does move in and out a slight bit.

If you werent able to loosen the one bolt just make sure the chain is tight EVERYWHERE during the tensioning tool part of the process. If the bolt doesnt loosen you might end up with slack between the gear and the crank somewhere which will throw everything off when started.

[squinton1]

UPDATE: I took a leap of faith and hoped for the best on the Exhaust Cam. Everything else went together as expected and the car started without a problem. After I let the car run for about 10 to 15 minutes I got the SES light so I checked the codes. Like many before me I got the dreaded 0011 and 0021 (Intake Camshaft Timing over advanced bank 1 and 2) but the car sounded good with no idle issues or throttle response problems. I guess I am really close to having it right but not quite there yet. I drove the car about 50 miles with no problems there either.

I tore the car back down again to take another shot at the timing only this time I armed myself with a 500 ft/lb Impact to try and get that exhaust bolt loose. After repeated attempt at hammering this thing loose and three broken T55 Torx sockets; I am no closer to getting this thing off. My fear now is that the bolt was over torqued to begin with but I guess it could just be heat hardened oil over time. Now I am at a crossroad....do I continue to try and get this thing off or should I just take another shot at setting the timing and hope for the best. All input will be appreciated.

[rf900rkw]

The exhaust cam is not the source of your codes. The codes are purely from the relation of the trigger wheels compared to the crank sensor.

[topaz540i]

I tore the car back down again to take another shot at the timing only this time I armed myself with a 500 ft/lb Impact to try and get that exhaust bolt loose. After repeated attempt at hammering this thing loose and three broken T55 Torx sockets; I am no closer to getting this thing off. My fear now is that the bolt was over torqued to begin with but I guess it could just be heat hardened oil over time. Now I am at a crossroad....do I continue to try and get this thing off or should I just take another shot at setting the timing and hope for the best. All input will be appreciated.

others more knowledgable than even i may be able to say if its a good idea or not but maybe you should just remove the camshaft and get a junk yard cam that will actually come loose and just swap the whole thing out.
at least the nightmare would be over.
if you did this i would recommend cutting the gear off and reusing it because the wear pattern is mated to the chain your using.

if i learned anything in motocross its that chains and sprockets need to be kept in sets or they wear each other out twice as fast.

[squinton1]

others more knowledgable than even i may be able to say if its a good idea or not but maybe you should just remove the camshaft and get a junk yard cam that will actually come loose and just swap the whole thing out.
at least the nightmare would be over.
if you did this i would recommend cutting the gear off and reusing it because the wear pattern is mated to the chain your using.

if i learned anything in motocross its that chains and sprockets need to be kept in sets or they wear each other out twice as fast.

That is an excellent idea! I was under pressure to get my car out of the garage so I took a leap of faith and may have solved the problem. I noticed that the chain had a little slack on the trailing side of the rotation (drivers side before it goes around the crankshaft sprocket) I tried to pull the chain up over the intake sprocket to eliminate the slack but it was just a little short of the next rung. I was able to take the 27mmm wrench and turn the cam enough to get the chain around the sprocket removing all the slack from that side. With the passenger side Exhaust and Intake bolts loose I was able to bring all the slackness to that side where it belongs to be addressed by the tensioner. From here I went through the timing procedure once again and put everything back together. So far I am not getting an engine light but I have only driven it about 5 miles. I think it took a few miles before the light came on last time so I am going to drive it around a good bit today to see if I am really in the clear. Hopefully the saga ends there but should I get the dreadful SES light again. I will be following your advice for sure!!!

[rf900rkw]

Timing codes take two driving cycles to set hard and turn the light on.

[topaz540i]

i didnt get the code for about 2 days. then everytime i reset it i didnt get it again for 2 more days.

i ended up just having to fix the wiring. the timing was correct the whole time. phew!

[squinton1]

No lights after today's drive. It will be at least a couple hundred miles before I feel confident the issue is resolved. What was wrong with your wiring?

[mifesto]

you will first need to remove the pulley located at the lower right corner of the alt bracket. pop the plastic cover off the pulley and underneath you will find you need a t-45? bit.

topaz540i......... just wanted to let you know you should correct info so people dont make the mistake... the idler pulley bolt under the alternator you said may be t45 which is not correct. i actually used t45 previously which sorta works but has damaged two of the pulley bolts cuz its too loose. its actually a t50 that works for ALL the pulley torx bolts on our 540i and probably all the rest of the e39's

[topaz540i]

fixed-
t50 it is then. i couldnt remember so i left a question mark next to the t45

i did the entire write up from memory. luckily there are only about 3 different size bolts on the entire car lol

[modkiller]

Yea he is one of the most useful contributors here, too bad the mods mess with him so much. He is in the time out chair right now. Lol

Oh btw he also wrote the parts list.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1776282

[modkiller]

Open heart surgery.

[scottrutherford]

This is my first post, so if the picture of my chain rail doesn't show bear with me. I have a m62tu and I have read about everything I could on doing this job. 1500.00 in tools and parts and I'm going to start this weekend.

[Wiltzor]

In the end, the crank-holding tool I was using broke (familiar story), and I decided to rely upon the flywheel TDC pin to hold everything. It worked both to loosen the original bolt and to tighten the new one. Not that this is the what I'd recommend as Option #1, but it did work.

--Peter

This intrigues me. I'm already way over budget (job started as a simple Beisan VANOS overhaul.. shattered a guide rail while in there) and I don't really want to spend $70 + shipping for a tool I'll only use once.

Can anyone tell me if they've also used the flywheel pin as their 'crank holding tool'? Or maybe someone can tell me why it's a terrible idea and that it could potentially do major damage?

[kimokk]

This intrigues me. I'm already way over budget (job started as a simple Beisan VANOS overhaul.. shattered a guide rail while in there) and I don't really want to spend $70 + shipping for a tool I'll only use once.

Can anyone tell me if they've also used the flywheel pin as their 'crank holding tool'? Or maybe someone can tell me why it's a terrible idea and that it could potentially do major damage?

I broke the TDC pin trying to remove my bolt. Do a search on the e38 forum. There's a guy that changed his guides without using the special tools.

[classicboatwork]

I have everything torn down and ready to put back together. The one item I can find no information about are the cam to cam chain tensioners. Should these be changed? One parts list I go included these two tensioners and 4 "sliding pieces" 1. Don't new tensioners have the sliding piece on them? 2. Can I change just the "sliding piece"? 3. Can I do this without messing with the chain and timing?

Working on my son's 2000 540i Sedan. Never worked on a BMW before.
Thank you

[JimLev]

You can buy just the sliding piece, #14.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...65&hg=11&fg=25

Do you have the tools to lock the cams and flywheel in place and know how to time the cams/vanos to the crank?
Without the timing tools your chances of doing this correctly is very slim.

[classicboatwork]

Bmw sell a magnetic protractor (special tool) but there comes a point where the special tools start getting rediculious. Especially ones you will never use again.

The crankshaft bolt is torqued to 100 Nm or 77 ft. lbs. The the 60-60-30 or whatever the correct degrees are.
This has been a GREAT help. Never dived into a BMW before (my son left it sitting in the driveway because something didn't sound right). Sure enough timing chain guides didn't exist anymore. It has been a slow process because I only work a little while each day and had to learn every nut and bolt along the way.

I am pretty impressed with this M62 TU engine though.

[BimmerM3inGA]

Guys, I think I might be screwed and need some help!

I'm in the process of replacing the timing chains and guides on a 2001 740i (148K miles) and have it torn down to the point where the crank hub needs to come off. I had a local welder make a tool to hold the crank, in a similar design to the BMW tool. I used a 1/2" breaker bar with a 4 foot long 1" iron pipe slipped over it. When I started to put some real force on the breaker bar, the freaking CRANK HUB broke into 3 pieces! Didn't see that one coming. There is only one bolt hole left in it now. How can I get it off?

Can I use an impact wrench on it? Will that even work? What other options do I have?

I thought about ordering the actual BMW tool, but with only 1 bolt hole left, would it even work?

[kimokk]

Wow, that sucks. Were you turning it counterclockwise (lefty loosy)?