Kouks e34 complete rebuild

[kouks]

Kouks:
After I rebuilt the head of my 1990 525i, smog failed only on NOx by 7ppm. The problems leading to failed smog was the O2 sensor and the temperature sensors. These caused it to run too lean (backfired with heavy load). At 200k miles, I decided to buy a brand new BMW cat, flown in for Germany. After that it blew 0 on all pollutants. If it seems to run hot, it could be that the fuel mixture is too lean.

Yes, I think its running lean. The Bentley has all the electrical tests and fuel tests to check the emission system, so that will be my going in plan. If that does not produce anything, then I'll consider the cats.

[AquilaBMW]

Bill - Would you mind sharing the smog results? I am having a tough time with a 1995 M3 at the moment, curious to see if we have similar numbers. You can text me a pic if you like.

[KSEADUB]

Just for FYI, all the parts inside the lifters



Before and after. Other than being clean, the piston and spring throw is larger and the spring back is better, no hesitation.

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I just read through this for the first time. Congrats on getting it all back together!

Mind sharing how you got the lifter internals apart? I just had these out of my passat, and didn't see any obvious way to disassemble them...


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[kouks]

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I just read through this for the first time. Congrats on getting it all back together! Mind sharing how you got the lifter internals apart? I just had these out of my passat, and didn't see any obvious way to disassemble them... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I could go into a big dissertation or you could go to YouTube and look it up. Go back to the post on this thread where I describe the cleaning process and there is a link to a YouTube video of a guy that takes apart the lifters in his VW Golf.

[KSEADUB]

I could go into a big dissertation or you could go to YouTube and look it up. Go back to the post on this thread where I describe the cleaning process and there is a link to a YouTube video of a guy that takes apart the lifters in his VW Golf.

Thanks! Missed the video the first time through.


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[kouks]

PASSED Smog!! On the road again! Insured and CA registration.

I'll let the family drive it around for a month or so to find any other issues before I spend any more $$ for the interior re-do. Then paint, then wheels/suspension.

[AquilaBMW]

Congratulations My Man!!!!! Way to go! Another success under your belt - Bravo Zulu!!!!

[kouks]

Went to local JY to get some parts.

Got a mirror control switch, now the power mirrors work again.

Got a AC compressor, installed in the car but have not charged the system yet.

Replaced both front turn signal side lights on the bumper, one was broken, now both are good.

So I got an AC compressor, mirror switch, both turn signal lights, sunroof motor, 3 small modules, and carbon canister for emission system for $100 total. Wreck is also a '95. The JY has others working in there too, got a $700 quote for paint for the front and rear bumper, hood, trunk and roof. Perfect for this project. The Mexican guy that does the paint previously painted my e38 front bumper which is looking great after nearly a year.

Also, reverse lights were not working, so started simple by replacing the bulbs (even though they looked good) and the fuse. Not sure how he got in there, but one bulb housing had a dead moth in it. Maybe the cause of the problem? Reverse lights working again.

Looking for good seats, front and back, in Parchment. So far, car is driving fine.

[E38740iMD]

That's one he'll of an update

[kouks]

Found two good front seats at Quarry Motors in Fl. Ordered with shipping for $293. Hope they are as good as the photos show. Driver seat has a little wear, but passenger is good. Still looking for rear seats.

Decided on Style 32 wheels, order 2 17x8 for $200 total, now looking for 17x9 for rears. Any opinions on square v. staggered. I just think the staggered looks cooler. This is an M50 powered car, trust me, no real power.

[AHenry014]

staggered for sure. take a look at car-part.com for the 9's.

[kouks]

Fixed glovebox rear hinges, works great, love you long time GI.

Got my new (old) front seats, replaced the passenger side. Had to swap the seat belt receptacle from my old seat.

New and old together...



Seat in car, next the driver seat with seat twist. May wait a bit on that since even the new driver seat has a bit of wear (as expected) and may get those panels replaced first. Depends on cost.



First problem has surfaced after about 500 miles of driving, a few drops of steering fluid on the driveway. Some seeping from the fluid reservoir, from the hose I did not replace since it "looked good", seeping all the way down to the bottom of the return line on the steering pump. Small problem. Also getting a little rattle at start up for a few seconds. I did replace the tensioner spring and oil level is steady.

[kouks]

Got a ENGINE OIL PRESSURE warning. Luckily I was only a block from the house and pulled it into the driveway. Have not had time to look at it, hopefully its as simple as the pressure sensor or oil filter. I did take apart the oil pump and clean it during the rebuild, hope I didn't screw it up. Going into the oil pan is such a PITA in the M50.

This could explain the chain rattle after it sits for a few days.

[BleedsBlue]

Sheesh. Hoping for the best, Bill!

[kouks]

Good news so far, no metal shavings or plastic bits in the oil filter housing

Bad news, removed oil filter for inspection, with no oil filter started engine momentarily and with cold morning oil, just some bubbling of oil in the filter housing, no real pressure. Well the pressure sensor is working correctly.

Oil looks good, not burnt. Oil level is actually above full a bit, so no burning oil off after about 500 miles of driving.

Bentley says three reasons for low oil pressure.

1 - Worn or non functioning oil pump: Possible. I did see some oil being pumped up into the filter housing but was not under any real pressure. The pump is still rotating but not supplying pressure. Could be a loose pump too where the oil leaks out of the gaskets before going up to the filter housing. This requires the removal of the oil pan to check.

2 - Worn engine: During the rebuild I checked compression and that was fine. Took about 10 strokes to get to full compression of about 145 psi but it did it. Also oil is not burning off and after 500 miles of city type driving, the oil is still a clean color, so minimal blowby.

3- Worn bearings: I'm not sure how to diagnose this. I know the bearing float on a thin layer of oil, but how do they create pressure? My assumption is that the oil pump creates the pressure to lift the oil from the pan to the filter housing, which is then pressurized into the overhead cams and flows down to the bearings, into the pan to start over again. Is this wrong? Can anyone educate me on this? There are some nearly black particles in the oil, like old dirt, but have not been able to find silver dust like a bearing failure. Have not drained the oil pan yet to look at that only the filter.

[kouks]

UPDATE:

Opened up VCG to inspect valve train, no visual indications of damage or scoring on the lifters or cams. No metal shavings. Pulled chain tensioner and no issues there. Chain guides were all good. Found black dirty sludge in the well areas where the oil collects. Considered that this was stuff that was worked free after I put it together and ran clean synthetic oil in the engine. Felt like some sort of goo, when I rubbed it in my fingers it spread thin and smelled like gasoline almost.

Checked continuity of oil pressure switch and it was fine. When I disconnected the oil pressure switch cable, the red oil moniker in the dash went out, but I did not get a OIL PRESS SENSOR warning like its supposed to do.

Drained oil, color was not dark, more like a medium tan. did a "magnet" test by running a powerful magnet (from and old speaker) under the aluminum oil pan to see if anything was loose and laying on the pan, but nothing made any noise.

Currently raising the motor and lowering the suspension so I can remove the oil pan. Lost interest and got tired after about 5 hours in the garage.

Only thing that concerns me: I cannot visually see any metal debris in the oil. Even when the last few drops were coming out of the pan I let it drip on my hand and it was clear. However, in the drain pan, I would run my finger through the top layer of oil and it would lighten in color, then go back to one color. Is this bearing dust? I've never played with oil before so not sure if it does this all the time.

While I was writing this I thought...Duh? Why do't I run a magnet through the oil drain pan and see if it picks up ferrous dust. Nope, clean. I assume the bearing are a magnetic type of metal, not aluminum. That's a relief.

[kouks]

Oil...pickup...tube...loose

So upset at myself. I'm guessing when I put it together I did not torque down the two 10mm bolts holding it in place. Wasted about 8 hours of my life investigating and dropping the oil pan. Prolly going to take another 3-4 hours to put it all back together. So peed off at myself.

Well, at least there was no engine damage. I'll check bearing clearances tomorrow before I put it back together just to make sure its ok.

[MehMan]

3- Worn bearings: I'm not sure how to diagnose this. I know the bearing float on a thin layer of oil, but how do they create pressure? My assumption is that the oil pump creates the pressure to lift the oil from the pan to the filter housing, which is then pressurized into the overhead cams and flows down to the bearings, into the pan to start over again. Is this wrong? Can anyone educate me on this? There are some nearly black particles in the oil, like old dirt, but have not been able to find silver dust like a bearing failure. Have not drained the oil pan yet to look at that only the filter.

The pump creates flow, the pressure comes from the crankcase and cam oil bearing clearances. That's why 9 times out of 10 when the the low oil pressure light comes on in a worn out engine, it usually means that a main or more likely con rod bearing has failed.

[kouks]

The pump creates flow, the pressure comes from the crankcase and cam oil bearing clearances. That's why 9 times out of 10 when the the low oil pressure light comes on in a worn out engine, it usually means that a main or more likely con rod bearing has failed.

Researched a bit and found that M50 bearing clearances on rods are .0008 to .0022, main is .0008 to .0023. Measurements are in inches. Smallest spacer I have is .006, so I'll have to find one. Also read the #6 bearing is the one with the most wear, so I'll be checking that one first.

I read on the track part of the forum that clearances as much as .003 are usable, but the engine is basically on its way out. Using thicker oil, such as 20W-50 can help extend the life, as well as additives like LUCAS Oil Conditioner.

Crossing my fingers on clearances...

[AHenry014]

a loose dipstick tube would not cause a low oil pressure warning....or did i read that post wrong?

anywho, i am not sure how you intend on measuring bearing clearances, but you are needing plastigage.

[MehMan]

a loose dipstick tube would not cause a low oil pressure warning....or did i read that post wrong?

You read that wrong . He's talking about the oil pickup tube in the sump that goes up to the oil pump.

[AHenry014]

hahah damn. yea that would do it!

[kouks]

After reading up on how to measure the main bearing clearances I decided that was way too complicated (requires the removal of the crankshaft) so I'm just putting it back together and get going. I took apart the oil pump and did not see any damage, also dropped the metal cover below the crankshaft and visually inspected the piston bores while manually turning the motor. No visible signs of damage or scoring.

Only thing that concerns me is a bit of fine dark gray dust on the bottom of the oil drain pan. Its not magnetic, so I'm wondering if its aluminum. If so, maybe the cams or lifters wore a bit of their housing. In any case, its going back together.

Going to use a 10W-40 or maybe a 10W30 with LUCAS to help any wear on the bearings, cams or lifters.

[kouks]

Shes running again...woo hoo!

Used Lock-Tite on the pick up tube screws this time. Used 10w-40 with most of a bottle of LUCAS Oil Modifier. Started with a rattle but after 5-6 seconds all got quiet. Runs smooth, could basically do the wine glass on the engine stunt again I think. In the garage it revs up fine.

Only noise I hear is when I'm under the car and its a faint tick near the back of the motor. The #6 is supposed to be the most wear of all cylinders so maybe that one is at its limit. Plan is to keep driving it as long as it keeps running.

Replaced the Oil Pressure Sensor, just because.

[Old525i]

Nice!