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Thread: 540iT Continuing RSBM3's build thread....

  1. #51
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    I have the SnapOn 1/4" and 3/8" drive cordless ratchets, I love them, but a buddy of mine got the Milwaukee versions, man, I actually like the Milwaukee's better. They are much smoother, whereas the SnapOn's run rougher, finer teeth on the Milwaukee's is my bet.
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  2. #52
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Always happy to help a brother out! Y'know when your M62TU is blown and just all sorted it gets boring so you go out looking for shzt to keep ya busy...

    Scottie also forgets to mention he called out for Thai takeaway and mixed up a fine Dark 'n Stormy after the work was done, so I was well compensated....

    Quote Originally Posted by jp5Touring View Post
    That sucks,but oh damn that Milwaukee.Must look into one.
    Yeah. Can't recommend highly enough. The compact bit driver is excellent also. Scottie and I used both of them doing his headliner/sunroof-cassette, as we could split up and double-team the bit-driven fasteners vs socket driven fasteners. These are the small / compact "M12" line, there's several other bigger lines but these are awesome for the portability/size/weight factor. And I was telling Scottie today the battery life is truly great even on the smallest size batteries.

    Line-up is a bit confusing / elaborate, even once you realize to weed out the M18 tools... Seems there are a handful of 'drill-drivers', then several 'impact drivers' including an 'impact bit-driver' (aka if you want to drive sockets you need to put a socket bit in it) , then there's the non-impact-bit-driver, and to layer on top of that there's the "Fuel" line are brushless and beefier variants of the other items.

    I have the non-impact bit-driver which is smallest and excellent for interior work, plus the 3/8 ratchet. Scottie now has a Fuel bit-impact (little bigger and less 'gentle' maybe but obv can apply more powah when needed) and a Fuel drill/driver/hammer-drill that I actually started to lust after... might be headed to the Despot myself and see if I can't hit up the same battery deal...

    Quote Originally Posted by dannyzabolotny View Post
    Those timing chain tensioner threads strip all too often, usually because people cross-thread the chain tensioner cap when installing it. I usually just replace the upper timing cover, but I also don't powder coat my timing covers.
    That's exactly what happened - x-threading for sure.

    But that was exacerbated by I think "powder coat galling" which is a hazard I discovered the hard way. The PC'ers will blast and clean the part and when they do they'll often blast into threads if they aren't careful and then those threads, unless you lubricate/anti-seize them and chase them with something first, will gall and... well... see Scottie's pix. Powder overspray compounds that too... so you've got a bone-dry, media-blast-etched thread surface, which already is begging to gall, but then there's some nice hard plastic PC overspray to just ensure things get bound up and really seized hard. Now I spend way more time inspecting and pre-chasing threads on anything PC'd before I put it into service...
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

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    1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)


  3. #53
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    I just noticed my larger impact driver has two speeds, which is kinda nice.

    Since I ordered taps for the tensioner threads I offered them to Chris so he can chase any covers that get PC'd down the road. Or maybe I'll hold em and lend me out as needed. Seems it should be SOP for anyone PCing the upper covers.

    Since I don't have time to PC the replacement, I'm gonna clean it up tomorrow, prime with high temp primer and blast it with some engine enamel and let it bake in the sun for a couple hours. Of course with a carefully done masking job

    With any luck when my new tensioner arrives I can slap this all back together and be no worse for the wear.

  4. #54
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by scottieducati View Post
    I just noticed my larger impact driver has two speeds, which is kinda nice.
    Yeah both your units have 2 speeds which contributes to the nicer-ness of the Fuels.

    Quote Originally Posted by scottieducati View Post
    Or maybe I'll hold em and lend me out as needed. Seems it should be SOP for anyone PCing the upper covers.
    Yep although I think if you know about the problem, chasing the threads with the steel cap CAREFULLY - after cleaning any PC overspray and smearing some anti-seize - would be sufficient for most guys, but you'll have the luxury of the proper tool for sure. Like I keep saying - careful thread lubing and chasing after PC should be SOP.

    Clearly a lot of powder guys are not as careful as they should be and media blast into threads far too much. Honestly it really must weaken the threads in addition to creating the hazard of galling, but as long as you lube with something and pre-chase gently first I think its mostly OK.

    - - - Updated - - -

    BTW I'm off to Maine for the day today but keep me up to speed on the texts, depending on postal deliveries, if you end up doing the re-ass in next few days I could be free again to shoot down.
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

    1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
    1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)


  5. #55
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    First cost of primer. Masking took almost 45 mins.


  6. #56
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    Not too bad for an amateur rattle can job.

    This is the money shot tho...



    Let it sit out in the sun a few hours to bake a bit. Will get to fitting tomorrow.

  7. #57
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    540iT Continuing RSBM3's build thread....



    Covers are all back on. Went together pretty nicely, taking my time. Cleaned another thread bore (VANOS solenoid seal gasket bolt, lower) but otherwise nice and smooth.

    (Milwaukee 12V ratchet cameo )

    Used this for the RTV spots on VANOS solenoid seal, Valve Cover Gasket and upper timing cover gasket points.



    Gotta get some Ducati in there. Plus this is awesome stuff.

    Waiting on GG to arrive for tensioner install and some 88C tstat coding.

    Will be back on the road today.
    Last edited by scottieducati; 08-23-2017 at 01:02 PM.

  8. #58
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    Was back up and running yesterday, everything feels smoooooth. Proper thrashing last night followed by a good inspection for oil. Dry as a bone.

    Ended up with a CEL for the Bank 1 Camshaft Sensor, pulled it, cleaned it, re-greased the o-ring, cleaned the electrical connection and reinstalled everything. Had the code cleared this morning and about a half hour drive to work and no light.

  9. #59
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    All the thumbs are up.
    2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
    2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
    2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
    2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)

    Former:

    1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
    1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)


  10. #60
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    540iT Continuing RSBM3's build thread....

    Finally found the cause of my CEL. Figured it'd be good to document here in case others get the same code.



    Code 033 / 21 Function, camshaft control bank one.

    After thinking timing cover alignment and / or camshaft position sensors early on neither solved the issue.

    I popped the valve cover today and found it straight away:



    Bent timing trigger.

    When replacing the upper timing cover (that locked the tensioner retaining cap due to powder coat overspray) last time, I now vaguely recall while installing the valve cover it slipping when trying to seat the half moons. I must have ding'd the trigger and never saw it, immediately seating the valve cover.

    After popping it off this was staring me in the face. Also had a slight leak at the inner valve cover gasket and the tell tale oil in the spark plug wells. Cleaned all the gaskets, and surfaces extra well and took my time putting everything together carefully after double checking my timing for posterity...



    Reset my codes and went for a drive to the dog park, then another drive after.

    No more codes!

    Guess I didn't need new camshaft position sensors but oh well, could have been worse and a lesson learned.

  11. #61
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    Yep, a 740i that I was working on had bent cam trigger wheels on both sides so I replaced both with brand new ones. The pricing on them is surprisingly reasonable given how uncommon of a part it is.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  12. #62
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    Fortunately I was able to gently bend mine back and a few light taps to straighten out the wavy bits. Seems good

  13. #63
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    God this is a great thread for me to follow. Looks like I have the same car as you (color and wheels and msport package), and by the end of the year, I'm going to dive in under the hood and do the chain guides, VANOS, and other items while I'm in there. I've heard valley pan, and also the larger intake that you also swapped on. (I didn't see mention that you have to get a tune for the larger intake manifold, is that correct?

    If you have any tips/tricks from this build that you didn't mention, or anything that stood out, I'd love to hear them.
    '98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport

  14. #64
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    540iT Continuing RSBM3's build thread....

    I have not done a tune for the larger intake. It will eventually be paired with a DINAN CAI, and headers (will all go on together once I get some headers) at which point I'll get a tune. The larger intake without a tune does lose a little power down low.

    As for the timing chain guides, I had help from a local contact with the GAS tools to do the actual re-timing, and he also rebuilt my VANOS.

    Otherwise I did most of the teardown (with help from GearGrinder) and much of the reassembly. Then I also had to get back in to replace a timing cover that was poorly powder coated and had to again take off the valve cover when I had a bent timing trigger. So at this point I've got the hang of it.

    Tricky bits will be popping off your electrical boxes, you need to get at each clip with a pick to pry the corner of the clip down so you can remove the boxes from the injectors. You can also just try pulling / yanking on it hard, they should come out. My car came from CA and had lots of evidence of heat embrittlement of the plastic parts so we were extra careful and undid the clips.

    Otherwise just basic removal of things. Cooling system, belt drive system, etc are all pretty straight forward. Replace errything if it's in your budget. The only parts I kept was a newly replaced expansion tank and upper rad hose. Everything else is brand new. New gaskets obviously are a huge help, and when doing the valley pan I probably spent another 3+ hours just cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. The part outside of the valley pan was a bitch, as there are 8/16 recesses to clean.



    I also sent my injectors to Marren Injection for servicing, which I recommend. Mine were definitely not balanced flow rates across all 8, they are now.

    Otherwise the vast majority of the labor involved cleaning stuff. Gasket surfaces of course but my engine / block / oil pan had TONS of sludge, so I have many hours in scraping and cleaning and went thru 7-8 bottles of brake clean. Speaking of, put down a moving blanket or something else disposable to catch all that crap... Roll it up when done and toss it = easy clean up and a clean floor.

    I have 3-5 hours in removing the rear coolant manifold and cleaning the mating surfaces and chasing threads for the mount bolts. I had one of these snap, so I had to remove the broken bolt and decided to tap / chase all 6 threads. This took forever with almost no room to work back there.





    Basically take your time and run a tap thru anything that seems remotely suspect, you'll save yourself many headaches.

    Then just take your time on reassembly, and as I learned the hard way... When you mount the valve cover, make sure you don't nick the timing wheel as I did! It's a bit awkward when you're installing it as you need to get the half-moons of the valve cover gasket to seat properly in the head at the back of the engine. Take your time, use RTV where specified and you should be good.

    Like any in depth wrenching I didn't know lots of tricks myself for the m62. Most of my wrenching historically has been on Ducati and Honda V engines so there's a little bit of a curve, but you learn as you go!

    We're lucky to have this forum and tons of people willing to help and chime in. I was particularly spoiled with GearGrinder's above and beyond help but left the cam locking, Vanos rebuild, installing the new chain (I put in the guides and OSV / accessory pieces), and making sure the timing was right after installing VANOS. I'm sure I could have figured it out but it was super nice to have help from someone that had already done this job 8-9 times previously.

    That said, he got his initial start following the Besian procedures. They're a great resource.
    Last edited by scottieducati; 09-12-2017 at 12:30 PM.

  15. #65
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    Thanks for the response. I'll be attacking the webz once I start this in a couple of months.
    '98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport

  16. #66
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    Getting ready for the winter up here, and the BBK needs some attention anyway.



    Rotors are not doing so sweet. Going to turn these down or replace them, rebuild the front calipers over the winter and toss in some fresh pads come spring.



    Rebuilt the OE calipers with new seals and brass slider bushings. Came out pretty nice.






    BBK stripped off.



    Shoulda taken some pics before the wheels went on, but also put in some SS lines and did a careful bleed.



    Had cleaned up the Style 29's previously and mounted some new aggressive all seasons that excel in the wet / slush and are OK ok the snow.

    Pretty happy with the results, smooth ride and smooth brakes, better yet no more groaning, squeaking to a stop and shudder on highway brake application.

  17. #67
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    TouringDiff.jpg

    Finally bit the bullet after my CV lost all it's crease. With the DS coming out and the rear end needing a few little bushings and such... pulled the trigger on a WaveTrac LSD and had it all installed. Tossed on some front control arms I had waiting, with poly bushings and got the whole package aligned. Ended up having a vibration which was cured with some new rotors, guess el-cheapo's I used in the fall ran their course.

    Very happy with the setup , quite tight out back, ride quality is perfect, and boooooy does she pull out of a corner now!

  18. #68
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    Quick update, my frustrations kept me from really circling back here... but long story bearable, the vibrations were *not* cured with the new rotors. And here begins my saga into troubleshooting vibrations.

    The key takeaway here is since I *first* got the car, I noticed an odd feeling particularly after she sat or it was cold out where the back of the car felt like the rear tires only were flat spotted. It would go away relatively quickly but appear at lower speeds and *very slight* throttle application, going away (only at low speeds) when the clutch was depressed. There was also a higher frequency vibration present at speeds over 70 mph, this did NOT go away when the clutch was depressed.

    I started with a new driveshaft, despite my existing passing inspection, having no play, and generally looking fine. I also replaced my flex disc with an M5 OEM version, despite my old one again looking 100% fine.

    The minute I left the shop, I knew this did not fix the underlying issue. It hadn't been cured through multiple brake configurations, wheel sizes and different tires... and it hadn't gotten cured with the new driveshaft. On slight throttle application / maintenance throttle there was this persistent issue at the rear end, at times feeling like the back half of the car was on washboard pavement... or as if something was "tugging" at the bumper rhythmically. This was all so slight, almost imperceptible to passengers, and came and went, etc., I honestly thought I was losing my mind and questioning my analytical and 'feel' skills.

    Once the driveshaft didn't resolve this issue, although it DID make another noticeable improvement in overall vibration reduction, I knew it had to be the axles.

    They passed visual inspection (no rips, tears, CV boots looked great), "feel" inspection (zero play with suspension loaded and unloaded), and exhibited no audible clicking at full lock maneuvering.... the CV's had basically worn themselves into a groove and somewhat 'flat spotted.' Once sorted out it was quickly apparent the entire driveline and chassis was now happy and in harmony. She feels like a different car.

    In hindsight I wish I'd trusted my earlier judgement and pushed harder against a few things, and probably should have just included new axles along with the plan for the WaveTrac diff install, with the sub-frame being out and everything right there.... that attempt at saving money, ended up costing me at least about $700 (more if you count the things tried that didn't solve it)... but at the end of the day, it's nice knowing everything from the transmission to the wheels is 100% new. I can surely say that she drives and feels like it now... and I'm over the moon with the result after about 500 or so miles put on the car since.
    Last edited by scottieducati; 08-08-2018 at 12:02 AM.

  19. #69
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    Glad you figured out the cause of the vibrations! I'm going through a similar issue myself, occasional washboard feel at low speeds and a persistent shake/vibration at 70+. Makes me wonder if my axles are shot too, as I have 211k miles on what I presume are original axles, and I've done more than my fair share of donuts, burnouts, and hard launches over the past 38k miles of ownership.

    Where'd you source the new axles from, and how much were they? Everywhere I've seen has had them for ludicrous prices because apparently the tourings got different axles from the sedan, and unfortunately I've sold the axles on both of my E39 parts cars so I don't have any that I can test out.
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  20. #70
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    I decided to go with OE remans, and used GetBMWparts.com for the axles. They were pretty ludicrously expensive but cheaper than anywhere else I could find at around $600/ea.... yeah, I know :/


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  21. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by scottieducati View Post
    I decided to go with OE remans, and used GetBMWparts.com for the axles. They were pretty ludicrously expensive but cheaper than anywhere else I could find at around $600/ea.... yeah, I know :/
    How’d you diagnose the axles as being the issue? I’d wanna be sure about it before dropping that kind of money...
    1995 525i 5-speed - Thread

  22. #72
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    It was the feel of what was happening really.... and it helped that I basically rebuilt the whole rear end when the LSD went in.... the more I replaced the better the rest of the car felt and the more obvious / more localized that feeling became. It was a vibration on the highway that would rattle the hatch, and felt like the rear tires were flat spotted at low speeds.

    I’d also been through 3 different wheel setups all different sizes, and from a BBK to OE brake setup.... had hoped it wasn’t the axles due to their expense....

    At least now everything that spins from the transmission to the rear wheels is new. I’ve got new WBs for the front that I’ll do eventually but it’s absolutely unreal how smooth and tight she is now. Clear thru triple digits.


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  23. #73
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    I had also read somewhere the bearings and CVs are rated for ~170k. Every bearing should be replaced, almost as a matter of principle with these high miles.

    It does make me cringe but it is what it is....


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