M62 Upper Timing Covers

[RuskiE39]

All right, guys... little stumped here. Have basically everything off and am currently working on the driver side upper timing cover... some issues... after I removed the 6 bolts holding on the upper timing cover, not only will the lower left bolt not come out because its blocked up against the radiator hose/thermostat but the cover will not clear the vanos solenoid. So... am I going to have to drain the coolant and remove the thermostat/radiator hoses or do I need the special vanos solenoid socket to remove it (will anything else work? I have a 30 MM socket) or both? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm following DIY tutorial but it's for an X5 and the engine layout is a little different.

[Hatesposers]

I used a just a standard box end wrench to pull off mine.

[RuskiE39]

I used a just a standard box end wrench to pull off mine.

From inside the timing cover? Can you clarify? I'm really stumped lol.

Going to try this tomorrow...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=597845

[JimLev]

You can remove the upper cover without removing the vanos solenoid.
Yes, you'll need to remove the radiator hose and water pump.
Also remove the two 10mm hex head bolts that hold the vanos solenoid seal in place.
That seal is probably hard and leaking so get a new one.
You'll also need to remove the secondary air tube that runs in front of the water pump.
It's held on by one 10mm hex head bolt on each side, get a mirror to see it better.

[RuskiE39]

You can remove the upper cover without removing the vanos solenoid.
Yes, you'll need to remove the radiator hose and water pump.
Also remove the two 10mm hex head bolts that hold the vanos solenoid seal in place.
That seal is probably hard and leaking so get a new one.
You'll also need to remove the secondary air tube that runs in front of the water pump.
It's held on by one 10mm hex head bolt on each side, get a mirror to see it better.

All of that stuff is already done.. I think instead of going the water pump route I am just going to attempt to remove the solenoid instead.

[dannyzabolotny]

You can get the covers off without removing the water pump, but you will need to remove the coolant hoses that go to the water pump. You'll want to remove the gaskets around the Vanos solenoids as others have mentioned. I've removed upper timing covers in just about every way imaginable, there's a bunch of ways to go about it.

[MightyDuc]

I bought the shower valve set but ended up not using them. If I'm not mistaken, once the perimeter bolts and the solenoid gasket come off, you should be able to break the seal of the timing cover gasket and lean the cover enough to slip an open-end/adjustable wrench behind it to get on the hex-shaped area of the solenoid and unscrew it. I don't recall the torque spec for the solenoids but it wasn't much at all and as soon as it budges, you can reach your fingers in and unscrew it the rest of the way. Good luck!

[JimLev]

If you do buy the plumbers wrenches make sure the thru hole is big enough for the body of the vanos to fit thru. Not all of them have a thru hole big enough.

[RuskiE39]

I bought the shower valve set but ended up not using them. If I'm not mistaken, once the perimeter bolts and the solenoid gasket come off, you should be able to break the seal of the timing cover gasket and lean the cover enough to slip an open-end/adjustable wrench behind it to get on the hex-shaped area of the solenoid and unscrew it. I don't recall the torque spec for the solenoids but it wasn't much at all and as soon as it budges, you can reach your fingers in and unscrew it the rest of the way. Good luck!

That's exactly what I was going to *try* to do, but I didn't wanna risk the wrench slipping and messing up anything inside... i'll try to give it a shot and see if that will work, otherwise move onto the shower sockets.

[augustballer]

The shower valve set I got from Home Depot was made of cheap metal. It ended up warping/twisting and couldn't withstand the torque required to loosen the solenoid. It wasn't exactly the best fit either. Not even worth trying IMO.

We ended up making the solenoid tool by thinning the wall of a 32mm deep socket and lengthening it since it wasn't deep enough. The end product is a little crooked but it got the job done. I wish I would have known about the open wrench trick..

IMG_0840.jpg

[RuskiE39]

The shower valve set I got from Home Depot was made of cheap metal. It ended up warping/twisting and couldn't withstand the torque required to loosen the solenoid. It wasn't exactly the best fit either. Not even worth trying IMO.

We ended up making the solenoid tool by thinning the wall of a 32mm deep socket and lengthening it since it wasn't deep enough. The end product is a little crooked but it got the job done. I wish I would have known about the open wrench trick..

IMG_0840.jpg

augustballer, thank you for your input. Was walking through the aisles getting ready to pull the trigger on the valve set and I read your comment. I ended up picking up a 30mm wrench as the DIY mentioned and it was too small... are you kidding me? I looked over to my right and low and behold, my fan clutch wrench (32mm) was just laying there. I was able to maneuver it in there carefully and safely loosen the solenoid. The driver side timing cover is off now! Hopefully the passenger side is going to be easier...

hard as rock:

[dannyzabolotny]

There's nothing quite as satisfying as replacing nasty old gaskets with fresh new ones.

Also, when you get to reinstalling the upper timing covers, use the Beisan Systems trick to seat the upper timing covers properly— you install the valve covers *without* the gaskets so that they press down on the upper timing cover. Double up on the washers to get the valve cover to clamp down. This will align the upper timing covers better and will prevent any camshaft timing error codes from the cam sensors being positioned incorrectly.

[RuskiE39]

There's nothing quite as satisfying as replacing nasty old gaskets with fresh new ones.

Also, when you get to reinstalling the upper timing covers, use the Beisan Systems trick to seat the upper timing covers properly— you install the valve covers *without* the gaskets so that they press down on the upper timing cover. Double up on the washers to get the valve cover to clamp down. This will align the upper timing covers better and will prevent any camshaft timing error codes from the cam sensors being positioned incorrectly.

Thanks for letting me know about this, getting ready to put everything back together and am following the beisan procedure.

[RuskiE39]

There's nothing quite as satisfying as replacing nasty old gaskets with fresh new ones.

Also, when you get to reinstalling the upper timing covers, use the Beisan Systems trick to seat the upper timing covers properly— you install the valve covers *without* the gaskets so that they press down on the upper timing cover. Double up on the washers to get the valve cover to clamp down. This will align the upper timing covers better and will prevent any camshaft timing error codes from the cam sensors being positioned incorrectly.

I can't get the upper timing cover to mount completely flush with the valve cover area... will this be fine?

[dannyzabolotny]

A little gap is okay. They'll never be 100% correct because the pieces are all cast separately and have some variations. The idea is to get it as close as possible. All of mine have had a little gap and that's never caused any problems.

[augustballer]

I can't get the upper timing cover to mount completely flush with the valve cover area... will this be fine?

A little gap is okay. They'll never be 100% correct because the pieces are all cast separately and have some variations. The idea is to get it as close as possible. All of mine have had a little gap and that's never caused any problems.

I have the same gap in my touring. Doesn't leak a drop of oil.

Currently doing my brothers non vanos. His has much less gap. I wonder if there are any engine specific differences..

[philly98540]

Might be angle of pic, but that looks a bit too much gap to me. No dig intended Danny as you been there many more times than I. The bottom gasket on the front timing covers is rubber like the VC gasket. It should be compressible enough to get the top flush. Did you leave the front cover bolts loose when you tried to force it down?

[RuskiE39]

Awesome! Good to hear, I can finally continue on.

[RuskiE39]

Might be angle of pic, but that looks a bit too much gap to me. No dig intended Danny as you been there many more times than I. The bottom gasket on the front timing covers is rubber like the VC gasket. It should be compressible enough to get the top flush. Did you leavery the front cover bolts loose when you tried to force it down?

Yeah, front bolts are loose. Performing the valve cover trick with 2 washers.


EDIT: Figured it out thanks to rajesh (?), I inserted a phillips screwdriver into the bolt hole below and applied a little pressure while tightening the corner bolt. It's lined up perfectly now.

[geargrinder]

Cool. I was just going to suggest searching on some of the alternate "pry down" tricks and methods. There are several, doesn't really matter as long as you get it pushed down somehow while you final torque.

[RuskiE39]

All right so everything is done, kinda... I got the gaskets replaced and the timing covers back on as well as the valve covers. My only concern is that I forgot to tighten the passenger side Vanos solenoid before sealing the timing cover so I hand screwed it in and used a channelock plier to softly tighten it on from the outside so that it was snug.
other than that I just have to reconnect all the sensors and put back together the cooling system and bleed it.

[Jerry Scholder]

There's nothing quite as satisfying as replacing nasty old gaskets with fresh new ones.

Also, when you get to reinstalling the upper timing covers, use the Beisan Systems trick to seat the upper timing covers properly— you install the valve covers *without* the gaskets so that they press down on the upper timing cover. Double up on the washers to get the valve cover to clamp down. This will align the upper timing covers better and will prevent any camshaft timing error codes from the cam sensors being positioned incorrectly.

Not sure how to know when the alignment is right; what do you use for a reference? Any pictures? Thanks.