Camshaft installation and removal

[WadiM3]

Story starts up by me browsing eBay while bored at work, found a set of S52 cams for a price that's too good to be true so I thought I'd treat my self to a 4 day early 22nd birthday present, while seeking advise from my very close friends today this morning Chris and Darin, I proceeded in buying a pair of s52 US m3 camshafts to put into my e36 328i. The Cams Look clean and came inside the cam trays with all the 12 caps labelled E 1-6 and A 1-6 which I assume is exhaust 1-6 and Air 1-6. I was warned so many times by the seller to seek a lot of advise in having them installed and told me they are really hollow and fragile and can snap easily or bend. Here I come back to my very good friends Asking for advise on how to remove my current cams and how to install the s52's. 328 power Abel told me a theory of putting the timing off by 3 degrees or teeth to gain extra benefits. Please everyone chime in. Got the cams with camtrays and caps for £250 usually it's $450 + shipping and as rare as hens teeth. I hit a treasure chest. The seller had 12 people racing to buy them and guess who was the winner . Speedo didn't less then 130 mph till I got there lol. Another thing I noticed was my car would pull till 120 in 4th gear but won't pull anymore but there was still like 750 rpm till redline ? And once in 5th it would be slower to pull to the 140mph.. with my 3.15 lsd it would pull to 150 pretty quickly and if memory serves my correct it used to pull to 155 really quickly before I got the lsd with the same 2.93 open diff I have now.. any ideas ?

[WadiM3]

Thanks in Advance !!!

[WadiM3]

How do I confirm they are genuine S52 cams btw ?

[328 Power 04]

Post pics of the ignition cam. It should have lobes that are quite rounded out.

[bmwdirtracer]

Okay, let's start with a huge mistake:

"E" is EIN: that means INTAKE. "A" means "AUSPUFFEN" or "EXHAUST. (Darin will hopefully correct my gross mangling of the actual German terms. Mine work, for me.)

Now, Darin and I both said we couldn't tell identity or condition of those cams, or so you told me. Did you ask for the part numbers?

The seller is ONE THOUSAND PER CENT CORRECT !!! Those cams are hollow and fragile. There is a BMW special tool for installing them, which holds the cams down flat. I have never actually used this tool, and I have never broken a cam (knock on wood).

But experience has got to count for something......

It's really a bit much, to try to tell you how to install cams and time the engine....but I have to assume you're doing this with the head on the engine? Do you have the cam-timing tools and instructions? You can't just wing this with a quick forum explanation....

[WadiM3]

Which is the ignition ? Sorry for stupidness is that the one with the gears? You should all know I'm useless by now but I still love being here and learning and absorbing info and knowledge from you guys. Abel please check your inbox

[WadiM3]

Darin gave me a briefing before I got there and told me to check for scores or any marks, as far as I saw this was minimal and the cams looked good to me Darin I think went to bed early as he has a long day tomorrow and I didn't want to bother you or disturb you as i didn't know what time it is in your part of the world and what you where doing haha. You told me it would be useless without the caps so I was happy when I saw them. Stay tuned in I'm 25 mins from home and can post the pics of my early birthday present haha. My mate has the BMW timing tool blocks as he told me and I saw these blocks once which he told me was the timing tools for a BMW, yes head will be staying in the car! Then I'm gonna rely on Abels wizardry on the tune

[WadiM3]

Emailed you a video of the cams Chris, here are some pics Abel. For some reasons the non gear side seems more scored then the geared cam. Are they good conditions or are they useless ?

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[WadiM3]

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[WadiM3]

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[bmwdirtracer]

The second set of pictures might be disturbing. Why the hell is that one journal YELLOW/ORANGE BROWN?

Really, not perfect, but should be fine.......got any part numbers?

[WadiM3]

To me the job looked really easy lol. I thought I could just have the old cams and trays taken out (don't care if they break) and tighten these cam caps on the cams torque them then just put the trays in and torque them and put the gaskets and covers back on ? But hey I'm stupid and never done this

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It's Yellow because it still has oil on it haha, and yeah can show you all

[WadiM3]

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[WadiM3]

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[WadiM3]

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I was told s52 cams and m52 cams share the same part numbers for some reason which is why there's a lot of scammers selling m52 listed as s52. Also these. BLack rectangles have marks on them which scare me ?? IMG_1254.jpg

[328 Power 04]

They look like the right cams. And the scoring is very common.

You need to install them using the pelican parts instructions. It requires putting the engine in the right position to have only one set of lobes in pressure when tightening them in. Otherwise you will risk breaking them. Time them stock for now using correct timing blocks, if you do not know the engine well enough I wouldn't mess with custom timing.

[WadiM3]

What should I replace while doing the cams? Rocker cover gasket I assume ?

[dworthy]

Einlass = E or Intake
Auspuff= A or Exhaust

How old is the rocker cover gasket? If it is less than 5 year, you should be good, as they normally will last 8-10 years.

[WadiM3]

I'm Not sure so I'll justt change it while there

[bmwdirtracer]

When installing a used camshaft, the lobes of the cam should be installed against the exact same lifters which they previously contacted, OR, you replace the lifters with new. That's the rule; break it at your own risk.

[WadiM3]

Do I need new lifters ?

Have you ever broken the rule ?

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Wat are the lifters ? Are they in the tray or...

[bmwdirtracer]

I personally have never broken this rule. I am VERY careful to always label and keep each used lifter in a bag which puts it back in contact with the exact same cam lobe. Or, I replace them with new, as I did in the '95 M3 engine I just rebuilt for a fellow instructor.

Lifters are the round cylinders which ride on the valve springs, in the cam trays. They are the parts which the lobes of the cam rub against.

[WadiM3]

Are they expensive ?

ive never heard of people replacing lifters when installing s52 cams but I trust you more then them. What else do you think I should do while doing the cams? Rocker gasket and what else

[WadiM3]

I decided to reuse my lifters as new ones cost an arm and a leg, £35 + vat each from BMW. I think I'll cross my fingers and have bmw specialist install them. They told me I shouldn't worry much about the lifters and they have done s52 cam swaps before and are doing it and rotating the crank at the same time or something during installation. They also said they have the BMW tool which holds the cams down. One concern was as soon as they install the cams tomorrow is there a specific way to drive to break them in or am I good to mash the throttle the second I leave ? Also should I worry about running lean as I havent been tuned ? Stock tune running m50intake and s52 cams won't that make me run lean ?

also lastly I heard the standard intake is good for 240bhp anything more then that it won't give the correct airflow. What's the best type of airfilter shortram with a heatshield or a long tube down to the front bumper with a filter ?

Later on I'm planning on going 3.5" intake with asc delete and 3.5" maf conversion from a e34 540 and Dinan bbtb or a m62 bbtb and a good tune , headers with a sport cat and underdrive pullies and get rid of the belt driven fan and opt into an electric one. M54b30 rotating assembly to stroke it to 3.0 (crank and pistons and rods) And hope to touch s50b30 euro power or close to it

[bmwdirtracer]

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...em-11321748884

Twelve dollars each. INA is the BMW supplier.