Used trans fluid is drained, stored, and then put back in?
I'm gettin an idea why Brazil motors are full of sludge.
Not being funny or anythin but seriously - do people change oil regularly on cars down there, or is that considered a waste of time/money?
I have a friend whos wife feels that way up here and she refuses to have the oil changed (thinks its a 'scam'), and after talking to her for years (to no avail), I could easily see it being something other people get convinced of...
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)
Lol, I see where you get that, but the Trans oil question is from my part, the mechanic said we MUST change it, but I've read many times that many owners don't recommend doing the change. So it was just me being ignorant about the subject than a common practice around here.
As for the engine Oil changes, we usually do it every 5-8 thousand kilometers. Very rarely I meet someone, specially in the BMW circle, that neglects this.
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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)
You mean like this gold color? This was taken at about 56k miles.
IMG_2806.jpg
Last edited by Dave Sal; 12-07-2017 at 07:31 PM.
2000 528i sport
EMP Stewart water pump
Dice iPod adapter
Alpine amplifiers
MB Quart speakers
MTX BGE12 subwoofer
AudioControl EQL equalizer
If you plan to keep the car, replace the guides. If really pressed due to availability, at least do the center u shaped guide. That one has the highest failure rate.
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
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)
Code:philly98540If you plan to keep the car, replace the guides. If really pressed due to availability, at least do the center u shaped guide. That one has the highest failure rate.Code:geargrinder Yeah absolutely... Fred, any chance you know any international travelers going / coming home from abroad who can toss a set of guides in their luggage maybe?
The engine is coming out, too many sludge in lower places. Don`t think I`ll be able to change the guide right now, not even the U Shaped one.
Don`t know anyone abroad right now that could bring them to me. Is there a way I can inspect them to be sure they can hold at least another 20k miles? I don`t drive much as I do all my work from home and have other cars, in my last 530i I added 13k Miles in 5 years, this car I intend to keep for 2 years. Thanks for the help guys, will post more pics later.
Well.
On the side of not-changing:
- 73k miles would be short for a timing guide failure generally
- You say you only need 2 years and 30k miles... OK yep 100k miles total is not usually a problem for guides as long as they haven't been in an abused car/motor
- You'll have them out for the sludge clean and can inspect them and confirm they look ok (more on that in sec)
On the side of changing:
- Heat cycles seem the biggest toll on those guides. We're guessing this car has seen a lot of heat over its miles. Your motor isn't a poster child for what we'd expect to be long-life guides
- The problem when those are failing is the plastic getting brittle (more than actual wear) Taking them out, handling, reassembling, etc. may damage what were "OK wear-wise" guides and make them more prone to failure sooner than later, if not outright have some bits break off
- Replacement requires a ton of front end disassembly which you've done already - if they fail afterwards you'll pay to have this torn down to this point AGAIN - basically replicate nearly all the labor to this point and plus a bit more for the reassembly and re-timing. Right now the labor is basically "Free" for you to do the guides.
On inspection - as mentioned, sure you're looking at the wear but more than that you're really looking for brittling and signs of microcracks appearing. More than the guides wearing through, they start to 'chunk off' parts. Have the mechanics be VERY careful in removing them and cleaning them then look very closely at them all dry and clean and look for signs of tiny cracks starting to appear at corners and along edges. I won't be surprised at all if some of the clips break off during removal. Mostly used guides you can easily snap in your hand due to brittling...
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)
Look at the size of the groove in the guides.
Here's mine at ~130K when I changed them, could have probably gone another 75K miles however I have the front of the engine apart to powder coat the front covers.
I have changed my oil every 7500mi since new.
2014_36.JPG
The U guide
2014_44.JPG
Engine pic at ~130K. I didn't clean anything.
DSCN9237.JPG
You should pull the cam to cam tensioners apart and clean them too.
Dscn1062.jpg
Last edited by JimLev; 12-08-2017 at 12:26 PM.
Thank you so much Gear and Jim, will keep you guys updated, wish me luck (again)
If you are going to pull the heads off there is another check valve in the block on both sides. It's in the top front corners of the block. Pull it out and make sure it's clean too.
Updates,
Whole engine has been removed and going for a chemical bath. Cylinder Heads have been removed as well. Decided to go ahead and order a full set of gaskets and will probably order the chain guides as well. Truly amazing how good this engine was working despite all the gunk inside.
A few pictures of the "progress"
Also, to our surprise, part of the block on the drivers side was broken. Right where the transmission connects. Probably somebody miscalculating the weight of the Trans while leaving just one bolt. Luckily didn't crack the block where it matters.
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Last edited by FredRC; 12-11-2017 at 04:27 PM.
Here are the pictures of the broken part of the block and some pictures of the full exhaust for reference.
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OK then! Get that puppy cleaned up.
Not exactly encouraged by the removed-part care-and-storage methodology that's evident there...
I might pile up stuff like serpentine tensioners in a box / pile, but anthing that goes remotely 'inside' like the VANOS solenoids and shutter wheels and cam caps I'd be taking a hell of a lot of better care of. Actually yanking the cams before pulling the heads when you know you're pulling the heads is a bit unusual, hopefully they put the crank at the proper neutral point for cam removal. And I hope they kept track of the bolts - the timing covers only take about 35 bolts for various things and they are all different lengths and if you put the wrong ones in the wrong place you can have bad things happen... kinda looks like a giant pile of bolts and parts just lying on the ground...
OK OK I'm probably being too USA fussy immaculate, right? Need to be more Brazilian-pragmatic? Where's my Cachaca anyway!? (seriously where is it... I literally have some and haven't seen it in a while... did my damn wife drank all the cachaca again!?)
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)
Fred, more info.
Here's where the block check valves are located. There's one on each bank. Pull them out and clean them.
I was going to use your pics but had this old engine in my garage was just a little bit cleaner.
BlockCV_2.JPG
The check valves
Block_CV.JPG
Behind the fat green o-ring in the pass side head is an orifice with a very small hole in it. Make sure you clean it too.
Cam_17_o-ring.JPG
I'd plug any open oil galleries until the sludge crap is gone, then open them up and clean them good. Blast out with air
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
Lol you are right, we didn`t expect to remove the heads when the cams were removed, but then again I didn`t expect a lot of things this past week. Iwas also worried about the storing methods, but I`ll trust they know what they are doing, he has assembled and disassembled this engine many times before and seem quite familiar with. The engine will spent a few days on its bath so I`ll get to him to separate and categorize all the bolts and parts. Do a clean build. Oh and it`s spelled Cachaça (Ka-cha-tsa) God forbid you get served the wrong drink from saying its name wrong. Wish I could send you some in exchange for some Timing Chain Guides !geargrinder
OK then! Get that puppy cleaned up.
Not exactly encouraged by the removed-part care-and-storage methodology that's evident there...
I might pile up stuff like serpentine tensioners in a box / pile, but anthing that goes remotely 'inside' like the VANOS solenoids and shutter wheels and cam caps I'd be taking a hell of a lot of better care of. Actually yanking the cams before pulling the heads when you know you're pulling the heads is a bit unusual, hopefully they put the crank at the proper neutral point for cam removal. And I hope they kept track of the bolts - the timing covers only take about 35 bolts for various things and they are all different lengths and if you put the wrong ones in the wrong place you can have bad things happen... kinda looks like a giant pile of bolts and parts just lying on the ground...
OK OK I'm probably being too USA fussy immaculate, right? Need to be more Brazilian-pragmatic? Where's my Cachaca anyway!? (seriously where is it... I literally have some and haven't seen it in a while... did my damn wife drank all the cachaca again!?)
Thank you very much my friend, but since the the block and headers are being immersed in the Chemical bath wouldn`t this suffice ? I`ll ask them to check anyway. Thanks.I said heads, as in cylinder heads.
Good thing you pulled the engine apart to clean it out.
I'll post a pic of the check valve location later today.
Oh after all this work you can rest assured that I`ll make them check every single inch of this guy before starting to build, don`t wanna do this ever again.philly98540
I'd plug any open oil galleries until the sludge crap is gone, then open them up and clean them good. Blast out with air
I`d like to have this thread as a future reference for someone who might come across the same problem, but I`m really not sure what parts should I take pictures of, so if you guys want any Pictures that may be useful while the engine still out, please let me know.
Just saw you pics Jim, very nice, I'll point this to the mechanic, I don't remember seeing those little valves out.
In the mean time, I decided to refreshen the valve covers, what color should I go for ?
Was thinking of some lime green or banana yellow.
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I'd go with than banana yellow, be different.
Pull those check valves out before you dip the block!
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