Nate's S62 Engine Refresh/Rebuild Thread

[computiNATEor]

Good video Nate.
Any reason you didn’t get the journal re-ground and used the appropriate size bearings?

Thanks
Can’t replicate the nitride treatment of a factory crank. I’ve never seen undersize/oversize bearings for an S62. No shop I spoke to recommended it. I’d already purchased $500 in WPC treated rod bearings. And with the amount of medal that went through the engine, I honestly am glad I did it at this point.

Thankfully I had the time and money to do that.

[philly98540]

What an adventure Nate! That would have tested many a mans patience.

[JimLev]

Thanks
Can’t replicate the nitride treatment of a factory crank. I’ve never seen undersize/oversize bearings for an S62.

You could have got the crank heat treated, maybe pricey IDK.
BMW does sell different bearings, they are listed in RealOEM.

[computiNATEor]

What an adventure Nate! That would have tested many a mans patience.

I learned a LOT. The only thing that scares me now is bodywork and rust. Bodywork repairs are coming soon though XD

You could have got the crank heat treated, maybe pricey IDK.
BMW does sell different bearings, they are listed in RealOEM.

They're listed, but I've never actually seen or heard of anyone ordering them. Who knows how long til they showed up, haha.
I paid a good friend of mine $350 for a mic'd crankshaft that still had the factory yellow paint markings on it. His car's S62 was dry started after being stored for several years, and it chewed up the cylinder walls. It's back running now. We call it the curse of TiAg, as all my friends with TiAg M5s have had some degree of bad luck. One had a wiring fire with an aftermarket radio, one had an accident, two of us have had engine failures. Ryan, Hassan, and Luke (all have videos on E39Source), the friends without issues, don't have TiAg cars. Lol.

- - - Updated - - -

This car is where the crank was originally fitted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69PyzFI0Mao

[computiNATEor]

Today marks 2 years from when this whole disaster started. 2021 will see another significant injection of cash into the M5, and hopefully my best year yet with the car. Can't wait

[philly98540]

That was not an easy job Nate. Congrats on doing it right.

[AlteredZ]

Nate - awesome thread!

I'm doing rod bearings in my 2002 M5 and checking the Mains.

Did you ever figure out how to torque / in stall the "threaded protective bushes" in the main caps?

Thanks, Pete

[computiNATEor]

Nate - awesome thread!

I'm doing rod bearings in my 2002 M5 and checking the Mains.

Did you ever figure out how to torque / in stall the "threaded protective bushes" in the main caps?

Thanks, Pete

Yes, they’re in the TIS instructions.

[computiNATEor]

To check the main clearances, you release them fully into the main cap, then tighten the center main bolts down and check with plastigauge. Install the center bolts with the threaded protective bushes fully threaded out, then use the appropriate size hex to torque to 10Nm. Then do the collar bolts (outer main bolts).

I’ve never seen or read or heard of a main bearing failure in a BMW though.

[AlteredZ]

Thanks, Nate. I noticed the longitudinal lines in the bushing and found a hex key socket to fit. Torqued like you said once I had the inner 2 bolts Torqued and rotated 110 degrees.

I'm replacing the lower main bearing shells due to a good bit of shiny areas. I plastigaged in that area and it wasn't any more clearance than anywhere else (about 0.07mm). But I'm want to replace them anyway. Unfortunately, they are backordered from Germany now for U.S. dealers.

FWIW, I ordered the rod bearings from Pavel's Racing Engines. Like their website says, they are King Racing bearings, repackaged into two shrink-wrapped sets of 8 shells. They are the same bearings that King has for the E36 M3 L6. You'd have to buy 2 sets to get enough for the M5, but they are about $135 a set. Two sets would be $270 - cheaper than what Pavel's sells a set of 16 shells for ($400). I'm impressed with the King shells. They have a good reputation. I measured the eccentricity at 0.0035", which is fairly agressive, but not too bad. I noticed that the bearing shell from the #3 rod in my engine had started to show copper, faintly. I also noticed that the edge of the shell at the parting line was shiny, like it had moved inward towards the crank pin. That's probably why I had bearing wear there - the rod big end had elongated, and the edge of the bearing shell at the parting line skimmed the oil off the crank and starved the bearing, killing the hydrodynamic effect. King Racing had a really good technical paper on rod bearing eccentricity, BTW.

Anyway, I think that using the ARP2000 rod bolts and the King Racing bearing shells will give the lower end some more life. The added eccentricity and supposed increased bearing crush on those bearings, should keep the scraper effect at bay when the big end elongates.

I was truly amazed at how wimpy the con rods are. They look like something out of a lawn mower. I'm used to building domestic US V8s (small block Chevys) and I couldn't believe how tiny the rods are. I mean, no wonder the big end elongates and there are rod bearings getting spun.

To check the main clearances, you release them fully into the main cap, then tighten the center main bolts down and check with plastigauge. Install the center bolts with the threaded protective bushes fully threaded out, then use the appropriate size hex to torque to 10Nm. Then do the collar bolts (outer main bolts).

I’ve never seen or read or heard of a main bearing failure in a BMW though.

[computiNATEor]

They are forged split rods, and even after my bearings seized, all of the rods + bearings checked out just fine, according to the engine shop that rebuilt the heads/did a valve job, mic’d the bores, journals, and caps.

I elected to go with stock bolts, as this car won’t see forced induction, and I’ve never heard of an S62 rod bolt failure.

[PJZ7]

Alright, so I finished up the long spreadsheet for parts, part numbers, retailers, brands, and prices.

Current numbers come in at 402 individual parts, 146 part numbers, and a grand total of $4915 for everything I can think of, excepting machine shop work and the cap-side main bearings because I still need to have the crank mic'd.

Wow. I am replacing just about every single piece of rubber or plastic I can find, but jeez. There are some parts that are just expensive, like the dual mass flywheel and the timing chain tensioners.

Hi Nate, thoroughly enjoying your rebuild thread, hope everything is still going smoothly for you and your e39 M5.

My own e39 M5 has just been temporarily relieved of its engine, the timing chain guides have failed and we suspect a rod bearing has spun, once it is fully stripped we'll be able to see if any damage to the crank has been caused.

While the engine is out, I am keen to do many of the major jobs you done; chains and guides, rod bearings, and head gaskets.
I've managed to find parts lists with the gaskets and Orings I'll need for most of those jobs but nothing for the head gasket job and the associated work that goes along with that.

Would it be possible for you to share your Long spreadsheet?

Many thanks for putting your time into this thread.
Paul

[computiNATEor]

Sure. Shoot me a PM. It's by no means exhaustive, and I did not change the valve guides, just the seals.

[wagons ho]

Hey Nate. Whens the rocker panel job happening?
Are you going to brace the inside while apart?

[computiNATEor]

I am hoping later this year. Life has gotten in the way, and something with 10 cylinders has taken up residence and needed some atten$ion. Yes, I will be speaking to the bodyshop (likely King's Auto Body in Huntington Beach, CA) about reinforcing that area of the chassis.

[computiNATEor]

I'm coming up on 192k on my S62, 28k miles on the rebuild. Needs a few things now, front main seal has started leaking, but only about a quart per 5,000mi. A few VCG washers have leaked, likely due to the textured power coat I chose, and I've coated the bottoms of the new ones in some RTV. I do have an occasional high RPM & high load misfire/engine failsafe, throwing camshaft sensor codes. I'll need to dig into that a bit more, but a quick restart (even while rolling down the road) has fixed it every time. Likely that one of the sensors is going bunk.

Yes, I still need to do rust repair. I have been pouring cash into the S85 powered stablemate so I can drive that while the E39 goes in for cancer treatment. Once that's done, the E39 really doesn't need too much else. Rear tires before too long, rear deck insulation, RLS + LCM4 retrofit, and eventually I'll get around to a PDC retrofit