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Thread: 1997 528i: Cooler Heads Prevail.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Oregon City, Oregon
    Posts
    8
    My Cars
    E46 330Ci, E39 528i, SQ5

    1997 528i: Cooler Heads Prevail.

    Short back story. 2 years ago my brother bought a 1997 528i to get parts from for his 97 540i. The project was given up on and because these cars were on my father's property, I took ownership of them both. The 540 was beyond saving, with a bent frame and hack job by a completely unqualified backyard mechanic. The 528i however was worth saving, beauty being on the inside as they say. Less than $1500, thanks to a friend who let me buy parts at cost from his shop and DIY.

    I call this car my money pit. It has over 210,000 miles on it, and it's ugly. But my wife loves it, it handles like a brand new car thanks to every piece of suspension and steering components being brand new. Also usually after I do something very maintenance heavy, something else will need attention. I'm sure no other car person in history has ever had this happen to them before...

    After just spending $1600 on new wheels and tires, my wife reports that the engine is overheating. She's smart, and never let the light turn on, but it was over the middle which it had never done before. I guess it was a head gasket issue considering the miles. I was wrong.

    As you can see from the pictures below, after taking the head off one of the pistons were very shiny, and I found a crack in the head. This wouldn't be a quick head gasket job. After weighing my options, getting a used engine, used head only, rebuilt head, new head... I went with buying a new head from a locally sourced shop who I would recommend to anyone. I bought a pre-assembled head from them which was my best bet to making sure I didn't have to go through this pain again anytime soon. This was the first time I had taken on this complete of a tear down on my own, in my own shop with all of my own tools. Here are my experience notes and advice.

    1. Take pictures. Lots of them. Everyone has a phone camera, and these pictures became invaluable on reassembling my engine. Every time I finished a task, I would snap a picture.
    2. Mark bolts and wires. For bolts, I laid masking paper out on my work bend. I would place bolts and nuts on it, then using a marker would circle them on the paper and then mark where I got them from. Since I had limited experience with a complete tear down and I knew it would take me more than a little time, there was a chance I could forget where something went. I also used 3M tape to mark sensor connections and such.
    3. Clean parts you can't normally get to. I took the lifters apart and I cleaned them. This was a time consuming task, but because the oil had water in it, I wanted to make sure any gunk that could have gotten into those lifters were cleaned out. It's also a good idea to "reset" the lifters, from what I've heard.
    4. Buy a timing kit. Borrow a timing kit. Use a timing kit. I know it can be done without one, and people always seem to think of themselves as pro when they can time a single Vanos without cam blocks and timing tools, but honestly, why? Why risk it? Why make it hard on yourself?
    5. Get a good torque wrench! Inch pounds people... not foot pounds... The cam cap bolts are not torque to yield.
    6. YouTube can be your friend, but don't rely on just one video. Make sure you find a couple of videos that say the same thing, and back that up by reading forums and finding specs. Trust me, I got the wrong torque numbers for the cam bolts from a video, and I was glad I double checked. Those things snap like twigs.
    7. BMW are hard to refill with coolant. There is always a bubble somewhere that causes issues and overheating. Get a good vacuum system if you are going to do this often. If not, park it on a hill, fill it, run it until it's hot, and watch for heat spikes. Ask someone about bleeding the system, and that little plastic bleed valve... it will break. I would use another method.

    That's it for this one. I have a ton more pictures so if anyone is interested in seeing a state in that rebuild, or details of an area of the engine bay, just ask.

    Thanks!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    NNJ/NYC
    Posts
    1,648
    My Cars
    1997 528i/5, 1997 528i/5
    Awesome notes! Having done this on my own 97 528i I would add to make sure your aux water pump works. After doing all of that work, make the bleeding procedure as easy as possible on yourself. Once you get that triggered, just let it do the work for you.

    Unlike the OP, a friend who helped me teardown did not mark connectors and bolts. Do it. I don't care how you do it, but there is enough going on that you WILL want to plug things in where they need to be.

    One last work of advise. Spin the engine by hand 3-4 full revolutions before your first startup. It is way better to hear any clanging then rather than when the engine is going at 600-800 RPMs.
    Wade

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    NW suburban Chicago
    Posts
    16,302
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    hiss by my window
    Head casting number ending 400? I'm curious about which cylinder was cracked. Seems #4 is a repeat offender.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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