Reviving a dead E61

[tantumaude]

Hi all, plunging into the world of post-2000 models with a 2008 535xit which I'm going to try reviving.
I've had a few BMWs in the past, E30, E32, E39 (wife has an E91), and of course my s62 swapped E34, but it's the first time I've delved into something newer at such a depth.

I just bought the 535 E61 a couple of days ago for cheap. It's been sitting for almost a year with what the seller calls a seized engine. It's a very loaded model, with heated and ventilated seats, lane departure assist, HUD, rear heated seats and a few other toys which I haven't yet discovered. Platinum Gray on beige comfort interior, 241xxx kms. Cosmetically it is passable, a bit of paint damage on the right side and needs a very thorough detailing.

My initial plan is to try to figure out how the engine went wrong, and fix if able. If not, a new engine will be required--I haven't decided whether to stick to the N54, or try a B58 or even a friend's spare S85. I also want to swap it to manual, and retain the AWD (I drive to ski hills every once in a while).

For now, the car was dropped off in my garage, where it now reeks of gasoline and sits waiting to be attacked. Already I notice many cut and/or missing vacuum hoses in the engine bay--on the passenger side near the top of the engine, and on driver's side connected to a couple of solenoids somehow related to the turbos I think. Also have a couple of unplugged connectors at the valve cover. I'm going to scan it fully tomorrow, but for now I'm getting many error messages related to the awd system, drivetrain malfunction, start-off assist faults, DME communication and coolant level. The idrive is inoperable--it just keeps restarting. The car does not crank at all, I'll try turning it over by hand tomorrow.

Please forgive my ignorance, I've seldom touched turbos or any non-v8 BMW newer than 1989. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
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[interalian]

Before you dive too deep, remove the serpentine belt and try turning the engine over. I've heard of AC pumps seizing that fool people into thinking the engine is gone. Good luck and keep us posted.

Just noticed it has the rare OE hitch with the name fit for *******. Good score.

[pbonsalb]

If you really think it is seized, one thing to check is the crank seal. A broken belt can get behind the crank pulley and take out the seal, go into the oil pan, clog up the pump pickup and cause oil starvation bearing failure. That is a worst case scenario but something you can check for.

Great cars if sorted out. If you can’t DIY, you could be in for some big expenses. The kind that make a cheap car a bad deal. Had mine for 9 of its 12 years and 115k of its 145k miles.

Most of them have a lot of deferred maintenance. If the belt broke, you have such an example.

[ECSTuning]

Keep in mind in the E60/61 if the battery is low it will often chuck a host of codes, so don't write off the transfer-case, trans, or even iDrive.

I'd love to see an S85 swap that retains AWD and is manual, that to me would be just epic in the wagon.

-James

[tantumaude]

Thanks all for your insight. Spent the morning familiarising myself with the engine a bit and cleaning up. I think the PO must've parked under some trees for a while, there were dead leaves everywhere (about a kilo's worth under the driver's side cowl by the brake booster!)

After taking out the aux fan/oil cooler assembly, I'm ecstatic to report that the engine turns over when cranked by hand!

I did find evidence of a lot of oil leaks everywhere however (the coils were basically swimming in oil), but I think I may be able to salvage this engine. I spoke to the PO, he said the car had turbo lag issues, and he decided to have it walnut blasted to try to fix it to no avail. About six weeks thereafter it died while driving and hasn't worked since. He apparently had a friend's shop diagnose it, which is where the blown turbos and seized engine were suspected. I take all that with a massive grain of salt.

As for all the faults, it seems my bluetooth OBD2 adapter has decided to give up the ghost today. I'll try to find another.

[pbonsalb]

Definitely needs a valve cover gasket. It’s the center strip that is letting oil into the plug holes. Probably also oil cooler to filter housing gasket, maybe the filter housing to block gasket, maybe the oil pan gasket.

Failing turbos is not uncommon, but a bad pcv can allow oil to pass.

Whoever blasted it may not have put everything back right. But it’s great that was done. The ports can get so gooey they are half blocked.

The N54 is a great engine if well maintained. Lots of mods if you want them. I use just a JB4 since it’s my wife’s car. I’d run upgraded turbos if I drove it. B58 swap would be great. S85 swap would be great, but AWD would be a problem.

[tantumaude]

Indeed, those gaskets will definitely be replaced, and I'm debating just putting in a couple of Pure turbos.

On the other hand, a local junkyard just received a manual E61 LCI, I'm inquiring as to the price for the whole drivetrain. It had a nice front impact, but I think it would be much easier to just swap everything over!

Also, it seems the rear brake discs are fused to the parking brake shoes. I can rotate the hub inside the disc with no trouble, but no amount of wiggling and heat is allowing the rotors to come off--they move about 2 degrees rotationally and can move about 1/2 cm outboard, but I just can't get them off. I looked for an access hole on the backing plate, but cannot find one. I'm really hoping not to destroy the hubs and bearings.

[pbonsalb]

Did you use the adjuster to loosen the parking brake shoes? You should be able to see it through a lug hole as you rotate. If you can it rotate with the wheel off, put it back on fit more leverage with 2 lugs and then rotate. You have to figure out which way is loose on the star adjuster. It’s the reverse on the other side.

You may also have cable adjusters under the handbrake you can loosen.

Once loose tap around the top of the hub with a hammer. Then try pulling disks off.

[tantumaude]

Unfortunately I can't spin the rotor itself more than a couple of degrees in either direction, which isn't enough for me to get at the adjuster. The shoes are under no tension (cable works fine, when I pull I can't move the rotor at all), they are just stuck to the rotor.

[pbonsalb]

You may have to break everything apart. Replace rotor, parking brake shoes, backing plate, hub. I changed one rear wheel bearing a few years ago. It’s actually a replacement hub assembly that bolts in from the back side.

[interalian]

The 6MT swap seems like a cool idea although personally I tired of rowing my car.

My 5 cents (we don't have pennies anymore, so...) would be to try getting it running before spending anything. Clean the oil up around the plugs. Diagnose. Leave the brakes alone as you may be able to free the parking brake with engine torque.

[jtbgonesailing]

Pelican has a parking brake service link which reveals a service lock release to allow for more slack in the brake cable. May be of assistance.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart..._Adjusting.htm

[tantumaude]

You may have to break everything apart. Replace rotor, parking brake shoes, backing plate, hub. I changed one rear wheel bearing a few years ago. It’s actually a replacement hub assembly that bolts in from the back side.

I was afraid of hearing that...I'll set it on the back burner for now.

Pelican has a parking brake service link which reveals a service lock release to allow for more slack in the brake cable. May be of assistance.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techart..._Adjusting.htm

Thank you. I don't think I'm lacking slack, as the pads are loosened from the mechanism--just the friction surface is stuck to the rotor. I'll try it nonetheless and see what happens. I'm looking for a MAPP torch to try some more heat.

The 6MT swap seems like a cool idea although personally I tired of rowing my car.

My 5 cents (we don't have pennies anymore, so...) would be to try getting it running before spending anything. Clean the oil up around the plugs. Diagnose. Leave the brakes alone as you may be able to free the parking brake with engine torque.

Agreed 100%. I ordered the spark plug socket, and will dig into it in the next couple of days (I also intend to try jumping the starter). Hopefully that will answer some more questions. I don't much like driving automatics though, so a swap is a must. I'll leave the cruiser duties to my W220 mercedes.

I finally was able to scan the car for codes. My generic OBD2 scanner only revealed one code, P0238 (boost sensor). There was a code for a DME connection malfunction that flashed for an instant, but it disappeared before I could write down the number (which is weird). I checked the e-box under the hood, all dry.

Would anyone have a picture of the engine vacuum lines on the exhaust side, ideally to and from the two tanks, and also of the two inlet tract solenoids on the driver's side?

[pbonsalb]

A good $150 scan tool is the Foxwell NT510 or 520 or 530. You get one free car specific module when you register it. Choose rolls bmw mini. You should be able to find the vacuum line diagrams online. I did a while ago. A smoke tool is also a great investment. Stinger and Autool are inexpensive. Autool does not need an air compressor. I think I have the 1006 model, which is the middle one. It will reveal broken lines.

[GG///M3]

A good $150 scan tool is the Foxwell NT510 or 520 or 530. You get one free car specific module when you register it. Choose rolls bmw mini. You should be able to find the vacuum line diagrams online. I did a while ago. A smoke tool is also a great investment. Stinger and Autool are inexpensive. Autool does not need an air compressor. I think I have the 1006 model, which is the middle one. It will reveal broken lines.

Good info’s Phil


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jtbgonesailing]

Vacuum diagram, repair procedures, specifications, etc, newtis is your friend. Enter the last 7 of your vin and it will come up specked to your vehicle order.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

[tantumaude]

Thank you both. I have PAsoft and INPA on an old laptop here somewhere, I'll try to get that set up for a more thorough scan. My plan is to do that tomorrow, along with hopefully pulling the valve cover.

[tantumaude]

No luck with PAsoft today, turns out I need v 2.2 instead of 2.0.1 as my car is post-2007. Working on INPA.

In other news, I started removing the valve cover, but got stuck at the ground posts. Extra-deep 10mm socket on order. The spark plugs looked pretty healthy however, which is encouraging.

On a whim, I'm going to check the engine ground strap as well.

[pbonsalb]

The ground strap does not seem to be a problem like on my E90M3. But beware clogged sunroof drains that flood the electronic modules under the rear trunk floor. And the tailgate wiring harness. And the negative battery cable but it was recalled and likely replaced. Injectors were also updated a few times and can be problematic. Vanos solenoids as well.

You really need to pull codes to get an idea of what needs to be done or you can just do everything but that will be expensive and take a lot of work. Easier to do it over time.

[tantumaude]

The ground strap does not seem to be a problem like on my E90M3. But beware clogged sunroof drains that flood the electronic modules under the rear trunk floor. And the tailgate wiring harness. And the negative battery cable but it was recalled and likely replaced. Injectors were also updated a few times and can be problematic. Vanos solenoids as well.

You really need to pull codes to get an idea of what needs to be done or you can just do everything but that will be expensive and take a lot of work. Easier to do it over time.

Agreed. I really hope I can get INPA working soon, as I'm getting nowhere currently.

I just checked, the car has no open recalls. Hatch wiring was already repaired at least once (by PO, so again may not mean much). Trunk subfloor is bone dry. I see the battery has a few marks from stores charging it--I wonder if it may have gone bad from lack of use.

[pbonsalb]

Weak batteries cause all sorts of problems on later model BMWs. Worth charging it and testing to see if it holds.

[tantumaude]

Two things done this morning:
1. Opened up the valve cover. Everything looks fine, clean, no scoring of cams, etc.

2. Finally got INPA working. 30+ errors found, which are all in hex form so I can't decipher them with my garage computer.
I think many may be related to all the connectors which I unplugged while removing valve cover.
Here's the list--any description is very appreciated!

SZL: C9A7, C9A8

DME: 3100, 2ABC, 29F3, CDA6, 29E2, 2A80, 2A85

EGS: 507D

VGSG: CF61

PGS: A0B9, A068

DSC: 6F56, 5F12, 5F13, 5F56, 5EBA

EHC: D711

CAS: A0B4, A0B1

SINE: 9D12, 9D44

RADIO: DE0E

TLC/KAFAS: A92C, A935, A944

KOMBI: A559

MOSTGW: E18C, E18F

LM: 9CB9, E51D, E51A, E514, 9CAB, E516

CID: A46D

KLIMA: 9C54, E714



Quite the collection...

[tantumaude]

So it seems the 2ABC, 29f3, CDA6, 29E2 and both 2A80 and 2A85 codes are likely related to all the stuff I unplugged to remove the valve cover.

Interestingly, the 507D code for the transmission indicates a misengagement of the parking gear. I know next to nothing about automatic transmissions, would this prevent the car from cranking?

[pbonsalb]

Could be someone dropped the pan to try to fix or service the trans and did not put it back right. I did that the first time I dropped the pan and got a parking gear code. Just a guess. If you go back in there I’d make sure anything inside that needs servicing has been replaced.

[jtbgonesailing]

Here’s a excellent BMW fault code lookup for both P and hex codes.

http://bmwfault.codes/