View Single Post
  #17  
Old 07-08-2019, 09:52 AM
cn90 cn90 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 1,609
cn90 is on a distinguished road
Just replaced the engine mounts on 2003 325i E46 2.5L with 100K miles.

I misdiagnosed it, the OFH gasket leak allowed oil to track down the L engine bracket, trickling down onto the L engine mount. I thought the engine mount leaked oil! Anyway, once the mounts are out, they are just a bit (about 5 mm) shorter than new Corteco mounts.

At 100K, no issues yet...I think it helped that the previous owners were old people and did not floor the throttle LOL...

Anyway, I ended up with new engine mounts, it does not hurt!


Couple points on M54 engines:

- Having done many engine mounts, if you have no vibration or engine lifting (fan blades hitting fan shroud), then I guess you can keep watching it until you hit 150K or so. At 100K, most engine mounts are probably still OK.

- Brand: this is a tough job b/c you have to be slow and methodical. So use only Corteco, which is identical to factory, about $45/each.

TOOLS:

- An iron pipe used with ratchet is a life-saver. Get a 1.5-foot section of iron pipe (the 3/4" type) and slide it over the ratchet for extra leverage.

- Extensions 3", 6" for the bracket 13-mm bolts and a very looong extension for the 16-mm nuts.

- Universal joint (3/8" or 1/2") is a must!



- Tips: just read the link posted above for my 1998 528i.

1. In the link posted, since the 1998 528i is a manual trans, oil cooler lines were not there. In E46 cars, the Steering Rack hoses are in the front, the cooler lines are right underneath the front of engine. So get some rubber and thin pieces of wood (such as oak flooring etc.) and somehow support the front of the engine w/o pinching the cooler hoses. Of course you can buy the Harbor Freight engine support ($75 or so), but I don't do this for a living and don't want another piece of junk sitting in my garage for the next 10 yrs.

2. I used 2 jacks as above (under front of engine, directly behind crank pulley (NOT on crank pulley). The second jack is under the REAR part of the oil pan VERTICAL part, right in front of the oil level sensor.

3. Loosen the 16-mm nuts but do NOT remove them yet.

4. As above support the engine and snug it up a bit evenly so it raises about 1/2-1" and stop.

5. The R side is easy, once the 4 bolts (13-mm) are removed, the bracket slides right out and new mount goes in. Re-attach the four (4) 13-mm bolts on the bracket and loosely attach the 16-mm bolts on the R mount. Do NOT tighten them yet.

6. The L side is a bit of a struggle simply b/c the top aft bolt is hard to see.
So, remove the three (3) 13-mm bolts: front x2, and lower aft bolt. The top bolt (upper aft bolt): loosen it a few turns but do NOT remove it simply b/c re-installing it could be a nightmare! This allows the L bracket to swivel out of the way to allow the new mount in.

7. Pay attentions to the bottom notch and orientation. Tons of videos for that. Basically the bottom notch goes to the front.

8. The R side heat shield for the E46: you can install it in 2 separate ways (2 notches on top of the mount), get to the top and you will see there is only one correct way to install the heat shield to shield the engine mount from the heat.

9. Once both mounts are in, tighten the bracket bolts (4 on each side).
Do NOT tighten the engine mount 16-mm nuts yet! Doing so with engine still raised 1" will destroy new engine mounts!!!

Look up the torque values, but I found these on the internet:
- The four 13-mm bolts: 18 ft*lb.
- The two 16-mm nuts: 33 ft*lb.

Fitting torque wrench into the tight spots is difficult, so I did it "by feel".
Again, the "iron pipe over ratchet" trick helped...

10. Once the bracket bolts (13-mm) are tightened on both sides (8 bolts total), SLOWLY lower engine. Since I used 2 jacks, I lower it bit by bit and remove the floor jacks.

11. Now the engine sits on the mounts. Tighten the BOTTOM 16-mm nuts first to seat the mount to the subframe. Then tighten the TOP 16-mm nuts.

12. Double check to be sure all tools are removed and all bolts are tightened properly.

So, it is all about being slow and methodical...


---
PS: Anyway, want to see a really bad E46 engine mount, see the video below!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtHem8KpFOw


__________________
1998 E39 528i 5sp MT
2006 E53 X5 3.0 6sp MT

Last edited by cn90; 07-08-2019 at 12:19 PM.
Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links