'06 4.4i grinding noise from engine bay

audiophool · #1 07-11-2017, 12:47 AM

Been away a while - my 3.0 is still running well.

Buddy of mine has a 03/06 build X5 4.4 with the N62 and ~140,000 miles. He brought it to me complaining of a nasty grinding noise from the engine. As soon as he opened the hood and started it I was thinking $$. Looked closer and saw the water pump pulley moving in and out about 1/8" as it rotated.

Put a probe on the pump housing and the grinding noise was surely coming from there.

He wants me to replace the pump. Any tips/tricks?

Also, he's going through a lot of oil - about a quart every 700-1000 miles. Valve stem seals? He says he gets a puff of blue when taking off after idling for a while at a light.

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williamx5 · #2 07-11-2017, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiophool

Been away a while - my 3.0 is still running well.

Buddy of mine has a 03/06 build X5 4.4 with the N62 and ~140,000 miles. He brought it to me complaining of a nasty grinding noise from the engine. As soon as he opened the hood and started it I was thinking $$. Looked closer and saw the water pump pulley moving in and out about 1/8" as it rotated.

Put a probe on the pump housing and the grinding noise was surely coming from there.

He wants me to replace the pump. Any tips/tricks?

Also, he's going through a lot of oil - about a quart every 700-1000 miles. Valve stem seals? He says he gets a puff of blue when taking off after idling for a while at a light.

Good day!!

If you have done the water pump on something else, it should go pretty smooth... Nothing unusual on the N62... There is a short extension pipe that you may need to replace... I have a spare, but only because I didn't need the new one when I rebuilt the 2006 motor... I'd say check out my 2004 project thread, but photobucket screwed me out of my pictures...

The oil consumption is almost definitely coming from the valve stem seals... I think this is the case with the other member I was just inquired about too...

Good luck!!!

Cheers!!!

audiophool · #3 07-11-2017, 01:07 AM

Thanks. We've gone ahead and ordered the pump, extension tube and a couple of other odds and sods. The alt is air cooled. I did read up on the Pelican site and it doesn't look that daunting. I've done intake valve cleaning on my N54, so there isn't a lot that fazes me.

Buddy wants to pull his 25' trailer in a couple of weeks. I didn't want him to drive it home with that noise it was that bad. I'm going to presume that despite excess oil consumption, there's little to be concerned about for the valve stem seals for that. Oil is cheap.

williamx5 · #4 07-11-2017, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiophool

I'm going to presume that despite excess oil consumption, there's little to be concerned about for the valve stem seals for that. Oil is cheap.

Excellent!! Should have it sorted in no time...

I think the only down side to the leaking seals would be the fouled plugs... If it gets too bad, the life of the plugs would be much shorter and if the build up was bad enough, it could bridge the plug gap creating a dead cylinder...

Cheers!!!

audiophool · #5 07-11-2017, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by williamx5

Good day!!

If you have done the water pump on something else, it should go pretty smooth... Nothing unusual on the N62... There is a short extension pipe that you may need to replace... I have a spare, but only because I didn't need the new one when I rebuilt the 2006 motor... I'd say check out my 2004 project thread, but photobucket screwed me out of my pictures...

The oil consumption is almost definitely coming from the valve stem seals... I think this is the case with the other member I was just inquired about too...

Good luck!!!

Cheers!!!

Ah, "Bot-o-Phuket". Such a nasty site. Full of bloatware and dubious spammy ads.

3rd party links are still working for me. Wonder when they'll ask me for dough. If they do, I'll take my business elsewhere. Or have they already?

kvc · #6 07-11-2017, 04:53 PM

Be sure to replace the o-rings in the hoses you take off the water pump, as the old ones may leak having been 'flattened' over time. Bottom bolt on water pump is a bitch to remove, without taking crank-shaft pulley off (10mm short open-ended wrench will do). To make it easier to put back on, grind off about 2mm of the bolt length. Just done this job - a bit fiddly but not too difficult. It's recommended to replace the thermostat, belts and tensioner/idler pulleys while in there too.

audiophool · #7 07-11-2017, 07:01 PM

Yeah, I've got a stubby 10mm, and the patience of a saint (bernard), so fiddly bits are my forte.

Thermostat, belt and pulleys were done last year so they're all going back on.

Whenever I have these clip-on hoses apart, I always pull the o-rings and clean the insides thoroughly and re-use the ring. Never had one leak yet. BMW hoses are amazingly durable.

bcredliner · #8 07-12-2017, 12:08 PM

I would first check to see if CCV is functioning properly. CCV could be causing excess pressure which could increase oil consumption and be the cause of the smoke.

audiophool · #9 07-12-2017, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcredliner

I would first check to see if CCV is functioning properly. CCV could be causing excess pressure which could increase oil consumption and be the cause of the smoke.

Good call. Buddy has already changed the CCV bits on this motor though. It made a tiny difference in oil consumption for the better.

audiophool · #10 07-15-2017, 11:27 AM

Think this is the source of the grinding?

https://youtu.be/QCOFzN8EWII

Removing the bottom bolt was not bad. Long wrench angled from the passenger's side. If you stand in front of the passenger's headlight, you can get your fingers and wrist aligned to allow turning the bolt. Still, had to gently prise the harmonic balancer away from the motor to let the bolt out. I'll certainly be grinding a couple mm off that bolt for re-fit.

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