Planning a head gasket swap, questions.

[Oldmactech]

First time headgasket swap for me. Been watching lots of vids, reading manuals etc and have a good handle on some of the “gotchas” except maybe 1.

Is it possible to get the exhaust manifolds out and back in by simply undoing the bolts from topside or will I need to pull head w/manifold attached or some other combination.

Too cold,too wet to start now just gathering info, tools

2003, 3.0, e53

[PSpuza]

I’ve never done it in an x5 but with my e30 it was possible to just unbolt the exhaust and move it off to the side while you pull the head. It seems like there’s is plenty of room in the engine bay for the same on the m54.

[Overboost]

Originally Posted by Oldmactech

First time headgasket swap for me. Been watching lots of vids, reading manuals etc and have a good handle on some of the “gotchas” except maybe 1.

Is it possible to get the exhaust manifolds out and back in by simply undoing the bolts from topside or will I need to pull head w/manifold attached or some other combination.

Too cold,too wet to start now just gathering info, tools

2003, 3.0, e53

You should have a lot more room in your X5 than your wagon. I have never done it but like you I have an E46 and an E53. I have a lot more room when working on the X5.

[andrewwynn]

M62 in 5 series and 7 series I’ve done. It can be quite a challenge getting to them I used triple jointed ratchet.

It’s much harder to get exhaust manifold onto the head than the other way around so during install make sure all the studs fit into their holes as the head is set back down.

[ahlem]

Why are you doing a head gasket?
I assume this is a 3.0

[Oldmactech]

Yes 3.0

Bubbles in coolant, too much pressure in hoses and coolant tank-destroyed 3 in 30days. Etc.

Old retired guy, too stubborn to pay a shop 2000-3000 for it. A bit of an homage to my late father in law who taught me what little I know about wrenching.

Only 94k miles on a 2003 in VG condition otherwise.

Back in the day you weren’t a man unless you had “done a headgasket.” Rite of passage I suppose.

[titodj]

You should probably try a detector first, and save the trouble if the head gasket i'ts fine.

http://a.co/d/9QCPgsn

[Oldmactech]

Thanks. Been through all that. Passes block test but there isn’t any other explanation for the pressure.

Would like to do a leak down test but don’t have the necessary tools.

I believe the previous owner over heated it but don’t know much about the history.

Gets little bubbles at idle, pressure increases dramatically under load.

[ahlem]

What do your plugs look like?
If you are steam cleaning one or two, you should be able to tell.
What shape is your EGR system in? Did you do a pressure test on the cooling system?
That's saved me a couple times from heading in the wrong direction.

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by Oldmactech

Is it possible to get the exhaust manifolds out and back in by simply undoing the bolts from topside or will I need to pull head w/manifold attached or some other combination. ...
2003, 3.0, e53

Yes, definitely possible. I did that on my 2001 3.0i this summer. And that's what I would do again if I needed to.

In my case, the gasket itself was OK, but the head was warped. I of course replaced the HG as well. But the machinist who milled the head seemed to know what he was doing (e.g., when I dropped my head off, there was another 3.0i head sitting there ready for pickup) and said warping was the most common failure mode leading to our symptoms.

I removed all the 11mm nuts holding the exhaust manifolds to the head, while the head and the rear of the exhaust were still in place. That part was one of the toughest jobs on the whole job. MANY different options of 11mm drivers / sockets / ratcheting wrenches, etc. are critical. It seemed like all ~24 nuts were a little different. Some came off in a minute or less, some took close to half an hour. Nothing that a little patience and a lot of swearing couldn't solve.

And roughly half of the studs came out with the nuts. Reinstallation was much easier because I cleaned up all the threads on the nuts and the studs.

If you search on my old posts on here, you may find more details on this part fo the job as well as other things that may help you.

From memory, installation was a little tougher regarding putting the parts in place before tightening. I ended up completely dropping the exhaust to make it easier to fit the back ends of the exhaust manifolds in place. Also required disconnecting (but not removing - that would have required a few more things to remove) the stabilizer bar. So doing it again, I would just start off with those steps, which might make the removal a little easier.