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  #191  
Old 12-30-2021, 05:33 PM
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Oil pressure question

I got much of the top side heater plumbing hoses in, and swapped the coils over from my old motor. new performance coils would be great, but I figure I’ll save some cash and drive the ones I have to failure. Intake and harness on tomorrow or Sunday, and a final torque of the tension strut nuts at the subframe before back up on the lift.

Regarding the first start, I’m hoping someone can explain the oil plumbing to me. With no way (that I know of) to pre-oil, I am planning on connecting my inpa laptop and monitoring oil pressure in real time on start-up. However, will this realistically tell me if the important bits are getting oil? I.e. does the oil run from he pump to the block and heads and then to the filter housing (and sensor), or from the pump to the housing and then to the block and heads? The former wouldn’t be as useful as the latter for knowing if the rotating stuff is getting oil.

Also, what is a normal idle oil pressure?

Thanks all
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  #192  
Old 12-30-2021, 06:30 PM
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I've always pulled the fuel pump fuse to prevent startup to pre-oil before starting a motor after top end work (or anything else that would dry up the top end). Would that not work here?
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  #193  
Old 12-30-2021, 07:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalworks View Post
I've always pulled the fuel pump fuse to prevent startup to pre-oil before starting a motor after top end work (or anything else that would dry up the top end). Would that not work here?
That would keep fuel out of the equation, but the important bits would still be turning over and causing damage if the oil isn’t circulating properly or under enough pressure. When I think of pre-oiling a new motor I think of how you can drive the oil pump with a drill to circulate oil before first start on some motors. Totally different designs though.

Short of this, I was thinking a real time look at oil pressure is the way to go…assuming the sensor at the filter housing is measuring pressure in the motor, not as the oil exits the pump.
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  #194  
Old 12-30-2021, 08:28 PM
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Oh I gotcha. That would be a neat trick.

I've always just relied on my assembly lube (engine honey usually) to provide the startup protection. As long as the pickup is clear and the pump is good, oil should get moved up while cranking at whatever RPM the starter provides. LOL, at least that's how it usually works out.
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Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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  #195  
Old 01-01-2022, 08:51 PM
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Chipping away

…at putting my X back together. Intake is on finally and it’s looking like a proper X5 again, aside from all the missing bits. I’m planning on doing a write up of lessons I learned during this, my first engine swap. Most came from me thinking I could take a short cut, and others stemmed from some of the steps that have to happen are just difficult and easy to screw up.

I’ve got some cleanup work to do topside before putting the wiring harness back on. I’d like to sort out why I don’t see a transmission breather tube behind the engine by the manifold and I also need to try to figure out where some of the wiring brackets that were laying in the subframe or on the stiffener plate go. This may not be possible, so I bought a lot of zip ties and wiring clips of various sizes and some high temp cable wrap. I also need to put a new brake booster siphon valve and plumbing in (under the loom I think) and figure out where the phantom vacuum line goes that I posted separately about. It runs up the valley on top of the intake I think. Or that’s where it’s disintegrated pieces were.

After that it’s back on jacks or the lift to bolt the flywheel and torque converter together. I witness marked these before pulling the old motor, not sure if it matters as timing is ensured by a dowel that goes in the aft crank hub and only allows the flywheel to go on clocked properly. Then the starter goes back on and I may replace some chewed up tranny bolts with new ones that just showed up (very late). Finally a driveshaft, the exhaust and a final torque on the suspension bits I replaced…and everything else.

I’ve been witness marking everything that i put a final tighten on, mostly for me so I can rest easy that I torqued or tightened everything down.

It actually looks like a pretty clean V8 right now, and I like the way the intake turned out painted black. The ugly wiring loom will not help in any way when it goes on.

New wiper arms too that I put on at a point when I needed to prove to myself I was making progress, of any sort.
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1986 Saab 900S
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1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
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Last edited by Henn28; 01-01-2022 at 09:04 PM.
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  #196  
Old 01-06-2022, 09:25 PM
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Last few days have been spent putting the X back together. The axles were absolutely the most challenging part of this exercise. Far worse than the motor swap. About 33% of the pain was self induced as i thought I ruined one, or both front axles somehow, only to find the one I pulled in perfect shape (aside from a 15 year old boot), after I cut the boots off and picked at the insides. As discussed in another post, it turns out that with the X5 fully in the air and the two axle joints fully deflected, something in one of them binds when the hub is turned to the extent that the motor rocks back and forth when they bind. Could be just an E53 thing, or just a “my e53” thing. Who knows.

I do know that when I finally exhausted every other line of reasoning and put a jack under the hub, I only had to raise it up an inch or two for the hub to rotate normally. New GKN left axle going in tomorrow. Hopefully this one and it’s clip will be better behaved than the last one. Per advice here I plan on wiring brushing the hub splines and using a liberal amount of grease on them.

In the meantime I hooked up all the plumbing and reservoirs, including running my new AN lines to/from the gulf oil filter housing CSF oil cooler. I went down next to the ABS module and up the left brake cooling duct, through a hole I cut with a hole saw. I clipped a few triangles out of the plastic bumper mesh to feed the AN lines out to the cooler. I’d hadn't worked with AN lines and connections but found them very easy to fabricate after watching a few YouTube videos. Of course I may be crying when I the oil pressure comes up on first start! I filled the cooler with oil as the housing port thermostat won’t open up until temp exceeds some preset level. It’s nice and cool now in New Orleans so I wonder if it will open up at all until our terrible summers hit, but maybe the oil coming out of the block will be hot enough to open it.

I went to two shops and neither would touch my front driveshaft. Both said no when I told them it was from a BMW. So I took some measurements and determined what max limger length I could squeeze into the car, cut the driveshaft with a chop saw and a guy at the garage welded it up for me. Problem solved, and I have around a half inch more splines in the Tcase, without pulling it to get the driveshaft on. I think I could have made it even a bit longer without backing the tcase off. That t case is output is quite deep and the new splines go much deeper into it than the OEM ones do. I even remembered to pack the Tcase with a lot of grease.

Tomorrow I will bolt it up with a new guibo, install the two new o2 sensors on the left side exhaust (I screwed up the wires on the 20 year old OEM ones dropping the exhaust), hang the exhaust, install the radiator fill all the fluids, watch for static leaks and be ready to for first start when my DME arrives from Kassel.

I seem to recall reading that I can bleed the coolant system on the aux pump…can someone confirm the procedures for me please? All I can find now are directions on how to do it with the motor running.

It’s nice to watch my pile of parts dwindle (below). The second pic is of the secondary air pump blank off plates I had made from the pipe. They were cut off, caps welded on, leak checked, and i installed them with new o rings.

You can also see in the second photo where I re-routed the cable to the jumper post. It bothered me that BMW just seemed to throw this thing on the valley, which didn't look great to me as I'm leaving the cover off the motor. I ran it up the seam on the strut tower, then up the hood channel and on the cowl over to the post. Its very long so I ended up doing a 180 and connecting it as it was originally. This also allowed me to use the OEM clamp on the cowl. I do need to add some cable clamps along its length as soon as I make sure there are no unforeseen problems with the new route.
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1993 Mopar 318 Jeep Grand Cherokee - original owner
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Former
1972 Audi Fox
1986 Saab 900S
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
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Last edited by Henn28; 01-06-2022 at 09:48 PM.
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  #197  
Old 01-11-2022, 11:16 AM
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Back together…mostly

Finished putting the beast back together yesterday, minus the cowl and the washer fluid tank as I’m till waiting for my DME to run the USPS gauntlet.

There wasn’t much left to do beyond:
- hanging the center exhaust section after installing two new O2 sensors on the left side. A pain to get it in by myself, but I worked out a system with floor jacks and wire whereby I fed the header side in above the subframe and sway bar mounts (driveshaft can be in, unlike Bentley’s guidance), got it within an inch or two of the headers, held it in place with wire on each side, jacked up the back end, got it close…rinse and repeat as many times as needed to make the connections. It’s heavy, unwieldy, and unforgiving of misalignment. New copper nuts and anti-seize all around and I plan on a final torque at the headers after a couple of heat cycles.
- installed my OEM radiator after giving it an hours long soak with Prestone cleaner. It was shockingly clean after 20 years, or I would have replaced it. In fact I wonder if I replaced it 10 years ago and have forgotten. I kept good records, but there was a period of neglect when my kids were driving the car. It looks very good for what I thought was an old radiator.
- made all the remaining hose connections to the radiator and tranny cooler, with an ample dose of dielectric grease to help the process along.
- put my OEM fan and several year old clutch back in because the one I bought from rock auto was wrong. So much for saving that buck. The clutch seemed fine and it’s easy to get to if it drops dead soon.
- did a final look at all the hoses and wires, focusing mostly on proximity to headers, etc. Most of the hose clips in the car broke long ago, so zip ties have been my friend. I have kept a mental list and plan on ordering replacement OEM pieces soon. The only hose that worries me is the rubber hose from the coolant reservoir that drops to a swedged, u-shaped hardline around near the steering rack and linkage and then goes aft to the back of the rear coolant manifold. It’s close to the left header and seems to have no clamp or other support, beyond the connections on either end. I was able to tuck it behind a piece of heat shield where it makes the turn to the manifold, but it’s a very tight squeeze to get hands in to add a clamp. I wish I would have seen this with the motor out.
- the hood is back on and the engine harness routed and reclampled in route to the computer box…just waiting for the DME. Wonder how many days overnight shipping will take this time.
- on my final look around I noticed all three bolts that hold the wiper motor assembly onto its bracket under the cowling were very loose so I cranked them back down. I forgot to put Loctite on them so I'll probably re-attack them before putting the cowl back on.
- Final job yesterday was putting the intake track back on minus the piece that goes on top of the radiator and its pipe over to the air filter box. Much easier to see leaks, etc. without this piece on. I realized that I need to put a plug on the intake box to seal off the port that the Secondary Air Pump draws air from. I ordered some large silicone caps of various sizes from amazon and will secure the 3-ish cm one that fits best with a zip tie. A rag stuffed in will do for the initial start-up.

I dumped in 2 gals of 5w30 Mobile 1 synthetic and filled the filter housing half full. It will hold several more liters but the pan is over full right now and needs to get pumped up and out before it will hold more. I added two gals of Zerex G48 through the upper radiator hose and another couple quarts to the reservoir, and will add more to the radiator directly through the upper hose connection when I bring a better funnel for this job. Power steering reservoir is full and the system needs to be exercised and bledfor it to take more.

Pics below are of the 90% solution X5 as of yesterday when I left the garage, the AN line fittings at the new gulf oil cooler (couldn't find black), and the oil cooler and lines run through the brake duct, into the engine bay and up to the cooler. I've got a couple AN line clamps to add once I observe where and how they may be rubbing. Its not the final mounting solution I think as I'll eventually fab a low-key brush bar that incorporates some protection for the cooler and some excellent vintage Hella lights a friend gave me.
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Current
Original owner 2002 E53 X5 4.4i to 4.6i swap
1993 Mopar 318 Jeep Grand Cherokee - original owner
2015 V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee - the nice car for my wife
Former
1972 Audi Fox
1986 Saab 900S
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
2006 Audi A3 Quatro

Last edited by Henn28; 01-11-2022 at 11:36 AM.
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  #198  
Old 01-13-2022, 01:18 PM
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It lives

My DME arrived on Tuesday so yesterday I spent the day tying up loose ends and popping the computer back in.

The cowl went on after I put some orange loktite on the wiper motor bracket bolts that had backed off so badly over 20 years. The upper piece of the cowl is in pretty rough shape (part that houses the air filter) so I need to find a good used part, or spring for new. The cheap plastic fasteners are mostly broken and the flap that covers the filter is hanging on by a few molecules of plastic.

The washer reservoir went on without drama and I added a zip tie to the narrow hose that passes in front-ish of the crank pulley on its way to the right side of the radiator. There is a bracket there for a hose clamp, but it went awol.

Finally I connected the battery, bled the coolant system via the aux pump, which worked great and took maybe 10 min, and it was time to start. After just enough cranking for me to think it was going to be a long month chasing problems down, she fired up!, ran a bit rough and with lots of clattering for 10 or 20 seconds, then settled into a decent idle. I ran the rpm up to 2k for a few seconds, then shut it off for a good leak inspection. Turns out I had forgotten to tighten the oil pressure/temp sender on the housing…which is much tougher with the reservoir assembly and brackets in place. Hard lesson learned, but it got done eventually after pulling the coolant reservoir up and over.

Other then that self inflicted wound it was clean, although I must have gotten oil or anti-seize on the left header which produced lots of smoke for a while. After a top off of oil (another quart) and steering fluid it fired right up again and I alternated between idle and 2 to 3k rpm for a minute or two. The power steering pump was making a nasty racket until I went lock to lock several times. After this I torqued the exhaust header bolts to the exhaust flanges a bit more as it seemed like I could hear a slight leak and I think they drew a bit tighter. Maybe because they were getting hot. I worry about stripping those copper bolts.

After another fluid top off and leak check it was time to put the stiffener plate on and take it around the block. The motor sounds great and the X5 drives wonderfully after all the new parts I threw at it. The steering feel over bumps is much better, but not OEM nice so in addition to the tension struts I replaced I think new control arms are in order too. The steering wheel makes a pronounced clunk at times when turned, which had been there but seems to be worse. I suspect the double joint or bushings, etc at the firewall.

I drove it home yesterday where it promptly popped the upper hose off the radiator (installer in a rush I guess) and dumped a gallon on my driveway, but other than that did great. My oil cooler was toasty warm after the trip so it’s nice to know that piece is working.

Next week I’ll get it on the lift for a thorough leak and re-torque check and pending any drama, a final close up. I’m planning on 1000 mi on the oil that is in it now, then a change and the shackles are off!

Issues I’m monitoring/working are:
- bolts holding the oil sender into the lower oil pan seem to be weeping oil a very tiny bit so I may put some thread sealant on them if it keeps up.
- SES light and a bunch of codes. A full reset resulted in the light again but only a couple codes, one being related to the “intake flap…” and the other to the secondary air pump valve. No idea what the former is, but the second one should have been taken care of with my reprogrammed DME.
- I sense a very slight vibration around 60 or 70, which could be the driveshaft with the new splines. Or it could be a wheel balance issue, but I don’t feel it in the steering wheel. Very slight so more trouble shooting is in order and some research on where I might be able to get the shaft balanced. The one driveshaft shop left in New Orleans wouldn’t touch a BMW piece.

I’m hopeful that my last parts order of stiffener bolts/nuts and control arms is in sight, before I turn my attention to the speakers, amp, headliner and other interior reconditioning concerns. I also need to get the plug/coil covers cleaned up and painted.
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Current
Original owner 2002 E53 X5 4.4i to 4.6i swap
1993 Mopar 318 Jeep Grand Cherokee - original owner
2015 V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee - the nice car for my wife
Former
1972 Audi Fox
1986 Saab 900S
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
2006 Audi A3 Quatro

Last edited by Henn28; 01-13-2022 at 01:27 PM.
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  #199  
Old 01-27-2022, 03:15 PM
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The X5 has been running strong for the last week, after working through an idle issue and an SES light related to the SAP delete I did. I'm starting to turn my attention to the interior and some more modest upgrades to the sound system.

The inability to find idle was probably self-induced by my unplugging the DME a couple times to clean it of oil that had aparently gotten on the wires and migrated down into the connections. This oil could have been the source of the problem, but I'm thinking that the DME was forced to relearn the throttle every time I plugged it back in, I now know that the car doesn't need to be running for the DME to learn the throttle. Nice.

The SES light was getting set by the lack of an electric vacuum valve - the little one that controls the SAP pneumatic valve and sits on the intake. I plugged it back in and voila, no SES light. Kassel Performance later confirmed that they missed this one or zero when they did the delete on my DME. I think I'll eventually measure the resistance and substitute a resistor at the valve electrical plug, rather than loose my DME for another week. Aside from that I'm very happy with the 4.6 tune and SAP delete that Kassel did.

The car is a confirmed gas hog with my first look at MPG coming in at just under 13! and that with a little highway driving mixed in. Thirsty motor and bigger all terrain tires I guess. I know the 4.6s are a bit worse on MPG than the 4.4s anyway, but I'm jonsing for an aux tank. I could make do with a couple jerry cans on the swing out spare tire carrier I'm planning on adding at some point, and/or I keep thinking that an aux tank solution could be fabricated and added to the space where the giant charcoal canister is now. The canister would of course need to be re-fabricated as a smaller piece and mounted elsewhere. Just what size tank could be incorporated would be the determining factor in if it is worth doing. I've seen some pretty cool custom charcoal canisters made by hot-rod guys using compact aluminum cylinders.

I'm starting to acquire black roof trim pieces (cargo hooks, handles, covers, etc.) from Ebay and new. My headliner is shot so I went down to the top upholstery shop in town today and discussed a black Alcantra headliner for the X. The owner took a look at the seats too as I'd like to get the fronts recovered and the bolsters re-stuffed somewhat as well. Long lead times for product, but an easy job for the guy judging by the custom cars and damaged new cars from dealers he had in his shop.

Pics below are of the dinky electric valve keeping the SES light at bay currently, the finished motor...well almost finished. I'm getting the plastic covers painted in the gray I used for the hood, and flat black. The engine bay isn't nearly as clean as I'd like it, but the juice isn't worth the squeeze to re-route/ more stuff for this project. I am taking notes for my next project though. Final pic is of the car as it is today, with the new Thule racks I broke down and bought.


The remaining sound upgrades I want to do include new 2 way speakers for the rear doors and woofer/tweeter components for the front, as well as an amp and a small powered sub in the back. Nothing cosmic, but enough to allow the Kenwood head unit to shine.
Attached Images
   
__________________
Current
Original owner 2002 E53 X5 4.4i to 4.6i swap
1993 Mopar 318 Jeep Grand Cherokee - original owner
2015 V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee - the nice car for my wife
Former
1972 Audi Fox
1986 Saab 900S
1996 BMW Z3
1998 BMW E36 M3 Sedan
2004 BMW E46 M3
2006 Audi A3 Quatro

Last edited by Henn28; 01-27-2022 at 03:27 PM.
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  #200  
Old 01-28-2022, 06:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Henn28 View Post
The X5 has been running strong for the last week, after working through an idle issue and an SES light related to the SAP delete I did. I'm starting to turn my attention to the interior and some more modest upgrades to the sound system.



The inability to find idle was probably self-induced by my unplugging the DME a couple times to clean it of oil that had aparently gotten on the wires and migrated down into the connections. This oil could have been the source of the problem, but I'm thinking that the DME was forced to relearn the throttle every time I plugged it back in, I now know that the car doesn't need to be running for the DME to learn the throttle. Nice.



The SES light was getting set by the lack of an electric vacuum valve - the little one that controls the SAP pneumatic valve and sits on the intake. I plugged it back in and voila, no SES light. Kassel Performance later confirmed that they missed this one or zero when they did the delete on my DME. I think I'll eventually measure the resistance and substitute a resistor at the valve electrical plug, rather than loose my DME for another week. Aside from that I'm very happy with the 4.6 tune and SAP delete that Kassel did.



The car is a confirmed gas hog with my first look at MPG coming in at just under 13! and that with a little highway driving mixed in. Thirsty motor and bigger all terrain tires I guess. I know the 4.6s are a bit worse on MPG than the 4.4s anyway, but I'm jonsing for an aux tank. I could make do with a couple jerry cans on the swing out spare tire carrier I'm planning on adding at some point, and/or I keep thinking that an aux tank solution could be fabricated and added to the space where the giant charcoal canister is now. The canister would of course need to be re-fabricated as a smaller piece and mounted elsewhere. Just what size tank could be incorporated would be the determining factor in if it is worth doing. I've seen some pretty cool custom charcoal canisters made by hot-rod guys using compact aluminum cylinders.



I'm starting to acquire black roof trim pieces (cargo hooks, handles, covers, etc.) from Ebay and new. My headliner is shot so I went down to the top upholstery shop in town today and discussed a black Alcantra headliner for the X. The owner took a look at the seats too as I'd like to get the fronts recovered and the bolsters re-stuffed somewhat as well. Long lead times for product, but an easy job for the guy judging by the custom cars and damaged new cars from dealers he had in his shop.



Pics below are of the dinky electric valve keeping the SES light at bay currently, the finished motor...well almost finished. I'm getting the plastic covers painted in the gray I used for the hood, and flat black. The engine bay isn't nearly as clean as I'd like it, but the juice isn't worth the squeeze to re-route/ more stuff for this project. I am taking notes for my next project though. Final pic is of the car as it is today, with the new Thule racks I broke down and bought.





The remaining sound upgrades I want to do include new 2 way speakers for the rear doors and woofer/tweeter components for the front, as well as an amp and a small powered sub in the back. Nothing cosmic, but enough to allow the Kenwood head unit to shine.
I don't know why (other than local laws) you can't do your aux tank integrated into your roof rack like the bedouins do here in the empty quarter. They plumb the down roof line into the filler neck if permanent if not it's just a drop line into the filler.

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