It's Dead, Jim ('01 3.0i)

[nahvkolaj]

Originally Posted by X5chemist

Wow! What kind of camera did you use? Picture detail is nice!

Carbon flakes may come off with FI cleaner.

If it has not run for a while, some valves are open or not seated properly.

I have the Ames 2.7”, $90 at HF. Had to take a pic of the screen with my phone.

The engine last ran on the 23rd or 24th of December, so not even a month yet.

[andrewwynn]

I've come to same realization. I can put in a fully rebuilt n55 in my e70 for not half what best case scenario finding an equivalent replacement.

Make a thread for your HG job when you do it people will be very interested

[Factory6speed]

I don't think the compression test results make sense. I don't think you're getting the gauge to seal on those two. And when you put oil down in there there was some oil sitting on the metal ledge that helped the gauge seal. I would maybe try another gauge. Unplug the injectors and make sure you're holding the throttle down.

Dry v.s. wet the oil should help a few PSI if you have piston ring issues. Which you probably would have known if you had and you wouldn't have gotten from losing coolant.

If it's running okay and isn't smoking, it can't possibly have 30 PSI on two cylinders.

I've blown coolant on my b58 and m52 and both were fine after hitting the red. Maybe I'm just lucky but I think it's overstated. And I think people also overstate the head gasket job and many end up junked over a medium amount of work.

I saw that one on Craigslist too and really wanted to go get it. Mine doesn't have a roof and a tow hitch yet but if it did .. that was a good buy.

[nahvkolaj]

Well, I’m perplexed. Replaced the heater pipe and that took care of the last of the leaks. Then I reassembled the engine to get it to a running state.

First start. Idling a little lumpy. I let the engine continue up to operating temp, HVAC heater on high and fan on. Throughout the warmup, I got no hint of exhaust gas in the coolant. Once the thermostat opened up, a rush of gas came through until the coolant hit the tester in the filler neck. No change in the test fluid. Shut the engine off to avoid too much of a mess. Here’s some videos of the lumpy idle:

https://youtu.be/QnOdEsyxqm8?si=XqiDUoQtbQmMh01q

https://youtu.be/a6oymgFkHS0?si=Y94G3IWHkUffKYBy

Second start. Continued to sniff the coolant with heater open. Nothing. But this time the idle was silky smooth. I ran it until the thermostat opened and sent radiator fluid into the tester. There were some bubbles as it spilled out the filler neck. I haven’t done much with hot open cooling systems; I’m guessing the surge of coolant has more to do with it being hot and finding the path of least resistance.

https://youtu.be/vImaF5KG-ys?si=mi3WlzWhMwb6Kssh

Just to make sure, I took the tester to the tailpipe to make sure the fluid turned yellow sniffing straight exhaust and it did.


So I’m confused. My gut feeling is that there has to be something wrong with this engine, but all tests seem to point to it being okay. What am I missing?

[nahvkolaj]

I hate coming across threads with no conclusion when I am searching for advice, so I’m here to put a long overdue pin in this.

Against all odds the M54 seems fine. After getting the engine running I sent an oil sample to Blackstone. They didn’t detect anything anomalous with the sample, just some slightly elevated bearing material compared to their average data (first sample I’ve sent out for this engine).

I’d estimate we’ve put between 500 and 1000 miles on the X5 so far after getting it running again. Coolant temps have been on the money, it runs well, and my main concern is back to the AC and some electrical gremlins.

Thanks to the forum for offering their insights here. Lesson learned to document symptoms better as they are happening (I.e., take a pic of the cluster if it overheats!)

[andrewwynn]

Nice to see follow up.

Wife's engine hit the red very hard when her coolant reservoir blew. I had her drive less than three blocks to a parking lot where I could assess the damage. Temps were in the range of 240 ten minutes after shutdown but no bad mojo came of it.

Make threads for your other issues xo is the best place to DIY your X5!

I've driven n52 motor with non working coolant pump and n55 with an intermittent pump (these are both electric). Watching the temps all the time and they will go into warning like 240f and into engine will only idle about 250-255. I've had each of those hit the limit (for on the order of 1-2 minutes "in the red") and they survived. I think the m54 overheat program is engineered to save the motor and does the job.