All in - pulling the 4.6 engine and trans to fix oil leaks once and for all

[puddinboo]

nice tools ,shop, hoist, and of course awsome pics .I just wish I bought a house with a garage now . but I had to listen to the wife about 14 yrs ago hmmmm. lol

[admranger]

Originally Posted by stunt

Glad you guys appreciate the detailed pics!

Yes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by taking my time and paying attention to details, once I'm done, I won't have to worry about the drivetrain for a good while!

I love these Snap-on digital torque wrenches. I got these 2 so far:

Snap-on TECHWRENCH 1/4" drive Flex Head 2 - 20 ft-lb $385 list
Snap-on TECHWRENCH 3/8" drive Flex Head 5 - 100 ft-lb $405 list

I picked up the 1/4" on eBay for $250, the 3/8" for $270. Both were sold as used, but were brand new. I know you sometime roll the dice on eBay, but I lucked out with there. Not a scratch on either one and they came with calibration sheets. They were within 0.8% forward and 0.4% reverse!

Very nice tools. They can be set to display ft-lb, in-lb or Nm. The display shows current torque value in real time and starts to vibrate when you get close and beep when you get within 1% of target and then flashes where you ended up for 10 seconds once you're done. Like when set for 10 Nm, after the beep, the display would flash 10.04 Nm or there abouts depending on how quickly I reacted to the beep.

I'm keeping an eye out for the 1/2" as well, which has a range of 25 - 250 ft-lb.

Up until this project I have been using a pair of Snap-on click type wrenches that I purchased new back in 2000 I think (3/8" and 1/2"), both very nice pieces, but for this project I knew I needed a 1/4" for some of the low torque values, and after getting and using the 1/4" one, there was no going back. lol

Once I pick up a 1/2", I'll be selling the "old-school" pair.

Other than fighting off everyone else on Xoutpost bidding on ebay for these, they certainly sound like the thing to have.

[stunt]

The missing chain guide showed up yesterday. As with all the other replacement chain guide components, the new ones are brown where the old ones were black. Perhaps these newer ones will last longer?



With the final guide installed, and the cam blocks in place and the crank locked in position, the next step is to retard the Vanos units all the way. No need for a multimeter, just use the Vanos special socket tool and a 24 mm socket and turn both Vanos units all the way counter clockwise. I believe the only purpose of using a multimeter on the 4.4 engine, is as a secondary confirmation that the Vanos is fully retarded.



Then the cam bolts are tightened down. I did 20 Nm, then 70 and finally 110 Nm. Be sure to counterhold each of the 4 cams with a 27mm open wrench during this step. Also make sure the T55 is fully seated in the cam bolt head. Check that the cam locking blocks don't raise off the heads.



I found that one of my blocks did raise, so I fixed that with a c-clamp (red arrow) and went through the tightening sequence again.



Next I installed the timing wheels and timing wheel positioning tools. Make sure the positioning tools are all the way down against the heads (red arrow).



Here's a shot of the front after the cam timing procedure had been completed.



Time for the lower timing cover. I installed the new crank seal using a 1 7/8 socket.



I added a little sealant in the bottom corners before installing the gaskets.



A little more after installing the gaskets (red arrows).



Lower cover installed. Torque values as follows:

M6 8.8 (10mm hex) bolts front: 10 Nm (red arrows)
M8 8.8 (13mm hex) bolts front: 24 Nm (blue arrows)
M6 10.9 (10mm hex) bolts bottom: 12 Nm (yellow arrows)



Upper right cover was next. Again I added a little sealant in the lower corners. After positioning the timing cover, I applied downward pressure at the front end and torqued down the lower bolts on each side first. I did this as there is otherwise nothing that will ensure the timing cover is pressed tight against the lower timing cover. The Beisan procedure suggest temporarily installing the valve covers without washers to accomplish the same thing. I figured this was a lot easier and I hope will work just well.



Here's the critical area that could leak. This is where 4 pieces all meet (upper oil pan, lower timing cover, upper timing cover and engine block). Keeping fingers crossed that mine won't.



Turns out I forgot to order the left upper timing cover rubber grommet. This is used by the chain tensioner. I'll probably just pick this up locally.



Parts table is starting to shrink.



Slowly getting there!

[puddinboo]

I can tell you love working on these bmw`s ,with all the awsome pics you have posted so far. I just wish I had a shop like you do. one day hopefully .

[J.Belknap]

You're doing God's work, son.

[ProfessorX5]

Wow, you don't play. Awesome setup, too.

Gitterdone!

[BMWX5CHI]

Glad to see there are some people out there with that much passion and patience. Excellent work and thanks for taking the time to share this with us. Wish I had a garage like that, man the things I could do. Anyways, hope all goes well and you get her running soon.

[stunt]

Thanks guys!

I found this handy conversion chart for bolt diameter vs. head size:

[puddinboo]

thats ahandy chart for sure thx again .

[admranger]

Thanks for the chart, Stunt.

BTW: there's some black crud on your engine block. Might want to get after that.