N62 valley pan gasket replacement begins! Questions

[garrett.fell]

I started the tear-down this weekend to address the coolant leakage problems I've been experiencing

I've got the intake removed now and ordered a bunch of parts over the weekend to fix both the coolant leak as well as the oil leaks from the valve covers and upper timing covers

A couple questions

Is it necessary to remove the water-pump to remove and replace the valley pan? I am guessing that's the only way I am going get around the tube that runs to the heater? I am not 100% sure how that tube is connected to the water pump. Does it just pull-out?

A couple observations.

I am not 100% sure that my problem was the valley-pan. It's possible it was the T connection at the hose that runs from the expansion tank to both cylinder heads. It sits under the front part of the manifold. This connection broke/was discovered broken after I removed the intake.

If you look at these pics you'll notice where the coolant is and isn't.






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[garrett.fell]

I think I answered my own question. I guess the answer is yes! I found an outstanding write-up here.....

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...62-4-8l-2.html



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[90turbo1]

no, you do not need to remove the water pump for this job. you can simply unbolt the screws (10mm head) that hold the valley pan to the block and lift it up at the rear and remove. the short pipe is rubber coated and may give you some fits but it comes right out. it should always be replaced. the other question is that t fitting is a leak prone problem. i would replace that while you are in there.

[garrett.fell]

That's good news. I'll give that a try. I wasn't sure if it was doable or not. I did order another "shorty pipe" so it will be replaced as well.

Yup. My T is broken now. Not sure if I bumped it on disassembly or not. I ordered up a complete set of hoses after I found one connection on the upper radiator hose weeping (one of the vertical connections over by the sensor on the lower radiator hose). I did replace that hose about 2.5 years ago with a genuine BMW one. Bummer that it failed so soon.

Earlier I was questioning if the valley pan was really the problem as in some of those pics you can see the "groove" on the valley pan is wet with coolant. If the coolant leak came from the VPG I wouldn't expect coolant to be seen here. The groove should be dry. I looked back at some of my pressure test pictures and it looks relatively dry in those pics. The top groove was likely wetted when that connection broke and introduced coolant from above

See pic.





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[axgordon]

In addition, the heater pipe just slides back out from the WP. You will need to replace o-ring at the WP end before reinstalling it back.


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[garrett.fell]

Cool. That's one part I neglected to order up - but at a couple bucks I can make a visit to the dealer!


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[garrett.fell]

I guess the real question now is - do I do the coolant pipe under the VP as well......hmmmmm

I don't see any evidence of coolant leaking from the weep-hole in the front.


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[axgordon]

I did mine as a preventative maintenance when replaced leaking valley pan, but based on the old seal condition at 114k it was not warranted. The front seal for the collapsible pipe is the royal pain to install. The alternative for collapsible pipe sold on eBay called "Bimmerfix" can be installed later and only requires to remove water pump. Hope this helps.


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[cj-10]

I used the URO pipe 2 days ago and the front seal was not problematic at all. I just cleaned out where the seal was pretty well and used a decent amount of supplied grease. A little inspection mirror and flashlight made a huge difference. You could see where the seal was not properly seated. It maybe took 5 min total. Hardest part of the whole thing was the snap ring

[LVP]

IMO, if you have it opened up, do as much of it as you can.