DIY: Coolant Exchange Pipe / Valley Pan Replacement. e70 n62 4.8L

[Just Looking]

Originally Posted by gregg3gs

The deflection pulley has a cup placed over the bolt that holds it.
The tensioner pulley I dont remember.
Here are some parts images.

2008 BMW X Series (E53,E70,E71,E83) X5 4.8i Belt Drive Water PUMP/ALTERNATOR

Got it. Many thanks again.

[Just Looking]

Gregg,

Just quick update. I tried but the fan shroud of my X5 4.8 was really difficult to take out without breaking more parts (I broke a tab already).

Fortunately, I managed to replace the serpentine belt, the pulley as well as the tensioner in that limited space with the fan shroud still there. At the end, I am good.

[Westlotorn]

I am working on this exact job now. I started out just wanting to replace the valve cover gaskets, upper timing cover gaskets and all associated O rings before taking on the dreaded oil cooler seal behind the alternator. I wish I had viewed this post many days ago I would be done already. All the tough things I discovered and had to figure out are really well explained in this post. Thank You.
Now that all is apart, at least most of it, the car is still on jacks I am thinking of expanding my project and doing the cooling system transfer pipe job. No better time as many of the parts I need to remove are already apart and it sounds like the valley pan is a suspect problem waiting to happen. I am at 100,000 miles.
I am $1,200 in parts already and have not ordered the coolant pipe or valley pan and intake gaskets. These cars are stupid expensive to own even if you do your own repairs. Thanks so much for all the tips shared, it is helping me and I am sure hundreds of others.
One thing I did that may help someone. When removing the #8 coil from the valve cover, mine would not come out. Not enough room no matter how I twisted and tweaked it. After many hours fighting this I went under the car with a Tow Strap, 2 inch ratcheting tow strap. Hooked one end to the engine at the rear of the oil pan, hooked the other end to the passenger side suspension. Cranked it down till I saw the engine move slightly towards the passenger side. This did the trick and the coil came right out. Still very tight but I got it out.
I ordered all hoses, thermostat, Tranny fluid, Coolant, Diff and engine oils, transfer case oil. Figure it is in the garage why not do everything and be good for a while.

Does anyone carry the 3 heater hoses other than the dealer? I have not found them for sale yet. I have a 2008 X5 4.8L with 100,000 miles.
Mark

[gregg3gs]

^^^ You Are Welcome.


Try the ECSTuning.com . But, also look into https://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/ . Bring the BMP price estimate to your realer and ask them to price match.

[Repete]

Originally Posted by Repete

Well I completed this job yesterday, with much thanks to Gregg's write up. So I'd like to add a few points from my experience for those taking this on. In addition to the valley pan (which was obviously the problem) and coolant pipe (URO) I also replaced the water pump/thermostat, both belts, various seals and the simple cabin air filters.

I deduced I had the valley pan leak as I found the coolant leaking down onto the bell housing and leaving traces of blue coolant down the sides. There was no coolant out of the front weep hole of the timing cover. Also when I removed the rubber 'drain plugs' on the bottom of the bell housing it was dry. If there had been signs of coolant coming out here, the problem would be the much more involved gasket inside the trans/engine connection.

While the write up was very helpful, an Ipad on the workbench was great. I found the water-pump and belts replacement much more difficult and time consuming than the simple instructions above might have suggested.

My first unexpected problem was the tensioner pulley for the accessory belt, very difficult to get to the upside-down torx bolt (T45 I believe). So I drove a mis-sized nut onto the treads on the tip of the bolt from the top that allowed me to simply loosen and tighten the bolt from the top side (righty-loosely, lefty-tighty). Needless to say I left this cross-threaded nut in place for any future jobs. I did still need to break it free initially using the torx head from with an upside-down ratchet from the topside......


Thanks gregg3gs for the DIY pics. Good luck!

Ok hopefully someone will find this funny. The other night I replaced the A/C tensioner pulley because I thought it was the source of my squeaking problem (couldn't be the water pump because I replaced it last year). Completely forgetting what I had done and written about before, I struggled with the tensioner pulley bolt again - the worst part is that I spent a good 30 mins trying to tighten down the nut that would just not go back on. Yep... the mis-sized one I put on last time to save me time in the future. I guess it helps to reread your own posts every once in awhile. It also turns out that saving $30 on the water pump was a bad idea because the URO pump I installed last year has failed after 20,000km and now I have to replace it standing in a foot of snow.

Oh yeah another pitfall to be avoided... do not pull up gripping the top of the fan shroud, I pulled too hard on this and broke a piece of the fan blade. Of course you can't buy only the blade and the whole unit is around $500. So far I have glued it back into place but I don't think this is going to work unless I can balance the fan blade perfectly which will be tricky. Any tips?

[the_ulf]

depending on how much glue you used, you can tape a penny to the blade directly opposite. the further out you place the penny, the stronger the counterbalance effect. trial and error, i guess. just make sure that neither your glued blade nor your counterweight detach themselves. or get a replacement fan, they're very easily swapped...

[Repete]

Thanks Ulf,

I used epoxy and have sanded it down to remove the excess and placed paperclips on the opposite side for the counterbalance. But I think it's but too cold here for the fan to come on so I'll need to hook up the computer to control it after I get the water pump sorted out.

[BustedKnuckles]

If someone could give me some quick clarification. I'm doing a tune up on my N62 right now. I installed the BimmerFix stent because my Indie told me the transfer pipe was leaking. But after re-reading through this thread, The valley pan gasket itself leaks coolant too? There is supposed to be coolant in there? I thought it was more of a dirt-stopper. I didnt know it was part of the pressurized cooling system...

I haven't finished re-assembling everything yet so if this is the case and it NEEDS to be replaced, I'll make another trip to the stealership and get that gasket as well as the intake manifold gaskets. Thanks all!

[Westlotorn]

Reading posts here I understand the coolant tube under the valley pan cover is always immersed in coolant. Coolant flows right thru this part of the engine, it just needs to be sealed at both ends.
I am doing mine this week also. I am thinking of re sealing the valley pan gasket with The Right Stuff, a very high quality rubberized silicone product. $20 per tube but worth it.

I just can't make myself trust the famous BMW seals that are already proven to leak.
Clean everything extremely well so it can adhere if you do it this way and work fast.
The Right Stuff starts to harden right away. Less than 10 minute work time.

Not trying to influence what you use as this is a very hard job but in my opinion the BMW parts have earned zero respect or trust for sealing leaks.

[Westlotorn]

The job continues as I have time in the midst of the Christmas rush and long work days. I currently have the Valley pan back on and I did choose to use my original valley pan, pulled the OEM gasket out and cleaned it well, replaced the OEM coolant pipe with the pipe from URO, that worked fine and I needed 2 shims out of the three provided to get my pipe tight in the block. I found the 3 heater hoses that attach at the fire wall at the local BMW dealer for $135.00 and replaced those along with all other hoses I had already ordered in and a new thermostat.
I did install the old valley pan filling the old channel for the oem gasket with The Right Stuff, I filled it a little high maybe 1/16 higher than the valley pan surface. If you do this work fast, you will not have a lot of time till it starts setting up, 10 minutes or so after you apply. It is an easy install so this is not an issue if you are prepared.
I currently have the engine under 30 PSI of air pressure and it has held over an hour.
I will wait a little longer and then start installing the manifold. After all these other jobs that should be an easy install.
One trick I had to use many times. Bolts or nuts had to be installed in very tight spots sometimes in blind areas. Since I lost one early in this job into the frame below, I finally found this one later after much searching I started using masking tape to hold them. Just stretch a tiny piece over the socket opening and then push your nut or bolt into the socket. The little bit of masking tape holds it in place long enough to get your bolt or nut where it needs to go.
Just checked my cooling system again, still holding at 30 PSI. This is an air pressure test, if it leaks air I can repair it without draining any coolant. I will try and post pictures of the connections I used to test the system. It would be silly to install one of these manifolds not knowing if it is sealed properly. With all the 25 hose connections and the new pipes in the water pump and valley pan it is prudent to make sure. The easy connection to fill with air was at the top radiator hose, I used the small 1/4 inch hose connector that feeds the small hoses that attach to both heads, the Y shaped small hose. I plugged one end and hooked my compressor to the other end and slowly filled the block with air. I turned my compressor down to 30 PSI to avoid blowing out the new seals or the seal at the back of the engine block. At one point I did fill it to almost 40 PSI but then backed off to 30 and left it overnight. No Leaks.
I also sprayed the valley pan and all hose connections with soap and water to check for slow air leaks, if there is a leak the soap and water mix will form a zillion bubbles, it is easy to see. My dad taught me this trick years ago, he worked on Natural Gas lines and this is how they did leak detection in the old days. Hope this helps someone.
Mark