4.8is Valve stem seal replacment
 

About 16 hours in and halfway through the procedure (bank 1 completed). I decided there is already a lot of threads covering this as well as some good videos on YouTube so I'm not documenting it.
I'm using the AGA toolkit to do it without removing the camshafts.
My e53 had really, really bad smoking issues with about 140k kms. I know there was a few threads on this site about other ways to fix the smoking or what really causes the smoking. I can say without a doubt that the stem seals are defiantly the cause. The (rubber) on the OEM seals in the engine are so hardened that they crumble and break when squeezed (one was cracked before I touched it, just the small spring holding it together) They have also been worn to a much larger diameter than the valve stems allowing the oil past.
I will post a couple of pics of my setup soon.
THIS IS ONE GRUELING JOB! #4 intake valve had me crawl right into the engine bay! Brutal! No wonder this is a $7000 job at the shop.
Anyone have any questions or tips, feel free.

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Thanks for posting and providing other owners the chance to learn from your efforts. It is appreciated by everyone....:thumbup:

Dayamn. Can't wait till this hits me. Cant friggen wait.

Why does the M62 not have this issue while the N62 does? I've always wondered that.

^Different valve stem seals I'm guessing... maybe a different supplier, material, etc. N62 doesn't suffer timing guide failures like the M62... or at least not nearly to the same degree.

Thanks for posting OP. Mine will need it eventually as it smokes after 10-15 minutes of idle. Fortunately never when driving... but it will need it eventually. Fun stuff.

So glad I didn't fix my leaky seals by myself. And I'm even more glad that my extended warranty covered the repair. IIRC, the valve stem repair was billed to the warranty at about $4000.

The car was in the shop for over a week. Partly because they did additional repairs and partly because the valve stem seal job is so tedious that the technician could only do a little bit at a time. They also used the AGA tool kit.

At some point in the near future I will need to do mine. I have heard opposing arguments on this issue.

1- The steam seals are not the cause, but a result of the guides wearing internally due to valve actuation not along the centerline. The original seals may be hard an brittle, but the smoke will return over time after new seals installation.( not sure how long).

2- the steam seals were not of the correct rubber material, as a result they become brittle and hard, thus leaking and smoking.

Ted


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Mark, label, take pictures, notes, etc. When we do this job we usually do it with the engine outside of the car and the heads off so we always have a clean work space and are sure to label and mark everything so there isn't a shadow of a doubt when everything goes back together. I've never done this job with the engine in the vehicle so good job taking it on. Regardless of whether you do it in or out you have to pay attention, it is a lot of repetition but you can not get complacent with it. Sometimes when we do it at the shop we just have to walk away for awhile and clear our heads because of everything else going on in the background. I like getting it done early in the morning or even staying a little late when things are quiet and peaceful. Just take your time and be mindful and aware of what you are doing, if you need a break take one. Better to walk away and take a 10 minute break than try and struggle through it and end up making a mistake.

Being that we do this job several times a year at the shop I work at I have to disagree with argument one. Done it enough times on long term customer vehicles who do bring their vehicles back to us but never for a smoking issue.

Argument 2 does have some validity to it. The seals may not be of the highest quality rubber so they do end up becoming brittle and hard causing an inadequate seal. But even more influential than the material is the maintenance of the engine, mainly I'm referring to oil changes.

This is from another thread I contributed in regarding engine oil in terms of both change interval and quality in regards to the N62.

For me the reasoning is fairly simple. I'd rather spend $50-$60 on an oil change every 5,000 miles than try and stretch it. In particular with the N62. I work at a shop while I am home between assignments and have worked on a lot of N62s in the past couple years. The ones with failing valve stem seals are the ones that also have sludge in them when we pull it apart from using cheap oil or failure to keep up with oil changes. The ones that are still running well are the ones we see every 5,000 miles for an oil change with a quality oil. Guy I work for has a 4.8is and both myself and his brother have 4.4i's all N62 motors, each of them have over 150k on the clock and they are all still going strong, no smoking, knock on wood.

People may underestimate or doubt the importance of maintaining a good oil change interval with a high quality oil but I've seen it prove its worth time after time. It becomes increasingly important when you start looking at newer engines that have more complex systems relying on engine oil to cool and lubricate them.

What year is your x5?

I agree, I have been changing my oil every 4000 miles with Castrol Titanium since I got my 4.8is ,the engine did a 180 ,runs great , no misfire at cold start.
Also every 3k miles a fuel injector cleaning and a long trip .
Maintence is everything with these BMW's

2004/04 production date.

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Well the job is finished! All went well. I have a couple pictures. One before starting the job and one while starting on bank #2. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e9d8b5489d.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...2bc5222407.jpg

I started the job on a Tuesday and finished the following Sunday. I gave myself lots of time to do this job. A few of the days I put in a full 8 hrs working. All in all I would guess it took me about 30hrs to complete. That being said, I was very meticulous about it. Every nut and bolt accounted for, every connection labeled. Took time to fix a leaky power steering fluid rez. and a broken eccentric cam position sensor from whoever did the valve covers last. Cleaned the engine bay and all parts that were reinstalled.
On one particular day I was going to put in more than 8 hrs but almost made a FATAL error. I finished one cylinder and went to the next without setting the cylinder to TDC. Compressed the spring and started to remove the keepers. Luckily the tool slipped andi realized I didn't have compressed air in the cylinder. For anyone who doesn't know this would have resulted in the valve falling down into the cylinder. Meaning pulling the head off to retrieve...
So in hindsight some tips for anyone who is gonna tackle this themselves.
1. Give yourself plenty of time. Take breaks. Walk away when getting tired. Its actually a pretty simple procedure but a mistake like the one I almost made would have ruined the whole job.
2. Pack towels/rags around the engine bay while working. There is some pretty deep spots dropped tools or materials can end up.
3. I would remove all 4 rockers from the cylinder I was working on to keep most of the compressed air in the cylinder while working. I put the rockers in labeled sandwich bags because there is 3 different kinds. THEY HAVE TO GO BACK WHERE CAME FROM! (Thx AGA support for the heads up) Then after all 4 seals were replaced I would go back and install all 4 rockers. This was time consuming and might not have been required for every cylinder but it sure did keep those valves in place while working on them. (Had my air compressor set to 20-25 psi. I found it was enough to hold the valves and not turn the engine over.)
4. Cut the plastic sleeves used to install the seals on the valves only to the length needed. Some of the spots you gotta get to can be a real pain. Mostly on the intake valves trying to get under those eccentric cam levers.
5. Don't skimp out on a good magnet and needle nose pliers. These are going to be your best friends for a week. I had three different types of needle nose. I would end up using all three, sometimes all three on the same valve. Oh yeah have a mirror ready for intake valves on cylinders #4 & #8...
6. I added an extra o-ring to the valve keeper install tool.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c597a6fde4.jpg
When you finally get to the point of putting these guys back on you want them to snap in the right place and stay there. This can be the most frustrating part of the whole thing.
7. When you are complete, put the key in and turn to position 1 let the valve solenoids buzz and find their position. Then turn the key back off then on again to position 1. If they are done buzzing go ahead and start it up. Mine fired right up and ran like a dream.

I noticed it my 4.8 runs better while cold. (I assume the because of the broken sensor) and NO MORE SMOKE!

Thank you Tony's tool rental and all who have posted tips and vids on this back breaking job.


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Thank you kind sir. Bookmarked.

Now, go have a beer, or twelve.

Did you rent the AGA tool from Tony's tool rental? I know I would have to do this repair eventually, but currently the seal conditioner I'm using is working so far. Was at the US/Canadian border idling for over 20 minutes and no smoke when we drove off. In the past the car would give off an embarrassing huge plume of white smoke.

What conditioner are you using? Lucas?

I did this job in the summer, INCLUDING dropped exhaust valve inside a cylinder. I was fortunate enough to retrieve the valve without pulling the head.

In my opinion the AGA kit makes this job even more difficult than pulling the cams. I tried to do it with the cams in place; it was very very difficult to get the seals replaced and the keepers on with the cams in place.

I now have 8000 miles on mine; runs perfect. No smokescreen

Interesting- all I ever hear is AGA kit is the way to go. Do you have any sort of DIY for your technique involving pulling the cams?

ATP AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, 8 Ounce Bottle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVW1LM/...l_5x1n0zh334_p

See this post:
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...erm-fix-2.html

It seems people are very intimidated about pulling the camshafts. it's not difficult - just requires some attention to detail (correct orientation and timing), and loosening the cam bridge nuts very slowly so you don't crack a camshaft. It IS necessary to correctly time the cams, so I rented the camshaft timing kit from bimmertoolrental.com.

I basically set the engine to TDC for cylinder 1, removed the accessory cams (they come out as one unit) and systematically worked from one cylinder to the next. I still used compressed air to keep the cylinders closed, and used the AGA toolkit to compress the valve springs, remove the keepers, replace the seals, and reinstall the keepers.

I used the Bentley manual and a few online videos to help me through it.

Yup I sure did rent from Tony. He has a great service. I would highly recommend.
I also talked no my local indy and he pointed me towards an oil additive called Ceratec. I figured if its burning oil I should probably fix the actual problem rather than mask it with an additive.
What a coincidence, it was at the border when I first noticed the smokescreen as well.

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I discovered the smokescreen after just finishing a major project on the X. Just buying time with the additive pending a real fix. Yeah, extended idles tend to expose hidden issues.