Starting project tomorrow - advice appreciated
 

I am going to do some deferred maintenance tomorrow, to try to fix a few oil leaks, some potential problems, and keep the car in good shape and on the road. I have the following:


1. All of the power steering hoses (leaking)

2. GAS DISA valve repair kit

3. OFHG and VANOS oil line (leaking)

4. Synthetic fluid for front differential


I have some time off work and can let the car sit in the air for a few days, which is nice. My plan for this week is:


1. Remove belly pan
2. Replace front diff fluid and check for leaks (I have never had the pan off before)
3. Do the PS lines and refill (Top Tec 1200 ATF). I did make sure to buy the tool to remove the PS lines.

4. Do the oil line, OFHG, and change the oil. Check for other oil leaks

5. Take off the intake manifold to repair the DISA valve
6. Inspect and clean any sludge out of all the vacuum lines.

7. Clean the belly pan and reinstall



I have never had the belly pan off since I bought the car in 2016, so I expect to spend some time under there and find some other things that need addressing. I replaced the CCV with a cold-weather version in 2017 but I drive a lot of short trips in cold weather, so I know there will be some accumulation.



This thread was very helpful (thanks cn90!):

https://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-for...se-fluids.html


I'd be grateful if anyone has any advice for this job -- anything else I should do while I am in there -- or anything I should be wary of while I do all of this. Any and all advice is appreciated. This forum has provided a wealth of knowledge for me, and I am very grateful. My car is a 2003 3.0i with manual transmission and almost 120k miles, by the way.

First and foremost.... degrease, degrease, degrease.

Power steering reservoir has a filter in the bottom if I recall correctly but I'm not sure if it is replaceable separately or if you have to replace the reservoir.

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Indeed, I need to remember to buy a couple extra cans of brakleen when I go to get the differential fluid. Thanks for the tip on the PS filter. I should have time to get parts from my local dealer if I need to get a new filter.

I don't want to sound like their representative or stockholder, but Oil Eater works 10x better than brake kleen in almost every situation.

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Use a 16 mm wrench to push on the power steering line tool. Works great. Get worm gear clamps for reservoir hoses. The OEM clamps are a bad design. They are really not reusable. On the vanos line washers, use tacky Form-A-Seal gasket. Brush a little on each washer side. No more leaks!
Remove the alternator, air ducts, and revoir to reach the OFHG. Same thing, use tacky Form-A-Gasket to hold the gasket in place. Plus seal better. With the X5 in the air, may be able to reach the back side bolts better. Use a mirror with a light on it to check the OFHG is flat. You can buy a mechanic mirror with a light at Harbor Freight.

As advised, with the battery disconnected, degrease! I used a pressure washer on the entire engine bay and hood. Small brushes from Amazon really help remove grim.

Take pictures to post! I'll be doing the plate and diff oil soon too.

easy-peasy DISA repair/upgrade using the GAS kit
 

Why remove the intake manifold just to repair/upgrade the DISA valve? Unless you suspect it has already broken apart inside, but then it's probably too late...parts may already have been sucked into the valves. But, it may make inspection/repair of the CCV underneath easier, if you want to do that.

I just did the GAS DISA upgrade, and though I was wary of the infamous steel pin falling out of the DISA upon removal, it was actually still firmly in place. My DISA could've been put back in as-is, but it had a sticking pivot post, and the big O-ring was flattened and leaking vacuum.

The GAS kit modificaction/repair took about an hour or so (I was watching a movie at the same time, so I was slow), with the removal of the flattened O-ring taking most of the time. I re-installed the DISA using a liberal amount of SuperLube silicone grease (from a large tube I bought just for this purpose), to ensure that the new O-ring wouldn't get damaged.

Yeah, mostly just to make it easier to work in there, and facilitate inspection/cleaning of all the vacuum lines that collect sludge. I have learned that it's often just easier to take things apart to make a job easier, rather than working in constrained places. And the manifold isn't really that hard to take off.



X5Chemist, what do you mean by "revoir?"

My DISA pin was still in fortunately, but it was completely non-functional. The GAS kit is excellent, highly recommended

I wrapped this all up late last night. Everything went great. I thought I had a PS fluid leak but discovered it was because I forgot to tighten one of the banjo bolts on the rack. Fortunately I caught it before I started it!



I left the intake manifold on after finding no trace of sludge in a couple of the bigger CCV vacuum lines. Which was good news. I drive a lot of short trips in the winter, but I also tow a lot in the summer, so maybe the towing helps remove the sludge that builds up in the winter?



I did find that the OFHG leak was much worse than you could see without removing the belly pan. I spent a lot of time just cleaning up.



My front diff fluid was really black. I believe it may have been original from the PO's records, and it looked like it. Definitely time to change it at 118k miles.



I have not driven it yet but I'm gonna take it for a spin this morning, looking forward to seeing how it feels with a working DISA! Thanjs all for your advice.

+1 on the manifold removal. If you're going to remove it, get a new CCV and hoses. It will never be easier to replace than when the manifold is off.