One thing I was a bit worried about was how warped the cylinder head was going to be and if it wasn’t going to be able to be saved. The machine shop told me it was about the max they would have decked the cylinder head while still being able to use it. They ended up taking off 11 thousands off the bottom. (High compression anyone?) I asked them if I needed a thicker head gasket and they said I should be okay. So I got the stock thickness head gasket and just went for it!


https://i.imgur.com/uHnZIyk.png



Before I pulled the cylinder head off I decided to test the block threads to determine if I needed to time sert the block as I read this was a very common issue for overheated engines. Turns out I needed to do this while I was in there so I ordered the time sert kit and time serted all the head bolt holes while I was in there.


https://i.imgur.com/vURm6MZ.jpeg


Once I got everything cleaned up, I slapped the new head gasket on the engine and put the cylinder head back on hoping those time serts would hold up.

https://i.imgur.com/ZmR0pdp.jpeg


https://i.imgur.com/PmFZUEu.jpeg


Once I got everything back together, I pressure tested the coolant system overnight and it held just fine. I was confident that there were no leaks and it was going to be ready to rock again. First fire up went alright and it seemed to run okay after all the residual oils burnt off. I did however notice some ticking noises (which are still happening to this day) that either sounded like lifter tick or some sort of bottom end knock. I was a bit concerned (and still am) but the car runs and drives great so it can’t be that bad. Here she was in all her glory after I revived her. At this point this had also been one of my larger automotive projects that I had taken on. I’m not a mechanic and I’ve learned about working on cars mostly all DIY over the years.

https://i.imgur.com/0K1u7He.png

Seeing as how I did not want this to happen again, I was after a gauge system that I could install to alert the driver from potential overheating better than the stock gauges do. Being a diesel guy, I was already aware of the Banks iDash and they had released a compact gauge system that would do just the trick. I used a suction cup mount on the dash by the drivers A pillar, and then installed four sensors (oil pressure, oil temperature, coolant temperature, and coolant level). I bought a new oil filter cap for the oil pressure and temp sensors, then I bought an aluminum thermostat housing and drilled and tapped into it for a coolant temp sensor, and finally I used the stock coolant level sensor location on the bottom of the expansion tank to interpret coolant level (this car did not come with a coolant level sensor installed).



https://i.imgur.com/iqPTWQJ.jpeg


https://i.imgur.com/IrIfnPk.jpeg



As things were looking up for our E53 ownership, I always had in the back of my mind how cool it would be to turn this thing into a 4.6is clone car…a 3.0is so to speak. I really liked the look of the front and rear lower valences and 20” style 87s on those cars and thought how cool it would be to turn this car into that. It just so happened that at the right time, where I live in Winnipeg, there was a guy parting out an Imola Red 4.6is. I immediately messaged the guy and asked to buy the bumpers, wheels, and rear fender flares and got them all for about 500 bucks. Had I have known more about 4.6is cars I would have also grabbed the gauge cluster and exhaust tips too, but I had still pretty limited knowledge of these cars at the time. It also had a red interior which was kind of neat to see. I don't think they sold many red 4.6is with red interior in Canada. I'm sure it was quite rare now that I think back about it.


https://i.imgur.com/d6DxB44.png


Since the tires were shot on these wheels, it wouldn’t be until the following summer (this summer) that I found a set of proper sized tires for these rims and get them installed on the car. I was still busy in the mean time trying to track down where that annoying ticking/knocking noise was coming from in the engine bay. I ended up replacing the lifters TWICE, replaced the stock exhaust manifolds with headers, timing chain tensioner, fluids, etc trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. I also installed a down stream cat, deleted the SAP, and installed the EU2 tune roughly the same time. I still have no idea what the noise is but the car runs and drives fine. The noise is quiet at start up and gets louder as the engine comes up to temp.


https://i.imgur.com/FspVbfv.jpeg



https://i.imgur.com/ZD7LiHh.png


Deleting the SAP and installing headers didn’t do the trick, but it did free up a few ponies.


All of this brings us to just a few weeks ago, when I was on the hunt for a decent set of 315s and 275s for the style 87s. I ended up finding a complete lightly used set of wheels off an F15 with rims and got them for a good price. Once I had the tires swapped over and got the style 87s on I HAD to take some pics. The wheels totally change the look of the car.


https://i.imgur.com/6C5rG3H.png



https://i.imgur.com/lg6ULr8.png

What an adventure! :thumbup:


E53 RiPPeR
XOuTPoST jUNkiE
ReVELaTiON 22:21

Looking good..

With its high stance and large engine bay...an in-car head gasket on an M54 E53 is pretty straightforward. The E53 can stay on its wheels the whole time.

Nice work on the time-sert job...Kit 1090 is the way to go...I like using clear packing tape so I can see holes, etc.

I definitely would have used the thicker stock 1.00mm head gasket...(factory is 0.70mm) ...and the difference between 1.00mm & 0.70mm is about 12 thousandths of an inch, which is close to what the machinist took off.

I like the gauge set up and the billet M54 oil filter cap with sensor bungs.
https://renditioncustom.com/products...45216247120160