EXCITED! Valley Pan Gasket Repair.
 

All right, so I know it sounds odd that I would be excited about doing the valley pan gasket but, it has been about 2 years since I have done any serious wrenching on any of the cars besides maintenance( i.e oil change, cabin filters, hell, I was looking for something to break! lol) Anyways, has this coolant leak for about 14 months now. I know I know, shame shame shame. I replaced the water pump, thermo, expansion tank, couple of hoses, but the damn leak was always there. Now last week the Beastly M62 gave me a "Check coolant level" error. Topped it off and on my way. 2 days later, light came on again. Topped off again. You know where this is going.So $40.00 in coolant later, I decided to look under the bell housing and what do you know. Burnt, crusty, blue junk all over.

So tried to look all over for a DIY on this. Found plenty on the 7 series, couple on the 5ers, but not a one on the X5 4.4i. So perfect time for me to start to contribute. I'll be snapping pictures left and right, detailing every procedure and hopefully, just maybe, help a fellow member out. I'll also include a parts list so it will be easy to get all the parts on the fly.

I'll start the project Fri morning and hopefully be done before dinner. Take me a few nights to edit some things and Ill post the DIY.

Looking over the manual now, and I'm getting chills. I love this stuff!

Wish me luck guys!

Please do post those pics and diy info! I have ordered all of the parts necessary for this job, and I would like to do this myself also. Thanks in advance.

There she blows!
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...DSCF0429-1.jpg

Good luck with your valleypan journey. took me a little more than a day for this project, let us know the hardest part of the repair for you. I would say the damn fuel rail was a pain in the arse

Thanks JST! Yeah i will. Hopefully like I said, I can start right after I have my coffee at around 6am, and then be finished just in time for a beer before dinner. Or Johnnie Walker, however the project goes will determine which method of release will be needed. I am going to say, removing those tubes for the water you have outlined will be a pain. You kno what they say about guys with big hands, busted, bloody knuckles because of some stupid f*(&%n' tiny a$$ 10mm bolt won't free up even with 5 gallons of PB Blaster.
its either that or those 3 hoses that attach to the fire wall, you know the ones BMW Engineers thought would be funny to hide under a third of the windshield. Don't worry, Ill be cursing. I can feel it, but still excited!

Yep, sound proof the garage if you have small kids around:D
Glad I am done with it, BTW I'll replace the coolant manifold gaskets in the rear since you are removing those pipes anyway.

I followed "Killcrap" suggestion, use triflow/dry silicone lube on the fuel rail connectors and pop teh rail w/o removing the clips.

Yeah I plan on going from the back. ohhh sounds dirty! anyways, that water plenum with the 6 bolts is the one Ill be removing since I all ready took the water pump and thermo for a ride a few months ago. So Ill just that the plenum off and remove the pipes by sliding them out. Can you paste the link the killcrap's suggestion? I thought the clips HAD to come over to remove the rail. Thanks

Well, not a whole to add but here it is:
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...uccessful.html

Post#10.

trust me/him we've done this w/o any problem, just go easy with the pry bar. I used long big screw driver, it works too.

When you are done, put those clips back on and press down the fuel rail until the clips click in place securely.

get one of those driver handles with a hook tool at the end. they will be helpful with the fuel rail/injector plugs.

I had a long thin blade screw driver but a hook would be much more helpful.

Yeah from what the clips look like, they are just a bent up piece of wire that bmw sells for $30.00, but probably only worth $.05, haha. I have ummm, dentist picks? They are called mechanics picks, but lets face it, it gives me the chills when I see them. Only difference is that they are thicker and drop forged. There are 4 different styles, a awl, sharp hook, a 45* + 90* hook, and a 90* pick. Those should be adequate.

I avoid that whole clip hassle by simply leaving the boxes on the injectors, unbolting the fuel rail and strapping that whole thing to the hood.... just gotta unhook the some of the wiring to give enough room to do so. But there are a few methods and this is just one, use whatever works for you. :thumbup: