Looks like you have plenty of mayo to spread on your sandwich later LOL


Sorry to hear man, why didn't we suggest popping the valve cover off previously? haha

That's a sandwich I wouldn't serve to my worst enemy! ;)

Does anybody know of a source to rent the VANOS fixtures? I know I'll need them when it's time to put it back together.

besiansystems.com for VANOS stuff I think, you should do the new seals while the VC is off

I've bought several Besian kits in the past, great stuff. Is he still around? I just tried the site and get a page saying the domain is for sale. What's up with that?

RB gave you a bad link... A$$HOLE ! :p:

Beisan Systems

Ah, phew! He's still there! :)

Lol I didn't mean it to come up as a link, damn auto-linking! I figured he would just google it anyway, sorry! :D

Busy afternoon, ya'll!
 

I had only planned to get as far as removing the oil filter housing and VANOS assembly. But Fast 'n' Loud was a rerun and I was in a groove. If I'm being honest, though, the job was a little bit easier because whoever did it last time cut a lot of corners putting it back together. Lots of fasteners are missing, including the entire intake manifold support bracket - the one that attaches to the block near the motor mount.

I kept a list of missing parts as I tore it down and will order all the bits after I get a health report on the head. One thing I found odd is that there was a big tear in the intake boot where it attaches to the idle control valve, but the engine ran fine and didn't throw any fuel trim error codes. Weird. :dunno:

Anyway, I hope to hell that I can remember how it all goes back together!

http://www.creative-pro.net/cars/x5/hg_job_1.jpg



http://www.creative-pro.net/cars/x5/hg_job_2.jpg

I'm thinking that this might be a good time to pull the ABS module and send it off to be rebuilt. It hasn't been throwing any errors, but has been soaking in coolant for who-knows-how-long. It's very easy to access right now, so there will never be a better time to do it. And it's not like the car is going anywhere any time soon!

So I pulled the head last night. Almost none of the head bolts were tight. Especially the ones around cylinder #6. In fact, I could have removed those with a 1/4" ratchet!

None of the holes in the block look stripped and there weren't any shavings on any of the bolts. It may be overkill to timesert the block, but I think it would be crazy not to. So I will anyway.

The head gasket itself was starting to de-laminate. I can easily pull the layers apart.

Although this is not a job I wanted to be doing, I'm glad that I am. I'm finding all kinds of problems from the last time it was done that need to be corrected. For example, all of the exhaust manifold nuts/studs were reused and the nuts are rusted solidly to the studs. So instead of being used like they're supposed to be, they were being used like bolts. It wouldn't surprise me if the head bolts were also reused.

But I did find something that I'm worried is going to be a big job to fix. One of the plastic timing chain guides is broken. I've never had to replace one and it looks like the front casing needs to come off to get at it. I haven't looked for a DIY yet, so hopefully I can find one. If anybody has done the job and has any pointers, I'd very much appreciate it!

Oh, Fuuuudddddgggggeeeeeee!
 

I just found out why the head bolts were so loose. Every single hole for the head bolts has a helicoil in it! So now my wallet is $400 lighter after ordering a Big-Sert kit from Timesert.

The adventure continues…