I went with AGA as I wanted what I felt was the best option. As I get older, I feel like time is more of a commodity then money is....the complete opposite from when I was a kid. I've only put about 8k on my AGA but as the X is my only vehicle for now, I will surely test the quality/durability of this piece.

Your engine is an M62 though and this thread is about N62. The pipe is completely different on the N62.

-Rich

I get that except if the pipe is raw aluminum the exact method of treatment applies. Also: to hone the socket I've used the combination of double stick foam tape to hold sandpaper to the outside of an appropriate sized hole saw. It worked great to clean out the steering knuckle when changing wheel bearings. (Combo of freezing the bearing, heating the knuckle, honing the hole and a bit of oil dropped the insert force by about 12-15,000 pounds vs extraction force.

I did the AGA last December @112k in a 'while you're there' moment on a non-leaking pipe. Including that month's annual trip south, our ~6k mile road trip in the Summer, and back from the South again just last week, I'm at ~127k now. I don't drive much in town as I work from home.

Nary a whisper of trouble. :thumbup:

I don't think it applies at all because the seal is completely different.

Plus you have to remove the front timing cover even get the pipe out intact to try to refurbish it. If you wanted to do that with something like the URO seal on the stock tube it is probably possible but at that point it is only $25 savings over a new pipe making it pointless.

-Rich

Yes of course you can't do my trick unless you are deep in the motor. I don't like to throw away perfectly good stuff that just needs to be cleaned up.

The parts are roughly $40 and $70. Looks like N62 might night have one?

I've looked at the expanding pipes and so the way to go if you've only taking off the intake and not the front.

The N62 pipe looks nearly identical to the M62s large pipe. The photos usually have the seal on the end but on the M62 pipe that comes off. I'm not sure if the N62 is flared or something on the end with the seal. I just know that with aluminum it pits something fierce so I always will hone the surface and seal the outside of the o-ring with some rtv to keep the weather from corroding from the outside in and causing a leak down the road.

That would be enough for me to decide which expanding pipe to use :-) even if much less work than the front guide covers it's plenty of work to get under the intake !

The coolant transfer pipe is deep inside the engine which makes the cost of failure much much much higher. I would strongly advise against anything that could possibly fail when you are that deep inside of the engine. One pit that doesn't seal and you are screwed out thousands of dollars or multiple weekends worth of work.

It would require removing the main crank bolt (which is a nightmare), and the oil pans before you can even remove the timing cover to change the pipe without using an expandable version on the N62. Some service guides even say to remove the heads because the top side of the lower timing cover seals against the head gasket (but I think it can be skipped).

-Rich

Just saw this: https://youtu.be/AiSx29P6gFo

It's a stent that seals from inside the water pump to the inside of the cooler transfer pipe: absolutely genius. I would so do this first if my M62 N62 was leaking from that pipe front seal.

I watched a couple N62 transfer pipe fixes and yikes how does the factory install the original? Unlike the M62 which basically falls out when you pull the timing cover/water pump mount. I couldn't see the seam for the timing cover.

Price drop from AGA...
 

I have been plotting repair/upgrade to the AGA coolant pipe since I picked up my 4.8is exactly one year ago. Leading up to owning a V8, I had seen promo after promo on AGA's facebook page offering 10% off parts and service for BMW's or 10% off parts and service for Mercedes customers. Anyway - I've kept a VERY close eye on promotions from AGA ever since, because, for me, the only thing better than knowing you own the best...is to feel like you got a deal on it. With THAT being said, I FINALLY pulled the trigger on this AGA pipe today because AGA dropped pricing across the board on their pipes (-$50 on pipe, -$50+ on kits with valley pan/gaskets). Their holiday promo for free shipping is still valid as well: "AGASHIP". While I hoped for a repeat % off deal for Labor Day OR 4th of July OR Veterans Day OR Christmas OR New Years...I finally scored a discount (if only in my head). If anyone else has been WAITING...go for it!