Danger

Any out there for sale?

I'm not even sure how to respond to this.. Excuse my ignorance but i see no way to have diagnosed the issue with confidence without disassembly or further running time to exacerbate the damage so i'm happy with what i've done to date. I actually enjoy working on my cars and becoming familiar with their engines first hand so yes, this may have not been the most efficient way to diagnose the issue however i'm not paying myself by the hour and i now know a hell of a lot more about the engine than i did beforehand. As always, i take any internet advice with a grain of salt however i appreciate any input given from you lot.

Thanks, will inspect

Any idea where i find said valve?

Yeah im just gonna go ahead and fix my head then look into the oil thing

Its been a long time since I did anything with fluid dynamics. What oil would you recommend?

I understand the difference between pressure and flow but for the purposes I was describing they are relative and only the pressure can be easily measured. I may well be misguided but my thoughts are that under the same flow rates, a lower viscosity oil would be more inclined to take the path of least resistance away from an area under a focused load such as the bottom of a front cam journal, thus providing less of a barrier than a thicker oil? Is there a specific method for changing oil in a S50B32? Couldn't have gotten an air lock somewhere? I guess if the pump goes through the filter and fills the oiler cooler system first before getting to the head then that could be a possible reason as to why?

Cam carriers out and cleaned up. Looks like the no1 intake cam journal was starting to score also. Would indicate that the oil pressure wasn't reaching the front of the carrier passages. Whether that could possibly be due to being too thin or just not enough pressure i'm unsure.

Right about what? Its lack of oil whether that be a blockage or what im not sure but i've blown the oil passage clear now anyway. Usually i pull the plugs and run the oil pressure up off the starter for a motor i care about that ive changed oil on but its a bit of a mission on the s50. I'm not convinced it needs line boring to be honest but i'm pricing it all up. Untill i locate suitable replacement parts thats the route i'll be taking.

Decided what I'll do is remove cam tray and see if I can get the journal machined oversize then get the cam metalsprayed and ground to suit.

As above.

Well I'm pretty confident I've located the mystery noise. Noticed before that the no.1 cam journal on the exhaust cam is badly nipped up. Not exactly what i wanted to see..if anyone has a b32 cam tray or exhaust cam please get in touch

Yeah i found it and all back together. Yes ill be needing the bridge and crank locking pin thanks. Nothing obvious with regard to the mystery noise, chain guides look good and everything is extremely clean.

Well, im regretting doing the rattle kit proceedure as it was quite time consuming and now i have the exhaust cam out. The bearings seemed ok anyway.. I struck a big issue with the nut on the end of the intake piston rounding despite using all the correct tools. Had to file it off which has scored the top of the piston a little however this isnt a wear surface. Inspected the vanos oil pump and managed to fire a spring off into some part of my 110m2 workshop so todays job will be attempting to find that.. All in all, i would recommend not doing the rattle kit unless you observe excess play once you've removed the vanos unit.

Thanks. I'll see how i get on.

Thanks for the offer, do you mean the cam locking bridge? I was just going to make one if i could confirm the locking pins are just 90° perpendicular to the bridge.

The way I see it, i'm delving into what appears to logically be the problem area while completing some preventative maintenance along the way. I've shown the car to 2 mechanics for their opinions on the noise and spent hours reading threads detailing various s50b32 issues. I've then posted this thread seeking additional advice. With all due respect i've worked on plenty of engines before and i'm hardly "blindly pulling things apart"

Yeah i felt a synthetic 10w40 was a safe option. Found and cleaned the vanos filter this arvo thanks for the heads up. Was fairly clean as is the rest of the engine. Will go ahead and rebuild the vanos for piece of mind and try get a look at the timing chain guide while i have it out. If the problem goes deeper than that it can be parked up for a while.

I wasn't aware there was a vanos filter. I read 10/60 but that seems hell of a thick for something with the complexity of vanos. Got seals coming from beisan systems so will give the vanos a birthday and check the tensioners etc.

Previously it had a dead spot/ stutter/miss around 2-3k rpm as well

Ok so I changed the oil/filter in my M3 last week. Decided to go with Valvoline VR1 Synthetic in 10W40. As of a couple days ago I now have a slow grinding noise somewhere in the front of my motor. Its not a particularly rhythmic noise, just grinds away at what seems to be a slower pace than the RPM. Very obvious when I turn the car off. Took valve cover off yesterday and its dead clean and very fresh inside. Timing chain seems tight? Car has 100 miles on it Any ideas? Vanos? Chain tensioner? Or worse?

Washed and piner plates fitted.

Bought my E36 Evo vert and drove it home from Christchurch. Absolutely no regrets its amazing to drive.

To suit convertible, I'm assuming same as coupe ones. Genuine only . Thanks.

Well this thread is now irrelevant, I'm gonna buy the thing