Spinner99

I've recently done the valve stem seals on my E61 and must have looked at this thread at least ten times over the last year or so while deciding whether to send it somewhere or do it myself. There was a lot of umming and ahhing over the outlay of tools vs the cost for a garage to do the work. In the end I went DIY so I thought I'd just put it out there for anyone else that's thinking about it, I got the job done for somewhere around the $1700 mark plus a week of my time, which is a big discount assuming you have the time to spare of course. Parts were around $650, shipping and exchange rate dependent of course. I got my parts for this project from FCP. On top of the valve stem seals that also included all the gaskets & o-rings etc for the valve covers, upper timing covers, spark plug tubes (I used Febi as they were much cheaper but I think I'd use BMW original next time), and spark plugs because it's so much easier to do them with the spark plug tubes out that I think every time you have the valve cover off you should change them. Tools ~$1k I had a tool up a little. Its a bit of an outlay but relative to the spend to get someone else to do it I thought it was worth it. I already had an air compressor and decided to go the air method (vs rope method). I ended up getting A N62 valve spring compression tool kit from Aus (not the AGA one) A really long (650mm I think) 1/2" drive ratchet to turn the engine over with - long enough it poked out the top of the engine bay. A cheap leak down tester to hold the air pressure in the cylinders. And I splashed out on some AGA Valve Stem Seal plyers It's worth noting that Tony's AGA Tool Rental Service delivers worldwide now, but I don't know what the cost would be for rental + return shipping but may be worth a look into too. In terms of difficulty, I agree with other peoples opinions I've seen that if you can do the valve covers you can do the valve stem seals. And I guess the final test is - would I do it again if I had to? Yes I would, especially now I have the tools.

Thanks @wrs I like the thinking. If I disconnected the cable from the navigation system and used a multi meter on the Ohms setting would that be enough to get me the answer? The cable is attached to a circuit board at the other end so I'm wondering if that may need to be considered too?

Thanks @M3AN Yeah that's what I've done for now I've wrapped it in some foam to stop it making a noise and tucked it in the roof liner in a gap where the sun shades have a mould. I'm not sure that's a permanent solution but it'll do for now

A couple of tips from me from when I replaced mine 1. Don't be tempted by the starter motor from Partmaster. The signal cable connection isn't the correct size to hold it on (the retaining ridge is too far back). Other than that it's working fine I wish I had just got the Bosch one though. 2. Most e-torx bolts can be fitted with a multi sided metric tool (not the 6 sided ones, whatever the more than six sided ones are). An 11mm ring spanner fits nicely onto that top e-torx bolt. You're right you can't get a torque wrench on there but you can double up the ring spanner to get a good bit of leverage onto it.

An update from me - I spent some quality time with the car this week, the score is currently E87 5, Jon 2. The box is an aerial for the VICS system, I found a part number on the cable going to the box which is 65 90 6 925 653 and the label also said "VICS-ANTENNE JAPAN". According to Wikipedia it's a Japan specific system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Information_and_Communication_System , and I'm guessing based on the description it might be responsible for the random "accident area ahead" type announcements I hear infrequently when driving around. There is no disconnect that I could see (I followed the cable down the passengers side A pillar and then lost it under the dash), but I did find the other end of the cable connected to the Navigation system in the boot. Disconnecting the cable at that end raises a fault code in ISTA A3E8 "JNAV: GPS aerial is not connected". The money light isn't on. Next steps for me is to figure out if it's possible to code it out. Otherwise it'll be staying where it is. My motivation for removing the box is when the windscreen was replaced it looks $(#$(# now the way it's been reattached. So if I can't remove it then I'll see if I can do a better job of re fixing the box to the windscreen.

Hi If you just need help to jack up the car & get the wheel off I can bowl around and help you with that. I have a trolley jack, some ramps if needed to raise the car a little to get the jack under, and some axle stands. But I haven't worked on F series before so I don't think I'll be any help with the actual horn removal part.

Hi Does anyone know what this black box thing on the left of the mirror is? It's stuck to the windscreen like its some type of sensor but I can't figure out what it's a sensor for. Both my cars are Japanese imports with the ETC mirrors and I'm wondering if it's maybe something to do with that and I can remove them? Thanks

Hi @IainR Sorry I'm a bit slow on the uptake on this one, that might have been me? The covid tracer app has made itself useful I was at Mitre 10 about 2:15pm on the 28th. I think I was parked against the wall near the entrance? My 130 has what look like style 261's but they aren't BMW rims. They were on it when I purchased it and don't really have any identifying marks so I'm not sure exactly what brand or model they are TBH.

Hi - Does your car have a sun roof?