Vass 830 Report post Posted September 12, 2022 Asked around for some more opinions and advice regarding the state of the head. Responses ranged from "completely unacceptable" to "not ideal/would have expected better but shouldn't cause sealing issues". Had a couple machinist - engine builder mates have a look too. Said the gaskets tend to seal better if the surface is a bit roughened up but this seemed way too coarse. Ended up taking it back to the shop on Friday. Said they'd clean it up, and that this is how they send all of their work out. Apparently I'm the first to complain. Nice one. Got it back today. Seems a wee bit better I guess. Still looks all sorts of mangled but at least nothing catches on the nail anymore. Impossible to get it back to what it was of course. Didn't want to take any more material off so this will have to do. Will have to trust them that this is good enough... Did a quick check with a flat edge and looks nice and straight at least. Did take a shop vac to it which blew out quite a few bits of metal shavings so didn't even do a particularly good job of cleaning it out. Will do another thorough clean prior to reassembly. Unfortunate wee episode but... onwards and upwards. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted September 22, 2022 Haven't managed to make much progress in the meantime but gearing up for a wrenchfest over the long weekend, I finally unwrapped the block and chucked it up on the stand. First time I had a proper look at it since getting it back from the shop a good two months ago now and... boy oh boy. What the actual f**k man. Just lost for words at this point. Especially pissed at the chipped and mangled edges where the block meets the timing cover and oil pan, which is prone to leaking even when perfectly straight. Will have to carefully file away and straighten those out. Pure and utter negligence. Not even touching upon the "cleaning job" they did. Loose dirt all over the outside still, thread locker in the threads and metal shavings throughout. Didn't expect it to come out clean enough to eat off of but f**k me... Would expect better from a backyard cashie job, let alone a supposedly reputable shop recommended by several local indie mechanics. If you're looking for a machine shop down in Christchurch, you'd do well to steer well clear of Car Aid. What an utter shitshow. On a lighter note, stopped by Seal Inniovations today who helped pick out a nice new viton O-ring for the cylinder head oil non-return valve (size 015 - 14mm ID x 1.78mm c/s if anyone's wondering). Beats paying US$80 for a whole new valve. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted September 22, 2022 Certainly looks like it hasn't been handled with care. Reckon you drew the short straw and received sub part service for whatever reason. Lots of nepotism in trade industries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted September 22, 2022 Yeah, just utterly disappointed. Did my best to try and avoid this by asking around and going with a reputable shop but there you go... Luckily doesn't look to be too catastrophic but absolutely appalled by the lack of care. An engine builder mate of mine is gonna swing by over the weekend and have a look, will hopefully help me tidy up the rough edges. Was gonna start throwing everything together today, drop the crank in, check bearing clearances etc but will hold off now. Will see how we go. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted September 23, 2022 Got some shiny parts to cheer me up a bit. Took the oil pump and vanos housing apart yesterday and dropped it off to another shop for cleaning. Went with KC Engine Reconditioners as I didn't want to go back to the other mob. Quick and easy, overnight turnaround. Will give them a go if I ever need other work done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz 1060 Report post Posted September 23, 2022 That's a real shame. I've used Caraid for almost 10years both professionally and personally and never had any issue. Hopefully it still comes out alright Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted October 16, 2022 On 9/23/2022 at 6:01 PM, Gaz said: That's a real shame. I've used Caraid for almost 10years both professionally and personally and never had any issue. Hopefully it still comes out alright Yeah, not sure what's going on there. My mate that used to be in the trade also mentioned he'd heard a few negative grumbles about them of late. I know Paul's been going through some health troubles of late so that might have played a part. In my case, I suspect they heavily prioritise corporate fleets and small stuff like mine gets thrown to apprentices to have a bash at, and bash they do. It is what it is. Over it. Manged to get in a good few shifts in the garage after having been away a few weekends in a row. Got the oil pump put back together, fully cleaned, lubed up and with a new O-ring on the pressure regulator. Bit of a mission getting it back in. Had to enlist the missus' help, me forcing the spring together while she slotted in the circlip. Definitely helps having an extra set of hands. Sprocket will go on with a slotted nut and safety wire eventually. Got the VANOS unit assembled with new Beisan seals and rattle kit, a clean and new O-rings for the solenoids. Pretty straightforward job, just a long time spent cleaning everything up. Next got onto the block. Tidied up the high spots from the chipped edges with a little nail file, went over the oil pan surface with a 400-grit white sandpaper in a couple of rough places, and brake cleaner with a plastic scraper and a rag throughout. Went over all the passages I could get to with nylon brushes, cleaned up the rusty coolant drain opening with a wire brush bit with the vacuum going at the same time, then thoroughly blew everything through with compressed air. All the journals on the crankshaft also got the nylon brush and compressed air treatment. Was hoping to get as far as checking the main bearing clearances today but wasn't to be. Installed the cleaned up oil sprayers with blue thread sealer on the bolts. The new main bearings started going on but ran into trouble with the thrust bearings. The fitment is very, very tight, if not too tight and I didn't want to resort to excessive force before making sure. The bearings I got are part number 11211706847 from Glyco, which is seemingly the OE set. Comparing them side by side with the originals, the design is very different though. The Glyco ones are one piece whereas the originals are a 3-piece design with the side walls/skirts having a bit of wiggle room. They're still very tight going on but nowhere near as tight as the new ones. I'm starting to think I got a wrong/faulty set. Doesn't come across as well on the pictures but the far edges of the side walls look like they're bent inwards, and even still, it almost looks like the caps and the seat in the block might actually be wider than the inner width of the bearings. Just wondering if this is normal? I know they're meant to be as tight as possible but it just looks like there's no way of forcing them on there without risking damage. The machine shop actually suggested way back when that the main bearings were good enough to reuse but I figured I might as well get new ones as they weren't terribly expensive. Could just reuse the thrust bearings and use the new ones on the rest of them if I can't get these to fit? Granted the clearances working out of course. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted October 17, 2022 False alarm on the thrust bearing front - I am an idiot. Took a fresh look last night after work and it quickly became evident what I'd been doing wrong. When I got onto the job Sunday night, for whatever reason I had been adamant that the thrust bearing went on cap #7 so was trying to force it onto where it was never going to fit... My brain must have checked out for the day. Of course it's cap #6, even has the grooves for the edges to slide into. Switched them round and all went on fine. Embarrassing. Boxing on. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted October 20, 2022 Main bearing clearances checked. Looking very borderline. Spec is 0.020-0.058mm, mine are hovering at 0.050-0.064mm with a few clearly veering more towards 0.064mm. The crankshaft did get a polish so not overly surprised. Roll with it or panic stations? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted November 17, 2022 Had an ex-engine builder mate come round one evening with his set of micrometres to check over the bearing clearances. All seem to be sitting towards the upper end of the spec. Not ideal but she's also not a drag racer so happy enough. Main bearing clearances sat around 0.050-0.055mm - spec is 0.020-0.058mm. Con rods were around the same. Also rechecked them with plastigauge later on and all sat bang on 0.050mm. These are the piston rings I ended up using, as recommended previously, complete with M52TU-style bottom rings. Checked the ring end gaps with a feeler gauge and to my great relief no grinding was required. Spec is 0.20-0.40mm, both top rings were bang on 0.40mm in all 6 sets out of the box. The oil control rings were between 0.60-0.75mm but they're also a 3-piece instead of the stock 2-piece so probably fall under some other spec. Gave the block a last clean and blast through wish some compressed air, wiped down the bores and got to installing the crank. Bearings went in with a little coating of assembly lube. Sacrificed a brand new detailing brush to oil duties and painted a bit of oil on all the journals as well. Main caps went on and torqued to spec - 20Nm + 70 degrees. Made sure to remember to put the brace plates on the first time around after watching 50skid step on that rake. Piston rings got clocked to different sides and not to match oil openings, brushed on some oil onto the bores, piston & ring compressor and gently tapped the pistons in place. Caps torqued to the same spec as the main caps, with brand new oiled up bolts. All turns over beautifully without much effort. Happy to have gotten to this point. Called it a day at nearly 11pm on Wednesday with a great sense of accomplishment. Best sleep I had all week. Another weekend of wrenching ahead, hoping to get her up and running before Christmas ✌ 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted November 18, 2022 Continued assembling the block but stumbled onto an issue with the chain sprocket. Noticed that the rubber/plastic parts on it are visibly cracked and chipped away. I assume they serve as additional vibration dampeners so don't feel comfortable reusing it in this state. Have put an order in on a new one that will hopefully arrive beginning of next week. Will get onto other tasks in the meantime. Picked up this cheapish ultrasonic cleaner from Jaycar on sale that I've been using for cleaning up all sorts of bolts and smaller parts. Works a treat. Not industrial grade by any means but does the job. Using it with warm water and Simple Green concentrate for 5-8 minutes at a time. Eats away all of the lighter stuff and the rest of the varnish comes off easily with a little scrub. Time consuming process but well satisfying. Will put the lifters through the same treatment and get onto cleaning up the intake manifold whilst waiting on the crank sprocket. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted November 28, 2022 Hit a big milestone over the weekend which I'm super excited about. Picking up where I left off, hung the engine up from the stand to install the rear main seal. All the bolts nice and clean and put a dab of high-temp thread sealer on the two big bolts to prevent those pesky leaks. The two small plugs on the front and rear also went in with the thread sealer. Also bashed in the new pilot bearing in anticipation. The shiny new sprocket arrived so I could box on with installing the chains and front cover. Bought a brand new set of iwis Racing chains. Not exactly sure what the difference is with the regular ones but at only a couple of dollars' difference, figured I might as well. The oil pump chain does seem to have a bit less slack to it but might be wishful thinking. Got a slotted oil pump nut from ECS Tuning that went on with a bit of blue thread sealer for good measure. For whatever reason, the safety wire included with the kit was stupidly short, so short that I really struggled tying it down properly and ended up making a total mess of it. You pay something like US$18 for a bloody nut and they cheap out on you with a couple of cents worth of wire... Had to go out to get a whole new roll of SS wire and had another go. Came out much better the second time around, and now have a spare 12.8m of wire left to no doubt satisfy a lifetime's worth of safety wire needs... 1st attempt Take two Front timing cover went on, as well as the crank pulley that I ended up just rattling on with an impact wrench. Quite a crude and probably not the ideal approach but really don't have access to or any leads on a torque wrench that would handle the required 410Nm. The impact wrench approach seems to have worked for quite a few people before so good enough for me. The crank pulley looked in good nick with no visual imperfections on the rubber ring on the back so was happy enough to reuse it after a good clean, with a brand new crank bolt of course. Gave the oil pan a final clean too and that went on next, with a brand new oil level sensor and a magnetic oil plug I'd inherited. Then onto the big one - the cylinder head install. This was the part I was the most nervous about so had to ask a mate around for some emotional support. First off, checked the sealing of the valves. Threaded in some old spark plugs and poured in some petrol, then blew compressed air into the intake and exhaust sides. No drop in the level and no bubbling from the compressed air so looked all good. Installed a pair of brand new dowel pins to the top of the block as I'd managed to mangle up the old two when removing them. Then the new standard size head gasket and cylinder head after a final clean. Having read through one too many an account of the threads stripping out and recommendations to preventatively timesert the block and whatnot, I was dreading this part of the whole project the most. Turns out I needn't have worried. Applied a light coating of oil to the new bolts so that they were covered but not dripping, then torqued down to 20Nm, 40Nm and two doses of 90 degrees, all in the correct sequence. All went much smoother than I would have imagined. The resistance on the bolts felt very consistent throughout and no funny creaking or squeaking at all. Don't mean to jinx it but looks a straight line to the finish from here on. Was a massive relief getting over this hurdle successfully, now just a matter of cleaning up the last bits and bolting everything together. Was so excited that was tempted to chuck an all-nighter and not show up to work on Monday but after a few celebratory drinks, exhaustion got the best of me. Will box on in the coming days. Still harboring hopes of getting the car up and running before the end of 2022 but will see how we go. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 7, 2022 Had last Friday off and got a good 3 days of 12-13 hour shifts in over the weekend. Disassembled all the lifters and spent a good half a day cleaning them out. Some of them didn't look in too good a shape. Contemplated using the lifters and trays from the 325 but unfortunately managed to mix them up when removing the head. Apparently they wear to the individual cylinder they sit in and it's not good practice putting them back in randomly. The 330 ones I managed to keep in the correct order so stuck with those, although they did look worse for wear. 330i with 161,XXXkm on the left vs 325i 226,XXXkm on the right. This is probably the worst one of the lot but clearly see the difference regular oil changes make. Will do for now but new lifters is on the list of potential future maintenance items. My Aliexpress timing kit worked well and setting the timing was generally quite a straightforward affair. Only gripe I had with it was with the timing chain sprocket alignment tool. It doesn't space the sprockets far enough apart to lose all the slack from the chain so leaves too much room for confusion. Luckily I had a second set of sprockets from the 325i that I zip-tied together when removing and used that as a template. Here's how a correctly aligned set sits on the tool. I cleaned and reused the timing chain tensioner but replaced the spring. A couple of mm difference in height between the old and new. VANOS installed. Turned the engine over a few times, all rotates smoothly enough and stays in the right alignment. Then spent a silly number of hours cleaning out the valve cover. The waffle pattern is an absolute pain to clean and next to impossible to get perfect. Managed to get all the chunkier crud out and it took at least a good 10 flushes for the water to stop coming out all brown. Valve cover installed followed by new spark plugs and coils, cam, crank, knock and temp sensors, oil filter housing and whatever else I had access to. Pretty much at the point where I'm happy to mate it up with the gearbox and drop it in the car. Will need to tidy up the wiring loom and possibly hook it up prior. Will leave the intake manifold install for when the engine is in the car to avoid it getting in the way of the lift hooks. The intake manifold got fully disassembled and properly cleaned inside and out with a variety of brushes. New O-rings on the tested and cleaned injectors and air distributor rail, new temp sensor, CCV and hoses and vacuum caps. Thoroughly cleaned out the throttle body and ICV, lubed up the latter as per the guidance from this thread. Ready to throw onto the engine with just the rebuilt DISA to install after the intake boots are fitted. Getting there. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cement 871 Report post Posted December 8, 2022 Some good engine pr0n in here ... not sure why your crank is blue but i'll just assume its a BMW thing 🤣 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 May well be the tidiest M54 in the country now. Are you planning the drive it once you get the engine\gearbox in? or are you still doing the rear end\suspension Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 18 hours ago, Cement said: Some good engine pr0n in here ... not sure why your crank is blue but i'll just assume its a BMW thing 🤣 It's a dark blueish-grey of sorts. Maybe it's turned blue from not getting any for a while... 1 minute ago, Eagle said: May well be the tidiest M54 in the country now. Are you planning the drive it once you get the engine\gearbox in? or are you still doing the rear end\suspension Not for long I'm sure Yeah plan is to get it up and running, with any luck maybe before the end of the year. Want to break the engine in properly and get a WoF before messing up the alignment. Afterwards I'll pull the subframe, weld in chassis reinforcements, redo the bushes, new suspension, refurb brakes, alignment and go for cert. The issue I'm grappling with at the moment is the power steering situation. The donor car came with an LF-30 pump that I've just pulled apart, cleaned up and redid all the seals. Got a quote from BMW a couple of weeks ago on a new pressure line for it and was told it's available on order from Auckland. Gave them a call just half an hour ago and was told there's none in the country so would need to be ordered in from Malaysia and unlikely to get it until January at the earliest. Looked over the current LF-20 hoses and they're actually in decent enough nick, problem is the LF-20 pump itself is rattly and I suspect is on its way out. Might go for a scavenge to Pick-A-Part this weekend. Hope to either find a pressure hose for an LF-30 or a decent enough LF-20. Only 3 6-cylinder E46's in Christchurch so slim pickings but will see how I go. https://www.dropbox.com/s/2k0pv38291m0d6p/2022-12-07 19.50.54.mp4?dl=0 Another annoyance is the new engine backing plate that goes between the block and the gearbox, wanted was after a manual version one without the opening for the torque converter bolts. FCP has it on backorder so ordered it through the dealership 3 weeks ago, was told it'd be 2-3 weeks. Instead was told today it's not due before February... Looks like I'll have to stick with the automatic one with the rubber plug. Not a big deal but wanted to get it perfect. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 Did the you hear the LF20 running on the car?. I dont know what the spec is for end play is on that pump but id expect around a couple of mm. Yeah the usual problem with most manual conversions, they rarely have all the bits to make it perfect. Luckily mine was already a manual as i got basically nothing with mine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gaz 1060 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 How can you tell the difference in pumps? I've got this sitting around, brand new if it's any use Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 40 minutes ago, Eagle said: Did the you hear the LF20 running on the car?. I dont know what the spec is for end play is on that pump but id expect around a couple of mm. Didn't listen to it specifically but the car made no noticeable noises in general. I did compare it side by side with the 325ci I had at the time and that had no such play. Although just checked RealOEM and the coupe had an LF-30 so not a direct comparison. Will pop by Pick-A-Part tomorrow to have a gander. Looks like I'll only find LF-20's from what's there currently. 31 minutes ago, Gaz said: How can you tell the difference in pumps? I've got this sitting around, brand new if it's any use Got both in front of me right now and that looks like neither. Doesn't look like an E46 pump that. Thanks though, appreciate the offer. LF-20 on the left, LF-30 on the right. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 2 hours ago, Gaz said: How can you tell the difference in pumps? I've got this sitting around, brand new if it's any use Comes up as a E36 M50\M52 pump 1 hour ago, Vass said: Didn't listen to it specifically but the car made no noticeable noises in general. I did compare it side by side with the 325ci I had at the time and that had no such play. Although just checked RealOEM and the coupe had an LF-30 so not a direct comparison. Will pop by Pick-A-Part tomorrow to have a gander. Looks like I'll only find LF-20's from what's there currently. Yeah should be easy enough to find one. I dont what the prices on them are but id assume a LF20 would be a ~$50 part. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vass 830 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 34 minutes ago, Eagle said: Yeah should be easy enough to find one. I dont what the prices on them are but id assume a LF20 would be a ~$50 part. Bit more than that but meh. Either that or ~$1000 for a new one. Add $10 for new O-rings and should be good as new. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted December 9, 2022 Pick-a-part prices ok but sometimes rubbish for certain vehicles. Seats and trims come to mind https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/steering/listing/3899346639 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
