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Some may remember the ticking coming from my engine (on my 1991 318is): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfOT8Ru7gLs which then revealed itself to be a broken guide rail:  which lead me to do a leak down test (this is recent): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrj0qAATNlc (I put a small amount of oil to see where the leaks were coming from) which lead me to disassemble my engine a couple days ago:  which brings me to this point:  valves piston I now sort of don’t know what to do. It seems clear that the intake valves leak quite a bit. Is this something that can be cured with a valve grinding possibly? If I do perform a valve grinding, do I have to “rebuild” the head, as in replace guides/seals etc? Does this head look like it’s economically beyond rebuilding? (link to leaky intake valve video again) Does it look as if the pistons significantly made contact with the valves? (It doesn’t seem so to me, also the side that *looks* like it made contact, is actually the exhaust side, which doesn't seem to be leaking, if that's a clue.) If it helps, on visual inspection, none of the valves appear to be bent or affected at all. It just seems like a lot of grit? or uneven surface around the entirety of the valve/valve seat. Does this seem like too much for a simple valve grind? I need advice bad. Anything anyone can offer would be very nice. What should I do from here as far as the head is concerned? All help is much appreciated. I need to get this drat thing back on the road.
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May 14, 2011 17:44
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Pimpsolo posted:Adorably Ah, I remember when I was like this... I've personally never seen anything like those intake valves bubbling with oil like that, but I don't think it'd be terribly difficult to get them reground. You have to remove the valves for this, so new retainers are a must. A "While you're in there" is going to be the hydraulic lifters. Springs, eh, not so much. The cam journals should also be inspected for damage. Your best bet is probably going to be to send the head off to a machine shop that deals with these kinds of things on a regular basis. Ask around your local car club forums, or even around here, for anyone likely to take on that kind of work.
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May 14, 2011 18:40
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words about BMWs
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Pimpsolo posted:I need advice bad. 24 valve swap. do it.
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May 14, 2011 19:25
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BraveUlysses posted:24 valve swap. do it. Oh come now, he's already got the head off, let him put it back together before he starts pulling motors.
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May 14, 2011 19:29
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Beach Bum posted:Ah, I remember when I was like this... Oh God. Really on the lifters though? My Excel sheet looks like this now: Price Descripion Part # $66.50 Timing chain 11311247160 $6.15 Upper timing cover gasket set 11141721919 $10.24 Lower timing cover gasket set 11141721802 $4.76 Front profile gasket 11141247837 $48.84 Crankshaft sprocket 11211247338 $77.96 Tensioner guide rail 11311727342 $77.20 Camshaft sprockets (x2) 11311721887 $14.58 Front crankshaft oil seal 11141439570 $3.25 Thermostat housing gasket 11531721172 $43.52 Guide rail 11311247470 $40.00 Head Gasket 11121721546 $55.25 Water Pump 11510393338 $13.75 Cylinder Head Bolt Set 11121721939 =$462 (I already have gaskets not listed) If I add $17.25 for all valve lifters 11321734341, I'd be well over $700, which doesn't include any resurfacing or parts cleaning, or unforeseen stuff, or stuff I forgot to list. It literally would be much cheaper (and easier?) for me to buy an e36 parts car, and swap engine/tranny. How about just retainers, and grind valves, and resurface? If not, I'm going to start looking at m50\52s or just selling the car as is.
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May 14, 2011 20:18
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Geez does that sound like poo poo. What compression and leakdown numbers were you actually getting?
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May 14, 2011 23:01
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Pimpsolo posted:How about just retainers, and grind valves, and resurface? If not, I'm going to start looking at m50\52s or just selling the car as is. Honestly at that price you're creeping into cheap junkyard M50+tranny territory and thats a sexy swap you wont regret.
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May 15, 2011 00:37
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Ok so me and my e46 328i 5sp with 170k had a nice day today. I changed the plugs, seafoamed and changed the oil. Seems a little smoother, that's nice, however there's a noise that started about a week ago that's been kinda bothering me. It was very noticeable while seafoaming because it was revving while sitting still. RIGHT as I get on the throttle, anything but the very lowest pressure on it, before it revs, there's this weird different pitched noise. The tone is best matched to a goose honking. It only lasts .5 to 1 seconds at most, but its almost every time I get on the throttle. If I'm past 2k RPM I can't really hear it, or it's not making noise. I wish I could be more descriptive. I'm guessing its something with intake, but I don't really know.
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May 15, 2011 01:10
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 $100 M50 with around 78k miles. The previous owner was some awesome old BMW guy who pulled it for an S52 swap into his E34 and just wanted to get rid of it. It's worth more than that in scrap alone. Anyone have experience with Megasquirt on an M50?
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May 15, 2011 01:58
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Deceptor101 posted:Ok so me and my e46 328i 5sp with 170k had a nice day today. I changed the plugs, seafoamed and changed the oil. Seems a little smoother, that's nice, however there's a noise that started about a week ago that's been kinda bothering me. It was very noticeable while seafoaming because it was revving while sitting still. RIGHT as I get on the throttle, anything but the very lowest pressure on it, before it revs, there's this weird different pitched noise. The tone is best matched to a goose honking. It only lasts .5 to 1 seconds at most, but its almost every time I get on the throttle. If I'm past 2k RPM I can't really hear it, or it's not making noise. I wish I could be more descriptive. I'm guessing its something with intake, but I don't really know. Maybe a whining power steering pump or bad pulley bearing? Try pulling the belts off (for short periods of time while cold of course since the water pump won't be spinning) and see if it goes away. My car has like 210k on the power steering pump and idlers so it sounds like old rollerskates and poo poo under my hood but the engine itself is in awesome shape. I don't give a poo poo enough to fix it. It's kind of sleeper. Lowclock fucked around with this message at 06:29 on May 15, 2011 |
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May 15, 2011 06:26
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Pimpsolo posted:Heh. I've always been the guy who never puts wear parts back in if I'm going to be taking something like that apart. I think you'd be fine with retainers/valve grind/ head decking.
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May 15, 2011 09:24
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I finally got around to installing the P/S hoses and doing the full steering flush. I think next time I order things online, I'm just going to order 2x of every $0.13 washer I see on RealOEM. I was missing a washer for the open bolt hose, and I go over to the local dealership who charged me list price for it. The washer was $2.74! I should have just bought a bag of washers from RMEuropean instead (or just wait a week instead for the parts to come in..*sigh*) Lesson learned. When I was doing the flush, I asked my wife to get behind the wheel to help me out. She started the car, turned the wheels slowly as planned -- as I finished pouring the third quart of ATF, I told her to "stop the car." She proceeded to shrug her shoulders while I kept screaming at her to stop the engine and she kept wondering why I told her to stop when the car wasn't moving  What I saw in my garage could not be unseen. ATF started spewing out all over the place (my pan was full) and I was on the final quart of ATF, scared that the pump was going to run dry. I then yelled at the top of my lungs "STOP THE CAR" and she finally "got it" and turned the engine off. Sorry for not taking pictures, but it was a terrible moment and I needed to get the floor cleaned ASAP. Had anyone come to my house it would have looked like a bloodbath, literally, since the ATF was red. I'm just going to call a buddy of mine next time.
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May 16, 2011 19:49
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Ugh and ATF is like the most resilient oil ever next to gear oil. I still have a little slick spot on my garage floor despite many clean ups.
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May 17, 2011 01:41
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It also smells like horrible death. I spilled dexron IV on some of my wrenches and the back room stunk for a week, even after cleaning.
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May 17, 2011 01:45
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I'm going to try go and view all of the following cars tomorrow: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2071446 http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2103724 http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/320-CI-S/201102200825194/advert?channel=CARS I'm most optimistic about the third one because I'm sure that if I bring cash I can pick it up for about €4000 providing that it's mechanically sound. The second one has the m-tech sports suspension and a bunch of the m-tech extras but has about 10k miles more, and the first one is about 2 years older. I'm really stuck for a decision here so far.
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May 17, 2011 02:00
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I'm new to the E46 family but not used cars in general. This is all based on first glance so take this with a grain of salt. I would probably not consider the first one -- it has poorly lit HIDs and if you look closely at the rear bumper it's not lined up correctly, so it's either aftermarket or got into some fender bender of some sort..based on just the HIDs alone I would assume the driver is young, and young drivers drive these cars hard. The third one looks pretty clean (but what used dealer wouldn't clean up their cars) so if it drive fine and the price is right, I'd consider that one. I know the EUR is strong now, but I'm still very jealous of those car prices.
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May 17, 2011 03:29
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Odd problem, just wanted to get some input before buying a battery. Lately my E34 has had a hell of a time starting. Its the classic sloooow cranking barely start situation you'd see with a dying battery. The weird part is that if I keep trying its like the battery comes back to life and lets me start the car. Like for example tonight when I went to start it at first I got barely anything at all and all the dash lights dimmed right out. While holding the key it slowly started cranking faster and faster and finally started. I'm about 99% certain this is a bad battery but I'm also considering that something is badly wrong with the starter. Has anyone seen anything like this before? The battery in this car is massive and I'm wondering if thats the reason its able to muster up enough energy to start each time.
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May 17, 2011 03:37
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I wonder if it's just starting to crank a little faster and faster because it's building up oil pressure maybe? Hit it with a multimeter while you're cranking it and see what the voltage drops to, and if it's increasing or deacreasing or whatever when it starts to go faster.
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May 17, 2011 06:50
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8ender posted:Odd problem, just wanted to get some input before buying a battery. Lately my E34 has had a hell of a time starting. Its the classic sloooow cranking barely start situation you'd see with a dying battery. You can check the voltage on the battery, but I think it's the starter. On a friend of mine's Golf, the starter would sort of "dip" short after he started cranking, literally stop completely for a second, then spring back to life and continue cranking, starting the car a second or two after. My theory is that the starter is so worn that it takes massive amounts of power to turn. I don't see how it could have anything to do with oil pressure, unless the oil sump was filled with tar, and then the engine would probably be running like hell.
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May 17, 2011 12:53
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On my way to work today, while driving, the battery light came on in my 1999 M3. It went out after about 60 seconds. A little bit before this, I got a high beams flash from behind for an unknown reason (maybe my taillights were flickering?). The battery itself is less than a year old, and it is a good Interstate model. Could this be a problem with the alternator? I do have aftermarket audio equipment hooked up to the battery, but I did the install myself quite professionally, and I don't think I did anything wrong...
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May 17, 2011 14:20
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Pilsner posted:You can check the voltage on the battery, but I think it's the starter. On a friend of mine's Golf, the starter would sort of "dip" short after he started cranking, literally stop completely for a second, then spring back to life and continue cranking, starting the car a second or two after. My theory is that the starter is so worn that it takes massive amounts of power to turn. This is sort of where I was going. Massive power consumption from the starter. I guess the easiest way to test this is to grab the fresh battery out of my Maxima and try to start the car cold to see if its the same story. On another note, got my replacement gauge board from Euro Electric. The first one worked great except for the OBC display. They were really great about sending out a replacement ASAP. Recommended if your E32/E34 gauges take a dive like mine did.
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May 17, 2011 14:49
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Pissingintowind posted:On my way to work today, while driving, the battery light came on in my 1999 M3. It went out after about 60 seconds. A little bit before this, I got a high beams flash from behind for an unknown reason (maybe my taillights were flickering?). Couple things to check here: 1) the battery to chassis ground in the trunk -- I had one come loose, I fixed it but it had already nuked the voltage regulator in the alternator. 2) alternator voltage output -- just get your hand nice and deep in there and get a probe
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May 17, 2011 19:16
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What emission control systems should I delete for an e30 track car?
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May 17, 2011 20:44
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Oh god. I talked to one of the previous owners of my 2002 today and it turns out he has Eibach sport springs and 15" Rota RBs sitting around that he purchased for the car when he owned it but never installed them. He's willing to sell them to me at a discount. Those plus some Bilstein shocks and anti-sway bars is seriously tempting. Like this: 
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May 18, 2011 06:02
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RapeWhistle posted:What emission control systems should I delete for an e30 track car? PCV needs to go to a catch can, and I think that's about it. Catastrophe posted:Oh god. I talked to one of the previous owners of my 2002 today and it turns out he has Eibach sport springs and 15" Rota RBs sitting around that he purchased for the car when he owned it but never installed them. He's willing to sell them to me at a discount. Those plus some Bilstein shocks and anti-sway bars is seriously tempting. You know the right answer to this question.  Take lots of pictures!
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May 18, 2011 12:39
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Ooof, I drove a new E92 328i 6MT yesterday, and man was it nice. It exceeded my expectations of driving feel, steering response, and just general tightness and precision. In particular, it's one of the few newer cars I've driven that didn't have too much steering slop or far too much steering boost. I really hope the good condition '04 E46 330 that I'm going to look at in the next day or two can live up to that benchmark, because 15k is a lot more palatable than 40k.
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May 18, 2011 17:23
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Does anyone in this thread own a 540i sport and am I insane for suddenly feeling the desire to own one? My e36 has got to go after this summer, and as much as I like e30s if I ever get mine fixed it could only be a winter beater with no A/C. Right now I basically spend an average of 7 hours a week driving on straight highway and rarely get the chance to drive any real twisties with my 328. I'm starting to think I'd like my daily driver to be a little comfier and have soom room for passengers over 5'10. There is also comedy option e34 M5 which seems to cost less (and looks much better), but I am wary of M5 maintenance costs.
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May 19, 2011 00:30
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So I went and looked at an 04 330Ci today. Loaded, 6MT, 55k miles, black/black, and generally seemed to be in great shape. Dealer serviced with records. Paint is in generally great shape, with only the most minor of rock chips on the front fascia, and one or two very very small dents/scratches on the rest of the body. Electrics all seem to work, interior is virtually pristine, and it runs and drive nice and smooth. Didn't see any leaky fluids at a glance, and the suspension didn't make any funny noises, and no evidence of any paint or body work that I can see. I'm really seriously considering going back tomorrow and buying it. The only thing that stuck out just a tiny bit is that the front bumper doesn't quite perfectly align on the passenger wheel well. It's only misaligned by like 1cm, if that, but nonetheless. I can pretty much push it into the "right" place without much effort, but it doesn't stay there. The Carfax report is clean, so that's some peace of mind, but I know Carfax is not infallible. Am I being overly concerned about this one little flaw on an otherwise excellent car? Edit: I know it's due for an Inspection II ("the big one") in very short order, and I'm weighing that into the price. I'm already planning on taking whatever I buy to one of the reputable independant German shops in town regardless, so with this one I'll just go and do Inspection II pretty much right away. Guinness fucked around with this message at 03:36 on May 19, 2011 |
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May 19, 2011 03:29
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Guinness posted:So I went and looked at an 04 330Ci today. Loaded, 6MT, 55k miles, black/black, and generally seemed to be in great shape. Dealer serviced with records. Paint is in generally great shape, with only the most minor of rock chips on the front fascia, and one or two very very small dents/scratches on the rest of the body. Electrics all seem to work, interior is virtually pristine, and it runs and drive nice and smooth. Didn't see any leaky fluids at a glance, and the suspension didn't make any funny noises, and no evidence of any paint or body work that I can see. I'm really seriously considering going back tomorrow and buying it. do it. How much were they asking?
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May 19, 2011 06:54
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Pull an Autocheck too just in case. If you have the VIN, a little known but awesome tip is create an eBay classified for the car (free) and just set some outrageous price so no-one decides to buy it. On the auction page you will get the Autocheck for the price of nothing. Once you pull the report, print it out and cancel the auction.
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May 19, 2011 07:07
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Crustashio posted:Does anyone in this thread own a 540i sport and am I insane for suddenly feeling the desire to own one? My e36 has got to go after this summer, and as much as I like e30s if I ever get mine fixed it could only be a winter beater with no A/C. Right now I basically spend an average of 7 hours a week driving on straight highway and rarely get the chance to drive any real twisties with my 328. I'm starting to think I'd like my daily driver to be a little comfier and have soom room for passengers over 5'10. E34 or E39? I love my E39. Way too fast, and pretty comfortable.
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May 19, 2011 07:17
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Crustashio posted:Does anyone in this thread own a 540i sport and am I insane for suddenly feeling the desire to own one? My e36 has got to go after this summer, and as much as I like e30s if I ever get mine fixed it could only be a winter beater with no A/C. Right now I basically spend an average of 7 hours a week driving on straight highway and rarely get the chance to drive any real twisties with my 328. I'm starting to think I'd like my daily driver to be a little comfier and have soom room for passengers over 5'10. The E34 is truly a joy for highway driving. Its got a great mix of handling and comfort. I'd say its a medium (by todays standards) sedan done right. That said its a little more rubbery than a E36 stock. You can fix this with good wheels and suspension upgrade but it does spoil the comfort a little. I have some low profile E39 rims on mine and some Konis on the front set to a pretty soft setting. Its about as close to spoiling the comfort as I'd like to go. That said there are two things to watch out for: The E34s can be a complete bastard about vibration at highway speeds if everything isn't in good shape. The second a control arm starts to go or a tire gets out of balance you'll know immediately. This is apparently worse with larger tires and the heavier V8 engines. The added weight means they can eat upper control arms. The solution seems to be a upper control arm with a stronger 7 series bushing pressed in. I have a E34 525i so I can't comment on the V8 engines but I can tell you that despite the epic door rust (also a big problem on northern E34s) this is the best car I've owned yet and the first that I want to keep improving indefinitely.
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May 19, 2011 07:18
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discstickers posted:I love my E39. Way too fast, and pretty comfortable. I dream of an E39 540i with a 6-Speed for cruising in style, but I think I read in this thread that they are a bitch on maintenance. I looked at common stuff on pelicanparts and their prices for brakes/cooling system parts didn't seem outrageous, is the E39 prone to more expensive problems?
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May 19, 2011 13:47
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The Third Man posted:I dream of an E39 540i with a 6-Speed for cruising in style, but I think I read in this thread that they are a bitch on maintenance. I looked at common stuff on pelicanparts and their prices for brakes/cooling system parts didn't seem outrageous, is the E39 prone to more expensive problems? Not really, the typical BMW cooling system issues (bit more expensive than a 3 series), lots of suspension bushings (less issue on regular E39s, gets expensive on M5s), and a few other annoyances (OBC losing pixels, headlight adjusters snapping, and the autodimming rearview mirror tends to lose it's autodim functionality). E39s aren't cheap to own, and they do have a pretty good M-tax on the M5, but they're not *that* terrible. VANOS noises can get expensive quickly unless you're mechanically inclined enough to rebuild your own VANOS units, but that seems to be more of an M5 issue than 540i.
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May 19, 2011 14:04
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KaiserBen posted:Not really, the typical BMW cooling system issues (bit more expensive than a 3 series), lots of suspension bushings (less issue on regular E39s, gets expensive on M5s), and a few other annoyances (OBC losing pixels, headlight adjusters snapping, and the autodimming rearview mirror tends to lose it's autodim functionality). E39s aren't cheap to own, and they do have a pretty good M-tax on the M5, but they're not *that* terrible. VANOS noises can get expensive quickly unless you're mechanically inclined enough to rebuild your own VANOS units, but that seems to be more of an M5 issue than 540i. Ok, that's good to hear. I'm trying to get a handle on the cost of ownership, but I don't really have much experience since I drive a cheap miata that doesn't cost me much at all. Do you own an E39? How much do you estimate it costs you a year in typical maintenance(oils/fluids, tires, etc)? Is a large part of the cost in higher insurance, or just budgeting for parts replacements?
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May 19, 2011 14:41
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How much are E34 540i's going for these days anyways?
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May 19, 2011 14:47
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rscott posted:How much are E34 540i's going for these days anyways? Honestly being the less popular "old bmw" they vary a lot. I've seen as cheap as $3000 up to $10000. My 525i E34 cost $2500 but while mechanically perfect it still needs a lot of body work TLC. One thing is that although they're known to be "the most reliable BMW ever" they're still an old european car, and at that age where all the little bits start to act up. 8ender fucked around with this message at 14:53 on May 19, 2011 |
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May 19, 2011 14:50
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The Third Man posted:Ok, that's good to hear. I'm trying to get a handle on the cost of ownership, but I don't really have much experience since I drive a cheap miata that doesn't cost me much at all. Do you own an E39? How much do you estimate it costs you a year in typical maintenance(oils/fluids, tires, etc)? Is a large part of the cost in higher insurance, or just budgeting for parts replacements? I have an E39 M5. Oils/fluids aren't that different from any other car (the M5 does require some special unicorn blood oil that's $12/qt, but the 540i doesn't), tires can get kinda pricy, my last set was just over $1200 (4x 275/35-18 Continental DWS + mounting and road force balancing, should be cheaper for non-M cars). Tires don't last too long though, so you will have to budget for them regularly. BMW runs a bit of negative camber in the rear, so rear tires can be trashed pretty quick. Suspension work has been my biggest cost, ~$1k for a shop to replace the thrust arm bushings and a few more in the front + a balljoint in the rear, and another ~$200 in parts I replaced myself, since the bushings were all pretty shot when I got it. Insurance actually isn't bad, it costs me ~$30/mo more than my old Integra, which considering that I now have collision coverage, ain't a bad deal at all. Parts replacement and upgrades have been my biggest cost thus far, about to spend another chunk of $ on a bluetooth integrated ipod bridge and a new nav unit.
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May 19, 2011 14:55
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My E39 540i has been absolutely flawless for the most part. I just started to get the infamous shimmy at 55 when you hit the brakes, and no its not rotors. But those parts are easy to replace, and more of a laziness syndrome. I did just rotate the tires, which you will do quite often because of the rear end. It will trash rears easy as well if you have a lead foot and traction control off. Other than that, the car has been an absolute thrill to own. Its a surprisingly powerful car, and the smile on your face will put the cost of ownership in the back of your mind. Make sure to get the cold weather package, the heated steering wheel makes you extremely happy on a cold morning.
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May 19, 2011 15:41
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my parents have an E39 528i and yeah, the thought of more power in a 540 brings out a fit of the giggles. the 528 has enough power to cruise on the highway all day, but man, it'd be seriously quick with the V8. don't think running costs are much more than any other BMW we have, except when you do stupid things like almost destroy the sunroof
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May 19, 2011 16:15
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