06-06-2013, 02:55 PM
Ok, I guess I should update this.
On Saturday we called in reinforcements and tackled the Valley Pan Gasket Job. Huge thanks to Matt Bralley, Sasha and Jake for getting in there and getting dirty. It took us pretty much all day on Saturday to get it pieced together. The instructions I had found and printed out were for the earlier version of the M62, so it was more of a general guide than anything else, which meant lots of trial and error.
Basically, you depressurize the fuel lines, pop them off, remove the vanity cover supports and the entire engine wiring harness, including the wiring for the coils, knock sensor, oil level sensor, and about 2 dozen other plugs and vacuum lines with unidentifiable functions. Then you can lift the entire eletrical harness and fuel rail out of the way of the manifold, like so.
![[Image: 397431_10200131792368552_1032686975_n.jpg]](http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/397431_10200131792368552_1032686975_n.jpg)
Then you simply unbolt the manifold from the valley and pop it out of the car to reveal this.
![[Image: 397461_10101917371654312_1823818954_n.jpg]](http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/397461_10101917371654312_1823818954_n.jpg)
This is where it got a bit hairy. Its a relatively simple procedure but can only be done in a certain order. The hard water pipes have to come out so you can remove the knock sensors so you have access to all the bolts for the valley pan. There is a water accumulator pipe on the back of the motor held on by 6 bolts that allows you to get the hard pipes free vs. the water pump at the front of the motor that apparently the entire car was built around. Bralley and I wasted about an hour dicking around with the pump and sending Jake and Mike D on a wild goose chase to find a gasket before we figured out the accumulator pipe was the one to remove.
Once we figured that out we started making progress again, I assembled the new valley pan and cap, then sat down and replaced all of the o-rings and gaskets in the intake manifold while Jake and Bralley dropped the new pan in.
By the time all that was done we had forgotten the order in which it all had to go back together, so we went through some iteration of water pipes/knock sensor/manifold installation and removal about 4.5 times. We finally remembered how we took it apart and got everything pieced together, deciphering which plugs and lines went where as we went.
We got it back on the ground at about 6:30 (started at 10) and Lauren and I bled down the cooling system, cleaned up the garage and went inside. On Sunday we took it for a test drive to help it finish bleeding down and when we got back there was pretty healthy stream of coolant coming from under the car.
Shit. I started fiddling around with it but was too tired and frustrated to really get into it. It wasn't leaking enough to deem undrivevable, so I just topped it up before she went to work. On Monday night Jake and I put it back on stands and traced the leak back up to the water accumulator pipe on the back of the motor, which I suspected because we forgot to replace the gaskets.
Last night Lauren and I got back in there, jacked up the ass end of the thing to try and get the rear of the motor as high as possible and took the pipe back off. The passenger's side was perfectly snugged up, but the driver's side was missing a bolt and the other two were finger tight.
We couldn't find the missing bolt anywhere in the garage, so I said a small prayer and went hunting at home depot. By the grace of God they happened to have one in exactly the right size, so the show went on. It was more trial and error to get the funky ass gasket arranged correctly in the limited working space available. But we eventually figured it out and got everything bolted back together, bled the system down and took it for another test drive. It seems to be holding water, (only saw 2-3 drops after the test drive, probably just some residual spillage) and it only took about half a reservoir this morning after cooling down, which is normal after bleeding.
Next Steps: I think I'm going to start detailing it this weekend, the paint/headlights need a good polishing, and the interior needs Jesus. I'd also like to degrease the bottom of the motor so I can figure out what is still leaking oil on the thing. Not sure how much of that I'll get done...
The next big project is front shocks, control arms and thrust arms. Bimmerfest is July 20th so we might try to get it knocked out before the show, but only if finances and time allows.
TL;DR: Old BMWs are dumb but people are dumber.
On Saturday we called in reinforcements and tackled the Valley Pan Gasket Job. Huge thanks to Matt Bralley, Sasha and Jake for getting in there and getting dirty. It took us pretty much all day on Saturday to get it pieced together. The instructions I had found and printed out were for the earlier version of the M62, so it was more of a general guide than anything else, which meant lots of trial and error.
Basically, you depressurize the fuel lines, pop them off, remove the vanity cover supports and the entire engine wiring harness, including the wiring for the coils, knock sensor, oil level sensor, and about 2 dozen other plugs and vacuum lines with unidentifiable functions. Then you can lift the entire eletrical harness and fuel rail out of the way of the manifold, like so.
Then you simply unbolt the manifold from the valley and pop it out of the car to reveal this.
This is where it got a bit hairy. Its a relatively simple procedure but can only be done in a certain order. The hard water pipes have to come out so you can remove the knock sensors so you have access to all the bolts for the valley pan. There is a water accumulator pipe on the back of the motor held on by 6 bolts that allows you to get the hard pipes free vs. the water pump at the front of the motor that apparently the entire car was built around. Bralley and I wasted about an hour dicking around with the pump and sending Jake and Mike D on a wild goose chase to find a gasket before we figured out the accumulator pipe was the one to remove.
Once we figured that out we started making progress again, I assembled the new valley pan and cap, then sat down and replaced all of the o-rings and gaskets in the intake manifold while Jake and Bralley dropped the new pan in.
By the time all that was done we had forgotten the order in which it all had to go back together, so we went through some iteration of water pipes/knock sensor/manifold installation and removal about 4.5 times. We finally remembered how we took it apart and got everything pieced together, deciphering which plugs and lines went where as we went.
We got it back on the ground at about 6:30 (started at 10) and Lauren and I bled down the cooling system, cleaned up the garage and went inside. On Sunday we took it for a test drive to help it finish bleeding down and when we got back there was pretty healthy stream of coolant coming from under the car.
Shit. I started fiddling around with it but was too tired and frustrated to really get into it. It wasn't leaking enough to deem undrivevable, so I just topped it up before she went to work. On Monday night Jake and I put it back on stands and traced the leak back up to the water accumulator pipe on the back of the motor, which I suspected because we forgot to replace the gaskets.
Last night Lauren and I got back in there, jacked up the ass end of the thing to try and get the rear of the motor as high as possible and took the pipe back off. The passenger's side was perfectly snugged up, but the driver's side was missing a bolt and the other two were finger tight.
We couldn't find the missing bolt anywhere in the garage, so I said a small prayer and went hunting at home depot. By the grace of God they happened to have one in exactly the right size, so the show went on. It was more trial and error to get the funky ass gasket arranged correctly in the limited working space available. But we eventually figured it out and got everything bolted back together, bled the system down and took it for another test drive. It seems to be holding water, (only saw 2-3 drops after the test drive, probably just some residual spillage) and it only took about half a reservoir this morning after cooling down, which is normal after bleeding.
Next Steps: I think I'm going to start detailing it this weekend, the paint/headlights need a good polishing, and the interior needs Jesus. I'd also like to degrease the bottom of the motor so I can figure out what is still leaking oil on the thing. Not sure how much of that I'll get done...
The next big project is front shocks, control arms and thrust arms. Bimmerfest is July 20th so we might try to get it knocked out before the show, but only if finances and time allows.
TL;DR: Old BMWs are dumb but people are dumber.
Now: 07 Porsche Cayman S | 18 VW Tiguan
Then: 18 VW GTI Autobahn | 95 BMW M3 | 15 VW GTI SE | 12 Kia Optima SX | 2009 VW GTI | 00 BMW 540i Sport | 90 Mazda Miata | 94 Yamaha FZR600R | 1993 Suzuki GS500E | 2003 BMW 325i | 95 Saab 900S