subieworx

I have an 05 545i with almost 140k miles on it. Ir runs pretty well for the most part and I have stayed up on maintenance. That being said, it is leaking from everywhere and I am thinking of pulling the engine to reseal everything instead of trying to do it in the car when everything is a pain to get to. What do you think? Am I crazy? I have access to a lift, all tools needed outside of the cam timing tools, and plenty of experience resealing/rebuildiing engines. (have an e36 race car that I do everything on)

What I have done already to the engine:
Valve cover gasket
Spark plugs
Coil packs
Eccentric shaft adjuster bank 1
new ccv diaphrams
New starter
Bank one upper timing cover gasket
all new cooling hoses and tank

problems left to address:
Alternator bracket leak
valley pan o ring leak
valve seals starting to go
rear main seal leak
front main seal leak
oil pan gasket leak
Clogged air injection ports

I was thinking pulling the engine would be easier to tackle all of these things at one time. It will be quite the process I'm sure, but doable and at least this way I can thoroughly clean everything that has been soaked in oil for years.

DavidF

Well, that is a really good question. Since you have to drop the trans to do the rear main seal and given all the other tasks, you might have less aggravation in the end if you pull the engine. But, only if you remove the front core support and lift the engine/trans as a unit out the front (not up out of the engine bay).

My main reasoning is the valve stem seals. I assume you will be purchasing the special tools from AGA? If not, you have to pull the cams to reseal and then you will need to re-time the cams and need special tools anyway. I changed out the valve seals and let me tell you it was a chore. Took about 20-25 minutes per valve not counting time to get to them or resting in between. My back was sore for sure...would have been much more enjoyable sitting in a chair with the engine on my engine stand.

Also, I had plugged secondary air ports that I was able to clear on one bank with AGA's cleaning kit, but could not unclog on the other bank. I put everything back together (i.e. new valve stem seals) and decided to use AGA special pick tool another day. Well, after a few hundred miles of driving with new stem seals (i.e. no excess oil in the cylinders), the secondary air code cleared itself and has not returned in over a year since I did the repair. My thought is that the clog burned itself clear once excess oil was no longer being introduced into the cylinders. That's my theory anyway and happy I did not have to remove exhaust manifolds to pick the ports clear.

Now, my front main seal on my trans is leaking so I have to drop the trans to repair. At the same time I plan on replacing rear main engine seal as well as coolant crossover cover. Don't forget that crossover when you do your rear main seal.

If your pan is really leaking, just pull he engine. Not very common for pan gasket to develop leaks. Good luck.