2006 E60 530xi - starter sludge / gunk?
 

Hi all, after many hours of swearing I finally got my starter out, from the top by detaching the inlet manifold.
To my surprise however... the old starter was all "gunked up"? There is a thick layer of grease (1/2") around the starter gear and looking at the flywheel it is also covered.

Attachment 165735
Attachment 165736


I don't think that's normal. Should I just try to clean as best I can and put in teh new starter? Or is this a sign of a more serious problem?
I haven't had any clutch or transmission or engine problems.

Thanks
Jon

I'm thinking the old starter had grease on the gear. From the picture it doesn't look like any other fluids, it looks like grease. That would mean that it couldn't have come from anyplace else -- like a leak. Check the grease and make sure it looks ok. That is, it can be dirty, but not containing metal shavings or anything else unexpected. If it looks ok, I'd just leave it and put the new starter in.

Yeah its just grease (clean), it looks like cv joint grease? Maybe on the x-drive models there is a CV entering the transmission near there and the grease spread? It looks like more than should be on the starter...

I've got the same car - 2006 530xi manual transmission. I've not had to replace the starter nor the clutch, so I can't say what it looks like inside my bell housing. There aren't any fluids that can enter the bell housing unless the engine real main seal is leaking or the transmission seal is leaking. In both cases, that would be some sort of oil and not grease. CV boot grease is like any other thick grease that would be used on bearings, so I don't think it is CV boot grease, but is just that kind of thicker grease like wheel bearing grease. I've seen starters with grease on the shaft of the little gear that pops out and engages the flywheel. It does seem like a lot of it in your picture, but I think it originated from the starter.

Thanks for your input TWH, much appreciated. I also have the manual transmission. I'll do a bit of clean-up then re-install.

I replaced starter on my '06 530i. There was absolutely no grease/oil residue.

OP, if I were you, I'd investigate the source of that grease/oil residue. Look at the new starter, that's how the old one should be.

There should be no grease or oil in the bell housing. Chances are you have a seal leaking; however, there's another possibility. There's a thread from last year on another forum where the dual mass flywheel in a 2006 330i failed, throwing grease everywhere in the housing, including on the starter pinion. His pictures look similar to yours. Google "Clutch/ Flywheel Exploded in bell housing".

I did Google what you have there. That looks bad. Could be the explanation. I don't understand how the clutch still works in the presence of all that grease. Maybe time to invest in a good bore scope to see the inside without taking it all apart.

edit -- Looking at Google images for dual-mass flywheels is also interesting. Didn't realize they were so mechanical and had grease in them. That is probably the problem. Maybe the grease gets flung to the side and that doesn't get on the clutch surfaces?? I guess that also means when you change the clutch you should also change the flywheel or convert to a single mass flywheel.

Thanks everybody for your help, I think indeed it is my dual mass flywheel that lost its grease. Probably failure is imminent :(

Before I connect everything up again (and sell the beast to the dealer), I need to replace the valve cover to oil seperator hose, Taking it apart I snapped it. Both oil sides are disconnected but I'm left with the electrical connector for the hose (pcy see this post: https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...8/). How do you remove the connector with teh inlet manifold in place? I managed to replace the starter without taking it completely off so I'd rather not have to do with for the simple electrical connector replacement...

thanks

My '90 E34 535i (stick) had a dual-mass flywheel and I recall now when I put a new starter on it it was gunked up like that. And I recall that I always depressed the clutch when shutting off the engine due to the nasty death rattle I got otherwise. Presumably the dual-mass flywheel was similarly toasted, but that car ran like that for years after.