karomoney

New 550i owner! The drive compared to the 530 is marvelous. Smooth ride, great torque. Sitting right at 99.5k miles, ripe in the making for a valve stem seal job. While I'm in there I'd like to get some tips and tricks from somebody else who has done the job before, and what your recommendations are for various seals, gaskets, and other imminently-self-destructive parts. While I'm in there I might as well get the whole nine yards.

Here is my plan.

1. Purchase an AGA replica tool from ebay for $370 (anybody have experience with these? What do yall think?)
2. Get set up with the following:

Valve stem seals
Valve cover gasket (2x)
Eccentric shaft sensor (2x)
Spark Plugs
Ignition Coils
Valvetronic motor gaskets (2x)

I know i must be missing some sort of gasket, grommet, or rubber piece that will renew the impending doom of my catalytic converters. If anybody has an experience that says "no, you're an idiot, you're doing (example) wrong", please let me know! I've had this car for 500 miles, and i plan on driving it into the ground. Don't let my experience cost me more money than it has to. Like they said back in school, work and the museum, "If you see something, say something"

Thanks so much for the input and don't beat me over the head for owning an n62, there are already too many dents in it.

CVTBenhogan

Congrats. I’m a 14 year owner via Euro delivery and still like my car a lot. Bangle design makes the car stand the test of the time. IMHO.

If doing the valve cover gaskets, I’d do the front timing cover gaskets x2, solenoid gaskets X4 and oil pressure pump gaskets with new bolts. ECS tuning has all the gaskets in sets. Doing the covers isn’t fun so get it all over with.

Changing plugs with new coils is good idea. Got a lot zip back after changing these out with cleaned solenoids.

Eccentric sensors are expensive and don’t go bad very often though you’ll have insurance for another 100k.

Good luck.

karomoney

Shaft sensors are $250 a pop (VDO) and I'm used to the issues of pulling heads from the N52. If I can hold off on the sensors until their untimely demise it'll be easier on my bank account. It's a pain in the ass to deal with the valve covers but not quite the end of the world. Regardless, there is no way in hell the N62 is going to make it another 100k without having some sort of engine work being done. (Hopefully it will, don't have experience with the V8s)

Planning on new plugs and new coils, since I think they're already recommended as 100k maintenance requirements. Plus all that oil the engine is blasting through has probably coated those poor plugs.

I've heard about some spark plug "tubes". On the magnesium alloy covers on the N52 the tube going from the cover to the head surface was just part of the valve cover. Are those tubes detachable from the valve cover or something?

Thanks so much for the help buddy.

CVTBenhogan

I think 200k is doable but we’ll see. Valvetronic might be the issue. Hope my stem seals last till then. I changed by oil since new at 5k so I think this may help.

Glad you mentioned the spark plug tubes. I replaced these too and yes they detach from cover and head. The rubber on the tubes will be like a rock. It would suck to get a leak on a tube so I’d buy eight of those.

Also, check oil separator gaskets in the valve covers. Clean out oil and grime and make sure these aren’t torn. You can get smoke from torn gaskets.

The other big item is the alternator gasket. I got a leak there and will tackle that next.

Lastly, changing the tranny filter and oil is another good idea. I did mine at 65k and will do again at 130k.

karomoney

I bought this car about 600 miles ago at 99k, so it's ripe in time for a change on brake fluid, tranny fluid, oil, and coolant as a "while you're in there" sort of thing. Oh yeah. A coolant leak too, I can tell by the boiling coolant. Shot in the dark, but I'm thinking water pump.

I'm not sure how the previous owners treated the thing but I love it even more than I did my 530i and would love to drive it till the wheels fall off of it. So I will be taking the best care of it as best I can.

Alternator gasket bracket is up on my list as well, it's making a mess of my garage floor. I will be renting an engine hoist and hoping i don't cost myself more money than I have to with broken pipes, hoses or engines. If you get to it before I do, let me know how it went!

P.S. Transmission fluid is also a must. It shifts well now, but by the time it starts popping out of gear you know you're just too late.

Thanks man!

CVTBenhogan

No problem. If you smell coolant it might be the reservoir tank. Common weak point and my tank was split in half. Electric burnt smell. The water pump was starting to go 99k on my car. The noise is obvious but no leaks. Not a hard DIY but bit of a pain with rear hoses to the water pump.

Fingers crosses on the coolant transfer pipe.

Yes. Drive the wheels off it! Last of the true German sports sedans without 400lbs of extra weight and electric steering.

FormerE30Owner

I have more than 225K miles on my 2005 545 and have absolutely no sign of impending valve stem problem. Maybe I am the exception, or perhaps you are, but besides some valve cover and alternator bracket oil leaks, the N62 has been very reliable. Not even the coolant transfer pipe problem, either. I change oil at about 10K miles, using either 0W40 or 5W40 synthetics.

dingolfing

I agree with everyone else's suggestions. N62 is quite mechanically reliable for a German V8. I've done the valve cover gaskets, timing cover gaskets, alternator bracket gasket, and water pump.

Since you're renting an engine hoist, if you're proficient with pulling engines, replacing all of those gaskets with engine out may end up being the easier and time saving route. Plus, you can replace the valve stem seals much easier and also replace the oil pan gaskets as they leak as well. You are also servicing the coolant and water pump at the same time. Wouldn't hurt to replace the rear main seal and rear water jacket seal too since the engine is disconnected from the transmission.

Giubo

Just add some Triphenylphosphat (Lecwec or similar). It will soften the seals and swell them about 3%. Changing the seals without changing/checking the guides is a Mickey Mouse job anyway.

"Boiling coolant"? Better check for CO2 first.

Before changing the ATF, check the pressure and time correction values if there is something unusual or over the limits (tool32).

karomoney

Hi.
I considered gasket sweller but never pulled the trigger out of the fear that it'd wreak havoc on my coolant system over time. Can you confirm that it wont?

Yes, coolant is boiling. The reason I believe it is leaking due to that is that the boiling point is over 100C while the system is under pressure. When it's boiling, that tells me there is a leak in the system somewhere. Will do a CO2 test as well.

Any way the procedure will be different for a standard trans?

Thanks.