BMW X3 E83 M54 Head Gasket Replacement DIY: Teardown

If the M54 engine has one fatal flaw, it's the cooling system. The expansion tank will crack with age and cause the engine to overheat, the cylinder head warps and the head studs pull out the aluminum threads in the block. So I am expecting to find all of those problems when I tear this engine down but as you will see, I find something much much worse...
The previous owner of this car had started to do this job and gave up halfway through. He had pulled out the intake manifold and the valve cover so I don't need to do that. To find out how to do that, go ahead and take a look at my previous videos:
M54 Common Repair Steps: • BMW 330i 325i E46 Comm...
M54 Intake Manifold: • BMW 330i 325i E46 CCV ...
M54 Valve Cover Replacement: • BMW 330i 325i E46 Valv...
X3 Project Intro: • BMW X3 E83 Project Int...
And that will get you caught up to where I am beginning the teardown of the engine on this X3.
My mailing address for correspondence or swag of any kind is on my about page.
This video is for entertainment purposes only. 50sKid assumes no liability for any repairs or modifications performed by the viewer as a result of the information contained in this video.

[@adasterdezaster2865]

Jason my 2001 E46 had a blown head gasket between cylinders 2 and 3. The hardest part for me was getting the #3-6 exhaust manifold off. I finally ended up unbolting the engine mounts and jacking the engine up a few inches to get access to the exhaust bolts. I then removed the passenger side engine mount to get the exhaust manifolds out. Your videos were so valuable thank you for doing them. I sent the head out and it cost me $575 to have the head cleaned, milled and the valves done. The head gasket from FCP Euro was $195. I ended up also replacing all the coolant system, power steering hoses and reservoir. Total I spent was close to $2000. I would say that’s the going rate in 2022 if you do the work yourself.

[@pyrophoric287]

Thank you so much for this series of videos! I had never done a headgasket on anything but pushrod V8s, your videos were a huge help doing the gasket job on my 2001 330i. You saved me a ton of money and headaches! Awesome series, keep up the great work!

[@glynn9188]

Great channel, I just bought a E46 that needs a new head gasket. Very informative, keep up the great videos

[@adareone]

Grandpa replaced the expansion tank on my 2004 X3 at 78000 mile and I bought it for 4500. Top notch car.

[@Mark-qt8fs]

25 minute video about replacing the head gasket and I have not seen a head gasket. Anyways, very instructive video.

[@mikesavage8379]

It may be a "cheat" but as you noted, the best way to remove the exhaust headers is to pull them with the head. Undo bolts at other end of headers where they connect to rest of exhaust and then beg borrow or steal (and return) an engine hoist (cherry picker) and lift straight up an inch and pull forward. The gold color of your camshafts (not black) seems to indicate that maybe it didn't overheat too much. You have a good chance of saving that head with minimal machining.

[@50sKid]

+Mike Savage yep yep I do something like that in part 2. I find that the difference between gold and reddish varnish is more a function of poor oil change intervals than overheating

[@kareemm6585]

You should have ur own reality show..i laughed so hard in the beginning of the video

[@dantheman1337]

In my different Chinese timing kit: 1) the pin was too long and thick ( sanded it down on a lathe and cut it shorter) . 2) the camshaft locking pieces dis not bolt together because the bolt would not go through... i just didn't bolt them together but could have filed the hole over. Thank goodness the vanos piston alignment tool and chain alignment tool were correct. The tensioner was fine too.

[@patrickjones1061]

Your my mentor my friend 😉. I just got my 03 330xi back from my daughter I do believe she shot the head gasket. I just empty between 7-8 quart's of oil out of it🤯. The radiator fill tank was empty. Oh joy. Do you know a good place to get a long block rebuild?

[@MrReniks]

thank you for the content you're creating.

[@toniocastro5426]

Jason. Did you get a POBOX. Please do so I can help you with your expenses. You have done so much for my 325 and 328. What I can not do I take the to BMW of Vista Ca. People really likes you Jason.

[@50sKid]

I don't plan to get a PO Box but I've got a paypal account setup at [e-mail] where you can send a donation -- thanks man

[@zuehs1]

If I'm simply replacing the head gasket am I going to have to time the engine?

[@CarlosLopez-z6w]

Do you think you could help me with my car? I tried everything and doesn’t get fixed.

[@Oksxnd_y]

man i’m having a problem with taking off my chain. I already have taken off my chain tensioner but the chain isn’t as loose as shown in it demonstration. I’ve been struggling for 30 minutes now but nothing seems to work. Any ideas?

[@brendanfigueroa6898]

Hey 50s kid, how is your e46 running? I am thinking of doing a head gasket replacement myself. Iʻm concerned about the threads on the engine block stripping and ill have to redo them. Anyway, I was wondering if the time serts are the way to go or if I shouldn't even bother? Also if you got any other tips for rebuilding the engine to keep it running. awesome channel!

[@rg550ltd5]

Is it possible to remove the head with the vanos and timing components in place ? BTW...great vids !

[@didloful]

No

[@pack-a-punched2404]

Awesome, currently in the market for one of these.

[@BmwMe-uh9sy]

Horizontal Tendencies get a x5 instead x3 r junk

[@ericksalas5215]

Horizontal Tendencies g

[@abumannocchi]

Top dead center should engine be in nutral or park

[@DanielBrandt77]

Do you need to remove the timing components to get the head off? I don’t have a timing kit and it don’t really want to have to mess with that

[@Stryxx]

Yes

[@japerezo75]

Great video! Currently at 122K on my E83. I hope to reach 200K without ever needing to remove the head.

[@50sKid]

As long as you don’t let it overheat, you should never need to

[@adenwise6220]

I’m currently doing my head at 250k😕

[@denniscampbell9376]

Hello 50s kid got a question I am at the point where you had spoke about when putting the Locking pin in and the timing getting offset because of the jostling of the crankshaft when trying to insert the Locking pin can I use the alignment tool to stabilize the Vanos so that it doesn't pull away?

[@yulissagarcia9824]

Would you reccomend replacing the head gasket or just replacing the motor i have a m54b30 on a 03 coupe prefacelift over heated for about 3 minuets total and keeps overheating with new waterpump and thermostat even tho their is no white smoke or milky oil

[@Thomas-fc6gf]

what did you end up doing?

[@ignacioromero5014]

I bought a 30 dollar OBD2 plug into unit with Coolant Temperature read out so I don't have to ever do this job, plus I'm changing hoses, thermostat and pump before they go out.

[@TheCowgirlNiamh]

Definitely more of you and Marc haha that was hilarious Jason! :)

[@50sKid]

+Niamh Healy 😉

[@Billykidd1]

Hey man I’m about to start a head gasket on 2002 530i and I have some serious questions please and thanks bro

[@Guerrini2954]

My m54 engine currently rums without problems. How can I prevent a problem with a failing cooling system? Which parts do I jave to check and to look after?

[@michaelnelson6850]

Change your radiator hoses, your expansion tank your water pump and thermostat

[@vonster22]

I use evans waterless coolant.. look it up ... do the below to get your cooling system in good shape and then use waterless coolant to prevent overheating.. helping prevent corrosion, overheating, and hose failure & more.. I am a materials engineer in the aerospace industry.. I did a lot of research b4 doing this and I recommend you do the same.. But have had this in my bmw for several years and it works great..have checked the system and fluid each year and everything is like the day I did it

[@tonypengo]

I havnt had any overheating issues, but I’m losing oil and my car doesn’t leak any oil, I already had the oil pan gasket done. But I’m starting to think I need a new head gasket, any suggestions?

[@mm54b30]

Thanks man really helpful !

[@patricwell8335]

Im working on one right now. I found it hard to believe i gotta drop the frame to swap.out the engine...do to my lack of space i was thinking. If i remove the converters and passenger engine mount bracket. Would that give me enough room to swing the engine to the right to pass the front dif to pull the engine upward

[@bodgitandleggitgarage]

How did it pull on the trailer normally when the engines at the back you can get into a tank slapper / speed wobble

[@bodgitandleggitgarage]

Awesome love the beginning fantastic

[@gabrielparadis1985]

hello i am from canada i got the same car and i am losing transmission oil where can i find hose part thanks

[@charleslaciejones7281]

Is it supposed to be covered with oil

[@aireanhalverson2814]

I have oil in my coolant but I’ve never over heated, would I still have a warped head? My valves were loud so I checked the oil but was almost completely out. Did find some gooey milk. Checked my over flow and found milky white coolant. Planning on doing the head gasket, but I’m wondering how it would have happened if I’ve never over heated

[@50sKid]

You got me. But it happened somehow. Maybe by a previous owner

[@albeee8030]

Question this E83 X3 motor is very same motor as E53 X5 3.0i ?? Im asking with regard to exhaust manifold and intake as well to remove. Has 6 10mm bolts is this for both sides....

[@jaredthedrummer7845]

does the same procedure applies to a 2004 bmw z4 2.5i ?

[@charliejones9244]

Changing the gaskets .. do I have to get the heads resurfaced??

[@graysgarage2142]

Do you know the torque specs for those two e 8 bolts that go into the top of the timing cover ?

[@dagyiri]

Where are you located? Do u do services and other people’s car?

[@adrianreaves6102]

Don’t know if you’re still active on here, but you kind of screwed me over. Great information but messed up without showing us how you took of the double vanos unit! I tried to take those 2 t30 bolts out and they both snapped on me, turns out they’re left hand threaded and now I can’t get the vanos unit off. I have no idea what to do now.

[@50sKid]

I’m sorry to hear that. I actually had a completely separate video on how to remove and replace the vanos on the M54 engine. Actually I have an entire series and playlist on completely rebuilding one. That’s why I didn’t cover it in detail again. If you snapped them off, you’ll have to further disassemble the cams. I cannot picture off the top of my head what kind of clearance you’ll get when you do, but there should be a way

[@adasterdezaster2865]

A simple search would have shown you those are left hand threads. What you should have said is I snapped my t30 bolts off because I didn’t know what I was doing.

[@malchalliwell7809]

Hi I know this is an old post but I have followed your timesert video on the m54 engine and I’ve had a bolt thread fail on bolt sequence number one. Do you have any tips on how to fix this? I’m thinking a bigger timesert and then screw the original size into it?

[@50sKid]

They make an oversized timesert for exactly this problem

[@malchalliwell7809]

@@50sKid thanks for that I have ordered a set of ‘bigserts’ from Würth uk

[@Jason-os6tx]

Hey how's it going man? I have question unrelated to the x5 here in this video if you don't mind? I have an e46 and I was liking for a clunking today in the rear. I found one of the bolts for the RTAB bracket puked the threads out. Not the bolt itself but the receiving threads on the body.... Last person to to touch those was the guy at firestone that did my alignment so I can only assume how that happened. Anyways my plan of action is to timesert it but my only concern is if there's enough meat in that area to drill the hole bigger and still have enough thickness on the sides of the hole. Know what I mean? Anyways I was just wondering what your thoughts on my situation are. Thanks man!

[@50sKid]

+Jason Natsis is a larger diameter bolt going to fit through the RTAB?

[@Jason-os6tx]

50sKid a little bit bigger will fit through the bracket hole but not too much bigger I don't think. Do you think a timesert will hold whatever torque those bolts are supposed to be? I think they're supposed to be 80 something ftlbs

[@50sKid]

But you don’t need a time sert. The body is steel. You just drill it and tap it directly. Time serts are for aluminum.

[@Jason-os6tx]

50sKid like just drill and tap to a bigger size bolt? I didn't realize timeserts were specifically for aluminum, is that the same for helicoils? For some reason I just don't like the idea of having one odd size bolt there which is why I wanted to do the timesert. I guess it really wouldn't matter though

[@Fireballspc]

How long has this engine been stopped? I found the controls and the chains too dry. Thank you, from your Brazilian friend.

[@50sKid]

+Fireballspc SPC probably 2 years

[@silveriadominic]

My head has warped. but barely!!!!!! maybe 0.005 could i get away with some copper spray on the gasket? or is that a no go? im asking cuz im broke! Thanks @50sKid

[@50sKid]

You can’t afford a $50 resurface? Nobody is that broke, especially if you take on this sort of job

[@destahd]

Hi Jason. Awesome video again, thank you! Would you mind linking to the timing kit you got from ebay by chance? Thanks!

[@petar443]

Can the X3 lock the front and rear differential to rotate at the same time

[@MKxpl]

always great content 50sKid

[@moisture106]

I am a rookie mechanic wish me luck

[@jairestrada6709]

yooooo, did you finish???

[@duncancirip3266]

@@jairestrada6709I’m doing mine rn

[@GnnggLAnd23]

@@jairestrada6709idk but I’m a rookie too and I’m about to try it too

[@GnnggLAnd23]

Any tips

[@chandlerh5009]

what is the name of that hard plastic hose you talk of? I need to order one and can't find a name to find it

[@aarondraper9367]

It's one of the hoses for the CCV system.

[@whatsyourname5166]

What’s a good way to differentiate a loss of compression from rings to a warped head ?

[@50sKid]

Perform a leak-down test. If the air escapes from the oil cap, it’s the rings. If it escapes out of the neighboring spark plug hole, it’s the head. It’s all in my leak down test videos. I’ve got a couple at this point

[@chrisrosales6544]

Do you have a video showing r&r head gasket on 02 525i?

[@B4442t]

Hey I just sold my Dodge Dakota and bought a 325ci and the buyer totally ripped me off he said it had a bad fuel pump and he had taken the back seat out and it look like he tried to replace it so I believed him when I got home I put a new fuel pump in and when I tried to start it the reservoir tank cap literally flew off so I'm having compression go in the cooling system :€ so my question is what would be the cheapest way for me to get this car on the road I really like the car but I got emotional and made a bad deal and it cost me dearly - I'm very handy and I have another m54 from another 330i that I had but it's also over heated it has low compression on 3 cilyndrs I don't know what to do I'm in college and I have about 200 dollars to work with please help

[@B4442t]

I put oil in the cylinder s to seal things up and when I crank it acts like it almost gonna start but smoke comes out the reservoir tank which I now learned to leave open when I crank this car

[@B4442t]

Any helpful insight from anyone would be appreciated

[@andreiput9492]

hello jason. do you have to take the vanos unit off to clean the exhaust cam solenoid?

[@50sKid]

+andrei put no you can remove the exhaust cam position sensor and the vanos exhaust solenoid can be unscrewed without removing it

[@andreiput9492]

good news. when you remove or reinstall the Head, could you please demo removing and cleaning that exhaust solenoid

[@hayseed2520]

My 05 X3 2.5i just leaks and eats oil like crazy I believe I need to change all my gaskets, and noticed after I did my oil change when filling, I noticed in the valve cover it is really dirty in there curious how to clean this properly if anyone has any suggestions throw them in here please lol

[@chrisp.5272]

Run Royal Purple for 5,000 miles.

[@YungCaliber15]

Hey 50s kid would you like an ak90?

[@frugalprepper]

Another Fun Project!

[@evertonb3031]

❌❌❌ very important those little t30 bolts in the center of the cam sprockets are reversed threading I’m surprised you skipped that part it’s one of the most important steps ❌❌

[@rickybrambila9646]

You are awesome

[@BmwMe-uh9sy]

Going to need another head which will hurt the budget

[@50sKid]

+Bmw M3 e46 it won’t

[@MoleculeG]

The grey liquid could be "head gasket repair"

[@dead_slide]

Be aware that little blue plastic pin on my car DISINTEGRATED upon touching it with my hook pick and promptly crumbled away into my bellhousing lol

[@vitalybrateev5548]

What did you do to remove the pin lmao ? Mine is stuck in it without the head haha

[@scotthowell7676]

A good try but it seems as though you skip some critical moves.

[@FahimMotoGP]

i was thinking it was n52

[@50sKid]

Next project!

[@kingcollins1270]

Too much traffic at the mouth

[@grovestreetbarz9938]

Milling is $300 for me lol

[@robear0135]

So much talking and repeating yourself. Where's the action. I was able to skip 20 minutes worth of the video and still see you remove the parts.

[@50sKid]

+Robert Brown I’ve already done the bolt by bolt removal videos on this stuff during my last rebuild. I wanted to do something different here.

[@robear0135]

Don't get me wrong, I love all the videos you do... I loved the nuts and bolts series you did on you engine (my son has a 2002 320CI). In this video, it just didn't seem you and you just kept mentioning that series so I thought you would have just flew through pulling the head off.. Probably I'm just anxious to see what you discover when you do remove the head on the X3.

[@geoffaries]

I'm with Robert on this, the video is probably 15 minutes too long, there is no need to keep talking about the same thing, we can always rewind theto the start if necessary.

[@karinasuarez3340]

too much talking

[@nazzibastard3807]

WTF IT STARTS WITH ARGUING .FUCK THAT

[@jacobdixon250]

I overheated the engine in my e46 325i after my coolant expansion tank cracked I repaired the tank and the pcv system but I keep getting white smoke out of the engine bay and tail pipe. Do I need to rebuild the head gasket or is something else I am not aware of wrong with my engine??

[@50sKid]

Yeah you need to replace the head gasket and get the head checked out by a machine shop, pressure tested and possibly resurfaced. They will tell you what it needs