BMW E46 Cleaning & Measuring Cylinder Head DIY

[@Dicer328]

50, I say it all the time and I will say it again, your videos and your attitude of approach are invaluable to the amateur automotive community. You are truly an admirable human being. I had some thoughts while watching this video. - Isn't the softest steel still harder than the hardest aluminium according to the Brinell Scale? Which is to say that are you not also removing aluminum filings from the block when using steel wool? Have you considered using a Melamine Foam (Magic Eraser) in stead of the steel wool? - Since Steel wool was used, would a magnet be more ideal in retrieving the steel filings, followed by a vacuum? Blowing them out just scatters the debris and it becomes unaccounted for.

[@50sKid]

Thanks very much. I hear you but it's steel wool after all. Not enough strength to scratch the finish. Trust me, I tried using a green 3m pad from a dish sponge in a small area on the outer edge of the head (it's getting machined anyway) and it left scratches. The steel wool did not. The compressed air blew out the little lint left behind by the wool.

[@kangill12]

Dicer328 word

[@MuhammadAli-su3oo]

as always your videos full of knowledge, I'm thankful very much for your uploads you doing for us to learn.

[@mcycleserv]

another good vid ..the head gaskets are coated with a either black or silver coating that I believe fuses to the head and block surfaces ..head gaskets are shimmed and come in different thickness to allow for resurfacing head or block..as for the bore surface most BMW bores are nickesil coating (chrome)which is usually .012.so be careful when removing the carbon ridge on the top ..your Bottlebrush hone should do the trick doing this but max of 180grit ,nothing over and finish off the honing with 45d cross hatch pattern..hope this helps ...good idea with removing carbon with the drill..never thought of that in the 45 years of rebuilding motors ...see learn something all the time ...keep up the good vids

[@50sKid]

This block actually uses cast iron liners

[@mcycleserv]

never done an E46 motor but to be safe I would check with a magnet to be certain ..did read somewhere that they use nickasil for bore ..all late 2 cyl and 4 cyl (from 1980)BMW motorcycles run Nickasil bore ..rings are different to cast iron liners and nickasil ..cast iron liners use chrome rings and nickasil use cast iron rings

[@MalcolmLyons89C]

Great videos, thanks for the time and effort you put in, super work.

[@DonQ150]

Wow, I am a little concerned with the steel abrasive residue left behind Jason. On the head it maybe ok because it will be thoroughly cleaned after the shop deal with it, but the engine block, uff that is risky. If you are rebuilding the block not so much of an issue. Also, when checking the lateral movement of the valves, you could have the dial assembly attached to the head instead of the table, that way your dial should not move in reference to the valve guide. As always great videos.

[@50sKid]

Don't worry, it all got blown out by the compressed air. What it left behind was more like lint than anything else, not heavy, not sticky, easily blown away

[@joelgarcia6307]

I was yelling at the screen...JASOOOONNNN YOU FORGOT A STUD!!! hahahahaha I knew you'd get it

[@50sKid]

Lol

[@johnstamatakis436]

Hey Jason, I bought a 2003 325i that "needed a head gasket" for $650. Well, the head gasket turned into completely rebuilding and machining the head and the block needs work as well, not to mention that I had to buy a time-cert tool to re-thread the block!!! My "deal" is going to cost a ton :( about $2,200 so far including the purchase price, and I'm so deep I don't want to bail, but maybe I should? So watching your videos has been a great help, but I'm stuck with the block coming out. I don't want to take the front end apart and I don't think the problem I'm having would make any difference if I did. The oil pan is hitting the cross member under the motor and I didn't see that you removed it. The motor is over one inch separated from the transmission (GM) and I can't get past the crossmember. Any advice?

[@kevinmaverick8536]

Perfect brother thanks your videos are very useful

[@assolutobisonte7040]

What makes today’s day and age different? When you don’t have the valve cutting machine valve lapping works. 70k on my M54 after lapping every valve.

[@heisspencer]

Good to know, I am planning on lapping all my valves this weekend, didn’t really understand why he was so against it

[@devinsmith4151]

I wouldn't worry much about using mild abbrasive wirewheels. Everyone at the dealer uses them.

[@50sKid]

That doesn't make it right. ;-)

[@sandylyle9587]

You the man!

[@anthonyspeters7203]

Is isoproyl alcohol any good, have on net,amerzon!?

[@wjohnsonism]

50's, Any idea on how many passes or how much milling you will need to bring it back to spec? Also, it would be a cool addition if you could video the milling at whatever shop you choose. (If allowed)

[@50sKid]

Can't tell because it first needs to be straightened. Unfortunately I did not have a relationship with a machine shop yet. But I do now. Maybe next time.

[@wjohnsonism]

Regarding the valve corrosion, what type of gas have you used over the length of your ownership? Any experience on what a top tier fuel (more detergent) has on the valves?

[@50sKid]

I don't use top tier gas, however all modern gas has similar additive packages with those detergents in them and such, particularly here in California I'm sure more than elsewhere. I think judging from what little amount of carbon I've seen on pistons on my car and junkyard cars, I'd say it does really well compared to yesteryear's formulations

[@ethanstone6644]

You should your min octane rating is 91...

[@briandelaguila9570]

scotchbrite maybe for a soft abrasive?

[@50sKid]

I tried the blue pads and they didn't do anything. The green is too aggressive and will ruin the Ra finish.

[@briandelaguila9570]

50sKid oh, interesting! your videos are very informative. I wouldn't have ever had the guts to tear apart my valve cover gasket without seeing you do it first!

[@HunterOfHalfLife]

Valve guides should be measured from inside, like cylinders. Sadly BMW uses brass ones which wear out over time, so they should be replaced if out of spec. Valve stems should be measured too.

[@moussatoure7494]

Thann you

[@reginaldmorton2162]

good stuff

[@giovanniearroyo3648]

50s kid. an you tell me were is the vaccum oil pump in 1999 e46 m52

[@50sKid]

I'm not sure what you are referring to. The engine oil pump is inside the oil pan bolted to the block. You'll see it in the next video

[@s4ms0n1t3]

the m54 has hydraulic lifters, so are you checking clearance because the head went?

[@50sKid]

Checking what clearance?

[@briangreen6602]

When measuring the valve tilt, isn't there a measurement to set the valve away from the valve seat to take a reading ?

[@50sKid]

You make the other end of the valve level with the valve guide. I did that by reaching underneath the head and pushing the valve up until it was level with the guide.

[@raulcampos8865]

Im doing a project with my son on a 2001 BMW 330xi, the head gasket is bad and we're planning on replacing it ourselves. Do you have any videos on how to remove and replace the head gasket properly? If not could you do a video or contact me? Thanks!

[@50sKid]

I have created a playlist specifically for only doing a head gasket change/head rebuild. I do not yet have the reinstall video online because this series is ongoing. It'll be another 5 weeks or so before the series is concluded. However there is enough information in these videos to figure out how to do the reinstall process yourself, you know? kzbin.info/aero/PLqJG4ZyPIF6OwNPmArcR0NFRj94FNvRwC

[@raulcampos8865]

Alright thank you! Also, do you happen to know of any good websites that sells a kit with everything needed for the head gasket job? If not, then a website that sells all the parts needed? Thanks!

[@NoSthing101]

Will alusil cylinder lining withstand the abrasive cleaning materials? i wouldn't risk it.

[@50sKid]

This block doesn't have that type of lining. It's got cast iron liners.

[@GigiBeleaDK]

Maybe dumb question .... If you gonna change the rings, you gonna pull pistons out anyway. Why clean them in place when it is much easier to do it when they are out of the engine ?

[@50sKid]

I didn't clean the pistons in place, I cleaned the top of the block. I was showing what people would need to do if they were not pulling their block, if they were just rebuilding the head or replacing the gasket.

[@GigiBeleaDK]

Ok, got it. Thanks for clearing this up :)

[@PRAGEETHKARUNADHEERA]

How many miles did you have on your engine when you did the rebuild? Did you have original cross hatch markings on cylinder walls?

[@johnwikentiew8200]

I have a 2001 bmw e46 330xi, it was blowing a lot of white smoke and burning oil like crazy. I took off the intake manifold and replaced all of the CCV, intake manifold gasket and valve cover gasket. I started it and let it run for about 2-3 minutes and was still blowing a ton of smoke. Do you know what could be the issue?

[@50sKid]

You just gotta let it run longer and burn off the excess oil that got sucked up through your failed CCV system into the intake.

[@JackRR15]

Theres something I don't fully understand with machining a head. If you machine a head, it removes material right, so doesn't most other parts of the rest of the engine like bolts have to be modified so it accommodate it's new shorter length or it just really doesn't matter at that minimum ammount?

[@50sKid]

Doesn't matter at that minimum amount. The holes in the block are drilled much deeper than the bolts actually go in.

[@JackRR15]

Ah ok

[@jonatancalebchavez4656]

I need some help my friends please. I was changing my valve cover gasket. But when I pull out the valve cover, a small aluminium partthis part fell beneath the camshaft bearing ledge (inlet cam). I am no mechanic, so when I couldn’t take that part out I thought that I could remove the cam bearing ledge to be able to remove the part that fell inside. I turn the 2 bolts I circled in the picture with red 1/2 turn, ONLY 1/2 turn counterclockwise. When I did that I heard a “gush” like if something underpressure was unlocked and an strong oil smell was released. After that, I was afraid so I readjusted both bolts immediately with my wrench as hard as I could. Again, it was only those 2 bolts 1/2 turn counterclockwise and then I adjust it back as hard as I could but not extremely hard! I put everything back together including new gaskets. When I turned on the car, the car did 1 rev up to 1,800 rpm and went back to normal but I got the check engine light with 2 codes 2A82 2A98 The car runs smooth, strong, fast, no other issues except everytime I turn on the car, it does that 1 abnormal rev up and then everything is back to normal. Do you think the 2 error codes could be related to the fact that I did not adjust those 2 bolts to the correct inch/pound? Or does the solution would be to get the BMW tool for the inlet cam, take out all the inlet cam bolts and adjust all of them back to the correct inch/pound? Or the error code is related to that little thing that is still inside beneath the inlet cam bearing ledge? It can’t be the VANOS solenoid because I changed them less than 6 months ago and there were no error codes or check engine lights before this happened to me. Thank you for your help My car is a BMW 528i 2008 E60 NOTE: By the way, the 2 bolts I messed up with are kind of in the middle of the inlet camshaft bearing ledge

[@50sKid]

I doubt very much that a 1/4 turn on the bolts did anything. Chase down the vanos errors. Use INPA to look at vanos commanded position versus vanos actual position. If they are wildly off, or if you're missing one of those inputs, that gives you a little direction to go in. Perhaps checking those solenoids, perhaps its electrical issues energizing the solenoids, perhaps you just need to rebuild your vanos seals, etc.

[@tahirrana6875]

By the way bud... how much you are looking for machine job in $$$?

[@50sKid]

I'm not sure yet. I plan to visit some local shops I found tomorrow

[@evilasik]

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy new valves?? Might be an answered question

[@50sKid]

Waste of money. You'll still need the valve seats recut at the machine shop so you might as well just have the old valves cleaned up and refaced as part of that whole process. Machine shops like to charge a set amount for all of that work.

[@evilasik]

50sKid thanks for the reply I appreciate it

[@Hunadamxd]

why do you start rebuild your engine? :)

[@50sKid]

Low compression and small coolant loss, plus oil consumption.

[@Hunadamxd]

and you have misfires, when first cold start up?

[@Hunadamxd]

in the first 30-50 sec?

[@50sKid]

No

[@Hunadamxd]

okay thanks your answer, and the great vids :) its very usefull!!

[@MiguelGarcia-nl3ci]

I used a wire brush :(

[@knocksensor3203]

I would not use steel wool 😲

[@5riverz365]

Whats your instagram. Cant find u. Found u on fb

[@50sKid]

I believe there is a link on the front of my channel. I think I am the50skid

[@AssAss1n03]

Why didn't u just buy a rebuild head

[@50sKid]

Didn't know where to get one.

[@AssAss1n03]

50sKid hi thanks for the response I have a 04 e46 m3 and I had the same issue and when I took my head out and send it to the machine shop the guy told me just get a rebuild head and I got one from ecs tuning cost me 2600 but it came with everything I needed all the gaskets new plugs new coils new hardware

[@AssAss1n03]

Actually 1800 bucks

[@50sKid]

Yeah, the machine work to rebuild my head was about $500. Turns out I had to get a different head because this one was cracked, so I pulled that from the junkyard for $120 so all in all it was $620. That's why I didn't buy a rebuilt head. ;-)