E36 Head Removal

[@hazem_khalil]

Bro! Thank you! Finally somebody willing to pass down the knowledge of engine work! I feel like it's so hard to find car help these days. Everybody wants to just point you to a forum. Which is cool but these visuals make it 373747573× easier

[@M3NACE]

yeah man of course! that is partly what this channel is all about. when i first started working on my own E36 4 or 5 years ago, it was the exact same thing. just forums and threads, no real, solid videos. I had to figure most of it out, and when talking with other E36 DIY'ers, I figured out fairy quickly that alot of them wouldnt do jobs much bigger than Valve cover gasket replacements because of fear of the unknown, and I personally wished there was a DIY channel like my own when i first started working on my car, so i knew there was a market for high quality E36 DIY's, and so when i got to the point where I could do jobs like head gasket replacements comfortably, I started the channel.

[@roistot]

Thanks a lot man, with all your help I have taken my head off! Will be cleaning and reassembling it tomorrow with a new gasket and vanos unit!! Awesome vids man!!

[@williamnelson5270]

love the part where you showed all the tools very helpful, thanks and sick beam!

[@FreakSX93]

Great videos! Pulling my head in a few days and this stuff is really helpful!

[@M3NACE]

FreakSX93 nice man, good luck!

[@stephenchristian5739]

DUDE U R AWESOME, I HAVE A GREAT MECHANIC ( MERIK @GERMAN TECH THOUSAND OAKS, CA) 24 YEARS OTHER THAN THE 1ST FACTORY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE HE HAS BEEN THE ONLY MECH I'VE HAD FOR MY 94 M TECHNIC, IT'S IN NOW GETTING THE ENTIRE TOP END DONE HE EXPLAINS A LOT TO ME & I STILL HAD NO IDEA REMOVING MY HEAD & REBUILDING MY TOP END WAS THAT MUCH WORK THIS IS SO WELL DONE! IT'S LIKE THE NIGHT B 4 HAVING MY OWN SURGERY. SO MANY THINGS TO BE CAREFUL OF & GET RIGHT, THANKS! PS. I'M NERVOUS FOR MY SWEET THING LIKE SHE WAS HAVING SURGERY.

[@M3NACE]

hell yeah man, well take your time and get it done proper and you should have no issues. best of luck with the surgery!

[@samuelrogers5796]

Good to know I can take the head off without removing the camshafts. Make everything a lot faster and easier. JE cutring head gasket with a copper spacer here I come!

[@MITInvasions]

best playlist ever

[@M3NACE]

Thank you man!

[@steffanomoretta6712]

Hey boss please remind viewers that there is not two but THREE small bolts in the front that bolt the head into the block!!! The two that you mentioned and the third one is kinda in the middle and bolts down a chain guide I believe, if I remember right. I would know because I was at the yard trying to remove the head and everything was out except that one little bolt that I didn’t know was that long😂 ended up prying the head with screwdrivers until the bolt broke and I saw🤣.

[@M3NACE]

+1 but you should have the vanos completely removed when pulling a head.

[@steffanomoretta6712]

M3NACE lol true but if you’re trying get it out ASAP like me, then fuck the VANOS LMAO

[@atnarri]

nice video man, keep doing it!

[@M3NACE]

thank you brotha, I certainly will!

[@chucksharp5777]

Hi! First, thanks for producing these videos. They have helped a LOT!! They gave me the courage to tackle a head replacement myself!! I do have a question. Are the S52 and M52 Cam spacings the same? The cam lock tool I bought, looks identical to yours, but the cams were too far apart to lock the tool together. I ended up drilling the "normal" hole larger by almost .100" to allow me to lock them together. The Tool did say it fit M50-M52 and I assumed that the S52 was the same. TIA

[@M3NACE]

Yeah the timing tools can be a trick to get on, mine is like that as well. The spacing and locking it all down is the same for all of them. S50, S52, M50, M52...

[@andrenicolaas4937]

After you torx your head bolts and do the 90'c torx are you finish with te top gasket process or must you torx it a second time example after 1500km.nice DIY video

[@M3NACE]

nah, if you are using the factory headbolts you to the torque sequence, which is X foot pounds in sequence, 90 degrees in sequence, then 90 degrees again in sequence, then its done. dont have to touch them after that.

[@manuelalvarenga5365]

I never get get tired of seeing this video I always laugh when I hear “grade A “ fucked

[@BastianFCB31]

Hey Love yur videos. I'm currently rebuilding my S50 engine. A piston hit a spark plug so the timing is of. Is it okay to turn the cams to gain access to the head bolts since top dead center is impossible to achive?

[@manuelalvarenga5365]

Did I ever tell you I love you.

[@wait666bleed]

Is it true that you cant reuse the head bolts on another head you're replacing the original one with?

[@M3NACE]

yes. factory headbolts are stretch bolts, or torque to yield. you torque angle them, and when they reach their final torque the bolt will "stretch" and lock itself into place, securing the cylinder head in place. every time you pull the cylinder head, you must replace the head bolts. once they are stretched, they are done. if you use ARP head bolts, from what i hear, they are re-usable, but even then some people recommend replacing them. same thing with head gaskets, they seal by the shear force of being sandwiched between the block and the head, and once they are "crushed" into place, they cannot be reused. every time they are sealed, once that seal is broken, they must be replaced. minimum parts required for a head gasket replacement is a new headgasket and new head bolts, and valve cover gasket/intake manifold gaskets can be reused depending on their condition.

[@superpop8399]

Hey, so when I pulled off the head, I broke the upper timing chain guide, so how much do I need to pull off the engine to replace those? Any advise is appreciated, Cheers

[@M3NACE]

oof. brutal, you will need to pull the timing cover off, which means the water pump, front crank pulley, crank bolt, ect. will need to come off. the A/C bracket might need to come off as well.

[@haweraki]

great vids man very clearly made good man

[@williamwalters9403]

What if the threads come out with the headbolts, how would you go about fixing that

[@M3NACE]

Oof, tough. Timeserts are probably the best bet

[@vanoskvlt]

My head just flat out will not separate from the block. Pulled all 12 e12 head bolts and both e8 bolts where the vanos is. What gives?

[@M3NACE]

Make sure there is nothing still connected on the intake side of the head, if there isnt it might need a good smack with a rubber mallet.

[@truestreetracingsociety7385]

Great video. Subbed

[@passport619]

Thanks!

[@mustafakoseoglu5721]

nice e36 nice video

[@outtlaw324]

And that’s all you need to remove to put in the head gasket?

[@M3NACE]

aside from the entire cooling system, intake manifold and associated parts, the exhaust manifold, and the entire valve cover and ignition system, yes.

[@misc-13]

I'm having a problem removing the head. I removed everything that was attached to it but the head just doesn't pop off.

[@M3NACE]

As long as you have all of the hardware off it will come off. Keep in mind that the head i pulled off in this video was off before within the last year. If the head has been on 20 or so years it might take more force to break the gasket seal, and also the head castings are pretty heavy. Make sure yiyr two e-torx bolts are off and Give it a good tug.

[@misc-13]

@@M3NACE 189k miles and don't think the previous owners never opened the head. By any chance do you know methods of breaking the head from the block? I really dont wanna break anything also its extremely difficult to find a angle where I can pry open.

[@M3NACE]

@@misc-13 dont pry on it. It might just be suck on thw dowels. I would pull up on the head by the thermostat housing area and smack the head around with a rubber mallet and see if you can get it to slowly work up. A constant upward force and smacking it by the housing on the intake cam side shoule get it off. If not, theres probably still some hardware holding it on.

[@misc-13]

@@M3NACE I'll try that man. Appreciate it👍

[@GriefXIII]

I'm his partner helping work on his car and it's finally been opened now. After many sleepless nights. Problem was that he was too lazy to count all the head bolts. And the last two were hidden under the cam shaft.

[@calboy1227]

Very nice!!!

[@M3NACE]

thank man! I appreciate it

[@danmoore4323]

Love it 😀

[@itslawrencedood]

Hey when putting on a new gasket on the water flange does it matter which way the gasket goes on? Like should the blue ring be facing the flange or the cyl head

[@M3NACE]

The rear heater core flange?

[@itslawrencedood]

M3NACE yeah I believe so, always saw it under the name water flange, but when I took my old one off the gasket was so brittle I couldn’t tell how it was put on

[@M3NACE]

@@itslawrencedood it can go on either way, just make sure the mating surface is clean when you install it and torque it to spec.

[@itslawrencedood]

For sure thanks man!

[@mylesbourbon9948]

My socket is too fat to reach two of the head bolts. Can i rotate the cams to reach?

[@M3NACE]

if your cams are at TDC the socket should fit. are you using a 3/8 drive socket??

[@mylesbourbon9948]

It is a CTA E12 1/2" drive designed specifically for the head bolts. Its just weird because the other 12 it got just fine but these last two I can almost fit it past the cams but then it gets stuck. Maybe i'll just go pick up a 3/8" drive E12

[@M3NACE]

Myles Bourbon weird man, i would think it should fit. You could try rotating the cams a bit to get it on there. I have no issues fitting my 3/8 in there.

[@mylesbourbon9948]

Yeah I know it. Thanks for your videos man. First big project and I'm sure I would be very lost without them.

[@M3NACE]

no problem man! thats what the channel is for. Hopefully you get it figured out and the rest of the project goes smoothly.

[@21390029]

Subbed

[@M3NACE]

thank you!

[@snoopyrust]

Can you tell me where you get the cap on your oil can

[@M3NACE]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ip28gmdvrq5lgrc parts are in the description my friend

[@gabrielcasillas7882]

Hey for the two front bolts the e8s I pulled one out but the other one broke since it was totally rusted any tips on how to get it out? Thanks

[@M3NACE]

sorry for the late reply my friend, but I would pull the head off, and try and go after it with some vice grips if there is enough meat sticking out of the block go grab on to. otherwise, you can try and extract it with a drill.

[@gabrielcasillas7882]

M3NACE no worries thanks for still replying, that is the only bolt left and the head won't pull off even though I got everything off including to the service manual I am stuck and it sucks haha

[@M3NACE]

so the bolt head is still on and its stripped or the bolt head snapped off?

[@gabrielcasillas7882]

Bolt head and and half the bolt snapped off, only the treads stayed, but it seems weird to me that only that bolt can be holding the whole head in place?... did you remove tdc pin befor you pulled off the head?

[@M3NACE]

no, the TDC pin holds the flywheel. not the head. assuming you have the 2 E8 torx bolts and all 14 cylinder head bolts out, the head should come off, but not without a fight. I would tap the head several times with a rubber mallet to try and break the headgasket seal, and keep in mind the head has some weight to it. if you still have some thread from that E8 bolt on and in the head, you will have to bring the head up straight back. I would get a friend to help out an just put some brute force on it.

[@sterlingwitherspoon5709]

Good vid but you didn't show removing the headers

[@M3NACE]

That is in a separate video my friend! kzbin.info/www/bejne/imfZdGh9bbh7qJY

[@roberthoovan4130]

Is that e12 a deep

[@M3NACE]

yessir

[@CristianGarcia-jq8xg]

Since you have a S52 engine, does it say 3.2 on the cylinder head by the coolant temperature sensor?

[@M3NACE]

Cristian Garcia no, it says 2.5, the cylinder head design didnt change for the S52’s. The M52’s have the exact same head. The S52 has different cams and valve springs though.

[@tractorback76]

Our S50 just fucking died. Head is toast at minimum

[@M3NACE]

Oof, good luck boys!