S52 Rebuild Progress

[kendogg]

I've just been thinking about this, and it's awesome to see such a thorough thread with lots of pics and info. Thanks, even though I know you will be the one enjoying the fruits of your labors!

I agree, thank you. It's also nice how little BMW things wear, like oil pumps, crankshafts, etc. I'd re-use an oil pump without giving it a 2nd thought. It's not like old American junk that wears a pump out in 100-150k, or Honda junk that wears crank journals rather than bearings.

[E30NJ]

what transmission are you running?

[Mistawall]

this is great I'm in the process of getting my hands on a 98 s52 with about 184,000 and plan on swapping it into my e30. considering a partial/full rebuild to be safe. anything i should look for?

[mitchlevy7]

This is really awesome. About to go do the same thing in a few hours on my m52.
your pictures are really good and this is well documented.

[brianao34]

Great job writing this up. I just finished the build on my S50 at the beginning of the year.

As a side note I HATED using that piston ring compressor. After breaking a couple oil rings I went ahead and bought a nice compressor like this one


Makes installation that much easier, just remember to lube the shit out of the tool and cylinder walls.

If you need the tools for the VANOS installation lmk.

[nyChris]

Thanks for this. I will be beginning my s52 tear down this weekend. The price creeps up REAL FAST!

[MyE30]

this is great I'm in the process of getting my hands on a 98 s52 with about 184,000 and plan on swapping it into my e30. considering a partial/full rebuild to be safe. anything i should look for?

I replied to your thread.

[MyE30]

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Great job writing this up. I just finished the build on my S50 at the beginning of the year.

As a side note I HATED using that piston ring compressor. After breaking a couple oil rings I went ahead and bought a nice compressor like this one


Makes installation that much easier, just remember to lube the shit out of the tool and cylinder walls.

If you need the tools for the VANOS installation lmk.

I've been using my piston ring compressor for over ten years and I've never broke a piston ring. The trick is to make sure the compressor is square on the piston and flat on the block. Apply downward pressure to the ring compressor while taping the piston in.

I've used the piston ring compressor you listed and it's a great tool. If you don't want to buy one you can always borrow it from Autozone or similar parts stores.

Lastly, you want to avoid putting too much lube on your cylinder walls and piston rings in order to facilitate proper bead in and ring sealing. As per the manual, the piston rings only need a light coat of oil.

[MyE30]

I finally got around to uploading more pictures.

Getting ready to install the cylinder head. Head gasket set has everything needed.

Head gasket by itself.


ARP head studs, lubed threads and installed hand tight.


also replaced dowel pins


Prepped cylinder head for installation; replaced non-return valve; applied light coat of oil on o-ring.



Installed head gasket and cylinder head, applied proper lube and torqued nuts in three even steps to 80 ft lbs; reference the manual for torque order. (Factory head bolts are one time use and must be replaced: joining torque 30 Nm, tightening torque 90 degrees, followed by another 90 degrees)

[JCarp90]

Very cool man!

[MyE30]

Bearing strips, bucket tappets, and camshafts clean and ready for installation (bucket tappets must be reinstalled in originating bore of bearing strip)


used high pressure engine assembly lube for all moving parts in the valve train




Rotated the crankshaft to 30 degrees before TDC prior to installing camshafts to avoid valve to piston contact. I did not use BMW's special tool to install the camshafts. Care must be taken when not using the special tool to rotate cams to a spot where there is the least amount of pressure from the cam lobe on the bucket tappets, then tighten cam bearing caps down in very small steps to avoid damaging the camshaft. Torque for nuts: 15 Nm.


Everything is labeled: E = Intake, A = exhaust. The cam bearing caps are numbered counting upward starting from the timing chain and can be read from the exhaust side of the engine.

[kendogg]

Bearing strips, bucket tappets, and camshafts clean and ready for installation (bucket tappets must be reinstalled in originating bore of bearing strip)

I LOVE your thread, but this one isn't true. Old wives tale from old flat-tappet SBC days. Bucket lifters both move up and down, AND rotate in their bores. They should all be identical sizes, and wear on the top from the camshaft is going to be uniform by the nature of the rotation. If you have one thats is worn more than others, you should see visable scuffing or scraping. Otherwise - don't hesitate to throw them together. Even SB or LS roller lifters - no visable wear - put them in any hole. They don't 'wear in' to the cam - if you've got wear on the roller contact, then the lifter should be replaced.

[MyE30]

I LOVE your thread, but this one isn't true. Old wives tale from old flat-tappet SBC days. Bucket lifters both move up and down, AND rotate in their bores. They should all be identical sizes, and wear on the top from the camshaft is going to be uniform by the nature of the rotation. If you have one thats is worn more than others, you should see visable scuffing or scraping. Otherwise - don't hesitate to throw them together. Even SB or LS roller lifters - no visable wear - put them in any hole. They don't 'wear in' to the cam - if you've got wear on the roller contact, then the lifter should be replaced.

Thanks for the input kendogg. What you stated makes perfect sense! However, the note about the bucket tappers is straight out of the BMW TIS workshop manual (in my own words of course), please reference manual 3 Series E36 coupe (S52) COUPE, work package 11 31, pg 414, note. Everyone's inperpertation of the manual is different. "Worn" to me equals "used"; therefore I followed the note. The added time for following this step is negligible and the added piece of mind is good enough for me; I'm sure most would agree as well. Additionally, I only provide deviations from the manual to facilitate the non-use of special tools and such. You will not see any "old wives' tales" posted by me in this thread.

[MyE30]

Just to be clear, I am not saying you are wrong kendogg. However, I just wanted it to be clear that I was providing information in reference to the BMW manual and not something that was hearsay.

[kendogg]

Just to be clear, I am not saying you are wrong kendogg. However, I just wanted it to be clear that I was providing information in reference to the BMW manual and not something that was hearsay.

Fair enough. I, along with everyone I know (including shop-built engines making a good bit of power) have mixed and matched lifters. 99% of the time when you buy a set of used cams, if it comes with trays, they don't come with lifters. Or if they do, they're in a bag or a bucket of ATF. Hell, half the time when you pull the trays the lifters fall out everywhere anyways. Personally, I pre-soak them in a tub of ATF before install.

Oh, and a video illustrating my point. It's nearly impossible to film the lifter itself, but witnessing the valvespring being all floppy and the way it rotates in use should extrapolate. Just an example. Not all engines will have the same harmonics acting upon the same parts in the same manor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtqDHJDN79w