Part Number Help! Intake cam bearing cap E5 (broken)

[jsnppp]

Well, the clacking noise and now misfire in cylinder 4 has turned out to be a broken cam shaft cap! E5 is in 2 pieces. I suspect the lower nut loosened over time.

FIRST - Can anyone point me to part numbers for the individual caps? I looked realoem, etc.

SECOND - Anyone have a good used set?

I found a tray + caps on ebay and will likely go there but I'd go new if I could.

I need to inspect if anything else was taken out at same time...

Super bummer.

Jason

[jsnppp]

Followup - Is the cam tray + caps the same for a 1994 318is M42 as for a 1991 M42?

One option: https://www.ebay.com/itm/164797369741

Probably preferred (just in case): https://www.ebay.com/itm/154972867038

All thoughts appreciated! I'm surprised I can't find individual caps. Probably b/c it's best to sell as a set for wear reasons.

Jason

[gazellebeigem3]

The caps were line bored bolted to the trays when manufactured, that's why you can find individuals. Use realoem to see what crosses to what, but yeah it looks like you're good up to 95.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AF93-USA-12-1990-E30-BMW-318is&diagId=11_4372

[jsnppp]

The caps were line bored bolted to the trays when manufactured, that's why you can find individuals. Use realoem to see what crosses to what.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_4372

Makes sense - why I'd probably go with an existing used tray! I'll look at realoem for year cross fit but I'm leaning to the ebay with all things to have backup.

Jason

[jsnppp]

Ha! Just gets better. Intake cam shaft is broken between 3 and 4. Also can't find the missing nut. I'm hoping it is under exhaust cam somewhere and not down by the timing chain.

Good times. Looks like I'm going with the full cam option.

Probably at this time I'll also change followers to the lightened version.

Jason

[jsnppp]

This was certainly a journey. The engine had a new misfire last week and so we changed the following.

* New spark plug wires
* New (used) DME
* New fuel injector cylinder 4
* Tested all wiring
* Swapped in new coil packs

So - $200 later ... it turns out to be a broken cam cap and broken cam shaft! I believe the bottom nut backed off and this loosened it ovrer time.

But I'm so glad we found it.

[bmwman91]

Wow! Well that certainly explains some stuff. It is always amazing to me how much damage an engine can sustain and still operate.

Was there much in the way of metal shavings or anything in the oil or filter?

I forget how big the drain holes are? But you may need to check in those for the missing nut. This is also a good opportunity yo drop the lower oil pan and check for debris there. Some of the upper pan nuts have a tendency to come loose or strip out and fall into the pan. They can get pulled through the oil pickup screen and that is…bad.

Keep us posted!

[jsnppp]

Totally agree. It's not like it wasn't running. My daughter drove it home (about 5 miles, lightly) because I thought for sure it was something else. It was just "running rough".

I found two metal particles between the lifter tray and the head, about a millimeter or two diameter. I picked them up. I'll look for more, carefully, when I disassemble further. I hope the nut is under the exaust tray and not in the dark regions of the front timing chain cover. Ugh. Big ugh.

I don't believe the oil paths are big enough for the 10mm nut.

The cam shaft cap E5 was cleanly broken. I need to mate up the cam to see how that looks. I'd prefer not to drop the pan but as you say, better safe than sorry, I'll get new oil for it too.

If only I'd pulled the cover off a few months ago. The engine had the telltale "ticking" but I thought for sure it was fuel injector (changed!) or worn cam followers because "thats what the M42 ticking is". Most likely, it was the start of the nut loosening and it bouncing a bit.

For fun, some photos.

This is nearly what I saw when I opened it. I movedf the cam cap 90 degrees before I took the photo. I only noticed the broken cam after I looked more carefully. Doh!


Cam up close.



Clearly ground down a bit.



More soon! I won't get parts till Wed at the earliest.

[bmwman91]

Wow! How much damage is there in journal E4? I guess that if you are replacing the whole tray, then there is not much concern.

It might be worth opening up the timing case covers and giving things a good looking-over. The only hard parts about that are removing the crank damper bolt, and getting a decent seal where the profile gaskets butt-up to one another. I own a proper crank locking tool and would be happy to lend it to you if you are interested, just pay the postage. As for the gasket sealing, it's just a matter of cleanliness and the use of some RTV. The coolant needs to be drained too, but as long as the little bled bypass groove in the thermostat housing is clear, getting the air out of the system is a 90 second job.

If you do not really want to make this into an even bigger project (and really, you probably do not need to open up the timing case), then I 100% suggest getting a new oil pan drain plug with a rare earth magnet in it. One of those things saved my bacon in the past when a valve spring broke and little pieces of the lifter all wound up on the magnet instead of in the oil pickup. If you have a big, strong magnet around you can try sweeping over the bottom of the pan and "dragging" anything that might be in there toward the exit.

[jsnppp]

Wow! How much damage is there in journal E4? I guess that if you are replacing the whole tray, then there is not much concern.

It might be worth opening up the timing case covers and giving things a good looking-over. The only hard parts about that are removing the crank damper bolt, and getting a decent seal where the profile gaskets butt-up to one another. I own a proper crank locking tool and would be happy to lend it to you if you are interested, just pay the postage. As for the gasket sealing, it's just a matter of cleanliness and the use of some RTV. The coolant needs to be drained too, but as long as the little bled bypass groove in the thermostat housing is clear, getting the air out of the system is a 90 second job.

If you do not really want to make this into an even bigger project (and really, you probably do not need to open up the timing case), then I 100% suggest getting a new oil pan drain plug with a rare earth magnet in it. One of those things saved my bacon in the past when a valve spring broke and little pieces of the lifter all wound up on the magnet instead of in the oil pickup. If you have a big, strong magnet around you can try sweeping over the bottom of the pan and "dragging" anything that might be in there toward the exit.

I appreciate the offer and guidance!

I have a cam alignment tool I bought when I originally did the head work on this car, so I should be good.

The E4 journal has scrape marks on it, but yes, since I bought that whole package (intake and exhaust cams, journals, caps and timing chain gears) I will likely just swap everything over. I'm also "upgrading" to new lighterweight cam followers because why not (other than $150). I'll also check the head torque when everything is open.

I do have a magnet on the oil plug and so am interested in what it finds, if any. It looks clean all around but until I find the nut I won't rest easy. I prefer not to pull the front timing covers b/c I really stressed about leakage there when I replaced it all and it hasn't leaked at all. BUT I'll do it if there is any question on if a nut is bouncing around in there. Or a lot of fragments.

More soon. Cams/etc come Friday but unfortunatelly cam followers delayed until Monday.

Jason

[bmwman91]

Good deal, it sounds like you have a solid plan in place. How were you planning to check head bolt torque? IIRC they are TTY bolts which are set with a specific angle rather than a final torque, although I guess it would be good to make sure that none of them are loose lol.

If you have never dropped the lower oil pan before, I would recommend it either way. Stuff like timing chain roller fragments have been known to be down there if a previous owner neglected the chain before it was changed, and the upper pan bolts can also pose a hazard if they come loose, aside from being sucked up, by allowing the gasket around the oil pickup passage to implode at high RPM and feed air into the oil pump. Worst-case, you would need to drop the upper pan and put some thread inserts into the bottom of the timing case, although in most cases nothing is stripped and you just need to blast out the holes with some brake cleaner and put the cleaned bolts back with some red thread locker.

[jsnppp]

Good deal, it sounds like you have a solid plan in place. How were you planning to check head bolt torque? IIRC they are TTY bolts which are set with a specific angle rather than a final torque, although I guess it would be good to make sure that none of them are loose lol.

If you have never dropped the lower oil pan before, I would recommend it either way. Stuff like timing chain roller fragments have been known to be down there if a previous owner neglected the chain before it was changed, and the upper pan bolts can also pose a hazard if they come loose, aside from being sucked up, by allowing the gasket around the oil pickup passage to implode at high RPM and feed air into the oil pump. Worst-case, you would need to drop the upper pan and put some thread inserts into the bottom of the timing case, although in most cases nothing is stripped and you just need to blast out the holes with some brake cleaner and put the cleaned bolts back with some red thread locker.

Definitely dropped the pan before (see: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...eseal-mid-2021) but that doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done again!

Once I start cleaning it up I'll make the decision as to chance of debris down there. I just ordered new upper and lower pan gaskets just in case. I'll prob drop the lower regardless. I'll be pissed if I don't and something happened.

True on the head bolts, was just thinking "why not" but you are right I forgot how I had set them...

Jason

[jsnppp]

Ugh. I bought this set: https://www.ebay.com/itm/154972867038

Only to find deep scoring under E1 and A1. Conventiently not photo'd. No returns. I already sent a comment and will post negative review when able (they don't allow it for 7 days).

Ad says "good" and also mentioning 130K motor hints all ok. Buyer beware. Daughters car is out for another week+ and we are out $200.

I'll keep looking. Also may see a local pick and pull yard that has a '93 318.

People. Whats wrong with them.

[jsnppp]

I let the seller know and he said to ship back and he will refund. So, thats good. Found another who checked the journals and reported back good results.

I removed the rest of the intake cam today and found it a bit gouged up under E1. My guess is its from a but of a flop after it broke (looks fresh) but who knows.

Exhaust looks perfect. I will likely retain it unless the new one is more perfect.

I still didn't find the nut. So, it either is down under the timing chain (ugh) or somehow fell through one of the oil passages and into the pan? I looked with light and didn't see anything. I'll remove the lower pan too (ugh) to see what I find.

There are some metal fragments around the scraped journals. I'll clean everything carefully. Good times.

[jsnppp]

Who knows maybe it is in the valve cover? Isn't there a shelf or something there? I need to look (wishful thinking!).