Need advice from experience for an M42 rebuild

[roguetoaster]

Gotze for the HG is best, or so folks say, mine has lasted for 9 years after the VR one failed right out of the box, of course it's possible that I installed it incorrectly but I don't think so. Elring is the same as VR IIRC.

If the lifters are new which I would highly recommend then they should be, but don't need to be bled. Old lifters should still be fine, but I would soak them in some ATF or something similar and then drop them in a container of oil overnight before installing. Clearly a vacuum setup is best for the lifters in terms of removing all of the air, but I have not had issues without it.

Any rotating assembly should get some kind of lube, and as you correctly identified the lifters may rotate, but I think dumping oil on top of them prior to startup will be fine.

In my case I put assembly Lube on the cams and then dumped all of my oil directly on the valve train prior to installing the valve cover and starting it. I did initially get clatter but it went away after about 15 to 20 seconds and I have found that if you have clatter you can often run the engine for a few 5 second intervals to make it go away.

[Gloff]

Gotze for the HG is best, or so folks say, mine has lasted for 9 years after the VR one failed right out of the box, of course it's possible that I installed it incorrectly but I don't think so. Elring is the same as VR IIRC.

If the lifters are new which I would highly recommend then they should be, but don't need to be bled. Old lifters should still be fine, but I would soak them in some ATF or something similar and then drop them in a container of oil overnight before installing. Clearly a vacuum setup is best for the lifters in terms of removing all of the air, but I have not had issues without it.

Any rotating assembly should get some kind of lube, and as you correctly identified the lifters may rotate, but I think dumping oil on top of them prior to startup will be fine.

In my case I put assembly Lube on the cams and then dumped all of my oil directly on the valve train prior to installing the valve cover and starting it. I did initially get clatter but it went away after about 15 to 20 seconds and I have found that if you have clatter you can often run the engine for a few 5 second intervals to make it go away.

I reused the original lifters both times I did the HG and once was after they sat for a month and got clatter both times as well. Ran it for about 3-4 min, shut down and restarted the next day and the clatter went away.

I'd recommend putting the valvetrain in after mounting and torquing the head, makes it easier to torque the headbolts and you don't have to worry about oil running down while you're trying to plop the head on. On that note, you have to rotate the crank approx 45° reverse when you mount the cams, mount the cams locked at TDC, once torqued, you have to let it sit for 15-40 min (depending on ambient temperature) to let the valves move back up before setting TDC on the crank.

[JonsE30]

thank you all for the tips, all really good info!

so once it comes back (2-3 weeks) i will reassemble the head, mate it to block then drop it in the engine bay. what are the must have to do a test fire before buttoning everything up? i don't wanna do a parts order haul then get stuck on the engine trying to start.

i am guessing, main wiring harness, computer, crank and cam position sensors, fuel system?

i am also guessing the starter is needed but that mounts to the transmission so i would have to marry to the transmission too?

do the intake and exhaust manifolds need to be reinstalled? throttle body? thermostat?

i am going to be placing an order the must haves for right now to get the engine assembled:

head gasket
valve cover gasket
spark plug seals
timing gaskets and seals

is there other must have for 1st test startup" part i am missing?

i am getting excited, everyone else is so helpful, always looking forward to your advice, thanks in advance!

[roguetoaster]

Again, install the engine and transmission together. You can only really leave the alt/PS pump/AC comp/fan off during the first startup.

I suggest adding a coolant pipe (the plastic one), manifold gaskets (intake, exhaust and downpipe too). If I were you I'd put the engine together on a stand, leaving off the intake manifold/accessories.That way you only need to lay the under intake wiring in place, add accessories, coolant lines, intake, and go.

[Gloff]

Again, install the engine and transmission together. You can only really leave the alt/PS pump/AC comp/fan off during the first startup.

I suggest adding a coolant pipe (the plastic one), manifold gaskets (intake, exhaust and downpipe too). If I were you I'd put the engine together on a stand, leaving off the intake manifold/accessories.That way you only need to lay the under intake wiring in place, add accessories, coolant lines, intake, and go.

2nded, that's the way I did it. Eng/Trans together, exhaust manifold on, bolt up everything except the intakes and coolant hoses, drop in car, then put the intake and cooling hoses in. I deleted the A/C compressor, you'll need two shorter bolts for the front cover if you do that.

For first startup, I only left the hood off, everything else was bolted up. Do the reassembly slowly and methodically, and have faith in your reassembly skills.

[JonsE30]

ok i'll do the entire reassembly.

can the exhaust manifold, upper&lower intake manifold and throttle body gaskets be reused?

how about the crank bolt being reused with loctite?

[roguetoaster]

No, yes if not delaminating, not really, and yes, but I skipped the loctite. YMMV.

[JonsE30]

clutch was replaced less than 30k ago, can the flywheel bolts be reused?

[roguetoaster]

They can be reused if you don't have an alternative, but it's not suggested at all. For $20 I'd replace them.

[varg]

They aren't TTY, you can reuse them as long as they aren't stretched or damaged, they just need thread sealant.

[roguetoaster]

^
This is correct, but considering the high cost of hardware failure and PITA factor they should be replaced whenever you remove the FW. Also, some M42s came with 8.8 bolts, and those should get 10.9 bolts according to some obscure TSB.

Further info for that same area, it should be remembered that there are 2x pilot bearing sizes amd what you'll need will be predicated by your input shaft.

[JonsE30]

thanks guys for the advice, placed the order while the site was down. parts are shipped and in transit! i will try to vlog and snap pics of the reassembly so i can document as much as possible.

[JonsE30]

So i got the block back from the shop and i can start reassembly.

The block came back cleaned, re-decked, resurfaced and rebalanced. The cylinders walls were good to be able to reused my pistons, rods with new rings, bolts, bearings and caps. I told them my plans to use the late model m42 e36 lower timing case and they were nice to put it on for me. They also did the upper and lower oil pans.

So i guess the plan is now to:
1) prepare re-valved head: transfer camshafts, trays, caps and lifters from old head to re-valved head
2) get crank and cams and tdc (gonna use the flywheel and locking pin) then install new gotze head gasket then install head on block, torque head down in proper sequence and spec, i think i need to buy those dowel guides for the head to sit on the block while i torque it down.
3) reinstall crank sprocket, guide rails, tensioner and chain and cam gears in the right position, then install timing gaskets and covers
4) reinstall valve cover

i know each of these steps have a lot of their mini steps within them but is this the right path to take?
how do i prime it with oil before everything gets put back together or is the assemble lube good enough?

[nando]

Pull the FP relay and crank it until the oil pressure dummy light turns off.

[JonsE30]

i was looking at my tear down pics and i think i only had 1 dowel guide pin at the top right. these things are expensive: part number is 11121713264. it looks like there are 10 of them on the block. Do i really need all 10? They are around $10/each so that's another $100 in parts....