E34 540i valley pan gasket

[straight6pwr]

I ended up doing the valley pan on mine a couple weeks ago. Bear of a job but doable without any special skills. What I learned:
1) all my valley pan bolts were f*d so make sure you have a whole new set when you dive in.
2) the newest version of the pcv had an extra fitting than my 530, so I had to plug it with hose, clamps, and an appropriate sized bolt.
3) I wanted to leave the injectors attached to the fuel rail to not deal with draining/depressurizing gas but they were so stuck in the manifold that they popped out fron the rail when tugging on them, so I had to do it anyways, and clean up the spillage.
4)the plastic wire cover on the battery crossover cable disintegrated a bit every time I touched it, so be careful so you don't get bits in you coolant or intake ports
5) I cut the engine harness cables running down to the alternator and re spliced them back together without any trouble.

[marshallnoise]

Thanks for the update.

On your alternator cable splice: did you just want to extend the harness?

[straight6pwr]

Thanks for the update.

On your alternator cable splice: did you just want to extend the harness?

You have to get the harness out of the way to do all the work
The proper way to do that is get under the car and disconnect that end of the harness from some sensors and the alternator. I've done that before and it's a pain in the ass on the v8 cars so cutting and reconnecting the wires up top is way easier. When I reconnected them I used some pin connectors so next time I just have to cut the tape/shrink wrap to unhook them.

[straight6pwr]

heres a little pictorial guide:

[Old city bimmer]

thanks for the pics. it helps alot

[Gaode]

Nice pics and write up straight6pwr.
+1 on the new valley pan bolts. They always come out horribly.

Since I've done the valley pan gasket with "The Right Stuff" I haven't had any more leaks from the valley pan. I've had another problem tho happen just last week. My water pump seized and snapped my belt. I've replaced the belt, pulley, and pump. With new OEM gaskets and new bolts. Anyone experience the water pump leaking after replacing it? Have a slow water leak dripping from the bottom of the water pump

[jpod999]

I'm 50% sure my engine doesn't have that crossover cable. How suspect is this? Engine came out of a 97 540i/6.

[Gaode]

I'm 50% sure my engine doesn't have that crossover cable. How suspect is this? Engine came out of a 97 540i/6.

Do you have an M62 or M60? If it's a 97 I think it's a M62 which is the updated M60. May be different

[marshallnoise]

Do you have an M62 or M60? If it's a 97 I think it's a M62 which is the updated M60. May be different

The m60 has the cable. It goes from the alternator to the starter. I don't recall seeing that on the m62 car I yanked my motor out of.

[jpod999]

M62. I'm just glad that I'm not losing my mind. Thanks!