New owner, BMW 325iX Touring

[D.Martijn]

Again an update.

This evening we were able to remove the head from the block.
We first had to remove the nut at the exhaust manifold, the fuel lines to the FPR and fuel rail return + the coolant hose I recently replaced at the back of the cilinder head.

As you can see on the picture, the 5th piston is pretty clean. To me this explains that there was a coolant leak near this cilinder, thus making steam and cleaning the top of the piston. Also the 6th piston is pretty dirty, I'm guessing that because of a valve seal.






Cross hatching is also still present.


It's crazy to see the engine bay this empty. ;)


The AMC cylinder head on the bench, awaiting disassembly


Head gasket, confirms coolant leak. Although I find it weird that i still got 13bar compression on this one..?


Sludge buildup on the oil drain tube aka bitch tube at the manifold.


Underside of the head. Can't see any visible cracks.
Although I think I'll still search for an original 885 head, regrind the valves is they are still ok, put in a new KS camshaft and maybe new rockers or regrind the original BMW ones.

[notanawdix80]

Now you've got to spend hours cleaning that carbon build up haha
Did it last year

[D.Martijn]

Yeah @notanawdix80, I took a few whetstones from work to get started cleaning the surface of the engine block itself. That'll be fun.

I still need to order all the gaskets and other replacement parts/hoses but I first want to make a full list so I can get everything at once.

Yesterday evening I took the time to search for a good 885 cylinder head because the once I found earlier were too expensive, the seller didn't reply or they couldn't confirm if there were any cracks...

However, I found one in Austria. The guy said he had it pressure tested. He asked 340€ for he head with valves and springs, no cam or rockers. I asked if he would do 340€ incl shipping. His final offer was 349€ incl shipping. Not a bad price for a pressure tested head if you ask me.

While waiting on the seller his replies, I called around and got some quotes for cleaning and testing my injectors.
One place asked 26€/injector but I need to arrange it with a garage, they don't offer their service to regular people.
I did found a seller on Ebay listing new Bosch injectors for 30€/piece but they are located in the US so there will be customs.. Still not sure what I should get/do.

Today I also received the first package, a new Kolbenschmidt camshaft for the 885 head (part no 50006239). My old one is pretty worn down. Paid 242€, if you look online for some quotes they list them as high as +400€.. (I would trust KS more than Febi so that's why I went this route)

[D.Martijn]

Yesterday evening I went to the workshop to disassemble the head some more;
Turns out the rockershafts have a few gouges in them + they are mushroomed at the ends. I decided I'll go with new BMW rocker shafts for the head rebuild.




The rockers are also pretty worn down, there is a substantial groove present. I already ordered Ireland Engineering HD rocker arms. I'll also replace the eccentrics but use the original hardware.


On Friday at work, I took a big whetstone home to get started on cleaning up the block itself.
I started by scraping the old remaining head gasket off. I also cleaned the tops of the pistons.


I'm not sure if I should go over it more with the whetstone. Here's a detailed shot of the engine block deck.


When cleaning the pistons, I noticed indentations on them where there are cut outs. Could it be that the timing was once wrong in the lifetime of the engine or the belts skipped a few teeth?
There were a few burs left, I decided to remove those so there is no change they break off.


After cleaning the deck and pistons, I noticed a few small oil leaks coming from the intermediate/oil pump shaft cover and the oil dipstick. I'll replace the o-ring on the cover and tube at the dip stick.




Also removed all of the old/original coolant hoses. The car is currently fitted with a cold run regulator (kaltlaufregler) it's pretty common in Germany. It supposedly should raise the idle a bit so the car reaches operation temperature faster thus reducing the emissions.


Now it's time to order everything from either an online store or BMW if needed.

[D.Martijn]

Yesterday my cylinder head arrived, I also got the IE HD rocker arms somewhere this week. I lend a valve spring compressor tool from a friend so I could get the head pressure tested. At first sight I can't see any cracks + the seller told me that he had pressure tested the head and it checked out. Anyway I just want to be 100% sure.

Some of the rockers have some excessive aluminium casted on the sides of the pads. I called IE about this but they said it is normal and shouldn't be a problem. The guy I had on the phone also said if I wanted I could take a file or dremel and clean them up some more.


Head looks good. Valve seats are pretty nice, the valves do need a bit of cleaning.












Still waiting on the two orders I made for the replacement parts. After I receive my injector rebuild kit, I'm going to send them to a company that is able to test and clean them. As I couldn't find one locally.
I did get an email about the rocker shafts that were not available anymore, turns out there is a replacement number for them. (11331264533 -> 11331274975)

[jeenyus]

How much does the rebuilt injectors cost? I only ask because you can get 4 pintle injectors for pretty cheap. I'm running Bosch injectors off a Mercury Contour and they cost me like nothing relatively.

The rebuild should be really nice once it's all back together and problem free. that new head gonna be really fun.

[D.Martijn]

How much does the rebuilt injectors cost? I only ask because you can get 4 pintle injectors for pretty cheap. I'm running Bosch injectors off a Mercury Contour and they cost me like nothing relatively.

The rebuild should be really nice once it's all back together and problem free. that new head gonna be really fun.

Rebuild costs 20€ per injector so not too bad.

Yeah, can't wait to get everything and start to assemble.

[D.Martijn]

Another update on the cylinder head refresh.

Last weekend I got started with cleaning the deck of the engine block.
I started with a 180grit whetstone and gave it a final pass with the 600grit side.
Looks pretty good, according to a couple R3V forum members this should be good.


This week I received my order from Leebmann with all the BMW parts. I somehow ordered the wrong studs for the exhaust so I ordered a pack of 100 locally. lol. Every time I need to remove those 6 nuts there is always one that gets stripped or breaks..

I also got my head to a local engine machinist, he told me at first glance that it is in pretty good shape. :up:

Got a new bag of glass beads so I could get the intake and other aluminium engine bits cleaned up. My brother suggested to try Gyeon Rim, some sort of quartz coating, to protect the freshly blasted aluminium as it can withstand a temperature of 350°C.
Unlike clear coat this should stay nice and clear.
Some other parts got blasted too and painted satin black or RAL9006




Oh man. did it take a while to blast this damn thing. Glad it's all over.


I still need to do the valve cover. I was able to remove the little aluminium oil baffle plate on the inside by popping it over the revits. I should be able to push it back over them.

Friday at work I milled the spare bell housing cover I bought a while back so I finally can get the front axle deeper into the TC housing. After removing the old one and fitting the milled one, I need to remove some more material (+/- 1mm) at the edge so I can fit the X5 centering flange and guibo.


Also checked for any leaks but it's pretty dry inside of the bell housing. So both rear main seal and the input seal of the trans are still good.


And finally. PAAAARTS. 8-)

[mike.bmw]

Those blasted parts turned out awesome. Such great and consistent progress on your touring. I'm looking forward to hearing about the final results from the head work and engine refresh.

[D.Martijn]

Those blasted parts turned out awesome. Such great and consistent progress on your touring. I'm looking forward to hearing about the final results from the head work and engine refresh.

Thanks, Mike!
I'm very happy with the outcome of the parts. Hopefully that stay like that for a while.. :)

[D.Martijn]

On Friday I got my injectors back from the company I sent them to for cleaning and testing them.
They included a test sheet with the results. Looks like they are still in great form.
I also sent a rebuild kit with new o-rings, filters and caps which they also installed for me.


Because of the ultra sonic cleaning, some of the black paint was gone. I decided give them a sanding and some paint.


While the paint was drying, I started with blasting the valve cover. As I said previously, I removed the little aluminium plate on the inside and pressure washed it so all of the gummed up oil/sludge is gone.
Again, I used Gyeon Rim for the valve cover, very pleased with the result.


After that, I started with removing the exhaust so I could undo the O2 sensor.
All in all... not that bad actually to get it out. I used our little propane torch and heated that sucker up. After some high pitch screeching it came out.. with no threads..
Luckily the bung it self is still good so mounting the new one will be no problem


While under the car, I fitted the transmission cover I machined down last Friday. I had to remove some more material from the lip so I could get the shaft further inside of the output shaft so I could fit the thicker guibo and X5 centering flange.


When I ordered my parts from Leebmann I bought some new vacuum line too for the brake boosted as the ends were pretty shot. Turns out there is a metal tube inside of the hose. With some oil I was able to slide it into the new tube.


And finally I fitted the painted injectors to the fuel rail (which also got a coat of paint). It got also fitted on the the intake manifold.

[D.Martijn]

After work on Monday I went and got my cylinder head back from the local parts store where I got it resurfaced. This will ensure that I have a good surface finish for the new HG. The guy where I took my cylinder head initially said it was still flat and didn't need machining. Although it turns out there were a few low spots in between the combustion chambers.

After getting the head back, I started on getting it degreased and cleaned.
Turned out great after some scrubbing.




Yesterday I got the valve seals, valve and springs fitted back onto the head. I used assembly lube on every surface. I couldn't wait and got the camshaft fitted as well.

[kronus]

your resurfacing guy didn't clean the head? weird. that's usually done in shops here before they do anything, they don't want to get their mills dirty

[D.Martijn]

your resurfacing guy didn't clean the head? weird. that's usually done in shops here before they do anything, they don't want to get their mills dirty

He didn't but the head wasn't all that dirty to begin with, just a few small spots.

[moatilliatta]

Id consider Genuine rockers unless IE has updated their design.