l322

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Having operated a few too many times on this engine here is what I would recommend. Pull the heads and see what you have. Everything is very well written up in Rave. Disconnect the exhaust and remove the head with the manifold on - it will be easier. Don't worry about timing tools just yet, yes you will need them, but first you need to know what you have.

The M62 block is robust but when it goes bad it is done. Taking off the heads will tell you if you have any block damage. If the block is bad you need a new engine. Either way the head has to come off so it is not like you are going to waste your efforts unless the engine block is bad.

I advise this course so you don't waste money on parts you will not need. You can do all this work with the engine still in the car - it is not too bad if you have the space to pile up all the parts you are going to pull off.

Once you verify the block is good then figure you need new timing guides, water pump, hoses, chains, gaskets .... In the USA figure about $1,000.00-$1,250.00 if you include rebuilding your vanos plus having your heads milled.

The last engine I installed in my 2004 L322 was bought with a blown head gasket. Nothing tough on these engines to work on, but you need to pay attention and you need the timing tools.

As for coils, buy used until you have it all sorted out. Locally in the USA they are pretty cheap - I have a box of extras I can give you if you are in Minnesota any time soon.
 
To be honest, what have you got to lose. Its knackered now, if you mes up it will still be knackered and you will have learned something. it may cost you a few pounds but no pain no gain as they say. If however you succeed, you have a great car,and you have learned something. Go for it and enjoy the experience.
 
Thankyou for the links chicken the vanos link looks complicated when the engine was running there was no chain rattling it was running smooth and the only problem was the water bubbling could I get away without touching the vanos ?.
thankyou for advice kg74 shame its a long way to get your parts I'm in England.
That's how I see now tarphenry nothing to lose.
Regards Lee
 
And don't forget to take loads of photos, write a 'How To' for this site and keep us all in the loop.

As KG says, they are robust engines, but if the bores have been scored or damaged, the block is toast, there have been reports of M62 blocks being re-lined, but the cost is horrendous, and the repair seldom lasts long.

If you want to pull it apart to see whats what, and then if it is worth rebuilding, I can lend you my timing kit - with a refundable deposit (no offence) - which will save you from having to buy a kit and add to the expense....

But as they say, what have you got to lose at this stage?
 
I will take photos and that's nice of you to lend that to me its nice to know there is still decent people out there unlike the **** tank mobile mechanic in the Chelmsford are
a who rooked me for £800.
Lee
 
barney5781 said:
Thankyou for the links chicken the vanos link looks complicated when the engine was running there was no chain rattling it was running smooth and the only problem was the water bubbling could I get away without touching the vanos ?.
thankyou for advice kg74 shame its a long way to get your parts I'm in England.
That's how I see now tarphenry nothing to lose.
Regards Lee
Click to expand...
Yes you can just replace the headgaskets, the vanos never fail in a catastrophic way and only begin to rattle or tap so if they are not doing that then don't worry.
The timing chain guides are more of a concern as they can and do fail anywhere from 100k miles upwards and are a bit more work as the crank bolt has to come out and the lower timing chain covers come off but again all doable.

As said above, get yourself a copy of rave, get the heads off if you are confident that your compression test results are correct and the water bubbling is because your head gasket has gone as it will bubble on any engine if you run it with the cap off. You can buy a sniff test kit that you plug into the expansion cap to sniff for hydrocarbons or burnt fuel and if your compression is as bad as the results you posted then it's off with it its heads and inspect the bores. The Alusil bores if damaged are 99% dead, i think some light wear has been honed out before and sleeving them is rare but i have read of one or two that have managed it if the blocks were the same but I reckon it would be new engine time or part it out / sell it as a lump.

in your searching you can look for M62TU or M62TUB44 BMW as that is the engine you have and there is a stack of info on the BMW sights.

As already said above, if you are confident in your diagnosis then heads off and inspect bores, if the bores are ok then you can refurb heads and then decide if you want to do the guides from there.

These are your second hand coil packs, the genuine are made by Bremi and you can see the date of manufacture on the head under the writing but they all seem to be around 2000 or even older.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=1748017&_sacat=0
 
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Ok thanks,hopefully bores will be ok if not then I will as you suggest sell the engine.
I did try to google rave but all it came up with was wild parties,bit long in the tooth for those now !
 
Got it thankyou.
I forgot to mention the hill climb switch is broken,i looked on ebay but you have to buy the control panel aswell can I just buy the switch from somewhere ?
 
You can buy the switch on its own and the guy selling them says they can be changed out carefully and he sells them for £75.
Without wanting to sound like i am telling you what to do but i would ignore it until you have sorted everything else to do with the engine, and then the transmission and suspension if you get that far.
The Hill descent control switch on mine has never been touched in the 3 or 4 years i have had it, same as the sunroof, I have learnt that unless your life depends on it, leave it alone until you need it to escape fire or flood :)
I would like to have had the old girl off road but it a constant battle to keep the tart on the road
 
Ok thanks,i will take your advice I have never driven the car yet so I didn't know whether that was important if it was in high or low gear and I don't know if the sunroof works or not as you say the engine is priorty.
 
No bother, you don't need to worry about the hi/lo or the HDC although the transfer box motor that operates from the hi/lo switch is another potential source of financial drain for you to enjoy in the future
 
Oh well, lucky I give up the booze sounds like an expensive pastime still they must be a pleasure once everything is sorted,and I must say thanks to you and others on this site you all make it a lot easier to over come any problems.
 
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