BMW DIY Connection Thank you.

you probably dont care but if you are bored like me atm you can watch all of the latest movies and series on instaflixxer. I've been streaming with my brother during the lockdown xD

@Ameer Jack Yea, I have been using InstaFlixxer for since november myself =)

I'm not even old enough to remember the whole Nikasil thing haha. All of the BMW's I've owned were pretty straightforward and lasted just fine. I had a 2003 540i/6 M-Sport with an M62tu, and I changed the timing chain guides at around 195,000 miles, and the car is now with its new owner going well past 200,000 miles. The V8's have a few common issues, but the BMW straight 6 engines are nearly bulletproof as long as you don't overheat them. I see E39 528i's with 250,000 miles still going. My friend has a 2000 Z3 M-Coupe with an S54 engine that has 270,000 miles on it.

+Danny Zabolotny Nikasil issue no longer exists. Issue was caused by high sulfur fuel reacting with material near top of piston bore. BMW offered a free engine replacement for affected owners who took up BMW on their offer. usa and other countries reformulated their fuel in early 2000s for lower sulfur content. no longer an issue.

Thank you. Be sure to check out our website for all your pre-owned bmw parts www.bimmermerchant.com

+Juan Valdez Anything we can do to help let us know. Just don't ask us to come down and do the work

Thank you for watching our channel. Sending you good vibes on doing this job. Hope you have already subscribed to our channel.

So what you are saying is bmw should maintain these engines for life for free? what company does that? Not Ford or toyota or any other car maker. What socialist country do you think you live in that you believe an automaker owes you something for free on a ten year old or older car? Its called MAINTAINING your vehicle and sadly its an alien concept for millions of motorists who think their engine should last forever with zero maintenance. Some motorists can't even find the fuel door on their vehicle and yet they're terrified of doing their own oil changes. How about either buying a service manual for your vehicle, buying some tools, and learn how to fix something yourself instead of waiting for your nanny state government to help you find that tit to suck on?

where have you been all this time. Suddenly you have the courage de respond. First I am an engineer. Second, no one have asked BMW to maintain vehicles. BMW should recognize that a metallic timing chain should not break. Toyota metallic belts never break. Rubber timing belt can break if maintenance is not done in time, however metallic chain is inside the engine, I guess you know this. Are you working for BMW or just for fun that you want to leach their ....; I have a Toyota and i am happy. No one in my relatives or friends will ever buy your BMW cars. When engineers make mistakes which happens to all of us, they should recognize that it is their mistake instead of sharing repair bills with customers. As long as people like you exist, nothing will change. My advice to you, Take some lectures on engine mechanics that will help you to do not answer questions which none of your business.

Exacto podría haber tenido un sistema de engranajes en la zona en V para mitigar la alta tensión en esa zona

Adrian Keith it is definitely worth it. I have a 740il, if I wouldn’t have driven it to the mechanic the day it started to make noise, it would have blown up. If it says it was replaced, it probably was 😎 never can be too safe tho!

good point. Thanks for sharing.

540i and M5 models have different lower oil pans, therefore, upper oil pan will also be different

thanks. Much appreciated. More videos to come

graeme parson Thanks

Good thing you haven't found the locking hole because you would have broken your flywheel when you tried to remove the crankshaft bolt. There is a special tool you need to removed the bolt since it requires couple hundred pounds of torque to remove it. 450lbs i think. Not an easy bolt to remove.

Thank you

your oil pump might be clogged up with aluminum shavings caused by chain gliding on deflectors.

Lets us know outcome. Im sure other bimmer enthusiast would like to know as well. thanks

+john jay your right my 635 had 285 000 miles same engine box diff the lot when I sold it run faultless.

Well said John and Jack. Read and upvote www.quora.com/Which-is-better-to-use-on-a-car-a-timing-belt-or-a-timing-chain/answer/Jason-Taylor-16?__filter__=&__nsrc__=2&__snid3__=3437125268 . It is even worse than you think.

Timing guides. Remove your oil pan and see if you see any plastic parts or metal shavings.

Sorry if i confused you but the motor is in the car ... original motor 150k. Thanks again

Im sure you could wing it without the tools but its not worth doing that big of a job only to discover that timing wasn't set properly and having to tear the whole engine apart again. You can try borrowing the tools or just bite the bullet and purchase a tool kit. Good investment if you ask me. You can even start charging other bimmer owners to replace their guides, IM sure there alot of owners out there that would want the guides replaced by a true bmw enthusiast.

Hey AutoLife305. I'm having a similar problem pressure build up when running on the highway resulting in heavy smoke during the next start up. If driven around town it doesn't smoke at all on restart. Replaced the ccv, not a bit better and I see they located the separator behind the timing chain!!! Yikes!!! You could do a leak down test on the cylinders to check for blow by, other wise like me, time to collect parts. Going to do the timing chain and guides when I am down that far into the motor, also the valley pan gasket... Going into deep water!! Very tempted to leave the vanos alone, it's still working fine and is a bit easier to access I'm thinking. :)

Its just killing depressing to even think about. Im thinking about cutting a hole in the oil cap and adding a breather or routing to pre-throttle body. not yet sure if it doesnt produce more problems but should be fine as the rpms dont change when opening cap, just the chain is throwing oil all over the place.. Let me know if the oil separator fixes yours..

Great Question. Hard to say at what mileage the engine will fail. I've seen engines fail due to timing guides breaking at around 120k. I've also owned 540i models with 180k miles and still driving good. It really depends on the normal maintenance such as regular oil change and most importantly replacing your timing tensioner. Overall, I recommend these cars. One of my favorites and a pleasure to drive.

bimmermerchant Ok thank you! you have really good videos my man. very useful for us DIYs.

bimmermerchant What do you mean by "when the engine fails"? A failed engine generally means the mechanicals are damaged beyond repair, i.e. a thrown rod through the block, bearing seizure to crank, overheated and warped deck/head, or piston breakage in the cylinder bore etc. What most people describe as a failed BMW engine is neglect of maintenance or replacement line wear items. Again, I have never seen a "failed" M62TU engine that was maintained, and certainly not from the timing chain guides wearing out. Most people consider this motor as failed when the oil separator valve goes bad, and the car smokes during startup, or the vanos gear/solenoids make noise. That is how I acquired all my cars for dirt cheap prices, and returned them to factory mechanical condition for minimal expense. I expect my engines to acquire 350K plus miles before any hard mechanical components require replacement, or 500K miles before the engine block end of life cycle. Buying a neglected car for cheap, and not understanding or being able to do or afford the maintenance will of course make you think it's a money pit. These cars will not meet your perception of "reliable" without constant maintenance, and that's just how it is.

Ours has done 376890 km and runs like a dream. AC Schnitzer 540i '98.

bimmermerchant i think that as long as you hear some minimal chain slap, tou should replace the tensioner right away. If it keeps running like that, eventually the guides will break. And ofc using the right oil. Am I right? Thinking on buying one of these...

Not at this time.

I've had one for five years and has 175k miles on it. What so you want to know?

abelucious 540i models are good cars, don't let our video freak you out. As long as you keep up maintenance you should be fine. People that have no business owning such a nice car neglect maintenance and then blame car for breaking down. I also recommend find a good bmw independed mechanic and pay him to go check out car with you. As long as no check engine light is on, no white smoke and no rod knocks you should be fine. Also, be sure to verify miles with car fax.

bimmermerchant Hi. Can you comment on a price that a reasonable mechanic can charge to repair this problem with: labor only and labor and parts if you can... Thanks for the info and video.

If timing chains snaps while the bmw is in motion, you will have bend valves. No compression after that. When plastic guides fail and break, chain will be gliding on guide housing causing friction and aluminum debri causing your oil pump to get clogged up eventually causing vanos to fail.

Hard to say, If you noticed a diesel tapping sound coming from front of engine while at idle, then most likely your guides are starting to go out and can be replaced. If chain snaps while bmw is in motion, most likely your will bend valves and that will require more work or possibly an engine swap. Hope that helps.

If you purchase a 740, then instead of removing covers to inspect timing guides, just go ahead and replace the U-guide and side guide at that time. Like the video mentioned as well, check your lower oil cover for any metal shavings or plastic pieces.

Thanks alot! any other things I should check that you recommend?

turn key to second position and make sure all cluster lights work, especially the 'check engine' light, check oil dipstick for no milky looking oil as well as oil cap, make sure no white smoke upon start up, No check engine light on, Drive vehicle to make sure to vibration or grinding sounds, make sure transmission ships properly while vehicle is still and that you don't feel any lunges or pull as shifting gears and overall, follow your gut instict. If deal is too good to be true, then it is. Good luck

Thanks alot! ill make sure to check everything you told me before buying my first e38 / my first car.

good luck

Would make more sense to replace whole engine because you woudln't know for sure the extent of the damage the valves took.

bimmermerchant Actually that is not true. I am a mechanic on these engines and the guides break all the time and fall into the oil pan. The engine will make noise from the chain riding on the metal part of the guides, but this does not destroy the engine and I have never seen a chain break. When you replace the guides, you are replacing the damaged metal and obviously you replace the chain also. The noise will become severe alerting you that maintenance is required. Also the guy in the video is wrong about magnets being in the oil pan...they are in the transmission pan, but not the oil pan in that area. This engine is easily repairable if you have the proper tools, and it is impossible to do the job without them as you will never get the timing right. It is not a job for a weekend mechanic and the timing tools cost upwards of $400.

Probably a totalled car and they need parts from this engine to rebuild another. Just a guess though.

Thank you. Be sure to check out our website for your bmw pre-owned parts www.bimmermerchant.com

Nooooo

no, but it can save your ass when they start to go, the plastic just gets brittle so every 50k check your oil pan and every 100k change your guides

Thank you for watching.

vanos was introduced on 1998 model v8s and appeared on v12 e38s around 1999 model years. so if you want a v8 without it buy one made before that model year.

Thanks, I'm looking at an 01 740il that needs an engine but want to put a 97 engine in it. Would it work?

because if the guides go out your timing chain will have slack and if the chain jumps a couple of teeth on your cams, your valves will meet up with your pistons and will cause serious damage, also another possibility is that the guides break and fall into your oil pan and pieces of guide material get sucked into your oil pump and restrict the oil flow to your engine and ultimately ceasing the engine.

Michael Villalpando If range rover has the M62tu Vanos 4.4L engine, then yes, its the same engine.

THANKS IT IS I JUST FOUND MORE VIDEOS ON IT LOOKS LIKE I GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO

The M62/TU is an excellent engine and the longest running design BMW has ever used. It has wear items and requires periodic maintenance, but the mechanical s are sound and can easily go 300K miles.

Bimmer Jones "It has wear items" Is 'Jones' referring here to the timing guides as a periodic wear item? "but the mechanical s are sound " Apparently Not, judging from the experiences of people here...Plastic parts against the timing chain?!! The whole car is rendered useless because of this even if the actual metal engine parts still have life left in them. "and can easily go 300K miles" Easily? Come on...be realistic here. With this kind of plastic parts design I would be surprised if these engines routinely actually even got past 150-200k. It is inexcusable to have such a high priced (when new of course) car die because of a problem such as this one.

I am the NRA. Hello, I appreciate your comments and my posts are my opinions and experience as a master mechanic and BMW enthusiast. I stand by my post that the engine is far superior than most in it's mechanical design. Yes the timing chain guides fail between 120-150K miles. Yes they are expensive to replace. "No" the engine is not trashed or useless when they do wear out. This is a maintenance item required of this design, like it or not, but you "choose" to purchase a vehicle like this. When they are properly replaced, you have an engine with 150K plus miles that will run like new. Not many american cars can replicate that (piston ring wear, bearing, valve seals/guides etc.fail on american cars by this mileage). The mechanical components of the engine can easily exceed 300k miles before wearing to point that the engine itself is worn out. Timing chains, guides, OSV, coils, valve cover/front cover/upper oil pan gaskets, valley pan etc. are all maintenance items on this engine requiring replacement every 90k plus miles and/or 8-10 years. I own four cars with this engine and have over 200K miles on each of them. I have replaced these items once. I will do it again by 300K miles if I still keep the vehicles. They all run and perform as they did when new from the factory. Stay away from this type of vehicle if you cannot do, afford, or want to pay for a design that requires this level of maintenance.

Bimmer Jones I still feel that this is a real Achilles heel in this car. Not everybody is a master mechanic that can diagnose and repair the car by himself. There is little point in paying 4k$ to replace the guides, chain, gaskets, chain tensioner, etc if I can buy an even newer 740 for around 3k$. "Stay away from this type of vehicle if you cannot do, afford, or want to pay for a design that requires this level of maintenance. " I sure will. I'm pretty sure there are better competing designs out there. I Certainly "chose" to buy this car but like many people out there, I did not know that the car designers held plastic parts in high esteem. By the way you mentioned American cars but the ones I brought up were Mercedes and Honda, not American. Too bad you did not comment on these brands...perhaps your straw man argument would have been different. Bottom line is that these cars are not reliable (read Consumer Reports for one) and not many people want to replace parts ad nauseam because they just want a good looking reliable car and are not "BMW enthusiasts" like you that seem to be so enamored with BMW that tend not to see a problem with this car... but I do thank you for your reply Jones

Bimmer Jones Jones: Can you comment on a price that a reasonable mechanic can charge to repair this problem with: labor only and labor and parts if you can, Thanks

Hey I need this I want to know what's causing multiple misfires in my engine