E60: New engine Tune Up Part 3 - Glow-plugs / EGR / more vacuum hoses...

• Blank off swirl-flap vac-hose.
• Replace EGR vac-hose with one that came with new engine.
• Check wiring to GP module. (No replacement.)
• Remove and clean EGR.

Boost was lacking and noisy again so I figured there was more vacuum-leak. Assuming the redundant swirl-flap diaphragm was to blame I set about removing that hose completely from the servo-hose T-piece and fitting a blank stopper from the new engine. While doing this I found the vac-hose to the EGR was snapped off at the nozzle. Classic.

Trouble codes:

• All 6 glow-plugs no activation. Intermittent, but happened 31 times out of 40, all at the same times. I intended to swap the module for the one from my replacement engine, but couldn't find it amongst the parts so it mustn't have been included.
• [3FF0] Air mass meter failure.
• [4507] MAF controlled EGR flow too low. Both of these happened once around the same time as each other and have not happened since. Perhaps the snapped EGR vac-line could explain this.
• [4B10] Smooth running controller, correction quantity too high. This was the most intriguing of the codes as it had registered 9 times. 

Smooth running controller measurement:

This measures the amount each injector has to provide each time it is fired and how much the ECU needs to meter them. The ideal correctional values are between -2.5mg and 100mg per stroke, so as you can see my measurement is indeed showing very high amounts of correction. [NOTE: The reading is in kJ, not mg as displayed! Autocom GDP just does this. I get a proper reading in this post with INPA - http://beemerlab.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/e60-new-engine-tune-up-part-5-injectors.html]. The reasons for this are faulty injectors, lack of cylinder compression and lack of flow to the EGR. At first glance it would appear injector 5 is giving no reading as there should be a correction value there, but the engine is running on all six cylinders therefore number 5 is firing. So what gives here? I started a thread on BMW Land [BMW Land is down for now sadly :(] with some damning results on injector 5, which I will have to investigate, play with the wiring etc. 

Another cause of low compression is a cracked / leaky exhaust-to-turbo manifold. This would also cause low gas flow to the EGR and stifle the amount of exhaust gas powering the turbo, explaining the boost problem. I will get someone to rev the engine as I feel round for a leak of hot gases, but if this turns out not to be the case then the only things left to do will be replace the waste-gate and/or pressure-convverter.

• Check for pressure leak from exhaust-manifold.
• Add injector cleaner and cataclean.
• Investigate boost actuator / pressure converter and waste-gate.

E87 LCI: 1er Warning-light woes + dodgy pad-sensor. [How to reset.]

My boss Mike has been dying to get back on the Beemer wagon, so has surreptitiously gifted himself by getting his wife an E87 LCI 118d M-sport as a present. It was time to reset the service lights, which can be done using the 'trip reset' button on the clocks, like other modern BMWs, though with no iDrive the procedure is slightly different.

HOW TO RESET SERVICE DURATIONS:

1. Turn ignition on without depressing the clutch. [Key phase 2 on push-button models].
2. Hold the trip-reset [odometer] button on the clocks until a yellow triangle with ! appears.
3. Single presses of the trip-reset button will now cycle through the service menu options [service, oil, brake-pads etc.]. Stop at the one you want to reset.
4. Hold the BC button on the end of the left indicator-stalk until a clock appears next to the menu-icon on the dash. When the clock stops counting the service duration for that option is reset.

• A red icon is a service duration warning. An orange icon means it is overdue / there is a fault.
• A red/orange icon of the car in the air with a stand under it means there is a fault and it needs to go in to BMW [or get a scanner on it].
• If the handbrake light stays lit up after you release the handbrake then this means there is a fault in the brake system. If you know the discs/pads to be OK and the brakes are fine, then you have a dodgy pad-wear sensor.

PAD-WEAR SESNOR ERROR: [HANDBRAKE-LIGHT]

After resetting the brake-pad service indicator we noticed the mileage count had not reset. The icon in the service menu recommending the car be taken to a dealership [the car icon with a stand underneath] and interestingly, the handbrake light was staying on even with the handbrake released. After a bit of forum scanning it turns out the light staying on means there is a fault in the braking system or one is about to develop. This is common when pads / discs have been changed and 9-out-of-10 times it means a pad-wear sensor has been disturbed and thrown up a fault. If you know the brakes are working as they should then the warning message can be cleared with a scanner and probably wont return. If it does then a pad-wear sensor has failed [scanner will likely confirm this] and will need replacing. You can do both of them for about £10 and it's a really easy job - wheel off, 2 bolts and a push-fit - but if you're truly skint I believe there is a technique online somewhere to just twist some wires together and bypass them.

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23763

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=698040

E46 Clubsport: New split-rims!

Oh yes... it's time the 330CS had some money lavished on it and what better way to start than new wheels. They are the same set of Italian-made Cromodora 18x8 and 18x8.5 2-piece split-rims that come with the car. He still has the old ones, but after 2 failed attempts to refurbish them he's been keeping an eye out for a replacement set, which aren't common. Finally some have shown up and been quickly snaffled for £ delivered. They've been sandblasted back to bare metal, then lacquered and the colour / finish is very nice indeed. Awesome.

Also, a rubber rocker-cover gasket to signify the start of the engine tweaks. Lots more to come...

Argh... Simo hit my wing!

Oh dear, some more bodywork already. Simo at work is not the world's most careful drive and yesterday he decided to park his Transit van next to the 5er and in doing so scraped down the M-sport bumper and dented the wing! Nightmare, but at least work are paying for the damage. It will be going into Howarth'a body shop in Pensby (Wirral) next week and they will be sorting the scuff that my mate did to the back bumper with his Volvo, so I guess that's the silver lining...

Repair in this post.

E46 Clubsport: Nay's new wing! Paint, polishing... fail.

It's good to get the purple 330ci Clubsport on the pages of BeemerLab and a bit of bodywork, no less. The driver's side wing was a bit bubbly when he got the car and has worsened somewhat over winter - front wings are the classic rusting spot on E36 / E46 after all and no matter how well you patch it up, it always comes back before long, so Nathan went the whole hog and bought a new patterned wing for just under £100. Despite offers to have it sprayed professionally for next to nothing, he opted to do the work himself with a rattle can of Holt's Colour-Match, mixed at Halfords.

He started with U-Pol Hi-build filler primer to deal with imperfections in the etch-primer, moved on to a single can of Holt's 'BMW 576 Velvet Blue Metallic' and finished off with 2.5 cans of Halford's own clear-lacquer. A spray guy at work gave us a tip - apply the first coat of lacquer and wait a couple of minutes for it to go tacky but not start to dry, then apply a good thick second coat. This enables you to get a proper coat on that can then be layered on without causing crazing in the base lacquer. Nay tried this out and, after 4 more coats, some flatting back with 1800 Wet/Dry and a bit of machine-polishing, the finish is glass-like and the colour-depth superb. What a shame that, after a week spent carefully spraying one wing, the colour-match is terrible. I guess this is a lesson not to have complex paint codes mixed up at Halfords. A local painting firm is on the case, watch this space...

Only 330 M Clubsport models were built in the original three colours. Only about 40 were made in Velvet Blue. This is one of the 40 and it has seen better days. 

E60 Diesel: Replacing the Front Turbo Housing/Volute

**The turbo needs to be removed. Reaching the 8mm nuts at the back of the volute is impossible               with it in situ.

1. Mark a line on the original volute / front-casing where each 8mm screw is located before removing it. It is adjustable and the new one needs to be in the exact same place as the original for correct waste-gate location.
2. Remove the 3 screws holding the waste-gate bracket to the turbo front-casing / volute using a 10mm wrench.
3. Remove the 6 screws holding the front-casing / volute to the turbo and wiggle it free.
4. Hold the new volute up to the original and mark lines in the corresponding places. This is best done with them on a flat surface and holding a straight-edge across both.
5. Slide the new volute on to the turbo and replace the six 8mm screws, ensuring the lines are correctly located before tightening them up. It is alloy-to-steel, so no high-heat gasket-paste is required.
6. Press the waste-gate into the right position for the bracket to meet the holes on the volute and replace the three 10mm screws holding it in place.

Why I replaced mine:

With re-con turbos starting at £350, I went for a used one from a crash damaged 7-Series. Mine is an early E60 and has the vacuum-actuated turbo, so it was handy that the 7er did too as they are hard to source - eBay is full of the electronic-actuated type and I couldn't see a vacuum one, but it may be that they are inter-changeable.

The overall condition of the turbo looked worse than the one I was removing, but there is a bit less play in the spindle-shaft so worth a shot at £200 delivered, let's hope the saving pays off. The only drawback is the front-casing was slightly damaged at the point where the pipe to the intercooler fits, but swapping the original one in was not a difficult job.

E60 Diesel: Remove/Replace Turbocharger

Removing and refitting the turbo itself is not a difficult task, but the mass of other parts that need removing to access it makes this a reasonable amount of effort.

You will first need to remove:

Engine covers. [5mm Allen]

Air inlet ducting and air-filter. [5mm Allen]

Inlet manifold. [10mm + 11mm Hex]

Injector pipes. [17mm open-end wrench]

Injectors. [8mm Hex]

Rocker cover. [10mm deep-Hex]

Turbo to intercooler pipe. [10mm Hex + T30-Torx]

Airbox to turbo pipe. [5mm Allen]

EGR to exh.-manifold pipe. [T45-Torx + 7mm Hex]

Exhaust-manifold. [10mm deep-Hex + 12mm deep-Double-Hex]

Front engine-undertray. [8mm Hex]

Engine reinforcement-plate. [16mm Hex]

Exhaust vibration-damping rods. [13mm Hex]

REMOVAL:

1. Remove the two nuts holding the down-pipe/cat to the back of the turbo using a 17mm wrench and work the down-pipe back off the studs.

2. Remove the banjo-bolt that attaches the turbo oil-feed to the block using a 14mm wrench, remove that end of the oil-feed pipe and loosely screw the banjo-bolt back in a few turns to stop any oil leaking from the block. Put some cloth against the block under the pipe to catch any drips and remove and retain the 2 copper washer-seals as they are easily misplaced.

3. Reach under the turbo, locate where the lower oil-return pipe enters the rubber-hose to the sump and loosen off the upper jubilee-clip using a 6mm-Hex socket or flat screwdriver if you can get access. Let the jubilee-clip slide down the rubber hose.

4. Slide off the rubber-hose that runs to the waste-gate on the turbo.

5. Make sure the turbo's weight is supported, remove the two bolts holding the turbo-bracket to the block using a 13mm wrench and lift the turbo out, carefully sliding the lower oil-return pipe out of the rubber-hose.

FITTING:

6. **Ensure all oil-feed pipes etc. are swapped over to the new turbo**. Lower the new turbo into position, sliding the lower oil-return pipe back into the rubber-hose and loosely refit the two bolts.
7. Tighten the jubilee-clip on the oil-return hose and refit the oil-feed hose back on to the banjo-bolt, making sure the copper-washers are in place either side.
8. Place the exhaust vibration-damping rods back in place to locate the down-pipe and loosely refit the 13mm nuts.
9. Refit the neck of the down-pipe to the back of the turbo and tighten the 17mm nuts.
10. Place the exhaust-manifold over the studs on the cylinder-head and manoeuvre the turbo into a position where the bolts holding it to the manifold can be fitted. It can be trick to do while keeping the gasket aligned. Turn the three manifold-to-turbo bolts using a 12mm deep-Double-Hex (12-sided) socket until the manifold is seated, but do not fully tighten them.
11.  Lift the turbo to take the weight off the manifold and fully tighten the two bolts holding it to the block using a 13mm wrench. They are a pain to get to but it is doable, also a lot easier with someone else lifting the turbo.
12. Replace the twelve copper-nuts that hold the exhaust-manifold to the cyl.-head and tighten them using a 10mm deep 6-sided socket, as the strip easily with 12-sided ones.
13. Tighten the three bolts holding the manifold to the turbo.
14. Re-connect the rubber vacuum-hose to the waste-gate.
15. Refit the other things on the above list.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-replace-Turbocharger-on-BMW-30L-Diesel-E60E/