clarkson's e46 m3 and previous cars - lots of pics
Discussion
They have issues with the rod bearings anyway mate, usually last around 100k , due to stupid 15k oil changes and some people take the warm up lights as the engine is ready for full beans but they go out with water temp and the oil is no where near up to temperature so puts premature wear on bearings, or maybe some of the silicone that was on the pickup pipe got sucked through and blocked a oil passage , the whole pickup was covered in silicone strands when I took the picture of it before in my previous post I had already picked some off thinking wtf is that before i took that picture, I thought it was metal shards at first.
It had a bearing recall by bmw at 36k that's the o ly record I have of the sump off , and if they were the last ones in there they bodged it with silicone for the sump gasket and rounded 2 oil pump nuts , maybe that rod wasn't torqued properly , or a previous owner had a leak from sump took it off and bodged it with silicone but if it's off you would just get a new gasket and do it properly , so god knows mate that was the only damaged one the others seemed fine with a bit of wear on a couple but nothing bad. really all I know is I'll have to fix it lol
It had a bearing recall by bmw at 36k that's the o ly record I have of the sump off , and if they were the last ones in there they bodged it with silicone for the sump gasket and rounded 2 oil pump nuts , maybe that rod wasn't torqued properly , or a previous owner had a leak from sump took it off and bodged it with silicone but if it's off you would just get a new gasket and do it properly , so god knows mate that was the only damaged one the others seemed fine with a bit of wear on a couple but nothing bad. really all I know is I'll have to fix it lol
Managed to plastiguage the journal on the crank that the bearing span on and the one next to it and it wasnt thaaaat bad , the clearance should be 0.030-0.040mm bad one wasnt that far out so it's getting put back together with new bearings and getting sent!!! I was going to buy a second engine anyway so I'm just going to play roulette with this one 
and when it does go I'll buy the second one!!
One with spun bearing at the top
Meh not that bad lol
Let's see how long it last lol !! Might surprise me and last for a while ..it wont be getting granny driven either!!
Wish me luck
and when it does go I'll buy the second one!! One with spun bearing at the top
Meh not that bad lol
Let's see how long it last lol !! Might surprise me and last for a while ..it wont be getting granny driven either!!
Wish me luck
Edited by clarkson22 on Tuesday 2nd June 21:13
After a bit of neglect for a few months due to sorting out our boat and decorating I've started again on the car, I've ordered new rod bolts , acl rod bearings , sump gasket couple of o rings for oil pump pickup and sump dip stick , so been on with cleaning the sump and the oil pump and started on the throttle bodies I'm going to order a new torque wrench next week to do the rod bolts and try get engine back in and started before october ,
Oil pump disambled
Oil pump gleaming
Back together with some 10w60 on the moving parts
Under tray
Not going mad on it
After a load of effort and wd40 I got no where with the sump got some no nonsens degreaser mixed with hot water and it's working, that's what I ended up doing with the oil pump.
Was eating the oil off it i need a bigger container to submerge it but its comming up like new
Started to dismantle the throttle bodies will tackle these in a few days
Grim
Will update soon hopefully when bearings are in and done
Oil pump disambled
Oil pump gleaming
Back together with some 10w60 on the moving parts
Under tray
Not going mad on it
After a load of effort and wd40 I got no where with the sump got some no nonsens degreaser mixed with hot water and it's working, that's what I ended up doing with the oil pump.
Was eating the oil off it i need a bigger container to submerge it but its comming up like new
Started to dismantle the throttle bodies will tackle these in a few days
Grim
Will update soon hopefully when bearings are in and done
Just an idea for you to consider after going to all this effort: You could get your crank reground by Hack Engineering? They're reknown in the E46 M3 world. Might be worth looking into.
Will continue to follow this thread as I've just got my E46 M3 back on the road after 18 months on jack stands. However, nothing to your abilites! Keep up the good work.
Will continue to follow this thread as I've just got my E46 M3 back on the road after 18 months on jack stands. However, nothing to your abilites! Keep up the good work.
Yeh man I know I can but I'd need a new rod then head would be off then I might aswell do pistons rings the list goes on, the crank isnt as bad as I thought ,dont get me wrong it ain't perfect but sod it , I'd rather get another engine that hasn't had bearing material travel all the way through it and start with that one ,
My pal spun a bearing in his 330ci a few years ago and just replaced the bearings and that's still going on nearly 30k on it.
Anyway will update soon
Thanks man
My pal spun a bearing in his 330ci a few years ago and just replaced the bearings and that's still going on nearly 30k on it.
Anyway will update soon
Thanks man
Edited by clarkson22 on Tuesday 11th August 08:42
Well after many sleepless nights thinking about the engine ( lol) I couldn't do it and decided to do it properly , new crank , piston rings as it had been burning oil.
Took it apart to find the block had a crack , where the headgasket usually goes it could of been there when I replaced the headgasket last and didnt notice as the engine was still in the car, the head has Mark's in same place and gasket imminent blown but has Mark's on it, hopefully the head can be repaired but it's been skimmed before and I'll just have to buy a bottom end if not a complete engine ,
Crack on block
Sooo anyone got a cheap engine lol I'll get a replacment soon and do the big Jobs , rod bearings headgasket and vanos on it.
And sigh....
Took it apart to find the block had a crack , where the headgasket usually goes it could of been there when I replaced the headgasket last and didnt notice as the engine was still in the car, the head has Mark's in same place and gasket imminent blown but has Mark's on it, hopefully the head can be repaired but it's been skimmed before and I'll just have to buy a bottom end if not a complete engine ,
Crack on block
Sooo anyone got a cheap engine
lol I'll get a replacment soon and do the big Jobs , rod bearings headgasket and vanos on it.And sigh....
Small update, went a picked up a complete bottom end from a member on m3cutters , milage was just under 100,000 but you never know lol but the rod bearings are all in good condition and the crank is in good condition , bores all seem fine , I've left a cup of oil on each bore to see if some leaks past piston rings ,and the block has no cracks, it's getting slapped back together as soon as I recieve my head from hack engerneering.
New used one on the stand.
New used one on the stand.
Managed to get some work dont to engine , I've recieved everything from beamer , every single gasket and o ring, new timing chain tensioner and oil chan and tensioner , new oil pump , should be good when it's back toghether, but anyway some clean parts
Made this dodgy contraption to hold crank still while I undo vibration damper....it worked
Old chains off
New timing chains on and new oil chain tensioner/guide
New crank seal
Cheap £30 quid laptop I bought for connecting to cars and for tis and a few other programs
Bought a couple of norbar torque wrenches to build it all back up
New bolts for the vibration damper
Back on with pulley and flipped ready to do rod bearings in a few days
I'll update other the next few days should have it back together in a few weeks and hopefully back in car in a a couple of months
Made this dodgy contraption to hold crank still while I undo vibration damper....it worked
Old chains off
New timing chains on and new oil chain tensioner/guide
New crank seal
Cheap £30 quid laptop I bought for connecting to cars and for tis and a few other programs
Bought a couple of norbar torque wrenches to build it all back up
New bolts for the vibration damper
Back on with pulley and flipped ready to do rod bearings in a few days
I'll update other the next few days should have it back together in a few weeks and hopefully back in car in a a couple of months
Good to see you're sticking with it Clarkson.
I'm much in the same boat with my 330i being down for the count but currently working to gather parts for an overhaul on the original engine, but investing in putting some choice items along with refreshing OEM components to ensure that the engine's not about to detonate again.
It's frustrating, but onwards and upwards as they say.
Are you considering anything for the M3 engine? I'd suggest maybe a decent set of bearings (King or VAC) and ARP rod bolts whilst you're in there so you know that engine's strong.
I'm much in the same boat with my 330i being down for the count but currently working to gather parts for an overhaul on the original engine, but investing in putting some choice items along with refreshing OEM components to ensure that the engine's not about to detonate again.
It's frustrating, but onwards and upwards as they say.
Are you considering anything for the M3 engine? I'd suggest maybe a decent set of bearings (King or VAC) and ARP rod bolts whilst you're in there so you know that engine's strong.
Hi mate yes I follow your thread dude and helix 330 thread or anything with a e46 in!!!I've got acl bearings and oem rod bolts (acl is what hack engerneering recommended and oem rod bolts seem to be good ) for the bottom end and a new oil pump and every gasket and o ring on the engine , including the beisan vanos kit and in a couple of months I'll be sticking on the ess 550 kit if all goes well. Fingers crossed
cheers mate!!Well took half a day off work with the idea of getting the bottom end bolted back up and oil pump and sump back on, just got to put head and all bit back on then it can go back in car soon ( hopefully )
Anyway pics
One was close with some wear down to copper
I plastiguaged them all and all well within specs , didnt get any pictures of this bit as I just cracked on
All bolts tightened per spec
New bmw oil pump and nut torqued
New o ring on pick up pipe
New sump gasket and bolts all torqued down
Flipped over and bag on ready for the head to go on in a few days
Shouldn't be to long now
Beer time
Edited by clarkson22 on Monday 16th November 19:59
Hello, well got the head and cams and chain all mounted just need to take apart the vanos unit and replace the seals and I can time it all up , but anyway pics
Put cams in realised I hadn't put the cam sprocket backing plate on so they had to come off again
2nd time round with backing plates and new cam bolts
New cpv valve o ring
New crankshaft sensor o ring
Will crack on in a few days
Put cams in realised I hadn't put the cam sprocket backing plate on so they had to come off again
2nd time round with backing plates and new cam bolts
New cpv valve o ring
New crankshaft sensor o ring
Will crack on in a few days
Well got the engine timed up ( I hope) it's been 5 years since I did it , all the alignment pins go in after a few revolutions of the engine so should be good ,
Going to paint the block next and have it looking nice and will put everything back on the engine
Polished up the vanos and front part of rocker cover and realised the cover hides the rocker cover!
At least it will look nice when I change spark plugs
Going to paint the block next and have it looking nice and will put everything back on the engine
Polished up the vanos and front part of rocker cover and realised the cover hides the rocker cover!
At least it will look nice when I change spark plugs
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