BMW E92 330i N53 warm engine whine
Discussion
grejsi said:
So I've made an account just to ask this.
From reading the thread I am now 99% this is my issue, I have pretty much all but the most severe symptoms.
I've ordered the membrane + cap from Vanos BMW now, god knows when it'll arrive but that's a separate issue...
What I still don't understand is the membrane gluing, should it be glued to the inside of the aluminum cap? If so, what's the point of a ventilation hole in the aluminum cap then?
Or should it be glued to the valve cover itself? If so, what's the point of the membrane if it's glued in place? I though the whole idea was that the spring regulates the position of the membrane.
The cap has tiny screws in it to secure it to the valve cover, so I'm sure some Loctite sealant I still have from diff replacement and the screws is more than enough to secure the aluminum cap to the valve cover.
Maybe I'm being stupid but some picture of where/how the membrane should be glued (or should it not be glued at all and just sit on top of the spring?) would be immensely helpful.
N53B30 in an E91, 100k miles on the dot.
No need to glue - I used liquid gasket around the edge of the cap to improve the seal.From reading the thread I am now 99% this is my issue, I have pretty much all but the most severe symptoms.
I've ordered the membrane + cap from Vanos BMW now, god knows when it'll arrive but that's a separate issue...
What I still don't understand is the membrane gluing, should it be glued to the inside of the aluminum cap? If so, what's the point of a ventilation hole in the aluminum cap then?
Or should it be glued to the valve cover itself? If so, what's the point of the membrane if it's glued in place? I though the whole idea was that the spring regulates the position of the membrane.
The cap has tiny screws in it to secure it to the valve cover, so I'm sure some Loctite sealant I still have from diff replacement and the screws is more than enough to secure the aluminum cap to the valve cover.
Maybe I'm being stupid but some picture of where/how the membrane should be glued (or should it not be glued at all and just sit on top of the spring?) would be immensely helpful.
N53B30 in an E91, 100k miles on the dot.
My N53B30 is on 200k now and all is well.
grejsi said:
UPDATE:
After about 2 weeks of the new membrane and cap the car has developed the same faint whining on idle and does "wooshing" noises at very light load. It will also hesitate very slightly on idle after a cold start, sometimes you can only see the needle dip for a second and other times you'll feel it in the car. Definitely not a big issue but definitely not 100% either.
Scenario: Cruising at a steady 50km/h I'll lightly apply throttle to maintain speed (as in not accelerating) there's a clear air-sucking/wooshing noise coming from the engine.
I'll probably bite the bullet and re-do the job with more sealant and letting it cure for longer, if we stop having non-stop rain that is...
That does sound like the seal isn't 100%. I installed my cap in February 2017 and it's been fine in the years and many, many miles since. I used liquid gasket. At the risk of immediate borkage after writing this, my N53 is nearly on 200k.After about 2 weeks of the new membrane and cap the car has developed the same faint whining on idle and does "wooshing" noises at very light load. It will also hesitate very slightly on idle after a cold start, sometimes you can only see the needle dip for a second and other times you'll feel it in the car. Definitely not a big issue but definitely not 100% either.
Scenario: Cruising at a steady 50km/h I'll lightly apply throttle to maintain speed (as in not accelerating) there's a clear air-sucking/wooshing noise coming from the engine.
I'll probably bite the bullet and re-do the job with more sealant and letting it cure for longer, if we stop having non-stop rain that is...
Liam330i said:
Soup anxiety did u modify the OEM spring by cutting it or not as yours as held up well I've got one on order from vanos bmw
I didn't have to cut the spring - the metal cap sat fine. Mine has been OK, it's needed sealant to be reapplied at services but other than that, all is well.Marc p said:
Oil leak? Most likely valve cover gasket, valve covers themselves are very unlikely to crack unless they have been dropped/hit whilst removed.
I agree - my valve cover gasket was changed recently as a slight weep had become more serious. At 205k miles the valve cover itself is fine.Biden said:
Ok thanks, thought as much.
I have heard the plastic covers can crack over time due to heat, but I guess the gasket is more likely. I may attempt it myself as it doesn't look too bad on youtube from what I have seen, just takes time.
Do you need to do anything with the injectors to 'reprogram' them after or can you get away without touching them?
About the PCV, seems the advice here is to seal the membrane to the cap and then seal the cap on to the valve cover?
When I did it not so long ago with the alu cap combo, I followed the video below (it has subtitles), where I tried gluing the membrane to the valve cover and just screwed the cap on after, whistle is gone but still vacuum. What's the right way?
Come to think of it the old membrane wasn't glued in I don't think...
I didn't glue the membrane, I just used liquid gasket on the outer edge of the cap itself.I have heard the plastic covers can crack over time due to heat, but I guess the gasket is more likely. I may attempt it myself as it doesn't look too bad on youtube from what I have seen, just takes time.
Do you need to do anything with the injectors to 'reprogram' them after or can you get away without touching them?
About the PCV, seems the advice here is to seal the membrane to the cap and then seal the cap on to the valve cover?
When I did it not so long ago with the alu cap combo, I followed the video below (it has subtitles), where I tried gluing the membrane to the valve cover and just screwed the cap on after, whistle is gone but still vacuum. What's the right way?
Come to think of it the old membrane wasn't glued in I don't think...
Ian Geary said:
Hi,
The oil frying smell is quite common, and a work colleague with an N53 has it too, and is getting there sump gasket replaced at great cost.
I did my valve cover gasket, as a lot of smoke was being created, which was visible from under the bonnet when driving! I then did it again with a thin bead of sensor safe sealant, because it leaked the first time. I could confirm the nearside of the head above the exhausts was clean of oil, yet oil was still getting on the exhaust.
I then did the oil cooler gasket, as oil was tracking round the front of the engine. (Note, this will have your aux belt off of your not careful, but that is another story altogether).
But oil was still getting on the exhaust, this time tracking round the back of the block.
I spotted one of the cylinder head bolts (next to the oil cooler) was weeping oil, so replaced this (with a dab of sealant under the head). Note: it's not actually a cylinder head bolt "as such", it's a set of three that clamp the oil cooler part of the head down.
I can now visibly see there is no oil leaking from the inlet side of the head.
And yet the oil smell still comes from time to time, and I still lose one "block" of oil every 500-1000 miles.
So I suspect my sump gasket has porous sections, but it's such a faff to change I don't know if I can be arsed before spring.
Ultimately, whilst the valve cover gasket was by far the biggest leaker, BMW has created many opportunities for the N53 to fry it's oil on the exhaust, so you need to check them all out imo.
Hth
+1 to all of this. My valve cover gasket, sump gasket and oil level sensor gasket were all leaking, have all been replaced, but still I get stinky oil smell as there's always another drip on the exhaust.The oil frying smell is quite common, and a work colleague with an N53 has it too, and is getting there sump gasket replaced at great cost.
I did my valve cover gasket, as a lot of smoke was being created, which was visible from under the bonnet when driving! I then did it again with a thin bead of sensor safe sealant, because it leaked the first time. I could confirm the nearside of the head above the exhausts was clean of oil, yet oil was still getting on the exhaust.
I then did the oil cooler gasket, as oil was tracking round the front of the engine. (Note, this will have your aux belt off of your not careful, but that is another story altogether).
But oil was still getting on the exhaust, this time tracking round the back of the block.
I spotted one of the cylinder head bolts (next to the oil cooler) was weeping oil, so replaced this (with a dab of sealant under the head). Note: it's not actually a cylinder head bolt "as such", it's a set of three that clamp the oil cooler part of the head down.
I can now visibly see there is no oil leaking from the inlet side of the head.
And yet the oil smell still comes from time to time, and I still lose one "block" of oil every 500-1000 miles.
So I suspect my sump gasket has porous sections, but it's such a faff to change I don't know if I can be arsed before spring.
Ultimately, whilst the valve cover gasket was by far the biggest leaker, BMW has created many opportunities for the N53 to fry it's oil on the exhaust, so you need to check them all out imo.
Hth
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