Mrs Fb’s 650i...regret may be strong with this one!
Discussion
Well it’s done.... book time is 10-12 hours, I did it in 6 from running to running, add another 1.5 hours for refitting engine covers, degreasing all under trays and refitting, tidying up and putting tools away. I did have a breakdown come in from work as I was packing away. Very elderly vulnerable chaps heating had failed and he phoned our emergency number in tears. Packed up tools and went and got him sorted. Just back in now.
The job isn’t the worst over done if I’m honest, fair bit too remove and nothing overly tricky. Mine did in fact have the oil cooler so I’m glad I bought both gasket options as real OEM and BMW state mine in non oil cooler version ! I probably lost an hour or so struggling with oil cooler pipes as they are ridged pipes and are under massive tension when fitted to the alternator bracket ! I couldn’t see if I had missed a fixing which you can’t get near to physically see, so when they were REALLY hard to pry out I was going gently and keep searching for what was holding it in.
I didn’t need to remove rad, fan or slam panel etc like most guides show. All I needed to remove was engine covers, intake & airbox, under trays, NSF wheel, the spaghetti of coolant hoses , aux belt, alternator, pas pump gets loosened and swung down out the way, oil cooler hoses, NS engine mount and finally alternator bracket!
You can see why it’s hard to spot leaks when buying one of these !
Engine covers, intake and most coolant hoses removed. More hoses to come off, but you can see where the alternator lives hidden down there somewhere!
You can see the alternator bracket now, and the oil cooler pipes coming out of it. These are mega stiff to remove as they are under a twisting tension in there. Engine mount bracket still needed to come off in this pic
Old gasket so hard and brittle it broke into about 10-15 prices removing it. Also sits flush if not lower than the bracket!
New one sits a little more proud
Dunno if old gasket was leaking or not, can’t really tell
Didn’t take many progress pics but everything was drowned in brake cleaner, or washed in petrol bath so engine is nice and shiny and all parts are clean.
The weather was brutal and in all honesty it was a it ambitious doing it today, buts it’s done now. Temps were around 5 degrees but the wind was quite strong and flippen freezing!!!! I do actually have a double drive way and a heated garage , however the garage queens live in there so only option was outside my house. I’m the last house on the end of a road and neighbours are sound, plus I never make a mess or noise so no one ever minds. I did her Touareg starter motor in the same place earlier this year. VW state it can’t be done without removing engine, 9 hours on axle stands and it was done
As for the oil leak... yes it seems fixed. Before you could see it running down the block after 2min on tick over. Left her car running for half an hour while packing up and it remained bone dry
The job isn’t the worst over done if I’m honest, fair bit too remove and nothing overly tricky. Mine did in fact have the oil cooler so I’m glad I bought both gasket options as real OEM and BMW state mine in non oil cooler version ! I probably lost an hour or so struggling with oil cooler pipes as they are ridged pipes and are under massive tension when fitted to the alternator bracket ! I couldn’t see if I had missed a fixing which you can’t get near to physically see, so when they were REALLY hard to pry out I was going gently and keep searching for what was holding it in.
I didn’t need to remove rad, fan or slam panel etc like most guides show. All I needed to remove was engine covers, intake & airbox, under trays, NSF wheel, the spaghetti of coolant hoses , aux belt, alternator, pas pump gets loosened and swung down out the way, oil cooler hoses, NS engine mount and finally alternator bracket!
You can see why it’s hard to spot leaks when buying one of these !
Engine covers, intake and most coolant hoses removed. More hoses to come off, but you can see where the alternator lives hidden down there somewhere!
You can see the alternator bracket now, and the oil cooler pipes coming out of it. These are mega stiff to remove as they are under a twisting tension in there. Engine mount bracket still needed to come off in this pic
Old gasket so hard and brittle it broke into about 10-15 prices removing it. Also sits flush if not lower than the bracket!
New one sits a little more proud
Dunno if old gasket was leaking or not, can’t really tell
Didn’t take many progress pics but everything was drowned in brake cleaner, or washed in petrol bath so engine is nice and shiny and all parts are clean.
The weather was brutal and in all honesty it was a it ambitious doing it today, buts it’s done now. Temps were around 5 degrees but the wind was quite strong and flippen freezing!!!! I do actually have a double drive way and a heated garage , however the garage queens live in there so only option was outside my house. I’m the last house on the end of a road and neighbours are sound, plus I never make a mess or noise so no one ever minds. I did her Touareg starter motor in the same place earlier this year. VW state it can’t be done without removing engine, 9 hours on axle stands and it was done
As for the oil leak... yes it seems fixed. Before you could see it running down the block after 2min on tick over. Left her car running for half an hour while packing up and it remained bone dry
B'stard Child said:
Result - and you are bloody right about the temps - I was dodging rain and sleet trying to fix one of mine on the drive......
It’s certainly no fun this time of year ! Reason I wanted to get stuck in so soon was this gasket feeds the oil cooler, they can fail spectacularly sometimes and dump all engine oil in a matter of seconds... sometimes it’s crank gone too. Rather not risk itd_a_n1979 said:
Superb job 
If I could buy you a pint I would...
Merry Christmas
Cheers mate, had a nice Chinese takeaway and a bloody hot bath lol ! If I could buy you a pint I would...
Merry Christmas
Have a merry Christmas everyone, hope your cars all behave lol.
Congratulations on sorting it out. I'm slightly envious of anyone that can spend that long working on a car, not just because you're knowledgeable enough to do it but also that you can, I know that my back siezes up after about 10 minutes leaning over a car!
You have a couple of cracking cars there. I've always liked the 6 Series, far from being dated I think they are a lot better looking than the more modern BMWs.
You have a couple of cracking cars there. I've always liked the 6 Series, far from being dated I think they are a lot better looking than the more modern BMWs.
Enut said:
Congratulations on sorting it out. I'm slightly envious of anyone that can spend that long working on a car, not just because you're knowledgeable enough to do it but also that you can, I know that my back siezes up after about 10 minutes leaning over a car!
You have a couple of cracking cars there. I've always liked the 6 Series, far from being dated I think they are a lot better looking than the more modern BMWs.
I’m 45 now and I definitely pay for it after a day under the car !!! 5 years ago I could do an all weekender on a big build, now 6 hours does me for about 3 days afterwards .You have a couple of cracking cars there. I've always liked the 6 Series, far from being dated I think they are a lot better looking than the more modern BMWs.
The 6 series is like a fine wine, just gets better and better with age. The bangle butt was strange but it grows on you for sure. This 15 year old beast will hold itself against a lot of modern stuff.
Took it for a test drive quick to make sure coolant was bled and oil leaks sorted, ended up having a little hoon with a chap in a heavily modded RX8. It was nice as he was the respectful type who didn’t sit 3 inches off your arse and just hung back and played when I played. Quick flash of the hazards and we went our own ways
Court_S said:
Good job getting that sorted; Christmas Eve was Baltic. Took the lad out on our bikes and it was a bit fresh!
Yea, that was a LOT colder than I had bargained on. Body was ok but bald head and hands were taking strain. By the end of it I couldn’t feel my fingers to thread bolts in and hand tighten stuff. Just been for a hoon and jacked car back up for final check, block bone dry, under trays clean and coolant level correct. Happy crimbo Mrs Fb, your steed is back on duty Some more pics of the car to remind me what it looks like as I’m way to familiar with the under view
M
One day when it’s been running long enough I might even get round to putting some nice tyre gel on the MPS4’s !
ritch said:
@ Mr FB - given the work you have done recently, and your experience of both the 630i and 650i - if you were to buy one today - which one would you go for and why?
For me personally, it would be the 630i. That N52 is a cracking engine and the car certainly feels a lot swifter than the hp would suggest. If you are looking for a nice car to drive that’s about as reliable as any 10+ year old car could be, look no further.The 650i is epic, I mean it really really goes well. The other day I joined the motorway to exit the next junction around 2 miles later. I joined motorway and made progress to pass a couple of HGV’s and MLM’s before getting ready to move left. I noticed I was passing cars at a fair pace and glanced down to see the speedo was indicating 120, That’s km per hour naturally ! I would have never ever said we were going that fast and most certainly hadn’t put any effort into achieving anywhere near that pace either.
The above comes at a cost though, one that can really put a damper on things. Mrs Fb’s car has now covered 600 miles in our ownership and has had several faults including 2 breakdowns , and that’s coming from a car that’s had most common issues done and owned by an enthusiast!
After 200 miles the top rad hose fractured and blew off. This was repaired with new clamp and fresh coolant.
Around 50 miles later it broke down on motorway having lost all coolant. Expansion tank had failed . New tank was £120 from BMW plus coolant.
After 400 miles we got oil dripping on floor under car. This is the famed alternator gasket. £10 in bits and 7-10 hours upside down.
So far we are another 200 miles into it and running like clockwork, my mind however is never at ease and it’s always a case of what’s going to go wrong next. They simply have too many usual suspects. The 630i has a few common leaks too but none and anywhere near the labour or expense to repair compared to the N62.
I’ve done 1200 miles in my 630i and not required anything apart from fuel. Everything else I’ve done has been cleaning/tidying or preventative.
So to summarise, if you can afford to fix the car, or have it off the road at times, or enjoy spannering for hours on end.... get the 650i . If you want to jump in and press start without any worries, get the 630i
Ps, a cracking spec low mileage black 630i may hit the market at some point , bit more than the tat on flee bay, but a well sorted one at £7250 I believe
Court_S said:
You’re definitely going to part with it? Any idea what will replace it yet?
Nothing for me at the moment. I run a heating business so am either in my van, or if we go out as a family I jump in Mrs Fb’s Touareg, or now her 650. I have my bikes in the a garage as my toys and really don’t have the need or use for my own car. I’ve done 1200 miles max since buying my 630i and it’s currently not turned wheel for 3 weeks at least . alec.e said:
While very annoying, those failure points could happen to any 6 Series- apart from the oil leak.
For balance, my 650i never saw a garage during my ownership bar MOT- probably the most trouble free car I have owned!
Hope from now on, you will have a good experience
Absolutely, the issues we have had an generic issues that could occur to any E63 model. However the 645/650 have specific and expensive faults particular to them like the £1000 valve stem seals, £400 coolant stent, £1200 rocker cover and timing cover gaskets £300-500 alternator bracket gasket etc. For balance, my 650i never saw a garage during my ownership bar MOT- probably the most trouble free car I have owned!
Hope from now on, you will have a good experience
Being on 2 E63/64 groups it’s absolute fact 90% of issues posted relate to the V8’s rather than the 630. They are not a bad car if you go in with your eyes wide open and are 100% aware of what you could be in for.
fastbikes76 said:
Absolutely, the issues we have had an generic issues that could occur to any E63 model. However the 645/650 have specific and expensive faults particular to them like the £1000 valve stem seals, £400 coolant stent, £1200 rocker cover and timing cover gaskets £300-500 alternator bracket gasket etc.
Being on 2 E63/64 groups it’s absolute fact 90% of issues posted relate to the V8’s rather than the 630. They are not a bad car if you go in with your eyes wide open and are 100% aware of what you could be in for.
Yes very true most of the issues are with the V8s, however those prices are a bit on the extreme side. Being on 2 E63/64 groups it’s absolute fact 90% of issues posted relate to the V8’s rather than the 630. They are not a bad car if you go in with your eyes wide open and are 100% aware of what you could be in for.
PMP with do Valve stems, valve cover gaskets & timing chain cover gaskets all for £790- which is a bargain for a otherwise reliable engine
http://pmp-cars.co.uk/our-services#valve
In a lot of ways I wish I had kept my 650i with 125,000 miles, instead of buying a 26,000 mile M6 which is currently slightly broken
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