E91 Straight Six Bearding

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

For N52 valve cover gasket replacement, IIRC you need to change all the bolts right?

Depends; yes on the magnesium top, no the black plastic top.

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

I'll try and have a look. Extinguished the EML this morning, went for a drive. No issues. Been for another drive now (about an hour), EML came on after about 10 mins, normal driving. Same codes.

Is it just me, or is the N52 a HOT engine!?

Yup really hot. My N54 seems to produce even more heat.

[g3org3y]

Court_S said:

g3org3y said:

For N52 valve cover gasket replacement, IIRC you need to change all the bolts right?

Depends; yes on the magnesium top, no the black plastic top.

Valve cover needs doing (and has needing doing for a while).

Any particular brands to go for or avoid?

Found a Febi gasket set + head bolt set.

There are a lot of bolts to replace (according to RealOEM)!

Edited by g3org3y on Sunday 14th August 18:44

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

Valve cover needs doing (and has needing doing for a while).

Any particular brands to go for or avoid?

Found a Febi gasket set + head bolt set.

There are a lot of bolts to replace (according to RealOEM)!

Edited by g3org3y on Sunday 14th August 18:44

Don’t think you can go wrong with Febi although I tend to stick to BMW gaskets. They can be pretty good for bolts too.

Speak to a dealer and see what they can do; they’re often pretty good. The vent pipe I broke on our N52 was £40 Wuxi was less than a patent part and half the price of an OE replacement on eBay.

[MajorMantra]

Another diagnostic question for you all. My car (2006 325i) has thrown a steering angle sensor fault with code 5E43.

Sounds like this is pretty common and according to this thread just cleaning up the sensor/disc may fix it:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52...

The thread also pointed me towards a repair kit (part 83 19 2 179 894), which only about £50 in the UK and somewhat less from Germany:

https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/repair-kit-83192179...

Anyone had this?

[Mr Tidy]

g3org3y said:

For N52 valve cover gasket replacement, IIRC you need to change all the bolts right?

My (albeit limited) understanding is that anything attached to the Magnesium Alloy N52 block has to have the aluminium bolts (that are only designed for single use) because they have similar rates of thermal expansion/contraction to the block.

[JakeT]

g3org3y said:

Is it just me, or is the N52 a HOT engine!?

Oh absolutely! Having the cats in the engine bay won’t help with temps either. It seems a lot of modern engines are moreso. A friend had a 2018 Audi S3 and that would often run the fans post shutdown for a while.

[g3org3y]

Court_S said:

Don’t think you can go wrong with Febi although I tend to stick to BMW gaskets. They can be pretty good for bolts too.

Speak to a dealer and see what they can do; they’re often pretty good. The vent pipe I broke on our N52 was £40 Wuxi was less than a patent part and half the price of an OE replacement on eBay.

Anything else worth doing, 'while there'?

Have also ordered valvetronic motor gasket and eccentric shaft sensor gasket.

Mr Tidy said:

g3org3y said:

For N52 valve cover gasket replacement, IIRC you need to change all the bolts right?

My (albeit limited) understanding is that anything attached to the Magnesium Alloy N52 block has to have the aluminium bolts (that are only designed for single use) because they have similar rates of thermal expansion/contraction to the block.

Bolts ordered.

JakeT said:

g3org3y said:

Is it just me, or is the N52 a HOT engine!?

Oh absolutely! Having the cats in the engine bay won’t help with temps either. It seems a lot of modern engines are moreso. A friend had a 2018 Audi S3 and that would often run the fans post shutdown for a while.

With the A/C on, I find the fan very loud on the E91!

[ATM]

cerb4.5lee said:

Swervin_Mervin said:

I'm still not convinced it would suit the N52 though - as Gunk says above, these cars aren't performance models. And when you're not on it, the ZF6 absolutely suits it down to the ground.

That was where I got to with my E90 330i auto. I purchased it because I knew that it would be a great all round car(which it was), and I didn't treat it as a performance car and I mostly cruised around in it(which it was brilliant at). The ZF6 suited the cars slightly laid back nature I thought in that regard.

I miss the N52 engines smoothness a lot, because the 3.7 V6 NA engine in the 370Z is pretty rough in comparison(especially at around 6k rpm). The N52 would rev completely out with ease, whereas the VQ engine is properly reluctant at high revs in comparison.

My 550i with ZF6 was very slow and dim witted until I changed the fluid. Then it found a new lease of life. I didnt realise just how slow it was until I changed the fluid. Obviously its still an older lazy box but it is much better than it was before the fluid change. The car was over 100k and 15 years when I did it.

Generally on the motorway I put it into M6 so I can [almost] floor it without it dropping to 5th all the time. I often forget when I leave the motorway and wander why the car feels weird. It will be stuck in 3rd or 4th depending on how much I have slowed down. Normal service only resumes once I knock it back into D.

[JakeT]

g3org3y said:

With the A/C on, I find the fan very loud on the E91!

That’s interesting. Mine is no louder than my E46s were.

[g3org3y]

JakeT said:

g3org3y said:

With the A/C on, I find the fan very loud on the E91!

That’s interesting. Mine is no louder than my E46s were.

Don't know what to make of it, sounds properly loud. And this is still the same with the replacement fan as well.

630i with the N52 doesn't sound like that, neither does my Z4 with the N52K.

[helix402]

g3org3y said:

Don't know what to make of it, sounds properly loud. And this is still the same with the replacement fan as well.

630i with the N52 doesn't sound like that, neither does my Z4 with the N52K.

Radiator or heater fan?

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

Court_S said:

Don’t think you can go wrong with Febi although I tend to stick to BMW gaskets. They can be pretty good for bolts too.

Speak to a dealer and see what they can do; they’re often pretty good. The vent pipe I broke on our N52 was £40 Wuxi was less than a patent part and half the price of an OE replacement on eBay.

Anything else worth doing, 'while there'?

Have also ordered valvetronic motor gasket and eccentric shaft sensor gasket.

Those two gaskets are definitely worth doing. The big one whilst your in there is the eccentric shaft sensor. Is there any oil in the electrical connection? As they start to fail, oil migrates through the sensor itself. The one on my 130i was dying. BMW wanted £325 for a new one, I bought a Seimens VDO jobbie from Autodoc for £175. They’re the OE manufacturer and it arrived with the BMW par number ground off. They’re expensive but if it dies later in, it’s a rocker cover off jobbie to replace.

[g3org3y]

helix402 said:

g3org3y said:

Don't know what to make of it, sounds properly loud. And this is still the same with the replacement fan as well.

630i with the N52 doesn't sound like that, neither does my Z4 with the N52K.

Radiator or heater fan?

Good question. Assumed radiator fan tbh. I'll have to double check.

I certainly am aware that the blower fan (in the car), is noisy at high fan speeds (typically max). Usually on 'Auto', it's only on 2 or 3 so not a problem.

[Court_S]

g3org3y said:

Good question. Assumed radiator fan tbh. I'll have to double check.

I certainly am aware that the blower fan (in the car), is noisy at high fan speeds (typically max). Usually on 'Auto', it's only on 2 or 3 so not a problem.

The one on my 130i was a bit noisy. There was a crispy leaf in there and I lubed the shaft (oh er) and that shut it up.

[helix402]

Court_S said:

The one on my 130i was a bit noisy. There was a crispy leaf in there and I lubed the shaft (oh er) and that shut it up.

I had the same problem when I bought mine. Heater fan was much noisier than the E46, it was an oak leaf in the fan!

[DaveZed]

Being an N52, are you sure the coolant pump isn't on the way out? The only symptom I had with the one failing in my 2005 E90 330i was that the radiator fan seemed noisier than usual when in traffic. There was a coolant pump "speed deviation" error logged when I scanned for codes. No coolant temp gauge to give any direct indication. Maybe something to check. That may also explain the engine being "hot"?

[g3org3y]

I'll check for leaves (and the shaft) but as mentioned, this is a 'new' second hand item I only recently changed after the serpentine belt issue. Spins fine with no issue. As I said, it'll only go on this 'loud mode' if the A/C is on. Turn A/C off and it's back to what I'd expect to be normal.

DaveZed said:

Being an N52, are you sure the coolant pump isn't on the way out? The only symptom I had with the one failing in my 2005 E90 330i was that the radiator fan seemed noisier than usual when in traffic. There was a coolant pump "speed deviation" error logged when I scanned for codes. No coolant temp gauge to give any direct indication. Maybe something to check. That may also explain the engine being "hot"?

No codes relating to that on a scan.

I had new waterpump (and I think thermostat) put in when I bought the car about 3 years ago.

It'd be nice if there was a coolant temp gauge but seemingly mpg more important. N52 seems to run hot, I notice the 630i can get up to 110-115 on oil temp (midway seems to be 120 on the gauge)

[DaveZed]

There is a way to access the coolant temperature via the "hidden menu". If you google it you should find some vids on how to do it. Not completely trivial if you haven't done it before, but not that difficult either.

[g3org3y]

DaveZed said:

There is a way to access the coolant temperature via the "hidden menu". If you google it you should find some vids on how to do it. Not completely trivial if you haven't done it before, but not that difficult either.

Have heard about that.

The Creator C310 does show coolant temp on the live datastream but seems delayed with a slow refresh rate.

I know the temp can vary quite a bit depending on the engine 'mode' the car thinks it needs to be in (eco vs performance or whatever).