sorry i did not take any pictures while working. i did not want to get my phone dirty. but i will post some pictures tomorrow and i will point out the changes in this engine that i am seeing.
TIA

 

You did it the hard way on the intake manifold support bracket. Should have researched first.

Impossible to remove head with ex manifold attached, unless engine tilted CW.
#1 cam lobes point together with square ends square to the head top plane, then crank should be TDC. Mark this on the pulley, then proceed

 

oh ****... you made me feel like an idiot. i did do research and watched all the videos about head removal. i watched many methods and spent 2 whole days. but i guess i should have posted here before i started. would have saved myself a whole lot of time.

As for the TDC, i have marked it on the pulley now.

i have watched a few videos where 2 guys pulled the head out with E-manifold attached. is it advisable or should i tilt the engine ? another thing i have observed is that, there seems to be more space on the E-manifold side to remove it. i think i can get to the bolts.

il update once i check them tomorrow.

any tips,tricks,advices on time serts ?
Thanks.

 

Like he said - You CANNOT remove the head with the exhaust manifolds attached.

To remove the manifolds, you'll need a wide assortment of ratchet extensions, of every possible length, from 1" to 6", and each nut will take a different combination of extensions to get the reach you need, without being so long the ratchet doesn't fit. Wobble extensions help as well.

Rip off the manifold heat shields to get them out of the way - you'll get new ones with the new gaskets. The top nuts are not too bad. The bottom-middle nuts on each manifold are MUCH easier to get using an air ratchet. Still neither easy nor fun. And the ONLY way to get the head off is to either remove ALL the studs (which is REALLY hard), or to unbolt the RH engine mount bracket from the cross member, and jack that side of the engine up as far as possible (about 2"). Otherwise, there is not enough room to get the manifolds off the studs, before the cats hit the frame. The other option is to completely remove the engine mount bracket, and drop the manifolds out the bottom, which, seems to me, is a lot harder.

Regards,
Ray L.

 

Ray thanks for the advice. i have seen this method in most of the videos. so il take a look at it and decide how to do it.

 

watch the 50's kid youtube videos on timing the engine. and replacing the head.

Yes a head from any 328i (using the M52TU or M54 engine not the M52) or 330i or 528i, 525i or 530i or Z3 or x3 or x5 should work fine. You will move over your cams and trays, of course.

You should take your head to a machine shop and at least get a price to resurface it before buying a new one.

I rent the timesert tools. PM me if interested. You want to use timesert kit 1090 which has the jig to properly drill new holes. Makes easy work of the job. The best tip is to tape the block with clear packing tape to keep aluminum chips out of the engine.

 

thanks for the tip. i read somewhere on bimmerforums that you cannot swap the heads since the size of valves vary. i did a research on the replacement part for valves. it was the same part for all 6 cylinder models. that had me thinking the guy on bimmerforum must be wrong.

regarding the timesert tool rental i will pm you. thanks for that. that is a real life saver.

i am not thinking of using the same head since i believe its useless. i do not want to spend money on having it checked. if the shop is willing to check and give a free quote i will think about reusing it. i would rather get a new head and have it checked and cleaned.

i am using 50s kid videos to do all the work on my car. he is amazing and explains really well. unfortunately his 330i is a bit different and older model compared to mine. so i have to do some research work. but great videos and tutorials

 

Ray***8217;s method worked, but I did this differently; no power tool, no touching engine mounts, no lifted nor tilted engine. Just a set of standard sockets and swivel adapter. I bent the rear heat shield a little but not ripped it out***8212;reused them.
Remove the muffler off the CAT. Lift the head up till Cat touches firewall. From above remove all nuts off front unit and lift it off the head and set down near fender. Then repeat for rear unit.

 

Ray's method worked, but I did this differently; no power tool, no touching engine mounts, no lifted nor tilted engine. Just a set of standard sockets and swivel adapter. I bent the rear heat shield a little but not ripped it out-reused them.
Remove the muffler off the CAT. Lift the head up till Cat touches firewall. From above remove all nuts off front unit and lift it off the head and set down near fender. Then repeat for rear unit.

i am definitely going to try this first. before i think of going with removing engine mount.

could you please explain a little more on what size of adapters or any tips you can give so that i can use your method without damaging anything or wasting too much time

thanks

 

OP, then why trying to remove the intake from the support bar the hard way, instead of removing the support bar 16mm nut from the block, the easy way?

Search for my post about Timesert for parts I bought, drill out old threads and tap new threads. Grind out old threads is safer and easier than drill them out.

 

i tried to remove the support bar but it was too tight even after using WD 40. there just wasnt enough space to fit a longer ratchet. i gave up after i got a few cuts.

i will look up on your post on timeserts.

Thanks

 

One man show doing reverse can be risky to the gasket; not the stainless steel sheets, but the thin black Teflon coating. (You said the old gasket looked ok, but how can you tell when the removed gasket already missing some Teflon coating pieces which attached to the head and block?) You don't want the head ever touching the new gasket during the struggle except on final resting on top nice and square.

The Time-sort kit I bought from Amazon came with the counter bore bit and the correct size drill. Warning: drilling out the threads is a very slow process with hand drill bc it will jammed every second, and you don't want a broken drill bit in the hole! I think the best way is to grind the soft threads with a grind bit (don't know if thing exist) then drill the final hole size, then count bore the hole top for the timesert head. Search my old post for the timesheet kit part number. I JB weld all timesert threads to block for stronger attachment.

 

No need to spend $450 for Kit 1090.

I bought the tools and 14 Timesert pieces total about $100 on Amazon here:

Bought Time-sert kit and 14 24.5 M10 x 1.5 time-serts from Amazone.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JK448O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IPMR4B8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's all I needed for the job.

 

Sapote is correct, you don't NEED kit 1090. but it sure makes easy work of the job. I don't think he has tried using kit 1090.

With all due respect, Sapote also seems to be forgetting his own experience. It can be found here:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/...com/forum/showthread.php?1641019-cylinder-3-has-water-hydro-locked-HELP!!/page3

It took him 14 hours to drill/ tap 14 holes.
One hole was drilled so off center that he worried it wouldn't hold the timesert and he ended up JB welding it in.
The drill bit he used kept catching
His amazon link for timesert tools says " Kit is not for head bolt repair"

Kit 1090 has none of these issues and it takes me 15-20 mins per hole.
The drill bit (with a 1/2 inch drill) drills proper length with countersink in one try.

I can tell you used timesert 1090 kits sell on Ebay for $350-$375. I have bought, used, and resold for $100 or less net cost.

 

It took him 14 hours to drill/ tap 14 holes.
One hole was drilled so off center that he worried it wouldn't hold the timesert and he ended up JB welding it in.
The drill bit he used kept catching
.

It was not drilled off center, but was tapped off center. So I think even if I had used the 1090 kit I still could tap it off center if not really careful. I should have used a 22mms socket for checking the tap bit square to the block to avoid off center issue.

Yes, it took me 14 hrs to perfectly drill 14 holes with the old threads bc I tried not to break drill bit. So what makes using the 1090 kit's drill bit doesn't jam? Overpowered it with a big powerful drill gun?

 

In this video, the man used exactly the same Timesert tool and pieces as I did for around $100, not the expensive 1090 kit.

He used a drill press and avoided the drill bit catch and jam. But you can tell from the sound that the drill bit caught the threads and wanted to jam, but the drill press controlled the feeding, not a hand drill. Therefore I want to see a video shows anyone using a hand drill and avoid the drill bit jamming. Let's show it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXGm5_Vogy4

 

In this video, the man used exactly the same Timesert tool and pieces as I did for around $100, not the expensive 1090 kit.

He used a drill press and avoided the drill bit catch and jam. But you can tell from the sound that the drill bit caught the threads and wanted to jam, but the drill press controlled the feeding, not a hand drill. Therefore I want to see a video shows anyone using a hand drill and avoid the drill bit jamming. Let's show it.

That video is close to meaningless to the OP who still has his block in the car. No drill press to keep things straight. But I think you're suggesting that all the time-sert drill bits catch - which is not the case. Here is a video of a first-timer using kit 1090. You see the drill bit at 5:50 and he demonstrates how he drills without catching - using a sturdy 1/2 drive right angle drill at 21:20 and elsewhere.

https://youtu.be/CpHDBW74kIo

the timesert drill bits you have catch when drilling head bolts for some reason.

 

Drill straight is not the concern, because you drill into an existing hole ***x1f642;

But use the reamer to remove the threads first, then the final drill is easy and won't bite or jammed.

For tapping straight, go slow and use a 19 or 22 socket stands on the block to check for the tap bit straight-check around the bit on x and y . Use WD40 to lube the bit often, and remove the bit to clean off chips often to avoid jamming and breaking the bit. I didn't check the bit straightness using a socket and got off center on one hole.

Lube the old head bolt with grease before using it to drive the timesert home. When it bottomed, the head bolt will go through the insert and enlarger its OD to lock to the block, then you back out the bolt slowly so the insert doesn't follow (reason for greasing). I added jb weld to the insert external threads to bond it to the block all 14 inserts.

Edited: remove the 40 ft lbs torque on the insert bolt torque.

 

i have started to clean the block using a low power tool. i have a gasket material removing attachment and it works like a charm. removed all the old gasket material.
i got a titanium 1/2 inch Bosch drill bit. but the drill bit is bigger than the existing hole. except for i think 2 or 3 holes, the rest are all small. it was mentioned earlier in the thread. i am still confused though. do i have to use a 1/2 inch drill ? what about for the counterbore ? what size should i use ?

TIA

" EDIT " - i accidentally bought a masonry drill bit instead of a regular drill bit..:banghead: with the hexagonal shank of 0.3125 inch dia at the tip the hole size will be too big for the tap. the hole needs to be at least 8.5mm in diameter. I guess i am going back to home depot tomorrow again. :banghead:

what about the counterbore ? what size can i use for that ? can i use this existing drill bit to drill the counter bore ? it fits exactly into the bigger holes on the bock.

pls help...

 

Tejas I would slow down, take a breath and map this out.

The only way i have ever installed time-serts is with time-sert tools. You are attempting to install time-serts with drill bits and tools you are buying from Home Depot. This might be a challenge. You can get the proper drill bits, but the tap you have (m10 x1.5) is WRONG. The threads you are tapping in the block are for the threaded time-sert - the actual steel insert. The thread and pitch of the outer threads of the actual time-sert is bigger than M10 X 1.5 because the inner threads are M10 X 1.5. I think you need the proper Time-sert tap for the time-sert M10x1.5 insert.

I think I have the tap, which i can rent you. PM me.

Drill bits are not a problem.

In post #20 above I posted the following link

The timesert website lists drill bit sizes and the depth/diameter of the countersink.
http://www.timesert.com/html/engineeringdataM.html
you are using M10 x 1.5 x 24.5mm inserts

The link shows that for the M10 x 1.5 timesert you need a 13/32 drill bit for the main hole and a 1/2 drill bit for the countersink. Use the 13/32 drill to drill to the bottom of the existing hole (no further) and I would mark the depth of the hole with elec tape on the 13/32 drill bit.

The countersink per the link should be 0.085 inches deep which is approx 3/32's. I would mark that on the 1/2 drill bit. I would try to get close on the 0.085 measurement, but not critical because the 24.5mm time sert you're (hopefully) using is shorter than the hole in the block.

I would recommend you use a 1/2 inch drill (not drill bit) to drill these holes. And you will likely need a right angle drill or right angle drill attachment for the last two holes closest to the firewall.

to keep things straight I would thread several old head bolts into the block and use them to line up your drill and tap by sight.
Remember to use clear packing tape on the block to keep alum chips out of the engine.

 

damn... i did not think of the bigger tap size... luckily i have a 40 piece tap set with the pithch gauge. i have the time serts too.. i will check the pitch.. if i am not wrong it should be m12x1.5. i have that too. i have the alignment tool from amazon for tapping.

i will get a 13/32 drill for drilling the threads out. whew.. thanks for replying so soon..

for the counter bore i will use my existing 1/2 inch drill bit.

 

When you get a chance, please post a follow-up on the outer-diameter thread of the the m10 x1.5 time-sert. There are some online who say it is an odd-ball, proprietary thread and pitch and others who say it is a standard thread and pitch.

Since you're doing this with off the shelf tools, I would suggest you find a hunk of aluminum somewhere and do a test installation....

 

good news. i did check the outer diameter and the pitch of the time sert. it is in fact a M12x1.5. i used 50's kid engine rebuild series as a reference and used the exact sizes of drill bits he mentioned. 13/13 inch drill bit to drill out the threads and a 31/64 drill bit to drill the counter bore. its a snug fit. as suggested 1/2 inch drill bit for the counter bore might have worked better but this is good too.. its a real snug fit.


now to the mess up i did.

i taped the cylinders to keep the metal shavings from falling in. but since it was so cold and i had used brake cleaner to clean the block before applying the tape, it came out in the process and metal shavings fell into cylinder 2,3,4 &5.
i did not try to do anything except blow it out using compressed air as much as i could. i taped it back again and finished the job. there are still some metal chips that i can see but i have not yet attempted to take them out. i was thinking of blasting with brake cleaner or wd40 and high pressure water wash.

please do let me know what you think.

i accidentally left the hood open and it rained last night. there was water inside the cylinders and water has also gone to the oil pan through the space at where the timing chain is. i will be doing a complete oil flush. but is there anything i need to keep in mind or do anything special ?

oh and i forgot to mention that i replaced my OFHG too.. it was cracked and broken and what not..

anything else i can replace while the head and intake is out ? apart from the standard gaskets which i am changing out.

TIA

 

OP, it's OK to buy tools from HD instead of the kit from Amazon that I suggested, to save money, BUT you need to research thoroughly and get the correct tap bit and the final drill bit, or the block is screwed.

 

i have mentioned in my earlier post about the correct sizes of the bits and tap.

i have few more questions though.

which is better ? locktite red 266 or JB weld metal ?

how long should i wait when i am torquing the head bolts after i install the time serts ?

and how long of a gap should i give bw the two 90degree turns after the initial 40nm torque ?

any suggestions or tips on installing the head back in ?

thanks for the tip on using a right angle drill. came in handy . i used it for all the holes. as you suggested 1/2 inch drill was good. did not get jammed and drilling was done in less than 2 hours in the stupid cold weather.

 

Thanks for the follow-up. Interesting on the outer diameter sizing.

The 1/2 inch drill bit wasn't my suggestion, it was the specified counter-bore from Time-sert themselves that I provided a link to- twice. 50's kid is good, but when there is a discrepancy between 50's kid and Time-sert themselves, I am probably going with the Time-sert figures. You can lead a horse to water.....

Keeping chips and water out of the engine is important. Not sure how the chips got into FIVE cylinders. Blow them out with compressed air and change your oil a few times at initial start-up, 50 -100 miles, 500-1000 miles, etc.

 

the tape lifted out while drilling and few small chunks fell into the cylinders. i noticed it later. anyways i will use some wd40 and high pressure water hose to clean it out. i will change out the oil as you have suggested.

its not that i did not want to use the 1/2 inch drill for the counter bore but its a minute difference and i just went with a smaller one since i could see in the video that it fits perfectly.

i will be using the alignment tool to tap tomorrow.

i will try and upload some pictures post completion.

one more question . JB weld metal or red loctite 266 ?

i will keep the thread updated until i drive 1000-2000 miles.

thanks.

 

Hot engine will soft Loctite, so use Jb weld.
Chips in cylinders: i taped off the coolant and oil small openings, but I choose not to tape cover the cylinders during drill and tap ***8212; aluminum chips are soft. Once done, I vacuumed the chips and sharpened a toothpick and picked out any in between piston and cylinder. Don***8217;t worry for those very small chips. Try to pick them off the cylinders but don***8217;t use compress air or water, as the high pressure would force the chips in between piston and cylinder.

I had posted about how I install the head. Don***8217;t break the chain guide, and don***8217;t hit the new gasket by the head.

 

Hot engine will soft Loctite, so use Jb weld.
Chips in cylinders: i taped off the coolant and oil small openings, but I choose not to tape cover the cylinders during drill and tap - aluminum chips are soft. Once done, I vacuumed the chips and sharpened a toothpick and picked out any in between piston and cylinder. Don't worry for those very small chips. Try to pick them off the cylinders but don't use compress air or water, as the high pressure would force the chips in between piston and cylinder.

I had posted about how I install the head. Don't break the chain guide, and don't hit the new gasket by the head.

okay. awesome. i will use JB weld. and for the chips i used the same method and got all of them out.

for water in the oil pan, i will just change out the oil every 1000 miles for the first 3000 miles. that should help clean out the engine.

 

Tejas - When do the hacks stop in this process?

you were fortunate to get these timeserts installed with tools from Home Depot.

Timesert specifies red loctite and includes a bottle in its head bolt kits. Red loctite holds up to 500 F (250C). You can look this up. If your engine ever gets up to 500F you'll have other problems to worry about.

Sapote is the only one that I have read about to have used JB Weld - though there may be others. He used it to help secure timeserts after an off-center tapping experience in one hole.

head re-install - you can't be careful enough. I would not recommend standing on the strut mounts and lowering by hand.

I would use an engine hoist or come-along mounted above and carefully lower head with exhaust manifold installed. Make sure the two locating dowels are back in the block. As the head is lowered into position, I use wooden dowels the size of head bolts (I think 50's kid does this) and insert them in a couple of holes thru the head and into block.

While your at it, you might consider removing oil return valve in center of Head (from piston side) and replacing the metric o-ring on it which is almost certainly plasticized.

 

there are no hacks as i can see it. sorry if it seems that i am arguing with you. but i checked and found that they are standard thread sizes. it did not make sense as to why they would try make a proprietary thread size for the outside of time serts. i wanted to reduce the part costs as much as i can without taking any chances. of course you cant buy single drill bits and i had to buy a set but it was still cheaper than the whole kit ( 40 peice drill bits and tap bits included was less than 40 bucks. i can use them later on if needed and i have a set now.

i did a fair amount of research for the red locktite and JB weld metal. but both have same strengths and temperature resistance ( 500 deg F). but i could not find red loctite 266 anywhere for pickup. i had to order them and it was 3 days for delivery. so i got the JB weld instead.

i will take the advice on lowering the head and get a friend to help me instead of a one man show. let me see what i can do and i will try and get a video.

again thank you for all the advice.

 

Installing head with EX manifolds mounted: I found this is impossible unless the block is tilled to the left - view from driver.

Any video showing this method with no tilled block?

 

hmmm.... now that i think about it, it does sound risky. so i will try and install the exhaust manifolds after i have lowered the head. i will think about if i can install the ex manifolds before lowering head. but i will try that without the gasket on and maybe i can slip the gasket in with the head aligned. this will need 2 people definitely. i will try and make a video of the install. hopefully it works. but i am not taking any risks damaging the head gasket delicate coatings.

 

If go the route lower head we manifolds installed, then with head above the dowels and the timing guide, slide the gasket in AFTER applying some sealer to the timing cover/block seam!!!