[MrSweet1991]

Hi All,

Finally got the intake manifold off so thought I'd create a new thread to share some pictures and see what people think. Hopefully I'll be adding some information about the removal procedure as well as it was very hard to find M57 videos on removing the intake manifold.

So anyway, its now off and there's a lot of oil, in the video you can see there's oil resting by the head gasket and a lot of oil all over the pipes towards the rear of the engine. I'm not quite sure what's caused this amount of oil to come out of the Intake manifold.

Video link

Half way through removing swirl flaps


Carbon IN EGR


Carbon in Intake Manifold (EGR Side)


Carbon removed from EGR just using a screwdriver


One Swirl Flap showing signs of breakdown


Another Swirl Flap showing signs of breakdown


Could this Orange on the swirl flap that's broken off or worn down have cause the oil leak?

[dragerboy]

Wow the EGR was well coated lol. I did cleaned mine soon after I had my DPF removed and though it was bad but it was nothing like yours. How long/hard was it to get the Intake Manifold off?

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by dragerboy

Wow the EGR was well coated lol. I did cleaned mine soon after I had my DPF removed and though it was bad but it was nothing like yours. How long/hard was it to get the Intake Manifold off?

Hi mate,

I started at 10am and had it on the kitchen side at 6pm, but that was because it kept raining so I took many breaks and the main reason for the really long time was not knowing where some parts where to remove and how to remove them.

Assuming I was to do it again if say I could do it in 2 hours or so, if you ever come to do it yourself definitely send a message and I'll offer some pointers that took me a long time to work out such as I didn't need to remove the window wipers.. what a fail that was haha.

Also, if I was to advise anything it would be to prepare well! I overlooked how hard it was to actually clean the intake manifold. The ports are very small so other than scrubbing with a toothbrush and a flat head screwdriver there was nothing else I could do, on the EGR side of the manifold it does have a big opening but inside is some straight plastic bits which prevent you from being able to put something all the way in (a toilet brush in my case) and clean properly. Brake cleaner and petrol did a descent job but was no match for the caked on carbon in the back end of the manifold (in the EGR opening)

Realistically you need to get some really nasty stuff that breaks down carbon and then submerge the manifold in it and leave for a day which appears to be what others have done.

But it's all back together now, the nasty leaking and breaking down swirl flaps are gone! The EGR looks as good as new and the intake manifold ports are a lot cleaner a question that some ask is can you notice a difference in low down torque with the swirl flaps gone? Definitely not, the car to me is still as sharp low down as it was before.

Swirl Flap Blanks Fitted



I purchased the kkmoon intake manifold gasket set with the blanks off Amazon for £23.49. If you have the 330D you'll likely need the 33mm blanks.

[Maxlude]

This is the next job for mine too. Plus replace the EGR pressure converter as been getting a thumping sound for few years now, but has recently started to sound like a duck quacking. Some vac hoses at same time if required too. Then last main item is a new intercooler red hose as I can see oil build up around the bottom. Then should be good for a while...hopefully. TBH, I barely did anything to it apart from regular service items up till 100k miles but the last 20k have been pita.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

This is the next job for mine too. Plus replace the EGR pressure converter as been getting a thumping sound for few years now, but has recently started to sound like a duck quacking. Some vac hoses at same time if required too. Then last main item is a new intercooler red hose as I can see oil build up around the bottom. Then should be good for a while...hopefully. TBH, I barely did anything to it apart from regular service items up till 100k miles but the last 20k have been pita.

Hi mate,

Given you're going to whip the intake manifold off I'd definitely make sure you have a good cleaning agent to remove the carbon (leave the manifold submerged for 24 hours) and people have said it was as good as new. Me on the other hand I resorted to Petrol, brake cleaner and brushes and because of the tight spaces and what not it really didn't clean up that well. EGR and throttle body however is like New!

With respects to your red boost pipe, if There's a build up of oil would that not be turbo seals leaking or crankcase breather not working properly? Also, if you need any help removing the intake manifold let me know, I've stripped it a few times now lol.. so far I've cleaned Intake Manifold, EGR/Throttle Body, blanked swirl flaps, air filter, crankcase breather, EGR thermostat and main thermostat (did those yesterday) and Manifold Absolute Pressure.. I've now gone from 19MPG to approximately 26MPG but I need a few more days to average out properly.

[Benskett]

My 59k N57 LCI was the same, crammed full of gunk!

Cleaned it all out, but I now have blanks to fit & an oil catch can to hopefully stop oil vapour mixing with the EGR soot. That should hopefully solve or at least reduce the build up.

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Hi mate,

Given you're going to whip the intake manifold off I'd definitely make sure you have a good cleaning agent to remove the carbon (leave the manifold submerged for 24 hours) and people have said it was as good as new. Me on the other hand I resorted to Petrol, brake cleaner and brushes and because of the tight spaces and what not it really didn't clean up that well. EGR and throttle body however is like New!

With respects to your red boost pipe, if There's a build up of oil would that not be turbo seals leaking or crankcase breather not working properly? Also, if you need any help removing the intake manifold let me know, I've stripped it a few times now lol.. so far I've cleaned Intake Manifold, EGR/Throttle Body, blanked swirl flaps, air filter, crankcase breather, EGR thermostat and main thermostat (did those yesterday) and Manifold Absolute Pressure.. I've now gone from 19MPG to approximately 26MPG but I need a few more days to average out properly.

Thanks for the offer but I may just give to my mate who is a professional He took the inlet manifold off 15k miles ago to replace seals and glow plugs at same time. I used to enjoy taking engines to bits when I had Honda VTECs, but the engine in this is pita. I remember taking couple of hours when I changed the ruddy air filter for the first time! Stupid design or what?
Re. Red intercooler pipe - my mate says that its the bottom seal that has gone but just replacing the seal (£8 part from BMW) will not last long as the whole pipe moves a little with the engine and the steel collar wears, so I got a whole new red pipe section for £50 from internet.
I guess I should also check if my EGR needs cleaning...I last took it out 50k miles ago but it was very clean then.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

Thanks for the offer but I may just give to my mate who is a professional He took the inlet manifold off 15k miles ago to replace seals and glow plugs at same time. I used to enjoy taking engines to bits when I had Honda VTECs, but the engine in this is pita. I remember taking couple of hours when I changed the ruddy air filter for the first time! Stupid design or what?
Re. Red intercooler pipe - my mate says that its the bottom seal that has gone but just replacing the seal (£8 part from BMW) will not last long as the whole pipe moves a little with the engine and the steel collar wears, so I got a whole new red pipe section for £50 from internet.
I guess I should also check if my EGR needs cleaning...I last took it out 50k miles ago but it was very clean then.

Haha,

to be honest mate I don't blame you, cleaning the Intake Manifold was such a horrible job! Using petrol to clean the carbon and brushes to scrub I was getting carbon everywhere, even my dog walked past a few times and she had carbon on her.. it's a right smelly nasty job. That said, if I would have researched better I would have just submerged the intake manifold and it would have been as good as new.

The air filter was my first job on this car and I have to admit what an absolute nightmare it was! this is the first car I've ever worked on and it was daunting taking all those bits off, and my face when I took the strut bars off.. I was thinking "Please go back together" haha.

And thank you for the information regarding the red pipe, so it does have a seal in which can be replaced but is prone to leaking again? I suppose at £50 it was quite a bargain and if I'm not mistaken that boost pipe is specifically designed to support a certain amount of pressure? So at least by buying the whole pipe you know it will be working great.

As with the EGR I suppose you could just pull the pipe off and use a phone to see how caked it is (that's what I did anyway) but how you get those four bolts out is beyond me.. I just took the EGR and Intake Manifold off as one and then I could get to every bolt with ease.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Benskett

My 59k N57 LCI was the same, crammed full of gunk!

Cleaned it all out, but I now have blanks to fit & an oil catch can to hopefully stop oil vapour mixing with the EGR soot. That should hopefully solve or at least reduce the build up.

Great idea with respects to the catch can, yes a lot of people will say it's pointless but I have a brand new crankcase breather and I still manage to get a little poodle in the EGR! I'd be interested in a follow up to your catch can, I'm not sure of how many pipes you could pull off to inspect but if I pulled the large cooler pipe from the EGR and never had that little puddle I'd say it was a job well done!

[Benskett]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Great idea with respects to the catch can, yes a lot of people will say it's pointless but I have a brand new crankcase breather and I still manage to get a little poodle in the EGR! I'd be interested in a follow up to your catch can, I'm not sure of how many pipes you could pull off to inspect but if I pulled the large cooler pipe from the EGR and never had that little puddle I'd say it was a job well done!

Should have everything to do it this weekend.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Benskett

Should have everything to do it this weekend.

Awesome!, do you think you'd have enough time to take some pictures and a guide of how you done it? Given the price of these catch cans I could see myself investing in it

[Paul D3]

I took the easier but far more costly approach and simply replaced the manifold. Comes with a new EGR vacuum chamber/seals. It's dealer only.

Interestingly the force needed to open the swirl flaps on the newer unit is a lot less. The old ones even when cleaned needed some force to open. Suspect that was what was causing some low down power/light throttle slow response issues.

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by MrSweet1991

Haha,

to be honest mate I don't blame you, cleaning the Intake Manifold was such a horrible job! Using petrol to clean the carbon and brushes to scrub I was getting carbon everywhere, even my dog walked past a few times and she had carbon on her.. it's a right smelly nasty job. That said, if I would have researched better I would have just submerged the intake manifold and it would have been as good as new.

The air filter was my first job on this car and I have to admit what an absolute nightmare it was! this is the first car I've ever worked on and it was daunting taking all those bits off, and my face when I took the strut bars off.. I was thinking "Please go back together" haha.

And thank you for the information regarding the red pipe, so it does have a seal in which can be replaced but is prone to leaking again? I suppose at £50 it was quite a bargain and if I'm not mistaken that boost pipe is specifically designed to support a certain amount of pressure? So at least by buying the whole pipe you know it will be working great.

As with the EGR I suppose you could just pull the pipe off and use a phone to see how caked it is (that's what I did anyway) but how you get those four bolts out is beyond me.. I just took the EGR and Intake Manifold off as one and then I could get to every bolt with ease.

Unfortunately my pal who does all the work on my car when I cant do it is out of action for a while and I had some time - I say unfortunately because I have just taken the inlet manifold off, swirl flap blanks (due to leakage), clean/decoke, new EGR pressure converter, new air filter whilst I'm at it, and new Exhaust gas temp sensors (second time in 15months) as my code reader was saying signal error in one and the temps looked very low in the other. I'm not sure weather the low EGTemps was related to the EGR pressure converter which had gone from making a rhythmic thumping noise to a quacking noise, but it was preventing DPF regen and I was getting the 0480/0481 errors again
What a horrible job this was! Great respect and hats off to all that have done it
I have not been able to do a DPF regen for at least 2k miles! Exhaust back pressure at idle was at 55-60mb. Finally got it do trigger a regen last night and now its at 15mb. It must have been really heavily blocked/sooted and am expecting it to go down to less than 10mb after the next regen as it will be from a less heavily sooted start.
Just one last job to go! Need to replace the intercooler red pipe - then hopefully done
Thanks to all on the forum as it helped lots to get an idea of what to expect.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

Unfortunately my pal who does all the work on my car when I cant do it is out of action for a while and I had some time - I say unfortunately because I have just taken the inlet manifold off, swirl flap blanks (due to leakage), clean/decoke, new EGR pressure converter, new air filter whilst I'm at it, and new Exhaust gas temp sensors (second time in 15months) as my code reader was saying signal error in one and the temps looked very low in the other. I'm not sure weather the low EGTemps was related to the EGR pressure converter which had gone from making a rhythmic thumping noise to a quacking noise, but it was preventing DPF regen and I was getting the 0480/0481 errors again
What a horrible job this was! Great respect and hats off to all that have done it
I have not been able to do a DPF regen for at least 2k miles! Exhaust back pressure at idle was at 55-60mb. Finally got it do trigger a regen last night and now its at 15mb. It must have been really heavily blocked/sooted and am expecting it to go down to less than 10mb after the next regen as it will be from a less heavily sooted start.
Just one last job to go! Need to replace the intercooler red pipe - then hopefully done
Thanks to all on the forum as it helped lots to get an idea of what to expect.

i changed my seals in the red boost hose..think its leaking/atomising oil again after only 1 month or so,,so i think i will get the red(forge )boost hose..think its around £120.

[Maxlude]

My mechanic pal said that just changing the seals wont last long as the collar wears on the pipe, so I bought a new red pipe from internet for £50 that comes with a new double lip seal.
Hopefully try fit it this w/e.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

My mechanic pal said that just changing the seals wont last long as the collar wears on the pipe, so I bought a new red pipe from internet for £50 that comes with a new double lip seal.
Hopefully try fit it this w/e.

can you post a link tot he hose you bought,ive seen a few on e bay from poland etc

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

can you post a link tot he hose you bought,ive seen a few on e bay from poland etc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261941449337
In the picture it is black but when it turned up it was red.
No hose clip supplied. Made in Turkey by Yildiz Hortum (if that makes any difference). Looks decent quality. Its 48Euro direct from them but I don't know about delivery etc. I took a punt cos the dealer wanted £230 as it only comes with the ally pipe also!

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261941449337
In the picture it is black but when it turned up it was red.
No hose clip supplied. Made in Turkey by Yildiz Hortum (if that makes any difference). Looks decent quality. Its 48Euro direct from them but I don't know about delivery etc. I took a punt cos the dealer wanted £230 as it only comes with the ally pipe also!

yeh thats one of the ones i was watching.thats why i asked because you said £50 and i couldnt get a link to one which was £50

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

yeh thats one of the ones i was watching.thats why i asked because you said £50 and i couldnt get a link to one which was £50

It was £50 back in May
Haven't had the time to fit it yet!

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

It was £50 back in May
Haven't had the time to fit it yet!

also found this,they have the seals also
http://www.turbohortum.com/e90-e91-e...617796303.html

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

also found this,they have the seals also
http://www.turbohortum.com/e90-e91-e...617796303.html

That's the same part. It is what I have to fit next when I have time.

[Maxlude]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

That's the same part. It is what I have to fit next when I have time.

Update in case anyone is interested!

Finally managed to get time to fit the new red turbo intercooler hose at the weekend.

First impressions:

-Seems to have 'recovered' some lost low down torque from after swirlflap delete (my car is a manual so maybe more noticeable?). It started to struggle uphills at 30mph in 4th, but now is much better again

-Feels like its gained maybe 10% more power (totally based on my arse to seat interface, so maybe not accurate at all!)

-Engine is very smooth now, smoother than its ever been - and I've had this car for 9yrs! Its revving almost petrol like. I rekon I can finally feel the remap I had 4 yrs ago lol now that all boost leaks are fixed. (It went very revvy after swirl flap delete - but lost some low end torque).

Now that the DPF is regening successfully and my exhaust back pressures are back to normal e.g. 5-6mb at idle, 25mb at 2krpms, must have helped - awesome. I'm happy.
May well keep it until new G20 3 series M340i is out instead of getting an F30 340i as I don't do many long trips anymore.
This is already by far the longest I have ever kept any car, but it is driving very nicely at the mo!