[NGEE]

This procedure documents work I performed on my 2007 E90 335i N54. Your results may vary - undertake any DIY project at your own risk. If you see an error or omission, I would very much appreciate a heads-up so I can fix it.

To begin, I made sure I had the correct parts - I ordered by VIN to get the best results. I needed a new set of (2) aluminum bolts. For my 2007 E90, I got the starter and bolt set through getbmwparts for $386, but that was counter pick-up (no shipping) and that includes an $80 core charge, which I will get back. So that's a total of $306. If you do this job, just always make sure to use the original box your starter came in when returning the core or you won't get refunded! Same goes for most any core item.

I recently replaced my intake manifold gaskets because I had my valves blasted. So I didn't get a new set of manifold gaskets. Otherwise, I recommend buying a set - pretty cheap, and not worth trying to reuse old gaskets.

I needed an assortment of metric sockets (regular and deep), and an assortment of extensions.

Specialty tools I didn't have on hand - factor the cost of these tools into your price estimates:

My old starter was attached with E12 Torx bolts. My new bolt set was E14 Torx. And here is the IMPORTANT part. Use only E-Torx sockets!! I know that most 12-pt socket sets fit these E-Torx, but there is just a little play. For example, a 10MM 12-pt socket fits the E12 Torx bolt. But NOT snug. Play is a BAD thing here, particularly on the rear-facing bolt. If I stripped that bolt head, I honestly don't know how I'd recover. A lot of places don't even sell E-Torx sockets anymore. But I found a 42-piece Craftsman socket set at Sears that came with E6 through E16 Torx sockets. $99, on sale for $29. Woohoo! Those E-Torx sockets BITE that bolt head and do not slip!



I needed a ratchet with a swiveling head to get to that rear-facing bolt. No other way to do it. I made sure it had a slender head for clearance. I got this one from Sears, item #944835 for $31. The curved handle worked great, but the head was BARELY slender enough.



A swiveling, extending mirror came in handy when removing electric connectors underneath the throttle body.

Tear-Down.

Precaution - when I remove a nut or bolt, I take great care not to drop it! Nothing worse than having to stop a project, jack the car up and drop the underbelly pan to retrieve it!!!

1. I began by disconnecting the negative battery terminal. Whenever I do this, I always unlock all the doors and put my rear seat down. This way I can't accidentally close the trunk and lock myself out so I can't reconnect the battery! If I didn't have fold-down rear seats, I'd either train a trunk monkey or put something over my trunk latch (tee-shirt or something) to prevent this from happening.

2. To access the starter, I needed to remove the cowl, engine cover, air filter box and intake manifold/throttle body, in that order. I don't have the procedure here for the cowl because.....I converted my E90 over to the M3 cowl so I didn't have to remove mine whoohoo! That M3 cowl gives you access to everything - highly recommended (see here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...0&postcount=35)! But if I had the original cowl, I'd check out this post: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...0&postcount=10.



3. With the cowl out of the way, the engine cover was easy. I took off the oil filler cap assembly (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=791674 step 15b), then removed the four bolts that hold the cover down. Once I had the cover off, I temporarily reinstalled the oil filler cap to keep debris from falling into the engine.

4. I don't have the procedure here for the fresh air filter box and chargepipe, since my car has a DCI and aftermarket chargepipe/BOV. But if I had the OEM setup, I'd consult my OFHG DIY for the procedure: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=791674. Start with Step 5. But it's FAR easier when you have the cowl off. For example, in my DIY, I use a pry-bar to get leverage up under the cowl. You don't have to do that if you have the cowl off.

Anyway, once I got my cold/charge filter/induction system off, I made sure to plug both turbo fresh air pipes (fore and aft) with towels, and also my charge air induction pipe (fore, up from intercooler).



BUUUUuuuuttttt - I HAD TO REMEMBER TO NOT FORGET ABOUT THESE TOWELS!! The road to misery is paved with those poor souls who now own new turbos because they forgot they had towels stuffed in there. Next time I think I'll put a piece of colored painter's tape on each of these pipes just as a visual reminder!

5a. For the manifold, I started by disconnecting the sensor on the top of the manifold. Then I disconnected the hose connected to the right-side of the throttle body. I've heard people say they broke the connector trying to remove it, but mine came off easy. It's a squeeze-and-pull connector, just like the VC vent hose and the brake vacuum fittings. Note that if you follow this hose back toward the firewall, it has a rubber hanger that connects it to a bracket on the bottom/rear of the manifold (almost directly under the top circle in the diagram below). Slip this hanger off the bracket so the hose is no longer connected to the manifold. There is also a wire that hangs off that bracket with a plastic push-screw. Pull that wire off the bracket.



5b. Next there was an electrical connector underneath the throttle body. It was kind of tricky, and here is where I used a mirror. But if you know what to do, you don't even need to see the thing in order to get it off. On the back side of the connector (the side that faces the engine block) there is a large tab you depress to clear the locking cleat. If you depress that tab on the wire-side of the connector (not the throttle body side where it slides in) you can then wiggle/pull the connector loose from the receptor on the throttle body - you will be pulling toward the rear of the engine bay. I found it easier to wait on this and disconnect it AFTER I had the manifold completely free from the cylinder head stud bolts. Here is a pic of the connector, taken with an extension mirror. Notice that the locking cleat that you see on the bottom (facing the ground) is NOT the one to disconnect! If you disconnect that lock, you separate the connector into two separate parts, one of which is a spring-leaf electrical connector (and I'm sure you can see where this could go bad - ask me how I know).





6. Next, I had to get the cabling junction box off the bottom of the manifold. This is tricky. The top of the j-box has seven slotted tabs (three on one side, four on the other) that simply push onto a two-prong bracket bolted to the bottom of the manifold. But those prongs of course have little locking friction cleats on them, so it takes some force to slide the thing off. In theory you should just be able to grab it and slide it off by pulling away from the manifold toward you. Not so easy. Some ppl have used screwdrivers to pry it. I actually found it easier to wait until I had the manifold completely clear of the cylinder head stud bolts, and attack it from the rear by *pushing* it off the prongs. That way I could grab the bracket and use my thumb as a lever to push each side past its cleat on the prong, one at a time. Then I just slid it off. Here are some pics that may help visualize - first of the pronged bracket on the manifold, and then of the tabs on top of the j-box. Below that is a pic showing how I attacked it from the rear side after the manifold was free. With these visuals, you should have a good idea of what needs to be done.







7. Next, I removed the six nuts and one bolt that hold the manifold in place. In this photo, the yellow rectangle highlights where my vacuum canister hoses seat into grooves in the valve cover - popping these out freed up some room. Also, disregard the "Remove Connector" direction for the electrical connector on top of the manifold (I already did this in step 5a):



The manifold will pop right off at this point, but I lost some hair trying to maneuver the thing up and over the stud bolts to completely free it up - it's a tight space. It took some wiggling and maneuvering to get the manifold to clear the rear turbo air pipe (which doesn't flex much). To make it easier, I cleared some stuff. First I removed the two connectors on top of the fuel-rail shown above. They twisted out of their holders, and then I depressed the clip on the bottom to remove the connector.



I also removed the oil pressure sensor on the OFH - it's a standard clip-style connector. I had to be very careful prying that clip as they are known to spring off there never to be found again.



Once I got all that stuff disconnected, I had more clearance to get the manifold cleared off the bolt studs. Once I got it off, I inserted some towels into the valve openings to prevent debris from falling into the engine. At this point, I would have had to disconnect the sensor underneath the throttle body, but I had already done this step earlier (step 5b). I disconnected the j-box from under the manifold by accessing it from behind (see step 6).

8a. I was now clear to remove the manifold from the engine bay. If I had bought a new gasket set, I'd have tossed the old gaskets and inserted the new ones. I set the manifold aside in a clean, safe place until I was ready to reinstall.

8b. And now you see what 10k miles does to your valves. I had these blasted clean-as-a-whistle 10k ago!



9. Behold that shitty old starter that caused me to waste my Saturday in the first place lol



I began removing the starter by removing the electrical connector. It is one of those wire-clip designs, so I had to be VERY careful prying the clip. It can go flying never to be found again. I disconnected the battery cable from the starter post. The nut on the starter post looks suspiciously like the manifold nuts, so I put mine immediately onto the new starter post to avoid confusion. Next, I removed the old starter. There are two bolts that are inserted in an opposing pattern: the small bolt on the front right inserts fore-to-aft, and the longer bolt on the left rear inserts aft-to-fore. I started with the rear bolt so the starter was held firmly into place while I worked that more difficult bolt. And here is where I needed that swivel-headed ratchet - you can't get that rear bolt off without it. And as previously mentioned - I used real E-Torx sockets so I didn't strip that bolt head! I tossed the old bolts in order to avoid reusing them.





10. I installed the new starter. I don't have torque specs for the starter bolts. I don't even know how you'd get a torque wrench on that rear bolt anyway. I just torqued mine PDT. Of under-torque and over-torque, I think the bigger risk is over-torque. I didn't want to snap a head off those aluminum bolts!



Reassembly:

I reassembled the car in reverse order. Here are the steps I took, with some important things to remember:

a. Reconnect cable and electrical connector to starter.
b. Reinstall intake manifold (torque is only 15nm). Make sure to remove all the towels stuffed in the valve openings! Fortunately, the stud bolts have a nipple on top that makes is a breeze to set the nuts without losing them. For myself, I hand-tighten, then snug in a pattern radiating outward from the center, then tighten to spec in the same pattern. NOTE - before you do this step, it might be easier to get the manifold into position, then reconnect the j-box and electrical connector.
c. Reconnect the fuel-rail connectors. Plug the connector in, then push the assembly back into the holder.
d1. Reconnect the oil pressure sensor.
d2. Re-seat the turbo vacuum lines into the grooves in the valve cover.
e. Reconnect the j-box to the manifold. Just slide the tabs over the prongs and push it in all the way.
f. Reconnect the electrical connector under the throttle body. Remember the larger locking tab faces the engine block.
g. Reconnect the hose to the right-side of the throttle body. This is the one EVERYBODY forgets! I started my car up and 30 seconds later the tach plummeted erratically - I knew exactly where to look! (But remember that hose has a rubber hanger that slips over the bracket on the bottom rear of the manifold? Reconnect that hanger onto the bracket first. And don't forget to also reconnect that wire to the same bracket by re-inserting that push-screw into the bracket) Then the hose simply pushes onto the throttle body until it clicks.
h. Reconnect the sensor on the top of the manifold.
i. Reconnect your fresh air filter/chargepipe assembly. MAKE SURE TO FIRST REMOVE ALL THE TOWELING INSERTED TO PROTECT THE AIR PIPES!!!!



j. Reinstall the engine cover.
k. Reinstall the cowl.
l. Reconnect the negative battery terminal.
m. Reset the date.time.
n. Start the car and drive by the nearest stealership honking the horn.

[thailam515]

Good write up. I bypassed the intake manifold removal. My starter still works great to this day!!

[BashShah]

Awesome write up.
Just curious? How many k and what made you change the starter?....other than no start.
Any codes?

DN

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by DarkNemesis

Awesome write up.
Just curious? How many k and what made you change the starter?....other than no start.
Any codes?

DN

No codes that I'm aware of. 'Course I didn't check tho

But it would "start" to start, then stop - engage then cut out. It did this occasionally, but began to happen more often. A couple of times I pushed the start button and nothing happened. You're sitting there in your car like "Oh shit...no...pleeeeeease!" But then it would start.

Anyway, didn't want to chance getting stranded. I figure it's a good preventative investment at 140k.

Hasn't had any of those symptoms since.

[slopokdave]

I started working on this tonight, I stopped at removing the J-Box from under the manifold. Didn't really understand how it slides off.... I'm sure its just me though, your write-up is great so far and its nice to know that is the last part before the whole manifold comes off.

So far this is a lot easier than I anticipated. I too have DCI and a front mount, so no messing with the factory airbox. I'm surprised there are a million hoses attached to the manifold, and unlike some write ups I saw, I don't need to mess with the crankcase vent valve from what I can tell. Pelican lists their write up as an E90 write up but... its pretty far off IMO.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by slopokdave

I started working on this tonight, I stopped at removing the J-Box from under the manifold. Didn't really understand how it slides off.... I'm sure its just me though, your write-up is great so far and its nice to know that is the last part before the whole manifold comes off.

So far this is a lot easier than I anticipated. I too have DCI and a front mount, so no messing with the factory airbox. I'm surprised there are a million hoses attached to the manifold, and unlike some write ups I saw, I don't need to mess with the crankcase vent valve from what I can tell. Pelican lists their write up as an E90 write up but... its pretty far off IMO.

Aside from that rear-facing bolt, the j-box is easily the most difficult part of this whole thing. It literally just slides off the prongs, except that it's on there VERY tight due to the friction cleats. If it weren't so tight, you would just stand on the side of the car, reach under the manifold, grab the j-box and slide it off toward you. Some people use screwdrivers to pry it off, some just man-handle it off (watch the knuckles!), some actually remove the prong assembly (three torx bolts), but I just found it easier to attack from the rear after the manifold was off - much easier to get some leverage by grabbing the prong assembly and pushing the box off of it with my thumbs.

I re-oriented two of the three photos in that j-box sequence to make them less...disorienting.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by thailam515

Good write up. I bypassed the intake manifold removal. My starter still works great to this day!!

I honestly cannot imagine how you did that.

[slopokdave]

Originally Posted by NGEE

Aside from that rear-facing bolt, the j-box is easily the most difficult part of this whole thing. I literally just slides off the prongs, except that it's on there VERY tight due to the friction cleats. If it weren't so tight, you would just stand on the side of the car, reach under the manifold, grab the j-box and slide it off toward you. Some people use screwdrivers to pry it off, some just man-handle it off (watch the knuckles!), some actually remove the prong assembly (three torx bolts), but I just found it easier to attack from the rear after the manifold was off - much easier to get some leverage by grabbing the prong assembly and pushing the box off of it with my thumbs.

I re-oriented two of the three photos in that j-box sequence to make them less...disorienting.

We ended up going the route of removing the 3 Torx... lol...

However now we have to stop for another night, I forgot about your special wrench to remove the starter bolts. Will have to finish up tomorrow night.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by slopokdave

We ended up going the route of removing the 3 Torx... lol...

However now we have to stop for another night, I forgot about your special wrench to remove the starter bolts. Will have to finish up tomorrow night.

That's cool. But my advice is to now detach the bracket from the j-box, and then reattach the bracket to the manifold before you put the manifold on - the j-box goes on much easier than it comes off, and I'd imagine it's a bitch to reattach it the same way you took it off!

[slopokdave]

Originally Posted by NGEE

That's cool. But my advice is to now detach the bracket from the j-box, and then reattach the bracket to the manifold before you put the manifold on - the j-box goes on much easier than it comes off, and I'd imagine it's a bitch to reattach it the same way you took it off!

That's what we wanted to do, but we still couldn't get it off... Did you have to push down on the tabs at the same time you pushed it out? Or just pushed/forced it out?

Either way, we got it back together. Some notes-

1: There is a harness that runs from the J-Box to a connector UNDERNEATH the starter; this came off when we removed the manifold, we didn't know it was there, but luckily didn't break it. When you install the new starter, you aren't going to be able to see whether or not that connector is back in its harness, so make sure it is before you install the new starter.

2: There is a bracket attached to the rear of the intake manifold, it has one of those push screws and is holding a hose; I just removed the 2 torx bots to remove the intake manifold, then re installed the bracket.

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by slopokdave

Did you have to push down on the tabs at the same time you pushed it out? Or just pushed/forced it out?

Working from the rear, mine just pushed off the bracket - but it was tight.

Originally Posted by slopokdave

1: There is a harness that runs from the J-Box to a connector UNDERNEATH the starter; this came off when we removed the manifold, we didn't know it was there, but luckily didn't break it. When you install the new starter, you aren't going to be able to see whether or not that connector is back in its harness, so make sure it is before you install the new starter.

Yeah, good point - so this will be an issue for anyone who leaves the J-Box attached to the manifold so they can remove the three torx screws on the bracket. If instead you manage to get the J-Box off the bracket, this is not an issue.

Originally Posted by slopokdave

2: There is a bracket attached to the rear of the intake manifold, it has one of those push screws and is holding a hose; I just removed the 2 torx bots to remove the intake manifold, then re installed the bracket.

Ah, thanks for that catch. I updated Step 5a and the reassembly instructions.

[Makoa6]

awesome write up. I just changed mines out. it was easier then I thought. what I did to make the Jbox come out easily was using a pry bar from top to the clip and it popped right out and I was able to just give it a soft pull and it slid out. Although I just put mines back and test drove. after awhile I notice one of my turbo air hose came off when the engine light came on. I put that back in and made sure I clipped it on good. Then last night as I was driving the car started to sputter when pressing on the gas paddle... then the check engine light came on. wondering if I missed a clip or connector. I will hook up my OBD to it when I get off of work today. thanks for the write up, it helped me out tremendously.
Mahalos

[Mr. Tasty]

Just changed my starter last night, start to finish it only took 2.5 hours. I think I could do it in under 2 hours if I were to do it again. Super easy.
Replaced it with a Bosche Reman for $125 + $75 refundable deposit

[The_E92_Fan]

i think i could do this in 30 minutes.

[webmatic]

I have removed and installed the starter but forgot to mark the connectors and now I have two connectors which connect to Intake but wanted to know if anyone has wiring diagram which would help me identify which connector goes where.

I have 2 connector long enough to be interchanged which goes to socket under/behind the Intake. My car is in this situation for almost a month so please help.

Having trouble adding pictures. If you don't see pics in this post then please go to my link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WyxthllPSbdm3HxF2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ocErE4JZJHE0GVcP2

[javygonx]

Help here. I cant loose the rear bolt. I have real e12 and e14 sockets. I also have the flexible 3/8 ratchet. I also have a flat e14 wrench. None works. The e14 is kinda loose when i use it and the e12 is bit tight. It enters ok but not all way down. Any other ideas? Here are my tools. What i may need to try is an 1/4 - e12 socket to see if it works on a small ratchet that i have. Cant use the adapter on my 3/8 E14 socket because makes it too long so cant have space to move the ratchet.

[techwhiz]

Originally Posted by javygonx

Help here. I cant loose the rear bolt. I have real e12 and e14 sockets. I also have the flexible 3/8 ratchet. I also have a flat e14 wrench. None works. The e14 is kinda loose when i use it and the e12 is bit tight. It enters ok but not all way down. Any other ideas? Here are my tools. What i may need to try is an 1/4 - e12 socket to see if it works on a small ratchet that i have. Cant use the adapter on my 3/8 E14 socket because makes it too long so cant have space to move the ratchet.

I hope you got it fixed.

I want to thank the OP for the write up.
My car went from starting to a non start condition with no warning.
Literally drove it and when I got home if refused to crank.
After all the basic diagnosis of voltage be present in all the right places, I determined it was the starter.

I was reluctant to dive in and do it myself at first.
But after looking at this write up, I have already done everything except remove the intake at some point or another.

I have done, plugs, coil packs, O2 sensor and charge pipe. radiator, belts, battery; so doing alternator shouldn't be a big deal and it isn't.

So I went and got the E12 from Sears.
I had a ratchet with a flexible, 90 degree head.

I went slow and removed everything.
What I found is that I didn't need to separate the throttle body from the intake manifold.

It will come out with the throttle body attached and slide right off the block that has all the connectors.

You don't need to remove any additional connections, just move it out of the way.
You will have enough clearance to get to the E12 bolts to remove the alternator.

Once I had everything disconnected I found that the rear facing E12 was stuck and would not move. I happen to have a propane torch and was able to heat up the area when the bolt goes into the starter. Once I hit it with some heat I was able to remove it with no issues. The forward facing bolt came out without issue.

Go slow, there is very little clearance to get that rear facing E12 out and you do not want to bugger the head. You can only turn about 15-20 degrees before the socket will not stay seated. I have a ratchet with 72 teeth so it will move 5 degrees per click and it would only move about 4 clicks before the socket would move off the head due to clearance. It's slow.

I bought the starter at AutoZone for about $150. I bought the rebuilt one.
They had either a new one $170, "Made in China" or a rebuilt Bosch unit that was identical to what I was removing with the same casting marks and "reman in USA". I went for the reman. unit from the USA. Lifetime warranty.

I replaced the intake "O" rings. It was $35 but it meant I don't need to think about it later.

Everything went back together pretty easy.
I wish I had done this when replaced the plugs and coil packs two weeks ago was already in there.
But the starter wasn't bad then.
Car started right up.
Instake is still dirty. I had no real way to clean anything and carb/throttle body cleaner is not up to the job.

Took me about 5 hours.
I had to stop and get the E12 socket which took about 45 minutes.
I also had to go get the alternator after removing the old one, another 45 minutes.

So overall it was about a 3.5 hour job. I probably can do it faster now.
I waited until I got the old one out so I could do an exact match at the parts counter. It also means I pay core charge when I picked it up and not later. One trip.

I rank this as about a difficulty of 3.5 out of 5.
5 was doing the full retrofit of F30 brakes on my car including the lines and master cylinder and some machining along the way.

Anyway $200 or so is a lot better that $1k to the dealer.
I can take my $800 and go buy some stuff!

[roadgolfer]

I'm struggling with getting this to come off of the bracket. It seems like if I tug on it any harder, something is going to break.

Any insight?

[NGEE]

Originally Posted by roadgolfer

I'm struggling with getting this to come off of the bracket. It seems like if I tug on it any harder, something is going to break.

Any insight?

Some people have had luck removing the bracket from the manifold, box and all. I've never tried that.

Did you get it all sorted?

[vladniko]

Thank you for the guide!

[Emilime75]

Originally Posted by javygonx

Help here. I cant loose the rear bolt. I have real e12 and e14 sockets. I also have the flexible 3/8 ratchet. I also have a flat e14 wrench. None works. The e14 is kinda loose when i use it and the e12 is bit tight. It enters ok but not all way down. Any other ideas? Here are my tools. What i may need to try is an 1/4 - e12 socket to see if it works on a small ratchet that i have. Cant use the adapter on my 3/8 E14 socket because makes it too long so cant have space to move the ratchet.

When I did mine I specifically bought a 3/8" rachet with as slim of a head as I could find. That worked for me.

[Emilime75]

Originally Posted by roadgolfer

I'm struggling with getting this to come off of the bracket. It seems like if I tug on it any harder, something is going to break.

Any insight?

I had the same issue, so I unscrewed the 3 Torx screws holding it onto the bottom of the manifold. Once the manifold was out it wasn't too difficult to pry it off of the bracket, and once that was done, I laid it flat on concrete and flattened the bracket tabs a little with a hammer to make it easier next time it needs to come off.