[UnnecessarilyComplex]

It was implied to me that these occurrences may have been caused by faulty balancers, though I replaced mine nearly 50k miles ago damage may have occurred early on and manifested later. I am leaning towards piston ring failure from an injector being stuck open and dumping fuel.

Regardless, I am interested in further pursuing the theory of a bearing material change for 2011. If anyone has any pre-2011 bearings laying around I would happily send it along with mine to a metallurgist for a composition analysis. It would be nice to have that line of reckoning hashed out.

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

I am taking a gamble on a pair of CHRA cartridges from a UK company called Melett. Given my current circumstances, the higher boost my tune demands and the fact that my sets have 90k and 109k on them I figure it's a good time to show the twirly girls some love. I want hybrids but I'm putting a limit on spending for upgrades for now. I have a TON of money in a car that blue books for 6k, at some point my better sense must prevail when it comes to dumping money into a commuter.

[Tambohamilton]

Melett are a pretty big player; I think you should be fine with them

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Thanks Tambo, that's good to know!

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Got the turbos disassembled and cleaned up, ready for the new oil lines and cartridges. Got the short block put back together and the mating surfaces all cleaned up, the bearings looked great and journals all measured true.

Had a thin ring of carbon at the top of each cylinder bore that I shaved off followed by a light hone to break any glazing and remove the remaining carbon.

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

I finally figured out about the bimmer post app, much easier to upload photos this way! I added some photos of my methanol system to the first post.

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

I got the head blasting done and the valves run through the ultrasonic cleaner then lapped. My valve stem seals are running late so today I decided to clean up the runners in the head, not necessarily to do any porting just to clean up the rough casting. The turbo cartridges just came in this afternoon so I'll be able to put the assembly back together tomorrow. Progress has been slow because of my busy work and home life but I'm getting there slowly

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Got the turbos rebuilt and the manifold put back together.

[Tambohamilton]

First impressions of melett cores?

[Azteche1990]

I have changed fuel pump starter motor and cam sensor still no look any ideas please the key goes in and car clicks it’s like the starter motor is just spinning would say its like a whirring sound no firing some white smoke also out off exhaust

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Tambo, the cores are pretty nice, no discernable difference from oem. They are tight and smooth, no troubles fitting up and no rubbing after assembly. For the sub $500 I paid for them I am very pleased!

[Tambohamilton]

Nice, sounds good! Rest of the build is looking nice too!

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Valve stem seals have been in USPS transit for 7 days now and not looking to be here anytime soon. I had some free time this afternoon and decided to open up the ports on the exhaust manifold. It was an easy 1/8" of material removed all around each port to match them to the gasket, this whole manifold/turbo assembly looks crazy restrictive.

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Since this build is already taking much longer than I first intended it to due to extended shipping times and my own inability to let well enough be I decided to buy the Hamilton Cams springs from Santjer Performance. The tune I have from Ryan N. pushes boost up to the low 40's and I have long had concerns about the high mileage springs getting forced open from the manifold PSI and my most likely high EMP as well. I'm super stoked to throw them in!

[robnitro]

Originally Posted by UnnecessarilyComplex

Valve stem seals have been in USPS transit for 7 days now and not looking to be here anytime soon. I had some free time this afternoon and decided to open up the ports on the exhaust manifold. It was an easy 1/8" of material removed all around each port to match them to the gasket, this whole manifold/turbo assembly looks crazy restrictive.

In the vw TDI world, they found that bigger manifolds didn't help, the restriction is actually from the turbos themselves. If you add up the port cross sections, they're much more than the cross sections of the turbo outlets.

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

robnitro, I figured as much when I first did the dpf delete and got a look at the turbine. I decided to relieve this manifold to get a good grasp on how fit my current carbides and sanding rolls are for this application. When I build my other engine I want to shoot for a setup that can take advantage of increased manifold flow.

I first planned on off-the-shelf hybrids for the simplicity and expediency of a bolt on solution. Now, with a complete spare engine on a stand to experiment with I have a multitude of other ideas I may pursue. Most especially, an arrangement that is externally wastegated.

[Gelubelea]

What about the timing chains ?I would replace them now........

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Finding it strange to have more time than important tasks to complete while I'm waiting for parts. I decided to take the time to clean up the engine bay. It will be strange to open the hood and not get covered in oil and road grit from just looking at the engine and THINKING about putting a tool to it!

[Tambohamilton]

Nice!

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

Thanks tambo, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

Upon first impression it looked like they just stuffed the diesel in these cars with whatever they had on hand that it needed to run, an impression I held for the last two years. Upon getting more "intimate" with the car through this process I have gained an appreciation for the thoughtful packaging bmw contrived for the m57. I guess you have to see the engine bay vacated to grasp how well they laid it out in the miniscule amount of space they had available to stuff the diesel mill into.

[Tambohamilton]

Yeah, I'm somewhere in between those 2 views... There's just so much stuff bolted to the engine! I can't really dispute the need for it, but also I wonder how it gets so out of hand. Mine is only a 30d, so I've got a bit less stuff and a bit more space, but still it's rather crowded in there!

[UnnecessarilyComplex]

I know all too well what you mean. I've made a map in my mind of all the systems under the hood and though I have figured some ways things could have been better configured to optimize the available space or increase ease of maintenance most would be either cost prohibitive or impossible with emissions equipment intact.

One of the glaring exceptions is the space occupied by the steering reservoir and fan relay/module. So much wasted space in a location that could very nicely house a catch can so ideally! I've been in no mood to reconfigure the associated plumbing though however enticing the notion might be.

I might be relocating the pressure converters to a place more easily accessible and that de-clutters the turbo side. With the extra harness I now have I'm much less reluctant to start chopping up the original than I was previously!