[rick100]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

It sounds like they painted a pretty picture but it ended up looking like it was painted with s£!t. I’d call the guy you communicated with and tell him that you would have never bought it if he sent the pictures he promised. If he doesn’t discount it, I’d send it back and cause him some headaches. What is the price of a wiring harness? That is the minimum I’d accept.

What would sending the engine back really do? other than causes OP headaches and shipping charges on top of the stuff he is dealing with now. The owner is not going to send his money back or send a different engine. He may even charge him storage fee or flat out refused the package which would cause op more shipping charges

Here is the deal , OP exposed himself to this type of deal
1- OP never saw the engine in person , we all know that buying used parts online ( remote location) is ALWAYS a risk
2-OP should ve never believe 100% what the seller told him on the phone , specially when the place he was getting the engine was a junkyard
third,
3 - OP should ve got something in WRITING stating condition of engine , what is included , etc ,etc .
4- OP should ve waited for the pictures to arrive before paying in full to make a decision on whether this was the right engine for him or not

I can see 1-3 being missed but I still find it OP somewhat guilty for not waiting for the pictures before hitting the purchased option .


At this point , OP can call the guy and ask for a discount ,but chances are the guy is not going to give him any money back. He may be willing to send another engine if he has one on site ( highly doubt it). He could take the guy to small claims court but it would probably be a waste of time as all op has is a phone conversation , i dont even think he recorded the conversation .

It sucks , we all make mistakes , learn from it. Hopefully the junkyard owner can rectify this or the engine is running great

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

That sucks man.

The auto "recycling" industry is literally 50% illegally run chop shops selling parts.

I had to get a headlight for my car. Found one at a junkyard in Cali, I'm in VA. The f'ing thing came wrapped like a giant football. The ignighter had visible impact damage and the silver bezel surrounding the lights was loose. I fixed the bezel with a screw through the outer case. I then test lit the light and it burned out in 40 seconds. I was out of time with it. The body shop got it working by sawpping ignighters. It still shakes a bit over bumps.

Then the fucking recycler stole my credit card number. Last time I go that route.

[hassmaschine]

I use ebay.

1) you always get pictures
2) you can always get your money back if they screw up

for example, the head that I bought in 2017, it was in mint condition for $300. A total steal. Well, they had the new guy box it up, he literally just stuck it in a cardboard box with no padding or reinforcement. From FL to WA, as you can imagine, it got pretty beat up - bent valves, studs, etc. I ended up getting my money back, they let me keep the head (I plan to rebuild it).

the 3 stage I bought for our E91, I got for $150 shipped. It was in perfect condition, no problems.. among hundreds of other transactions.

[Joebie]

eBay's great for parts but its hard to find whole engines from the years you want on there.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by Joester

I'm trying to stay positive because how the engine looks shouldn't really effect how it runs. I just wish it looked better, ya know.

Agreed, I really wouldn't worry about what the block looks like. As long as the internals are good that is really all that matters.

I would make sure the engine can be rotated fully before installing it in the vehicle just to be safe.

[Joebie]

Guys! Good news!

I popped the valve cover off and very similar to me, this thing looks like shit on the outside but has a heart of gold.

I was honestly expecting sludge everywhere lol. This gives me hope as I've been stressing super hard over the past couple of days about the appearance of this motor.

I did end up taking a half day and I borrowed my friends soda blaster. I'm going to see how that works on the oxidation. Worth a shot.

[desertman123]

Junkyards are the fucking scourge of the earth and I hate dealing with them. It's a nightmare every time, guaranteed.

Not to mention I'm a younger guy so I get treated like an idiot every time I'm in there.

And looks like a great time to install MILVS

That must be so nice working on the motor on a stand. Imagine... I could actually install the headers torqued to spec, with tightening the bolts in the correct order.

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by desertman123

That must be so nice working on the motor on a stand.

I mean I guess that's one way to look at it, but trust me I'd much rather be working on the car with the engine in it.

[Biginboca]

That valvetrain looks spotless. Better than mine when it had 57k miles!

[hassmaschine]

Yeah, that engine looks fantastic. How many miles did they say it had? Hard to believe it could look that clean inside, and so awful outside. It must have lived in snow/salt all it's life.

TBH I would just leave the outside alone. I would probably swap out any rusty bolts for ones from your old engine (aluminum bolts have to be replaced anyway). But fucking with magnesium.. sometimes not a great idea. Not only is the dust toxic, but the metal is extremely flammable. And you will never see it anyway.

Funny thing. Aluminum actually oxidizes way worse than steel when exposed to salt. Everyone thinks it doesn't "rust", but it really does (and quicker when conditions are right) - it just doesn't turn red when it does. It turns to a useless white powder

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Yeah, that engine looks fantastic. How many miles did they say it had? Hard to believe it could look that clean inside, and so awful outside. It must have lived in snow/salt all it's life.

TBH I would just leave the outside alone. I would probably swap out any rusty bolts for ones from your old engine (aluminum bolts have to be replaced anyway). But fucking with magnesium.. sometimes not a great idea. Not only is the dust toxic, but the metal is extremely flammable. And you will never see it anyway.

Funny thing. Aluminum actually oxidizes way worse than steel when exposed to salt. Everyone thinks it doesn't "rust", but it really does (and quicker when conditions are right) - it just doesn't turn red when it does. It turns to a useless white powder

claimed 88k

[Joebie]

I took out the spark plugs and turned the new motor over for the first time today. It turns much smoother, easier, and with no weird resistance like the motor I over-revved. The weird resistance I am talking about is described on page 1.

There was definitely something wrong with that old engine (beyond the obvious valve float) and so I'm glad I got a new one.

On the schedule for today is

-install MILVs
-install new valve cover gasket, valvetronic motor gasket, eccentric shaft gasket
-remove current rusty oil pan, replace with my old oil pan in better condition with new gasket

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Joester

I took out the spark plugs and turned the new motor over for the first time today. It turns much smoother, easier, and with no weird resistance like the motor I over-revved. The weird resistance I am talking about is described on page 1.

There was definitely something wrong with that old engine (beyond the obvious valve float) and so I'm glad I got a new one.

On the schedule for today is

-install MILVs
-install new valve cover gasket, valvetronic motor gasket, eccentric shaft gasket
-remove current rusty oil pan, replace with my old oil pan in better condition with new gasket

Recommend you see post 27 here in regards to the valvetronic motor gasket install:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...1536946&page=2

After 4 changes I finally have no leaks. I ovalled the holes and used some RTV as extra insurance and am finally leak free.

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Recommend you see post 27 here in regards to the valvetronic motor gasket install:

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...1536946&page=2

After 4 changes I finally have no leaks. I ovalled the holes and used some RTV as extra insurance and am finally leak free.

I changed mine on my old motor and used no special tricks and mine was perfectly leak free for a good 6-12 months until I wrecked the motor. I'll probably try the classic instasll first then if it leaks its not a hard thing to change and I'll use your trick.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Joebie]

1 down, 5 to go.

[Joebie]

All the MILVs are in, but when rotating the engine I noticed a popping noise coming from the cylinder 1 exhaust valve area.

I'm hoping this is just because the lifters don't have pressure? What do you guys think. Not really much I can do about it really, I'm not going to disassemble the engine or anything. There's no oil in the pan right now.

I confirmed its the cyl 1 exhaust valve area with my mechanics stethoscope. Its definitely not MILV related. The popping noise happens right after the cyl 1 exhaust valve closes as you can see in the video. The noise is loudest when i put my stethoscope on the bolt holding down the exhaust cam above cyl 1.

I don't know if this is a new noise or not. I turned the engine over only a few times before starting the MILV installation and I can't remember if this noise happened or not. Since it seems to be coming from the exhaust valvetrain area I can only assume that this noise has always been happening, even before MILV install.

[Twoforty]

It might be worthwhile to perform a leak down test using compressed air.
Could reveal a leaky valve seat?
Just a thought.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Joester

All the MILVs are in, but when rotating the engine I noticed a popping noise coming from the cylinder 1 exhaust valve area.

I'm hoping this is just because the lifters don't have pressure? What do you guys think. Not really much I can do about it really, I'm not going to disassemble the engine or anything. There's no oil in the pan right now.

I confirmed its the cyl 1 exhaust valve area with my mechanics stethoscope. Its definitely not MILV related. The popping noise happens right after the cyl 1 exhaust valve closes as you can see in the video. The noise is loudest when i put my stethoscope on the bolt holding down the exhaust cam above cyl 1.

I don't know if this is a new noise or not. I turned the engine over only a few times before starting the MILV installation and I can't remember if this noise happened or not. Since it seems to be coming from the exhaust valvetrain area I can only assume that this noise has always been happening, even before MILV install.

My N55 made this same type of popping when I rotated it on the engine stand. Tore down the exhaust cam again and double checked everything. Put it back together and it still popped. Seemed like it was vanos related. I saw some German video on youtube of a similar popping and the translations were all discussing oil pressure.

I took the gamble and ran the motor. It doesn't make any noise. I'm not saying this is what your noise is, but, I can relate to your frustration lol!

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

My N55 made this same type of popping when I rotated it on the engine stand. Tore down the exhaust cam again and double checked everything. Put it back together and it still popped. Seemed like it was vanos related. I saw some German video on youtube of a similar popping and the translations were all discussing oil pressure.

I took the gamble and ran the motor. It doesn't make any noise. I'm not saying this is what your noise is, but, I can relate to your frustration lol!

Oh my, thats a way more concerning noise than what mine makes. That's comforting knowing that's normal.

I can't fill the engine with oil until tomorrow because I'm waiting on the oil level sensor o-ring but once I do I plan on maybe rotating the engine with a drill for a little while to see if I can build any pressure and make the ticking go away.

Very good to know that its normal for BMW engines to make popping noises on the stand like this, thanks for the video.

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Joester

Oh my, thats a way more concerning noise than what mine makes. That's comforting knowing that's normal.

I can't fill the engine with oil until tomorrow because I'm waiting on the oil level sensor o-ring but once I do I plan on maybe rotating the engine with a drill for a little while to see if I can build any pressure and make the ticking go away.

Very good to know that its normal for BMW engines to make popping noises on the stand like this, thanks for the video.

Drop 1/2 qt of oil down into the oil filter housing. You should get oil pressure almost instantly from dry cranking if you do that.

[Joebie]

Originally Posted by bbnks2

Drop 1/2 qt of oil down into the oil filter housing. You should get oil pressure almost instantly from dry cranking if you do that.

Whats the route that the oil takes?

Sump ---> oil pump ---> oil filter ---> rest of the engine?

You mean literally just pour the cavity that the filter sits in full of oil?

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by Joester

Whats the route that the oil takes?

Sump ---> oil pump ---> oil filter ---> rest of the engine?

You mean literally just pour the cavity that the filter sits in full of oil?

Not the inner hole the outer hole. That should be the feed hole which goes down to the oil pump since oil flows through the filter from outside to inside (trapped particulate is found in the outside pleats of the filter).

Yeah these cars only send filtered oil through the oil coolers and then the block. So, sump-->pump-->filter-->cooler-->block

N55 engine PDF has a cut-away diagram showing oiling passages. Should be similar if not the same to the N54/N52 up until the point where it enters the block. I have seen the N54 cut-away somewhere too but can't remember where.