[command_liner]

Our 2009 335D is dead, parked because of CBU. The dealer wanted $3100 to do the CBU cleanout before he would see if there were other problems. So I am working on it myself. Although I am not a novice mechanic -- we have lots of other cars, trucks, and power equipment -- I do not do this work everyday.

I a somewhat disillusioned with BMW USA. Our car has 63,000 miles and is dead until expensive fixes are applied. The dealer wants almost nothing to do with any of this, certainly did not discuss the problems during the warranty period, and is not all that helpful.

You can see the mess and progress at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/comman...7648552502623/

I have a few novel insights.
1) A standard clay carving tool is very useful when cleaning the low-speed ports. Check the photos.
2) A standard 12-point socket will fit over the 4 torx bolts on the crank.
3) The stepped shop vac adapter from HomeDepot can be used to fit either intake port.
4) The Ryobi endoscope/borescope from HomeDepot works pretty well in this application.
5) Absolutely clean and re-seal the red boost hose while you are in there.

Now for the questions.
1) Which way does the crank turn? The instructions all say to not turn it the wrong way but never mention which way is the right way. Clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from the front?

2) Has anybody bothered to gasket match the head when the intake is off? I am in there, and the die grinder is close by. Is there any reason NOT to gasket match the head? I assume the head is A356 and will be easy to cut.

3) These cars, in the US, came with a special tax rebate for ultra high mileage and ultra low emission. Both the CBU and especially the leaky boost hose defeat the low emission/high mileage aspect of these cars. There is a sort of EPA-IRS tax fraud like action going on. Many many cars have been recalled for less. Has anybody pursued these issues on the political front?

I think this area is ripe for exploration, but if somebody else has already been down this road, tell me how it went.

4) Using the online manual tool, is there a way to download the whole thing?

Thanks.

[eurojulien]

a tip I've seen work on other CBU cars:
take a bunch of zip ties and shove them in a drill (small ends), spray aircraft remover in port, insert drill and the zip ties will fan out (centrifugal force) and clean the area or pay a local indy shop ~$1k to do the repair

[Mik325tds]

command_liner, I'd recommed using the walnut shell blasting method. That way you get everything super clean all the way down to the valves. I have the special tools and can rent them to you if you like. PM me for that. Included would also be a remote starter switch to crank the engine. Unfortunately, I forgot to pay attention to which way the engine turns when cranking, so no help there...
This thread might be of interest to you though:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ing+experience

[cbjr]

My local BMW dealer quoted me $1450 last year. I think it was around $8-900 for a gas vehicle. Here's the thread I mentioned that quote, even though there's not much extra info in there (at least from me):
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1000666

[command_liner]

The various other threads have been great for background information. Before posting I read a bunch of them.

I plan on using the walnut blast method, but the blaster parts are on order from BavAuto. In the mean time I am interested in working with the tools I have on hand.

The clay sculpting tool gets the CBU off the plastic parts without chance of damage from walnut blasting.

I am surprised nobody commented on the gasket match. This looks like an easy win.

Has anybody cleaned up the protruding tabs in the red boost hose? It looks to me like those can be zipped off.

It is my suspicion that a standard NOS fogger injector could be used to mount a methanol blaster. Weld a bung on the EGR, then drill and tap for a fogger. Instead of using NOS+gasoline, use compressed air + meth/water mix. Run a few gallons through when the car is hot. This certainly would clean off CBU, at least to some extent.

[montr]

What do you mean by "gasket match the head"?

[Get lit]

^
Gasket match.... Usually the intake ports on the head are slightly smaller than the ports on the intake. You grind the ports on the head to match the ports on the intake. This creates less restrictions and turbulence, smoother flow of air. Usually a gain in performance!

[SwaggyP]

Hey command_liner. Thank you for replying to my post and directing me to your page. Those photos you posted should be rated R! This is horrible engineering on BMW's part and we should never have to deal with such bad issues. Couple of questions for you...

1) Do you have the extended warranty? If so, did the dealership deny the claim? have you contacted BMWNA?

2) Are you taking the head off or just cleaning the intake ports and intake manifold? Have you seen this ebay item? I'm not sure if that special tool would fit our intake ports but its worth looking into. Please see link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Tool-Int..._Tools&vxp=mtr

3) Before your car was dead what were your symptoms? reduced MPGS? poor throttle response?

4) Sorry this should have been question number 3 but oh well. Why don't you give the intake manifold to the dealership and they will send it out for ultrasonic cleaning? If you aren't sending it out for ultrasonic cleaning how do you plan on cleaning it?

[command_liner]

Originally Posted by SwaggyP

Hey command_liner. Thank you for replying to my post and directing me to your page. Those photos you posted should be rated R! This is horrible engineering on BMW's part and we should never have to deal with such bad issues. Couple of questions for you...

1) Do you have the extended warranty? If so, did the dealership deny the claim? have you contacted BMWNA?

2) Are you taking the head off or just cleaning the intake ports and intake manifold? Have you seen this ebay item? I'm not sure if that special tool would fit our intake ports but its worth looking into. Please see link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Tool-Int..._Tools&vxp=mtr

3) Before your car was dead what were your symptoms? reduced MPGS? poor throttle response?

4) Sorry this should have been question number 3 but oh well. Why don't you give the intake manifold to the dealership and they will send it out for ultrasonic cleaning? If you aren't sending it out for ultrasonic cleaning how do you plan on cleaning it?

1) No extended warranty; dealer told me it is not his problem. BMWNA has not responded to my preliminary contact.

2) I am not taking the head or the valve cover off. The intake manifold came off and went to the local engine rebuilder for a hot tank cleaning. I did the cleaning of the throttle, red boost hose and EGR. I am cleaning the low-speed ports by hand to start, and will be using the BavAuto blaster kit to get them fully clean. I had not seen the Ebay kit, but the two kits are similar.

3) The car was a bit weak and had bad low-speed idle. Various codes were thrown, 7 total. I have the list close by, but the main interesting one was a miss on cylinder 4. After the cleaning I may still have a bad injector!

4) I live in an idyllic spot: it is 30 miles to the Pacific, and there are only 2 roads between me and the beach. No houses, malls, traffic or BMW dealers. It costs more in fuel and time to bring the parts to the dealer for cleaning than it does to just pay for the work myself. The local guy with a hot tank did an excellent job on the intake and swirl flaps for $35.

[Hoooper]

I matched the intake manifold inlet to the EGR as best I could, but I didnt do the head to the intake. There was a ton of overlap at the intake inlet, to the point where I didnt feel comfortable completely matching it since there was not going to be much material left to retain the gasket on the inside.

I cant say for sure which direction the engine turns, but basically every other engine on the planet turns clockwise looking from the front, the exceptions being relatively few and far between.

[BB_cuda]

The turning direction can be solved in 15 seconds if we can have someone open the hood and watch while their car is started. The top cover might need to be removed for better view to harmonic dampner on end of crank though.

[335dwanted]

With regard to engine direction, Hoooper has it right; clockwise looking at the front of engine. See the picture in the link below; the chain tensioner (#9)will always be on the slack side of the chain.



http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...62&hg=11&fg=25

[command_liner]

Thanks for the followup on engine rotation. I expected it was the same as so many others, but the dis-assembly manual online mentions counterclockwise in a few spots.

This afternoon I spoke with both BMW USA and with my service manager.
BMW USA claimed ignorance of any sort of CBU problem or any sort or problem with the leaking boost hoses. It was frustrating to listen to the spiel.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of detailed on-line accounts of this problem. All of them happen either within the warranty period or shortly after the period, meaning the car was under BMW's care when the problem developed. Can it possibly be that the manufacturer does not know about these issues? Not possible. Especially since the manufacture has a detailed cleaning process published, and specialty parts made for cleaning.


On the gasket match question, I am surprised this is not a common theme. The rectangular ports are the high speed ports, so they benefit the most from a good match. Based on some quick measurements, I see an opportunity here.

It should be possible to make up a set of high carbon steel guide plates to
assist gasket match. Have the plates water jet cut, then harden them. O1 steel or annealed leaf spring would work. Bolt down the plate in place of the intake, working one port at a time. Run a solid carbide straight cutter down the port, constrained by the guide plate. Super quick port job.

On my car, it looks like there is between 1 and 1.5 mm of un-machined casting to be removed around every port. This is pretty typical for new castings, and way better than many old school V8s.

[335dwanted]

Command Liner, are you familiar with the DDE reprogramming that is often required for cars that have experience CBU to the point of throwing codes? If not see the attached thread; there is a somewhat new SIB described.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1068453

Good news is that expensive injectors don't need to be replaced. Bad news is that BMW has to do some fairly involved DDE reprogramming that I can't see being cheap. Do some research on this if you are not aware.

I have often wondered what would happen if we were to ignore those pesky "injector adaptation" errors; does the engine go into reduced power mode?

[BB_cuda]

You might be surprised at the poor flow situation in the throat of your EGR valve. porting your head would perhaps be a waste if you leave the EGR's throat stock. Not saying your wrong to gasket match but have many times read that you shouldn't do this without access to a flow bench. That would make this become a bigger deal ( ie pulling the head). When TDI cleared his EGR's throat, he saw no performance gains. Maybe what you're "poking" at might be a reason or at least contributing factor.

[9mmkungfu]

Originally Posted by 335dwanted

I have often wondered what would happen if we were to ignore those pesky "injector adaptation" errors; does the engine go into reduced power mode?

My car did not go into a reduced power mode when I had those codes; it only triggered the SES light.

[gtp900]

Originally Posted by 9mmkungfu

My car did not go into a reduced power mode when I had those codes; it only triggered the SES light.

So maby injectors could adapt them selfs after some use?

[9mmkungfu]

Originally Posted by gtp900

So maby injectors could adapt them selfs after some use?

I had this logic as well, but after driving with them for a week or so, they never went away. The dealer programming under the service bulletin did the trick though.

[command_liner]

Thanks for the continued information and support.

Tonight I was blasting my head with my new walnut blaster. The cheap endoscope from Home Depot works really well for figuring out just how done you are. I bought the kit from BavAuto, and they were short the adapter for the high-speed ports. As a result, I cannot finish the job quite yet. The new gaskets are in the box with the high-speed port blast adapter -- in transit with UPS.

Also the dealer has not come through with my new boost hose gaskets, so the car is not going anywhere.

I am thinking seriously about a methanol injector kit because this is really tedious work.

After I get the car back together, I will ask the dealer about that new injector tune.

The pictures are not up at the Flickr site as I write but should be there sometime soon.

[command_liner]

This afternoon I spent a few more hours walnut blasting the low speed ports. The results were pretty good, but it is hard to get everything clean.

It would be plain old impossible to do the work without a borescope/endoscope.
I skipped taking more pictures of the borescope images, but here is a general impression. We were working on the low speed (round) ports.

1) It takes 3 passes with the blaster to clear moderate buildup. Perhaps 5 with thick buildup.
2) You go through that 25 pounds of walnut shells in 6 ports.
3) The rear-most port is hardest to get to, but easiest to clean.
4) Ports 3 and 4 were really bad. The carbon buildup on the short side radius was like 1/2" thick! No wonder the car was feeling a bit weak.
5) The valves have buildup. Big time. It is essentially impossible to get the buildup off the far-side of the valves. You could run 20 lbs of shell through one port and not clean the carbon off the far side of the valves.

This is slow, tedious work. It would have been good to make a hold-down for the tarp using 1/8" lexan from HomeDepot. I used good tape, but still
there was some walnut leakage.

Again it is hard to imagine how BMW USA does not acknowledge this is a serious issue! The ERG/CCV system is defective in design or execution.

[TonyFinesse]

I got an SES light on my 2011 335D with 41k miles and took it to the dealer. I got a call the next day from my adviser explaining that i had 2 codes. One was and indication of carbon build-up (his words) and another for and injector/fuel problem. He said they had already sent the head or maybe intake out; they would recheck the injectors after the cleaning was done. No worries he says everything is covered under BMW warranty I'll update you next week. I didn't say anything but, thanks...

[kbsilver]

Originally Posted by TonyFinesse

I got an SES light on my 2011 335D with 41k miles and took it to the dealer. I got a call the next day from my adviser explaining that i had 2 codes. One was and indication of carbon build-up (his words) and another for and injector/fuel problem. He said they had already sent the head or maybe intake out; they would recheck the injectors after the cleaning was done. No worries he says everything is covered under BMW warranty I'll update you next week. I didn't say anything but, thanks...

Very common, I went thru this at 53K miles. They only sent out the intake to be ultrasonically cleaned (in a tank). The head is NOT removed (that is an incredibly huge job), but is cleaned in place with Diesel specific tools which is already described in this thread. More often than not they will just re-calibrate the injectors, there is actually nothing wrong with them. They will establish an IRAP session where corporate engineering remotely can get all sorts of operating parameters, they plug this into a program only corporate has, which outputs new injector calibration settings that are entered in the DDE.

The car should run like new when they are done.