F30 B48 Turbo repair, Do I have to remove the Cat?

[zippy320]

Hi Guys!

So I used the Battery from the C55 in the BMW and have hit a kind of snag .

I cant properly power up the car because the transmission has been disengaged and is in Nutural ( This was done by BMW all those years back) The car is getting power , but wont go into position 1 on the ignition .

Because I cant put it in Park , the car wont go allow the Ignition to turn on , ( not start the car) turn on so that I can electronically bleed the system ,

Anyone have any idea what these tow trucks do ? And how I can fix it?

When I go underneath I see a block of wood there , but im not sure exactly whats going on .

 

[zippy320]

Here is a picture of the block of wood that im referring to in my previous post , There seems to be a lever with a hole in it as well .
I cant see anything that it would attach to . Am I supposed to move the lever in a certain direction and attach it to anything?

 

[zippy320]

Update on the above

Went to BMW Smg , spoke to a tech about the block of wood and transmission issue .

He said just to remove it and the lever will go back into place and the car will be in park . If I need to put the car in Neutral again , pull down on the zip tie , and put the block in place .

cant believe it was so simple and I couldn't find anything online about it anywhere lol

 

[Mytfine]

congrats bru i must say you are a far more patient man than me.

 

[zippy320]

congrats bru i must say you are a far more patient man than me.

Thanks man , Slow and steady wins the race lol

This evening , I went under , removed the block , the latch sprung up , the car was out of Neutral . After almost 4 years for the first time , Everything powered up and felt normal ( Bar the errors on the screen ) ( i did not start the engine). I did the low pressure cooling system bleed procedure and that went well . No issues .

Haven't bled the high pressure cooling system as that requires I start the engine and im a little afraid of that . I was told that one of the potential causes of the turbo going was a blocked or faulty CCV which is basically the whole tappet cover . I don't have the tools to remove the injectors , and i have read that they are very very sensitive and can be easily broken if removed incorrectly . So Im going to leave that to BMW to do .

For now , Connected the car to ISTA , cleared all the fault codes so now i no longer get a "Drive train error you can still drive msg" This msg popped up when the car started blowing smoke ,I then disconnected the and removed the battery .

So in the interim , im going to replace the two handles at the front which have become sticky , Put in a new battery cos the C55`s battery although new , really wasn't powerful enough for this car for some reason .

 

[BeemerFanatic]

Here is a picture of the block of wood that im referring to in my previous post , There seems to be a lever with a hole in it as well .
I cant see anything that it would attach to . Am I supposed to move the lever in a certain direction and attach it to anything?

View attachment 21108View attachment 21110

I’m guessing the neutral was forced. Remove the cable tie and piece of wood. That lever should then push back in place. Not that I have ever done this, just makes logical sense

 

[zippy320]

I’m guessing the neutral was forced. Remove the cable tie and piece of wood. That lever should then push back in place. Not that I have ever done this, just makes logical sense

Yup , So what the tech said is , you tie a cable tie through the hole , Pull the lever down , that disengages the transmission and puts it into Neutral , and stuff a block of wood in there as when you remove the block , the lever springs back into place engaging the transmission again . I have learnt to be extra cautious these days when working on any of my cars , Car parts are to pricey these days to mess up , Also , that transmission is basically brand new as BMW had Just replaced it on the car Just before its motorplan ended of which then the Turbo went about 2000 kms after and the car was parked up haha So I didnt want to break anything .

 

[zippy320]

Hi Guys! So a small
Update

So after great deliberation and after working out what BMW would charge to replace the valve cover , Parts and labor (its crazy) , and some encouragement from the Techs there , I have decided to replace the Valve Cover myself .

Haven't purchased any of the parts yet , Will save up and collect them as the weeks go by . The process seems really tedious but not difficult , My biggest challenge would be the removal of the injectors and replacement of the seals on those injectors .

I have purchased the Correct B48 Injector removal tool so that makes things easy , although im not sure what im going to do about the injector seals yet .

I need to get
1) Valve cover ( comes with the Fuel pump seal , Bolts and the main valve cover gasket)
2) All new bolts for the injectors and the rail ( these are stretch bolt's and must be replaced im told )
3) Seals for the sensor that plugs in at the top
4) Valve actuator seals , I have been told that its good to replace them while im at it .
5) I'm thinking , as I will be taking the cover off , It would be good to just replace the spark plugs as well .

Im going to replace everything with original Bmw parts , The price is steep though for the cover but im a bit skeptical of the Goldwagen CCV valve thats built into the Valve cover and its not a part thats replaced that often so maybe for peace of mind the Original will be best.

Is there anything else that I should change while im in there? Anything that im missing out on?

 

[Mytfine]

Seema like a bit of a mission for just the ccv, why not go through this route or is pcv diffrent on the B48?

 

[zippy320]

@Mytfine Unfortunately , the B48 engine valve cover does not allow this , everything is sealed up and sort of built in .
I have also read that these covers have multiple seals and valves besides the main big one and that if the big one goes then its highly possible that the other ones are damaged or clogged up as well so its best to replace the whole thing .

Thought about cleaning it up but that would still require me removing the cover so I might as well just replace it . I wish it was as easy as replacing the diaphragm and cap like that of the B58 engine .

 

[sash]

Getting there, awaiting first patiently

 

[Mytfine]

@Mytfine Unfortunately , the B48 engine valve cover does not allow this , everything is sealed up and sort of built in .
I have also read that these covers have multiple seals and valves besides the main big one and that if the big one goes then its highly possible that the other ones are damaged or clogged up as well so its best to replace the whole thing .

Thought about cleaning it up but that would still require me removing the cover so I might as well just replace it . I wish it was as easy as replacing the diaphragm and cap like that of the B58 engine .

What a fcuking stupid design !

Hey Rolf how can the ze parts department make more money ?

Add 10 million seals and breather systems to the valve cover.

 

[zippy320]

What a fcuking stupid design !

Hey Rolf how can the ze parts department make more money ?

Add 10 million seals and breather systems to the valve cover.

Yup
It just adds to the list of stupid things iv found on these cars , I shudder to think what the G20 3 series is like but it wouldn't be that far off as it shares the same B48 engine and 8 speed zf transmission . Also to remove the valve cover you now have to remove the injectors which has its own set of specific problems and complexities . And we all know how often these valve covers of BMW`s leak .

Heres something I found on those Valve covers of turbo Bmws

CCV of turbo engines - Bimmerprofs.com | NOx emulator NOXEM 129 | 130 | 402 developed for BMW N43 & N53 series engines

In this entry – how the BMW shoot themselves in the foot. Again. Something regularly goes the wrong way in this reliable company. Besides, it happens so brightly that seems BMW AG consists of two departments. One of them is in the Avangard of the technical development, but the second […]

bimmerprofs.com

So when they get junked up ( because of Bmw`s Oil change interval issues ) all the little pieces get messed up .
Just complicates something that shouldnt really be that complicated. I dont understand why the CCV couldnt be separate like that of my N42 engine .

 

[zippy320]

Another common issue I have found that plagues these engines is the waterpump failing and the oil filter housing that cracks , the waterpump is not difficult to replace but the oil filter housing is in the back and really difficult to get to and its made of plastic .
The techs tell me they replace them all the time .

 

[zippy320]

Hi guys!

Hope everyone is well , So the next stage and I hope the last stage, of my F30 320i B48 repair is upon me .

Replacement of the Valve cover , Which would also replace the CCV Valve that's built into the Valve cover and is not replaceable like the B58 engine .
I was advised by tons of techs that if I replaced the Turbo i must replace the valve cover as well .
Im also replacing the Electronic Cooling pump , Mine still works , but apparently its a common failure on cars and this cools the turbo so while im in there I might as well just replace it for peace of mind .

Purchased all parts from BMW , Purchased the special tool for the injector removal as well but I cant seem to find a tool to fit the new seals so im going to have to figure that one out and find a way to make a tool that works .

So far iv stripped most of the parts , Theres just to many pieces that need to be removed , And they are all plastic! All I need to do now is remove the injectors and the Vanos actuators from the back , then I will be able to unscrew the cover and take it out .

I found some wetness on Cylinder 4 by the spark plug , not a lot but it was there so it seems that the seal was on its way out anyway .

I cant find the vanos actuator seals though , I may have to reuse my ones , not comfortable with reusing them but im not sure what to do about that situation . The actuators are also at the back of the engine and there's very little space to even put your hand down there so im not sure how ( without the special tool ) to remove it . I might have to make a hmm tool that would work .

I have begun to appreciate the simplicity of my N42 in the E46 lol This car is an absolute plastic mess , there's plastic everywhere! Its horrendous and you have to be so careful that you don't break anything .

Wish my luck

 

[zippy320]

Oh If anyone is wondering

Here is a picture of the new cover , and here is the underside where the PCV Valve is . You have to replace almost all the screws as well for the injectors as they are all stretch bolts So when replacing this you have to buy new bolts .

Heres a fun fact , I watched this Vid on the B48 engine and apparently the casting? is made by Magnetti Marelli Italy , Im not sure if that apply to all B48 engines but in the Vid , this one is . I haven't checked my engine , don't want to remove those covers as it would mean removing the turbo again haha.

 

[zippy320]

Today was a busy day for me so this evening I managed to continue but only achieved 1 task related to the F30 repair , Although this afternoon I Managed to pick up my last set of seals from BMW for the valve cover.

regarding the repair , I managed to removing the 2 vanos actuators from the back of the case ,and OMG was it difficult! I do not have the special tool required for the job so had to improvise and make up my own tool which partially helped . I for the life of me could not get the back panel off which would give me extra room , just could not get any tool into that tight spot and all my tools were slipping off the nuts and making no difference . I managed to push my hands in there and push the actuator open , they twist open .

Im going to reuse the vanos seals as the new seals cost over R700 at BMW and I cant find an alternate anywhere that sells them separately . New Vanos Actuators cost over 9k each from BMW , Shocking .

Got them off and now im wondering , Should I clean them?

Can I use carb cleaner to clean them will it be safe?

 

[zippy320]

Update !

This evening I remove the injectors and the valve cover , Unfortunately you have to take off that panel at the back of the engine attached to the firewall otherwise the cover just wont come off , It took me 10 mins to take of the cover and 2 hours trying to get those round silver flat nuts off the panel . Hands are cut and bruised , Car parts are SHARP!

Fortunately all the injectors came out perfectly , non were damaged .

Cleaned off the mating surfaces for the valve cover , now its ready to install . Still have to figure out how to fit the seals onto the injectors . I bought some aircon copper pipe that I may stretch to size . Will see how it goes.

I used carb cleaner to clean everything , It worked well on the N42 and M20 and the w124 so im hoping it has no adverse effects on the tons of plastic on this and in this engine .

 

[Gordvisr]

carb cleaner is a good cleaner on mechanical parts, just be care full on electronics. Good job so far.

 

[Greenjustin]

Update !

This evening I remove the injectors and the valve cover , Unfortunately you have to take off that panel at the back of the engine attached to the firewall otherwise the cover just wont come off , It took me 10 mins to take of the cover and 2 hours trying to get those round silver flat nuts off the panel . Hands are cut and bruised , Car parts are SHARP!

Fortunately all the injectors came out perfectly , non were damaged .

Cleaned off the mating surfaces for the valve cover , now its ready to install . Still have to figure out how to fit the seals onto the injectors . I bought some aircon copper pipe that I may stretch to size . Will see how it goes.

I used carb cleaner to clean everything , It worked well on the N42 and M20 and the w124 so im hoping it has no adverse effects on the tons of plastic on this and in this engine .

You need to hurry up now!

Recently my gearbox feels jerky, I think it needs a service 74000km odo , qoute from the dealership for ZF 8 speed service was R12k, ouch