M4 project car gone BAD!?

[reggienaz]

Car and engine are still being but back together but to shed some light on previous statements by myself it seems that due to valvetronic and how it works. There was no valve clash with the piston because it was idling. At lower engine speeds the valve lift is much lower (around 2mm-3mm). That's why there was no intake valve clash. Thanks for all the support and interest in this project. To anyone who thinks this is pointless or a waste of time (shrug) its not your car so who cares. Some people buy cars drive them, keep them stock and do regular maintenance. Others prefer to tinker and fix things themselves. I've got a few cars that I've never taken a wheel off of. I also have a few cars like this m4 that have been in more pieces than I can keep track of. Some people like buying paintings and looking at them, others like building puzzles. To each his/her own.

[///Mangler]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

Car and engine are still being but back together but to shed some light on previous statements by myself it seems that due to valvetronic and how it works. There was no valve clash with the piston because it was idling. At lower engine speeds the valve lift is much lower (around 2mm-3mm). That's why there was no intake valve clash. Thanks for all the support and interest in this project. To anyone who thinks this is pointless or a waste of time (shrug) its not your car so who cares. Some people buy cars drive them, keep them stock and do regular maintenance. Others prefer to tinker and fix things themselves. I've got a few cars that I've never taken a wheel off of. I also have a few cars like this m4 that have been in more pieces than I can keep track of. Some people like buying paintings and looking at them, others like building puzzles. To each his/her own.

Eh F'n Men. Touché.

T

[gtmule]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

Car and engine are still being but back together but to shed some light on previous statements by myself it seems that due to valvetronic and how it works. There was no valve clash with the piston because it was idling. At lower engine speeds the valve lift is much lower (around 2mm-3mm). That's why there was no intake valve clash. Thanks for all the support and interest in this project. To anyone who thinks this is pointless or a waste of time (shrug) its not your car so who cares. Some people buy cars drive them, keep them stock and do regular maintenance. Others prefer to tinker and fix things themselves. I've got a few cars that I've never taken a wheel off of. I also have a few cars like this m4 that have been in more pieces than I can keep track of. Some people like buying paintings and looking at them, others like building puzzles. To each his/her own.

Cosign. Curious where you go your new head from. Last summer I bought an M3 that I knew (assumed...but I was right) to already have a bad engine from the exact same oil cooler damage as you. I actually found it to have the same intake cam seizure and timing slip along with the scored cam journals on the head. I ended up just buying a used engine because I couldn't find a used head, the the cost for a complete head from BMW was a non-starter.

I'm in the process of repairing another manual M3, this time in Yas Marina with zero mechanical issues. I honestly can't figure out why it was totaled, other than paint labor (it'll be about a 50% repaint, but almost no part cost besides a fender and some trim stuff...).

I'd love to revive the leftover S55 I have in order to drop it in another M3/4 with a bad engine (they're not hard to find, the oil cooler location totals a LOT of them).

[reggienaz]

Originally Posted by gtmule

Cosign. Curious where you go your new head from. Last summer I bought an M3 that I knew (assumed...but I was right) to already have a bad engine from the exact same oil cooler damage as you. I actually found it to have the same intake cam seizure and timing slip along with the scored cam journals on the head. I ended up just buying a used engine because I couldn't find a used head, the the cost for a complete head from BMW was a non-starter.

I'm in the process of repairing another manual M3, this time in Yas Marina with zero mechanical issues. I honestly can't figure out why it was totaled, other than paint labor (it'll be about a 50% repaint, but almost no part cost besides a fender and some trim stuff...).

I'd love to revive the leftover S55 I have in order to drop it in another M3/4 with a bad engine (they're not hard to find, the oil cooler location totals a LOT of them).

The cylinder head isn't a replacement. I found a machine shop that was able to repair the damage due to the siezed. This can be done a number of ways but the best way is finding a shop that can weld aluminum to the damaged cam journals and then machine it back to the smooth surface that it should be. Feel free to send me a PM for more info. The shop also was able to polish the aluminum from the head off of the camshaft but i opted to use a new camshaft just in case. Engine started for the first time yesterday. Re-assembly is going smooth. Just a few odd ends and then she will be back on the road.

[gtmule]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

The cylinder head isn't a replacement. I found a machine shop that was able to repair the damage due to the siezed. This can be done a number of ways but the best way is finding a shop that can weld aluminum to the damaged cam journals and then machine it back to the smooth surface that it should be. Feel free to send me a PM for more info. The shop also was able to polish the aluminum from the head off of the camshaft but i opted to use a new camshaft just in case. Engine started for the first time yesterday. Re-assembly is going smooth. Just a few odd ends and then she will be back on the road.

PM'd

[DanMpower]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

Car and engine are still being but back together but to shed some light on previous statements by myself it seems that due to valvetronic and how it works. There was no valve clash with the piston because it was idling. At lower engine speeds the valve lift is much lower (around 2mm-3mm). That's why there was no intake valve clash. Thanks for all the support and interest in this project. To anyone who thinks this is pointless or a waste of time (shrug) its not your car so who cares. Some people buy cars drive them, keep them stock and do regular maintenance. Others prefer to tinker and fix things themselves. I've got a few cars that I've never taken a wheel off of. I also have a few cars like this m4 that have been in more pieces than I can keep track of. Some people like buying paintings and looking at them, others like building puzzles. To each his/her own.

I'm rooting for you man. As a person who loves to work on his own cars, ignore the haters and armchair critics. Threads like these are actually interesting to read, which also spreads helpful and informative information.

[joshchackney]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

The cylinder head isn't a replacement. I found a machine shop that was able to repair the damage due to the siezed. This can be done a number of ways but the best way is finding a shop that can weld aluminum to the damaged cam journals and then machine it back to the smooth surface that it should be. Feel free to send me a PM for more info. The shop also was able to polish the aluminum from the head off of the camshaft but i opted to use a new camshaft just in case. Engine started for the first time yesterday. Re-assembly is going smooth. Just a few odd ends and then she will be back on the road.

I'm in a similar situation and could use a little info on the machine shop you used if possible. Thanks in advance.

[BoostinLI]

Originally Posted by reggienaz

Car and engine are still being but back together but to shed some light on previous statements by myself it seems that due to valvetronic and how it works. There was no valve clash with the piston because it was idling. At lower engine speeds the valve lift is much lower (around 2mm-3mm). That's why there was no intake valve clash. Thanks for all the support and interest in this project. To anyone who thinks this is pointless or a waste of time (shrug) its not your car so who cares. Some people buy cars drive them, keep them stock and do regular maintenance. Others prefer to tinker and fix things themselves. I've got a few cars that I've never taken a wheel off of. I also have a few cars like this m4 that have been in more pieces than I can keep track of. Some people like buying paintings and looking at them, others like building puzzles. To each his/her own.

Updates?

[edycol]

You mentioned OFHG and why would they fail at 40k. But, they do fail between 30-50k. However, the gasket between OFH and the engine is not as big of an issue as your gasket between OFH and oil cooler thermostat which is the same as the one on N54/55 and the gasket is the same as on N20/26/51/52/53/54/55 engines. That gasket is known to be the culprit behind the coolant/oil mix.

[FatHulk]

Very interesting, good luck with this please let us know the updates!

Hope you get it on the road soon and everything works out fine!

[CRRobert]

Interesting journey but

[Taco_Bueno]

Really interesting thread. Good for you for taking on such a challenge, OP. Best of luck and please post pics when you're done!

[SteveChester]

I'm guessing the lack of updates is because that car is totalled

[reggienaz]

So after 2 years here is the full shortened story of the car. The cylinder head was repaired, when the intake cam seized due to no/low oil the cam basically welded itself to the cylinder head but only on one of the bearings. I had a ported cylinder head purchase lined up but the deal fell through, so I went with a repair. The shop I took it to was able to restore this to factory specs and when I got the cylinder head back they had resurfaced the mounting surface, bled the lifters, and made sure it was in perfect working order. Super high quality job by a local machine shop and it didn't cost a fortune.

I ordered all the timing and valvetronic specialty tools for the s55,more gaskets/random parts than i can think of, the injector seals and tools required to install them, and started the work of putting it back together. Putting this motor back together made me appreciate the work of art that the s55 is(minus the crank hub weakness). I followed instructions step by step on what used to be newtisdotinfo(RIP). All of the single use bolts were replaced, things were torqued to spec, every t was crossed and every i was dotted.

After putting everything on the motor back together and putting the cooling stack in I filled her up with coolant and oil and first crank SHE STARTED. This was Memorial Day of 2019 and I remember calling almost everyone I knew/who had helped or watched me wrench on this car to tell them that it was alive. I finished re assembling everything, the entire cooling loop with what seems like 40 different radiators, the underbelly and shields, turbos, down pipes, exhaust, bumper, literally everything. The car ran like a dream and I had plenty of fun driving it. I scheduled a salvage inspection in the state of NJ, paid some fees for a new title, and got her on the road. Then I took it to my local dealer and had them do a once over on the car to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong. Here is a link to the Google photos album with pics of random parts, and the before, during, and after it was all put together. https://photos.app.goo.gl/jHHYU3om9igtX4RTA

In summary, this project was one of the most fun projects of my life, plenty of ups and downs but I learned a lot. I managed to avoid any gray hair during the process and all in all I spent less than 30k on the entire purchase and re build. I was able to get full coverage insurance after inspection and I would recommend anyone with the emotional, financial, and mental capacity to try something similar.

If I left anything out or you have any questions feel free to ask.

[MFNATIK]

Mad props to you for completing this project. I was thinking you gave up on it. Why not post some pics of the work done along the way and the end result? I think we'd all really like to see that.

[BulliesAndBoost]

Glad you were able to finish. Reminds me of a richrebuilds episode!

[takrdown]

Great job man! Anyone who thinks he wasted his time just doesn't get it and that's ok. This is YOUR car now...it's not just any old M3/4. Just awesome!

[reggienaz]

I'll be adding more pictures soon. Between this project and now, I've switched computers and just found some old pictures in the backups. Also, thank you to everyone! Without this community, I would never have tried this.

[jfritz27]

Good for you man, I wish I had just a tenth of the knowledge it took to make all this happen.

But one key question: does it shot flames?

[spidy512]

Yo!

Great project, great story. I really enjoyed reading this, and I wish I had the resources and time to do this myself. Fantastic job bro...

Cheers!
josh

[MW F82 ///M4]

Just read this thread and really enjoyed it. Congratulations on getting this beast back on the road.

[old phart]

Same - Well done. I've learned quite a bit about all kinds of home, auto repairs by just going for it. I always enjoy the learning experience, well honestly not ALWAYS, and save a couple bucks.
This is what I love about forums. I'm always a bit taken aback when I meet other car guys and ask them - so what forums are you on? and they give me a blank stare.