Engine Rebuilding

[cdavie2002]

Iv started to strip down my csi engine. I dont have a flywheel locking tool, is there a way around this.

I cant undo the bolt at front of crankshaft!!

 

[Sven]

Homemade tool

You can fabricate a tool. Use a short 1/4" steel bar maybe 1-1/2" long. Drill one hole in one end to fit one of the open bolt holes on the block just outside the ring gear. Bolt the steel piece so it jambs against one of the teeth (to resist the rotation). The distance fro the center of the bolt hole to the end of the bar is critical. This tool can also be used to tighten the main crank pulley bolt and the flywheel bolts ,etc.

Have you sprayed on some PB Blaster and used a torch to heat the nut?

Looks like you pulled that engine out of the sea.

 

[sfdon]

The nut comes off just fine without holding the crank or flywheel if you use a big enough electric or air tool. Think 1/2 or 3/4 inch able to put out 400 lbs. if you just have to use a breaker bar you want to look at the crank holding tools so that you don't break ring gear teeth.

Check out bavauto





(Click for a larger image)
Makes removal of crankshaft hub nut/bolt much easier. A must-have for replacing timing chains, oil pump chains, leaking crankshaft seals and more.
Part Number Description Price Qty.
BMW 3034-3
Crankshaft Holding Tool - SIR Tools

$ 49.95

 

[cdavie2002]

Thanks for replies. I finally managed to remove the crank bolt. I had a blacksmith make me up a tool, and it came away!

The block is now totally stripped and ready to go to the machine shop, hopefully just for cleaning and honing.

Next problem I have is with the head, all of the upper exhaust manifold nuts are rounded! I can't get a stud remover directly onto them as the manifold obstructs this.

Iv tried heat, and iv tried penetrating oil, the bolts just get chewed up even more!
Any thoughts?

 

[Stevehose]

Soak in penetrating oil and vice grips?

 

[Sven]

cutoff wheel

I would try a metal cutoff wheel to cut off the nuts and stud ends, allowing you to pull the manifold. That should leave you about 1/2" of stud sticking out from the head to grab with vice grips. Do you have a dremel tool with the 1-1/2" cut off wheel? Or, perhaps something a bit larger? A 4-1/2" cutoff saw would make fast work of it (assuming you can get in there without hitting other parts).

good luck,

 

[sfdon]

Not trying to be rude - but there is no crank bolt....and everything you are doing is exactly what machine shops do everyday.
My machine shop has a 1000 lb air tool to remove that nut.
Just hand them the block and tell them what to do. They likely will weld new nuts onto the damaged ones. Keep in mind that good shops want the block brought into their shop in one piece so they get a better idea of what is going on with the engine. And no chance of critical bits being missing when its time to reassemble. Honestly if you brought that block and head into my shop and in pieces I would charge you extra at this point. If your shop doesn't do a lot of vintage BMW engines he is going to guess how to put it back together now.
If you have removed the e-clips from the posts for the tensioner and the guide you better tell him there are 2 different sizes or you are going to have a fail in a big way. You also should make sure he understands the oiler bar is asymetric- point out the arrow to him or have him mark it himself.
Sorry for the rant....

 

[cdavie2002]

Ok crank nut, my mistake.

I want to try and do the guts of this restoration myself, obviously with some guidance from forums and local engine shops.

I plan on rebuilding the engne. As previously agreed with the machine shop, everything has been meticulously photographed and labelled. This particular machine shop has worked on BMW 6 cylinder engines before, so i feel im in good hands.

What i am dropping off to them is:
pistons (complete with rings, rods and bearings)
fully dismantled block
fully dismantled head
crankshaft
camshaft
main bearings

I fully understand i could drop off the complete engine and then return at a later date to pick up a fully rebuilt one. However, i bought this as a project, so i want to do the work and learn.

I have removed the e-clips, however i have kept, photographed and put labels on everything. Please can you explain more about the different sizes and the failings that can occur?

Also can you tell me more about the oiler bar being asymetric, this i didnt know about!

Dont apologise, i welcome all critisism/help/advice!

Dont stop!

 

[cdavie2002]

I would try a metal cutoff wheel to cut off the nuts and stud ends, allowing you to pull the manifold. That should leave you about 1/2" of stud sticking out from the head to grab with vice grips. Do you have a dremel tool with the 1-1/2" cut off wheel? Or, perhaps something a bit larger? A 4-1/2" cutoff saw would make fast work of it (assuming you can get in there without hitting other parts).

good luck,

Thanks, yes i may try a nut splitter, and if that fails, start grinding and just replace all the manifold studs.

 

[JFENG]

Advice (free and worth what it cost you)

Why you are doing the right thing:
I've had more trouble dropping off the whole engine than when I've done the dis-reassembly.
I enjoy the process of doing myself
My time is worth less than the $80/hr the shop is charging. The dis/reassembly can be as much as a third the cost of an engine rebuild.
You get to buy lots of cool stuff like plastigauge, telescoping bore gauges, digital mics, ring end grinders, and other stuff that your SO doesn't understand but earns you lots of street cred with your car buddies.

Why you shouldn't try this at home.
What if you have a problem that you don't catch during reassembly? Are you setup to measure and check everything ( and to tweak of necessary?)
If the engine grenades afterwards it'll be much harder to prove fault, if fault is indeed clearly provable.
If the shop does the whole thing you'll get a warranty


Exhaust nuts: die grinder w carbide bit or a cutoff wheel that's be used until its diameter is small enought to fit between the manifold curves. You will be using all new intake and exhaust studs anyway so don't worry about damaging the threads a little when you cut the nuts. One cut and you can pry them open enough that they'll come off easily.

Stuck studs: highly suggest you take your time, use pb-blaster repeatedly(wurth rost-off is great if you can get it), Tap studs w a hammer to shock-break the corrosion, have acetylene handy and know how to use it, consider investing in the right size stud remover as they work better than vice grips.

 

[sfdon]

# 22 and # 24 are the two clip sizes


http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=7031&mospid=47808&btnr=11_2442&hg=11&fg=25

Your oiler bar should have an arrow on it- make sure your oil bar is faced so the oil bar aperatures are equidistant over the lobes above # 1 and # 6.

 

[cdavie2002]

I should have no problems putting the correct parts back in the right position.

The plan is to use plastigauge and measure clearances. All i can do is take my time, liase with machine shop/local engine shops and ask lots of questions.

From those members that have rebuilt engines, what things have gone wrong?

With fear of opening up a pandoras box of numerous reasons why i shouldnt rebuild myself, can i ask the problems i am likely to have and possible issues i may miss when rebuilding this engine?

Thanks
Chris