Sump gasket leak?

[Ducklakeview]

Glad you sorted it - Mine is on my list as that's what it looks like underneath.. Only had the kit on the shelf since Oct, when I bought one for another car and thought I'd do mine too

I see a LOT of M54 engined cars that look like this underneath, and owners have never even noticed it due to the covers underneath..

Mike

PS - When you do your VANOS, you don't actually need to to do the anti rattle rings, unless there is a lot of play in the hubs - I've done M54 engines with 200k on them and no play.. The consensus seems to be that the wear only really happens if you are running non OEM cams, which a lot of the USA owners do, and I think those rings were developed specifically for their market.

Mike

Thanks Mike . Yeah, all my covers have gone. I've just bought one off fleabay... they must be there for a reason.
I only bought the kit with the anti rattle rings as I can hear a slight ticking sound at idle. It's by no means bad but I thought it might be those? Figured that if I had the VANOS apart I might as well fit them, or maybe not now reading your reply? Other than the methods advised on besian systems & x8r is there anything else I need to be aware of? I realise I'll need to jack up the engine to slide the unit off the studs on my 3.0, is it just by a few mm?
Will give you a bell in the summer months, fancy a back box & new key

Dave

You'll need a low range torque wrench that does down to about 6nm, also needs to work for left hand threads.. The two T30 torx bolts fixing the pistons to the cam hubs are LH threads, and their torque is critical as they are easily snapped. If it's the first time you've done one, I would advise buying two spare bolts from BMW/i6/X8r and having them to hand, just in case..

I remove the airbox and strut braces, this allows you to raise the engine by about 70mm, which is JUST enough..

Make sure you undo the bottom radiator hose from the thermostat, or you WILL break the thermostat housing, either by raising the engin a fraction too much or by trying to slide the vanos assembly out past it..

Mike

[oldgitdave]

That's great advice, 70mm eh, that's a lot! I assume all the other interfaces (exhaust, fuel lines, auto box, will take that amount of flex?) Not done one before but I am used to delicate fitting skills & left hand threads. A couple of new bolts is a good call though. Thanks again Mike

[Ducklakeview]

That's great advice, 70mm eh, that's a lot! I assume all the other interfaces (exhaust, fuel lines, auto box, will take that amount of flex?) Not done one before but I am used to delicate fitting skills & left hand threads. A couple of new bolts is a good call though. Thanks again Mike

Yup, when you get to about 40mm the alternator hits the airbox, and at about 55mm the top rear of the intake hits the NS strut brace, so removing it gives you that little extra touch..

Mike

[oldgitdave]

Brill.. prob should've started a new post for this This little snippets of info are invaluable

[z4_newbie]

Hello guys,

I discovered this post looking for a solution to my oil leak. After reading through this thread, I guess my CCV is shot too. My car has done 95k miles and is a 2003 3.0

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[oldgitdave]

Hello guys,

I discovered this post looking for a solution to my oil leak. After reading through this thread, I guess my CCV is shot too. My car has done 95k miles and is a 2003 3.0

Hi & welcome . Yes it looks just the same as mine did tbh. CCV is definitely the best place to start.

[z4_newbie]

thank you thank you thank you, i can sleep better tonight

[bigwinn]

Dave

I'm planning my CCV replacement with Simon's (Patriot guidance)- I did VANOS a few weeks back and its a massive improvement to the M54 running, rev range and torque. Happy to give you pointers if you need.

I only did the £99 X8R kit so didn't do the rings- there was no play in mine when I got them out thankfully

Best

Stuart

[oldgitdave]

Dave

I'm planning my CCV replacement with Simon's (Patriot guidance)- I did VANOS a few weeks back and its a massive improvement to the M54 running, rev range and torque. Happy to give you pointers if you need.

I only did the £99 X8R kit so didn't do the rings- there was no play in mine when I got them out thankfully

Best

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for the offer but mine was sorted a while back now. z4_newbie has opened a 3 year old thread here.

All the best,
Dave

[z4_newbie]

Dave

Is there a good video or step by step for reference? I found this on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwVe0NAcZs

I would like to tackle it myself

Thanks!

[oldgitdave]

Dave

Is there a good video or step by step for reference? I found this on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwVe0NAcZs

I would like to tackle it myself

Thanks!

Looks like you've found a good guide, there are plenty on YouTube so worth watching a few. Obviously there are differences between the E46 & E85/86 but if it's the M54 engine the important bits are the same.
My local indy did mine for me and did it without removing all of the induction system. I guess a lot can be done from underneath?
Anyway, there's a good write up here that might help https://zroadster.org/threads/m54-ccv-r ... ent.18537/.
Take a good look at the Disa valve if you remove as that also can cause problems if worn. Plenty of threads on here about it. Good luck with tackling it & let us know how you get on. Oh & don't forget to introduce yourself in the newbies section along with some photos of your Zed .

[bigwinn]

Dave

I'm planning my CCV replacement with Simon's (Patriot guidance)- I did VANOS a few weeks back and its a massive improvement to the M54 running, rev range and torque. Happy to give you pointers if you need.

I only did the £99 X8R kit so didn't do the rings- there was no play in mine when I got them out thankfully

Best

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for the offer but mine was sorted a while back now. z4_newbie has opened a 3 year old thread here.

All the best,
Dave

No worries!

Take care

Stuart

[patriot66]

Hello guys,

I discovered this post looking for a solution to my oil leak. After reading through this thread, I guess my CCV is shot too. My car has done 95k miles and is a 2003 3.0i

Hi Z4 Newbie and Welcome
Having done this on my '03 Zed back in April'17 I would recommend that you replace the full CCV system and take a look at your Oil filter housing gasket also. To give greater access and make life a lot easier I would remove the air filter box, throttle body, inlet manifold and injector rail.
This is what your engine bay will look like...loads of room and you can see everything including the oil filter housing (A)

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In your second photo there is an awful lot of oil running down the block just to be coming from a blocked/faulty CCV. I suspect that some, if not most of that oil is running down the block from a leaking oil filter housing gasket. Like most rubber gaskets on 15 year old M54s it will have gone brittle and hard and probably cracked causing a leak.
Just for your reference (1) is the oil dipstick tube going into the sump and (2) is the return pipe from the CCV that connects with 1 and allows any oil collected in the CCV to be returned to the sump.

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In the next photo if you zoom in a bit you can see on my car where oil was running down the block (4) from the o.f.h (3)

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As you can see, with all the other components out of the way; it really is a doddle to remove the o.f.h (including the alternator) to replace the gasket