[pjr710]

I’m not at this point yet but I’m on the cusp of doing something with my vehicle. I’d actually like to use the speed tech n54 kit with a smaller turbo.

But I’ve been thinking and as preventative maintenance I’d probably want to do Turbo’s, oil pan gasket, and clutch. While at it i could do rear main seal too.

So i ask, would it just be easier pulling the whole motor to do all this work?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by pjr710

I'm not at this point yet but I'm on the cusp of doing something with my vehicle. I'd actually like to use the speed tech n54 kit with a smaller turbo.

But I've been thinking and as preventative maintenance I'd probably want to do Turbo's, oil pan gasket, and clutch. While at it i could do rear main seal too.

So i ask, would it just be easier pulling the whole motor to do all this work?

Certainly, if you have the tools, know how & engine hoist perhaps.

That's a few extra steps to be sure.

Obviously, once the engine is on the hoist you can work on it without space issues.

There have been plenty of guys that have done all the repairs you have stated on jack stands.

Once the subframe is out of the car, a lot of space is certainly made free.

I saw a video recently where they took the bumper & radiator out of the car to swap an engine out of an e90. I think it was an N54.

If you have it on a hoist, I'd do every seal on the engine.

1) crank seal
2) rear main seal
3) oil pan gasket
4) valve cover gasket
5) oil filter housing gasket

6) Megatronic sleeve

I'd also apply a bead(s) of ultra black on both sides of the Gasket. So, it adheres to the block & the (cover)

Use Ultra Grey for the Rear main & front crank seal. It's specifically formulated for moving parts that create vibration.

You can spend $100.00 on two little vials (syringe without s needle or plunger) of BMW sealant & another $12.00 on primer, plus $10.00 more on two little needles for the vial with no plunger or $8.99 on a tube of Ultra Grey 😉

[nissubaru]

I've never done a single turbo install nor have I done a turbo install or oil pan gasket, clutch etc ON MY BACK but I do currently have an engine on a stand and I'm swapping everything over so I'm doing this stuff outside the car as you mention.

I didn't do this for fun or to simplify anything, I'm replacing my motor with a used one + newish turbos and all the little studs/nuts turbo install gaskets, new oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, rear main seal, motor mounts, oil filter housing gasket, oil cooler gasket, injector seals...the whole enchilada

I'm struggling to answer this question because I've done a handful of these things already while it's on the stand and I thought to myself how it would have sucked to do them in the car. Namely the oil pan gasket and turbos, the rear main seal too but I have to put the engine on the hoist in order to access the seal (it's covered by the engine stand when it's mounted).

I have a manual transmission but here's everything that went into pulling the engine, I might skip a few things because my car has relocated inlets and some other modifications:

1. Relieve Fuel Pressure, 20amp fuse #70. Try to start the car a couple times. Dumbass me forgot this step even though I literally put it as #1 haha, all good though. Pressure relieved itself over time.

2. Jack car on all 4s, unlock everything, pop the latch on your trunk so it can't close or lock itself. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery.

3. Drain oil and coolant

4. Remove cabin filter + covers

5. Remove radiator fan

6. Remove intercooler

7. Remove radiator

8. Remove charge pipe

9. Disconnect downpipes from exhaust

10. Remove intake snorkel and plastic bits, I have relocated inlets so this part I'm guessing fits here. Basically get it down to the intake manifold

11. Remove serpentine drive belt.

12. Drop exhaust entirely, then remove the heatshield bolts/screws and get that out of the way

13. Remove intake manifold, this will get you access to the starter bolts.

14. Remove starter and remove any of the top transmission bolts that you can reach

15. From underneath, place a jack under the transmission for support. You may also want to use a wood block between the subframe and the motor to keep it from pitching too far the other direction. Then remove the transmission mounting plate. Slowly lower the transmission exposing the remaining transmission bellhousing bolts. This honestly wasn't so bad, go grab 2 or 3 packs of wobble extensions from Harbor Freight and you should be fine. I had one tiny E10 bolt at the bottom get rounded which was annoying, so be careful not to strip or round anything.

16. Disconnect fuel line

17. I think it was around this time I was like fuck, how am I supposed to pull it out? I was trying not to pull the front clip off the car but I sucked it up and removed the front bumper and all that noise.

18. Somewhere in here you'll run into the air conditioning components and having to crack the lines. My suggestion would be to plan ahead and get it professionally evacuated so that you don't have to deal with the refrigerant and you cant just move on with the job. But yeah, disconnect the AC lines. My memory is a little fuzzy here.

19. Unbolt the power steering pump from the engine

20. Unbolt the AC compressor from the engine.

21. Do something with your wiring, I think the preferred method would be to pull it from the DME & lay it over the engine as you pull. I'm using a 5 series motor so I opted to leave the wiring harness in but its a mess either way lol

22. Unbolt the engine from the motor mounts, I found the top bolt was easiest on the drivers side and the bottom bolts were easier on the passenger side. I did end up replacing the mounts so I had to do the bottom bolts eventually on the drivers side, but I had to remove ~4 of the 16mm bolts holding up the chassis brace to get a wrench in there.

23. There is or was one coolant hose attached at this point. I started lifting the motor but realized I was still snagged on the 3 way hose that connects to the water pump. Disconnected that and out she went.

Then you gotta put it on a stand which isn't too bad, it would have been a really shitty task if I didn't have my dad to help. Now, with all that said. It's been a delight having the motor on a stand and doing all of the work that way. Getting out from under the car is always great, but there's a lot of shit you have to take apart and put back together.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by nissubaru

I've never done a single turbo install nor have I done a turbo install or oil pan gasket, clutch etc ON MY BACK but I do currently have an engine on a stand and I'm swapping everything over so I'm doing this stuff outside the car as you mention.

I didn't do this for fun or to simplify anything, I'm replacing my motor with a used one + newish turbos and all the little studs/nuts turbo install gaskets, new oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, rear main seal, motor mounts, oil filter housing gasket, oil cooler gasket, injector seals...the whole enchilada

I'm struggling to answer this question because I've done a handful of these things already while it's on the stand and I thought to myself how it would have sucked to do them in the car. Namely the oil pan gasket and turbos, the rear main seal too but I have to put the engine on the hoist in order to access the seal (it's covered by the engine stand when it's mounted).

I have a manual transmission but here's everything that went into pulling the engine, I might skip a few things because my car has relocated inlets and some other modifications:

1. Relieve Fuel Pressure, 20amp fuse #70. Try to start the car a couple times. Dumbass me forgot this step even though I literally put it as #1 haha, all good though. Pressure relieved itself over time.

2. Jack car on all 4s, unlock everything, pop the latch on your trunk so it can't close or lock itself. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery.

3. Drain oil and coolant

4. Remove cabin filter + covers

5. Remove radiator fan

6. Remove intercooler

7. Remove radiator

8. Remove charge pipe

9. Disconnect downpipes from exhaust

10. Remove intake snorkel and plastic bits, I have relocated inlets so this part I'm guessing fits here. Basically get it down to the intake manifold

11. Remove serpentine drive belt.

12. Drop exhaust entirely, then remove the heatshield bolts/screws and get that out of the way

13. Remove intake manifold, this will get you access to the starter bolts.

14. Remove starter and remove any of the top transmission bolts that you can reach

15. From underneath, place a jack under the transmission for support. You may also want to use a wood block between the subframe and the motor to keep it from pitching too far the other direction. Then remove the transmission mounting plate. Slowly lower the transmission exposing the remaining transmission bellhousing bolts. This honestly wasn't so bad, go grab 2 or 3 packs of wobble extensions from Harbor Freight and you should be fine. I had one tiny E10 bolt at the bottom get rounded which was annoying, so be careful not to strip or round anything.

16. Disconnect fuel line

17. I think it was around this time I was like fuck, how am I supposed to pull it out? I was trying not to pull the front clip off the car but I sucked it up and removed the front bumper and all that noise.

18. Somewhere in here you'll run into the air conditioning components and having to crack the lines. My suggestion would be to plan ahead and get it professionally evacuated so that you don't have to deal with the refrigerant and you cant just move on with the job. But yeah, disconnect the AC lines. My memory is a little fuzzy here.

19. Unbolt the power steering pump from the engine

20. Unbolt the AC compressor from the engine.

21. Do something with your wiring, I think the preferred method would be to pull it from the DME & lay it over the engine as you pull. I'm using a 5 series motor so I opted to leave the wiring harness in but its a mess either way lol

22. Unbolt the engine from the motor mounts, I found the top bolt was easiest on the drivers side and the bottom bolts were easier on the passenger side. I did end up replacing the mounts so I had to do the bottom bolts eventually on the drivers side, but I had to remove ~4 of the 16mm bolts holding up the chassis brace to get a wrench in there.

23. There is or was one coolant hose attached at this point. I started lifting the motor but realized I was still snagged on the 3 way hose that connects to the water pump. Disconnected that and out she went.

Then you gotta put it on a stand which isn't too bad, it would have been a really shitty task if I didn't have my dad to help. Now, with all that said. It's been a delight having the motor on a stand and doing all of the work that way. Getting out from under the car is always great, but there's a lot of shit you have to take apart and put back together.

This is really good information if one was to put in a new or rebuilt motor. I'm not sure I'd go to all this trouble just to do the seals and various gaskets. I've done them all on jack stands except for the Rear Main.

I would say that having a lift or a quick jack 5000 would be ideal in lieu of jack stands. I think when I have to replace my turbos or have to do the rear main seal, I'll get a quick jack. I'm gonna pay $1200 or so to have a European Auto Shop do the rear main, for example, so I might as well buy the Quick Jack and change it myself. Then from that point forward I've got a sweet lift for years to come.

You can buy a quick jack for about $1,000.00 at Home Depot on-line.

[musa]

Originally Posted by pjr710

I’m not at this point yet but I’m on the cusp of doing something with my vehicle. I’d actually like to use the speed tech n54 kit with a smaller turbo.

But I’ve been thinking and as preventative maintenance I’d probably want to do Turbo’s, oil pan gasket, and clutch. While at it i could do rear main seal too.

So i ask, would it just be easier pulling the whole motor to do all this work?

I have done oil pan gasket and turbo replacement on my auto E92 without pulling the motor, right in my garage, on my poor back, and I'm 56 years old IT pro, a DIY'er as a hobby. Therefore, any one can handle this job easily as long as you have info available right on here in this forum - DISCLAIMER, but I'm very fit .