What else to check while my N54 is apart???

JonEQuest · 10-08-2018, 03:23 PM

I am replacing all of my lifters. I had a constant tick and I started out planning to do the 12 on the exhaust side, since those are supposed to be the ones that fail more often. I was unable to tell which one(s) were bad for sure so I decided to just do all 24 to avoid doing this job ever again. I am now waiting 2 days for more lifters to arrive.

So....while I have the motor open is there anything else I can check, clean or improve?

P.S. I have an endoscope with a lighted head so I may take a look down in the chain guide and oil pan area if I can.

JonEQuest · 10-09-2018, 12:40 PM

UPDATE - PROBLEMS FOUND!!
I noticed that of the 7 oil drain holes on the exhaust side of the head at the lowest point there are 2 that do not drain oil at all. I used a syringe to see where oil goes and the other ones let oil travel between the area above where the black torx head bolt is and the drain holes I am referring to, and of course somewhere below they drain oil down into the engine. Starting from the front Holes #1 and #4 only allow oil to pass between the head bolt and the drain hole but the oil that is in there never drains away. I think I found a smoking gun. Obviously these drain holes need to drain oil as well. Also hole #4 drains the oil from one lifter of cylinder #3, the one that gets misfire errors. Sounds like cause and effect to me. Now what to do to clean this obstruction? Part of me wants to squirt carb or brake cleaner in there and flush it through BUT I don't know where this hole goes. If it goes straight to the pan no problem as I am draining all oil before and pouring some fresh "flushing" oil down the holes before putting the valve cover on anyway. Then I will put the plug back and fill the oil.
Yes, I know the best thing to do is pull the oil pan. But It looks like that is a serious job and I plan to use my endoscope to look in the oil pan through the drain hole for any other rubber bits instead. If I find any illegal aliens that I cannot fish out then I will pull the pan, but I am REALLY trying to avoid that. So where do these holes go? How narrow do they get? I just don't want to flush carb cleaner or something down the holes and find out later these holes go straight to the crank bearing or something.

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10-08-2018, 03:23 PM	#1
JonEQuest Captain 251 Rep 634 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Convertible 2007 335 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	What else to check while my N54 is apart??? I am replacing all of my lifters. I had a constant tick and I started out planning to do the 12 on the exhaust side, since those are supposed to be the ones that fail more often. I was unable to tell which one(s) were bad for sure so I decided to just do all 24 to avoid doing this job ever again. I am now waiting 2 days for more lifters to arrive. So....while I have the motor open is there anything else I can check, clean or improve? P.S. I have an endoscope with a lighted head so I may take a look down in the chain guide and oil pan area if I can. Attached Images Last edited by JonEQuest; 10-08-2018 at 05:18 PM..
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10-09-2018, 12:40 PM	#2
JonEQuest Captain 251 Rep 634 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Convertible 2007 335 Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	Update - Problems Found!! UPDATE - PROBLEMS FOUND!! I noticed that of the 7 oil drain holes on the exhaust side of the head at the lowest point there are 2 that do not drain oil at all. I used a syringe to see where oil goes and the other ones let oil travel between the area above where the black torx head bolt is and the drain holes I am referring to, and of course somewhere below they drain oil down into the engine. Starting from the front Holes #1 and #4 only allow oil to pass between the head bolt and the drain hole but the oil that is in there never drains away. I think I found a smoking gun. Obviously these drain holes need to drain oil as well. Also hole #4 drains the oil from one lifter of cylinder #3, the one that gets misfire errors. Sounds like cause and effect to me. Now what to do to clean this obstruction? Part of me wants to squirt carb or brake cleaner in there and flush it through BUT I don't know where this hole goes. If it goes straight to the pan no problem as I am draining all oil before and pouring some fresh "flushing" oil down the holes before putting the valve cover on anyway. Then I will put the plug back and fill the oil. Yes, I know the best thing to do is pull the oil pan. But It looks like that is a serious job and I plan to use my endoscope to look in the oil pan through the drain hole for any other rubber bits instead. If I find any illegal aliens that I cannot fish out then I will pull the pan, but I am REALLY trying to avoid that. So where do these holes go? How narrow do they get? I just don't want to flush carb cleaner or something down the holes and find out later these holes go straight to the crank bearing or something. Attached Images Attached Images
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