pulling M50 engine..some advice please

[fujioko]

Hello folks,

The engine (M50) in my 92 E34 sucked a valve at 275,000 miles.. darn!

Anyway I purchaced a low milage M50 engine and plan on putting it in this week.

The Bentley manual indicates that I'll need to remove the 5 spd transmission prior to pulling the engine. Is this absoutly nessesary?

Can anyone here advise me as to why the transmission needs to be removed first?

I do 100% of the work on all my cars, I'm not afraid of pulling the trans first, I just want to take a short cut.

Any comments?

Thanks

[winfred]

it will come out with the tranny atached

[fujioko]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice! Is it also possible to just pull the engine while leaving the transmission in place?

Basicly I would prefer to not remove the transmission from the car if it's not necessary. It would save some time and I'm slightly lazy.

Thanks

jim

[Jjcarr]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice! Is it also possible to just pull the engine while leaving the transmission in place?

Basicly I would prefer to not remove the transmission from the car if it's not necessary. It would save some time and I'm slightly lazy.

Thanks

jim

Since the engine has to go in at a slight angle, I would think it would be very hard to line up the spline properly without bending it or something.

[joshua43214]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice! Is it also possible to just pull the engine while leaving the transmission in place?

Basicly I would prefer to not remove the transmission from the car if it's not necessary. It would save some time and I'm slightly lazy.

Thanks

jim

It is far easier to line up the trany on the ground or in the car, than it is to line up the egine to the tranny. You won't save yourself anything by leaving it in the car.

[Dave M]

Since the engine has to go in at a slight angle, I would think it would be very hard to line up the spline properly without bending it or something.

I removed the tranny during my swaps, but I don't see why one couldn't leave the tranny/driveshaft 'largely' intact. If you loosened the tranny mounts to allow some wiggle room and removed the engine mounts such that a minimum of upward movement would be necessary to dislodge them from the crossmember, I don’t see why you couldn’t swing the engine forward to safely disengage the input shaft.

On installation, I don't believe there is need to angle the engine in any particular way, unless you haven't removed the rad or other peripherals. Again, as long as you have the freedom to align 'stuff' (remove the rubber engine mounts entirely untill tranny is engaged?) you should be able to ram the engine properly into the tranny. I suppose one would have to use caution pushing a few hundred pounds of metal around, but maybe it would work :)

Someone tell us otherwise,

I’d like to know how it goes,

Dave M

[Jjcarr]

Out of curiosity, if you're doing something this dramatic, does it make matters easier to remove the front grille and crossmember so that you have more room to work with? That way you could just slide the motor in and out, guess it depends on how big a pain removing the front is. It might also give you better visibility to ensure that everything is buttoned up right.

Gotta say though 275k on a stock motor is pretty cool, gotta love these M50's.

[Scott H]

with the tranny attached. Just have everything else out of the way in front (radiator, fan/clutch, etc) to give yourself as much extra room as possible. Be prepared to angle the unit a decent amount (have a buddy or two around). It should work just fine.

[fujioko]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'll take a look at my e34 tonight and decide what may be best. Perhaps the short cut on pulling the engine wont save time on putting the engine back in the car. Hmmmm got to think this through. If I decide to do something unusual I update the thread.

thanks again!

[Jon K]

yeah remove it with the trans, the trans is only in the car sitting on the trans support and drive shaft, undo the driveshaft, undo the cross member (put a jack there 1st :) ) and pull that heezy.

[fujioko]

Day two of pulling the big M50 engine. Wow, lots of little this and that to pull off before you get to the engine.

Pulled the intake manifold and peered down the port …the intake valves were still intact on the #2 cylinder. Hmmmmm. Something’s not right. I’ll need to do a full autopsy on the old M50.

The leak down test on #2 indicated valve trouble. Actually when you push 6.5 CFM of air through the cylinder and get zero pressure… something isn’t right. Had a bunch of air come out the throttle body (cams were closed on #2).

The combination of a dreadful noise, zero compression and air coming out the throttle body led me to believe I had sucked a valve. The rest of the engine checked out 100%

BTW it still ran and would do 80MPH.. probably faster but no autobahn to try it on.

[yaofeng]

Not only should you pull the engine and tranny as one unit as many OP said, you could also leave the intake manifold and the wiring in place when you pull it. You just need to straddle a piece of 2x4 long enough on the chain so it won't rub on the plastic intake.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/DSC_1569.jpg

I didn't do it that way this past summer when I pull the drive train off of my 95 525i. But it is entirely possible and it makes it much easier.

[fujioko]

Hello again,

Wow, the engine is ready to get yanked out. 100% of the bolts came out no problem.. not bad for 275K.. I suspect the car was from califorina. I'll do a car fax on it somday.

Anyway I can certanly figure this next question out, but some advice will help.

Where is a good place to attach the chain on the rear of the engine. As BMW didnt put a lifting hook anywhere.

BTW I am pulling the engine and tranny together.

I'm off to rent a cherry picker!

[Scott H]

http://www.hersted.org/img_1138.jpg

[yaofeng]

The picture doesn't show you exactly where. The rear lifting hole is on the block right above the starter. I did with the intake removed. If you straddle a piece of wood on the chain, I think you can lift the drive train with the intake in place.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b274/yaofengchen/BMW_95_525i/DSC_1560.jpg

[Bill R.]

throttle body you likely bent one instead... possible overrev and floated the valves?




Day two of pulling the big M50 engine. Wow, lots of little this and that to pull off before you get to the engine.

Pulled the intake manifold and peered down the port …the intake valves were still intact on the #2 cylinder. Hmmmmm. Something’s not right. I’ll need to do a full autopsy on the old M50.

The leak down test on #2 indicated valve trouble. Actually when you push 6.5 CFM of air through the cylinder and get zero pressure… something isn’t right. Had a bunch of air come out the throttle body (cams were closed on #2).

The combination of a dreadful noise, zero compression and air coming out the throttle body led me to believe I had sucked a valve. The rest of the engine checked out 100%

BTW it still ran and would do 80MPH.. probably faster but no autobahn to try it on.

[Dave M]

Rear lifting point

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/dave_macisaac/Bimmer/Engine/Block_Swap/Hoist_1.jpg

Dave M