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Does anyone know if the valve stem seals on a 2002 E39 530i can be replaced without removal of the cylinder head, as my son`s car is now at 80k and using oil at 1600 miles per pint ???
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I don't know for sure - but very much doubt it. You will find that the seals harden, but also that there is wear in the guide, so it may need more work than just seals.
1600mpp is not terribly high - I would leave it a bit longer - until 800mpp.
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What's the mileage on it ?
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I have seen them get smokey around the 150k mark - so guessing its upwards of there?
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Thanks Aprilla - will leave it go a while. I know 80k is not a high mileage but the car has been owned since 20k miles and whilst always serviced on time, it has been driven enthusiastically.
If there is actual wear in the guides, can new guides be inserted ok or does this mean a replacement cylinder head ???
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Sorry, I missed the 80K bit. I would still be inclined to leave it a bit longer. 1600mpp is fairly high oil consumption, but like I said, I would leave it to drop to sub-1000mpp before splashing out on major work.
Yes, you can insert new guides, but are you aware of the scale of this job on one of these engines? To replaces the valve stem seals books at about a 13 hour job (that's £1300min labour +parts at BMW dealer rates!!). At an independent you would probably pay £500+.
To remove the cylinder head and transfer all parts to a recon head you are probably looking at 15 hours labour plus the cost of the recon head of course. At a BMW dealer this could be a £2500 job.
Basically if you can DIY on this unit then you should go ahead and replace the seals and fit a recon head if you want. If you have to pay someone to do it then leave it until its really smoking or sell the car! Selling the car would be fairly easy because there's plenty of people who know that BMW engines last almost forever if they're regularly serviced.. ;-p
I have had one of these engines apart and they are a right beast to work on. Lots and lots of stuff to take off, which takes ages, and the head is really heavy (two men to lift it). The one we had wouldn't come free of the block to we tried to winch it off. Still wouldn't come, so we left the front of the car hanging on the winch overnight, attached via the head! Then it came free!
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Thanks once again Aprilla for your invaluable info, - it looks like a fairly major procedure and as we are not competent DIYers, I guess we will reluctantly have to sell the car on when the consumption drops below 1000 mpp, although we have an excellent independent nearby, so will check out his price before parting with the vehicle. I have to say that the car has given faultless reliability during my son`s ownership and regularly returns up to 34 mpg (manual), which is really impressive for a 3 litre engine. As he doesn`t like the latest E60, the dilemma is what to reolace it with.
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Yes, check out with the independent first. He'll have worked on more of these than me and there **may** be a way to change the seals without removing the head, although I doubt it personally.
To get the head off and back on is one hell of a job, you need about 10 special tools. I won't bother tackling one again (and I did it with the help of an ex-main dealer tech!).
You will find it fairly easy to sell with less than 100k - so long as the body and interior is clean and you put an MoT on it. Once the oil consumption gets very high (say 600-800mpp) it tends to clag up the cat and lambda sensor, which can mean an emissions fail and some rather pricey rectification work to get it through the MoT!
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Have checked with our local BMW indy today and there is no way these seals/guides can be replaced in situ, so it would appear to be a major task, which would cost more money than is viable against the value of the car. He also mentioned that 1600 miles per pint was not unusual at 80k miles and would not be too concerned until the figure dropped to 800 mpp, which coincides with your (Aprilla`s) recommendation.
Thanks once again for your sound advice.
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Aprilla knows his onions !
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