It looks like the valve stem oil seals will need to be replaced on my 550. Unfortunately my mechanic does not have the tools to do so. I could just get the BMW driveline warranty, wait a few months for to smoke a lot and then take it to my local dealer as a friend suggested, however whilst I cannot see anything in their policy booklet against this, it is downright dishonest and I will not do this. Therefore can anyone recommend a garage in Kent that is able to do the job? Don't mind a bit further out if it is close to a mainline station so I can get home? On a separate note, the IBS has been replaced by my mechanic, but the heated rear window has not yet been sorted.
Surprisingly it looks like I will be using my local BMW dealer for the work. Got a number of quotes and they ranged from 25 hrs @ 60+vat (plus parts on top I guess) to £3700 all in. My local dealer came in at £2651. At least by using them I'll have the "stamp in the book" so to speak (ok they probably won't stamp my book, but I hope you know what I mean) and hopefully better warranty on it should anything go wrong.
Erm! A lot of the associated labour costs is in removing the heads, however this tool allows seal replacement without the need, there is a You tube video that accompanies and displays the process very well, in fact too well. My neighbour has the symptoms so bought the tool though yet to use, I have shied away from the job though he's managed to find a mechanic who shall undertake the work, a bit cheaper than quoted price if you could find someone to undertake, though in all honesty, seeing the video makes it look easy! http://www.agatools.com/tool/n62-valve-stem-seal-tool
I have not yet received the quote from one company that can do it without heads off, however I am led to believe 1/2 the labour and a lot less on parts costs. I have decided to splash out and go heads off as knowing my luck next year the head gasket will go. Had my mechanic spend quite a while soldering all the electrical connections going to the boot as break light and heated screen did not work. He found plenty more about to go. Looks like I may also need a new diversity as the central locking has packed up as well. I think by the time I finish with this car the only original bits will be the body. I am starting to think this was not such a good buy, but I am determined to get a perfect car.
Your determination is admirable, soon you shall have a very sorted car Sadly it's not uncommon for fresh eyes to be left to rectify and bring back the former glory, many including myself would dearly love the 550, very rare, scarce and desirable!
That is the reason I am repairing rather than passing onto the next mug. They are even rarer in touring. I can find 550i saloons on both autotrader and ebay at the moment, but no tourings. Seeing as I will be spending so much on the engine (going in to BMW on Monday), the car will be a keeper as I will not get the money back so it looks like I'll be contacting Baus (different forum) once I have replenished the funds for an NBT retrofit as well, although next problem to fix is the wheels. Leaking air due to some corrosion according to tyre place, so will see if a refurb can fix it or if it means new wheels. For insurance simplicity I will stick with the 17" 122 Star. Good job I got a bit of a pay rise recently (although not enough to cover all this)....what with the 1000's spent at the vet and now this.
We all love a project thread and a picture or two. baus is said to do a mean angel eye upgrade too! I'd be sorely tempted by a well specced touring myself, fortunately such models are even scarcer up here
You shouldn't need new wheels or a refurb to cure that, it will be corrosion where the tyre bead sits on the wheel, needs the tyre removing and cleaning up with a wire brush or a wire wheel on a drill then it should be fine altho some tyre places might also have a different tyre paste that can help slight leaks.
The tyre place have already given it a bit of a clean up and re-sealed it, but it is leaking again. Wheels could probably do with a bit of a refurb anyway. Although Lepsons are very goods at refurbs and I have used them before, for simplicity I will use Spit and Polish as I can drop the car off there and then walk home. I've seen the angel eye upgrades, but I think I can manage to stick with what I got. Will get a some pics up once it gets back from BMW. Gonna give it a blast up to Paws in the Park at Detling later on today and then that will be it until it is fixed. Now to try and figure out why the lights are on when ignition is on and lights set to auto. Looks like one more thing to fix. Will this ever end?
That's normal, however if you deselect drl in i drive setting they should turn off! Shamefully it's been a long time since I scrolled through CCC, though believe it's under the setting menu There's a sensor in the rear view mirror, though seldom defective.
Looks like that is one more niggle I can check off my list. It certainly was the DRL. It looks like apart from the engine work and the wheels, the car is running fine. With my renewed confidence in the car, I think NBT will definitely be done next as the sat nav on the CCC is terrible...
I've had all of these tyre pressure loss causes over the years: 1) Corrosion around the bead 2) Corrosion around the rubber valve stem base 3) Leaky schraeder valve 4) Puncture And with BMW's I have heard of cracked alloys causing a leak. I hate my tyres losing any pressure so I suspect many others may not even notice (1), (2) or (3) if the loss is minor....
I've been told it's no.1. Looking at getting winters for it now I've finally got round to selling the ones from the merc, so will have plenty of time to get them sorted. It's only 1 wheel at the moment so it could be worse.
But did the tyre place actually find the leak or did they just assume that was the problem and refit the tyre with some goo on it.
Well there is a lot of goo on it and I can only go by what they claim. Will see if I can a quieter place to take it to who can spend a bit more time looking at it, although I am quite set on a wheel refurb, if not for the fact that after I had the refurb on one of my previous cars, they looked so good afterwards.
Well I have had some great news today. I am not going to be as poor as I thought. One of the breather pipes is split BMW are replacing both. They say it has cured the smoking.
Unfortunately they did not manage to fix the issue and the car is still going through oil and smoking. Managed to smoke out 2 lanes on the M25 the other day as I pulled away in traffic. It's booked back in with BMW next week to have the valve stem oil seals done. Off to rob a bank now so I can pay for it
