While this isn't directly related to my 135i build, it does relate to my relationship with the N54 engine. A few months ago I began testing the waters to see if there were any interested buyers in 2008 535i with 197,000 miles. After scanning the market for what prices were on similar cars, I stuck mine underneath all of them at $6500 and quickly started receiving messages. Before long I had arranged to meet up with a family investigating the car for their daughter.
Knowing this, I decided to have one last rendezvous in the garage with this noble stallion. The car had been leaking oil into the spark plug galleys, which had caused the dreaded "engine malfunction -- reduced power" chime on a few occasions. This usually only happened on inclines at low RPMs, but still wasn't an issue I wanted to make an unsuspecting victim have to deal with in the future; especially if I already had the gasket on hand. I was certain it was the valve cover gasket as it had 197,000 miles on the original and had been leaking for a while so I had picked up one up a while back.
The ECS Tuning guide made this about as simple as it could be. That said, there were a ton of components that needed to be removed to change this gasket! On the other hand, I welcomed the experience as I knew I would eventually have to do the same repair on my 135i that I plan on keeping long term. It was also the first time I'd open up everything and take a peek at that valve train. About two hours in of careful removal of every necessary surround component, I had the top off. Tie wrapping (no bungee cord available) the wiring harnesses out of the way made things much easier when doing this job solo.
28 bolts and 3 ground studs hold everything down.
Those printed ECS instructions made organizing bolts and brackets easy.
After triple checking all the connections and priming the fuel pump, the car cranked for a few seconds and fired up. No leaks. I then jacked the car up, drained the oil, cleaned up the underside of the car from the leaking oil over the past few months, replaced the old oil filter with a fresh Mann unit and new o-rings, and added 7 quarts of Motul Xcess 5W-40.
I quickly vacuumed out the car, rinsed it off, met up with all five family members. Within a few minutes of driving it they were counting out my asking price in $100 bills. That $6500 will be applied towards paying off my E82 and putting a small down-payment on a more versatile second vehicle. I'll share that later this week when I take delivery.
I did disclose the fact that the car was equipped with a JB4, 7" FMIC, Fuel-It Stage 2 LPFP and catless downpipes. Luckily the car will be registered in South Carolina, a non-emissions state. I put the car in map 4 with code clearing capabilities turned on and gave instructions to the family about how to change the settings. I never thought I'd be handing both sets of keys over to a 15 year old girl, but that's how it goes. What an absolutely pleasurable owning experience!