Heh, wouldn't surprise me if that little PCV valve was what made the previous owner think it was toast. I've met several people who had M62 engines who paid for new engines at the dealer, (both BMW and RR owners) and I'm almost certain the only problem they had was the PCV valve. The problem looks terrible, I had it happen to me. Replaced the valve, cleaned everything up and no issue since. Shortly thereafter I had to replace my valve cover gaskets too, possibly done in by excessive pressure when the PCV went.

 

Congrats to you I hope the engine runs perfectly

 

The mind boggles. I thought I best check the operation of the critical warning systems. ie. oil pressure, coolant level, brake fluid, etc. Everything ok except for low coolant level. So I checked the wiring and lo and behold some moron had stripped the insulation and twisted the wires together fooling the system into thinking the level was ok no matter what. Whoever did it must have had a reason I guess and thats another of the causes of the whole overheating saga. The poor previous owner had no chance with the car. Seems like everyone was conspiring against him.

 

I agree. The thought process some people have to do what they do to their cars completely boggles me too!

In your case they were likely trying to silence the warning to sell it fast. The PO to you paid the price for their dishonesty...truly sad, and justs adds to the bad RR reputation for no reason.

John

 

hi ghur, i like you am a p38 owner, and fairly knowledgable, on the particular model, but hanker for an early l322. i have traced one to a dealer, that has an overheat, and i went for a look-over, its spotless, and was deaer prepped for sale, but had the overhead heater hose let go, and car was driven a few more miles and towed. it has the turn-over on key, but before firing, -water 'pouring in' to a bor(es) and locking up, -no sign of oil contamination. smells fine etc. I just wonder how difficult it is to set up the vanos either side, and at the same time replacing the chains and guides. car has 80k miles on it. i see the tool setting kit on web etc. i have used one on a 6 pot m52 engine, but only to confirm its timing etc. i dont quite understand how the vanos actually works, hydraulically etc. you seem to have done a thorough job, i was hoping to buy the car, and repair both gaskets in situ, after some compression tests etc, i just fear turning over the headless engine, to check bores etc. I could borescope first, and leave all locked and change timing gear/chain/slippers, etc, and reasseble it etc. i know lots of people will tell me it will be worse than i hope it to be etc. my time is free, indy's are not, and i don't have one for this kind of car i can trust. i think so far, i would have a split head gasket, to the bore not the crankcase, and possibly steamed the cats too. remeber, no mayo, -at all, cleanish oil. -not disguised new oil, plenty of pobing around finds none! what might be your diassembly thoughts Ghur? thanks.

 

With the correct cam timing kit the setting up was very simple. I had a guru tell me that it was not neccessary to use the kit but that does not help when you are new to the motor. The guru also told me that the timing chain guide / tensioner assembly will most likely have been damaged during the overheat and said its essential that I change the whole lot which I did.

If it were my vehicle, knowing what I know now I would do as you say and remove the heads obviously to inspect the bores and replace the head gaskets. The heads would need to be inspected and most likely overhauled by a specialist machine shop. Replace all the chain guides and tensioners and definitely buy or borrow the timing kit. The front timing chain cover would have to come off to replace the guides which is a little awkward but do-able with engine in situ.

The problem with not digging deeper than taking the heads off is how have the high temperatures affected the rings. Have they lost their strength perhaps or even broken? Mine looked ok but who knows. I was not able to find any info on this when I was researching the effects of an overheat. Personally I would be inclined to give it a go and leave them alone but be prepared for a lot more work and expense if the motor uses a lot of oil or has poor compression after a head only job.

Is it worth the risk?

 

thanks ghur for your reply, still deciding!:???:

 

Well done ghur Very impessive, funny how many people are scared of this engine. various people i have spoken too about mine run for the hills.

Well i'm going to start stripping mine out next week will post a detailed thread

 

:thumb: Looking forward to that thread!

I agree ghur, great job so far!

 

I will like to know what happen at the end I have a n exact same problem before I open my engine it was the head gasket the solution

 

FOlks, we have an entire section below for diagnostic equipment. If you have questions on diagnostic gear that is the place to read first adn then post. It is certainly more appropriate than resurrecting a thread almost 2 years old to ask if someone bought a particular model of gear.

 

I have a 2003 L322 with the M62 V8. Recently the PCV failed and the engine smoke problem was incredible. It happened in traffic and other car drivers ducked for cover. It was embarrassing and very concerning as I initially thought I had a total engine fail. The weird thing was that initially it was intermittent but by the time I got it home it was laying smoke like a WW2 destroyer. Had it towed to the mechanic and initially they thought it was just a blocked breather. It wasn't and after removing inlet manifold found the problem. All up it cost me $2,000 (AUD) for replacement manifold and PCV and also the exhaust system as the original was filled with oil. The mechanics were puzzled initially as it was a pretty spectacular failure and like me, thought the engine may have died. It hadn't but I can see how it can be mistaken for something far worse.

 

I know this is an old thread but I think its worth a revival. After completing the engine overhaul back in 2012 and using the car for a while, I sold it to a guy who took it back to his hometown 1000 miles away. Its now back on my lawn 11 years and 45000 miles later.

The owner contacted me asking for assistance with a gearbox problem saying he didn't trust anyone else to help him. After diagnosing the problem over the phone (those who are familiar with the ZF 5HP24 gearbox, know about the split O-ring problem) he put the car on a transporter and sent it down to me for repair. I will be doing that next week but its good to know that the motor is still running perfectly. The overhaul was my first foray into the L322 world and I received a lot of assistance from many forum members and am glad to say that its still running well so many years later.

I had the block resleeved by a specialist engine machine shop but was always a bit nervous of the procedure because these engines use Alusil bores. Resleeving with standard sleeves is not a BMW/Land Rover approved fix but it worked out well.

This post will hopefully show others that there is more than one way to skin a cat if done carefully and may help those who have a BMW M62 engine which may appear to be "unsalvageable".