you have halped me to do my own engine while it had broken chain guide issue. and now im here watching this just for fun at 2a.m. with couple of beers. women will never understand us
This is best teardown of n42/46 i was struggling with lack of videos of this engine. Thank you soo much. Hope to se full build maybe of this or some other n42/46 engine.
Once the mesh is clogged with debris, oil pump keeps sucking until mesh is broken. 22 years old plastic mesh became very brittle today. Little plastic pieces in the filter are the mesh.
11:16 The engine of my brothers car with the N46 had them switched around, from at least 360.000km till last month at 420.000kms. The car drove fine but the valvetronic had to be disconnected otherwise it would stall. The car had the valvetronic sensor issue since purchase but we never found out why. Changed the motor a few times for a used one, sensor als well but never noticed them switched around. Looking back it didn't have much power but still drove fine. (the person that did the chain also broke their locking tool off in the block by starting it, so we also had to remove that..)
A company like BMW puts so much effort in designing an ultra complicated and expensive-to-build engine, just to ruin it with their 2 penny cheapo chain guides? Help me understand this. I am stuck with the same crap engine. Admire Your work, thanks.
Hello from the uk I really like your engine rebuilds where everything is explained I’m only 20 minutes into this video but I think I’ve seen this problem before on another from that young lad from Norway EMS I think but not sure getting back to the problem the auxiliary belt breaks and goes behind the front pulley into the sump where it gets distributed everywhere oil goes theirs a new piece that goes behind the pulley now to stop this happening,I just wanted to get this comment in before the end because I’m sure you’ll work it out 🎉
@ don’t spoil the video for me 😂I’m retired now but I’ve worked as a mechanic in the past but I drove trucks for the last 25 years of my working life,the cars back then were so easy to work on it’s laughable,I think people get the wrong idea thinking that because you’re working on cars that you must be a petrol head when in fact it’s the engineering that’s interesting anything that bolts together took a lot of working out and precision it fascinates me have a good day 🙏
@@richlee5578 I guess it's possible that piece of serpentine belt could slip in to the engine without leaving visible marks on the front seal? That would be a good explanation...
@ yes I’m halfway through your video now and the piece that you took from the sump looked like the belt and the the further damage to the tensioners could have arisen from trauma 😜caused by the belt going inside,I think I mentioned they now do a plate that fits behind the crankshaft pulley to counteract this so obviously quite a common problem I’d say.
Thanks4 the class I have 1 ready to rebuild it was buring oil then I saw my cool hose under high pressure so I pull the engine found pistons ring stuck an timing chain set need replacing the balance shaft bearing where I can get any 2by and torque specs 4the balance shaft bearing cap
Bro you re such a genius, i love your videos, I have the same e46 ti 318 , at the end of the video you showed a 4 pistone m engine, is that from an e30 m? Are you going to put it inside the compact? Would love to see a video of that .
Hello again I’ve finished watching this video now and yes you realised what it was it actually gets forced past the crankcase seal but of course with it being a seal it returns to normal leaving no evidence,excellent video I’ve watched a couple now and will watch all what you put up because I’m not familiar with these engines but my wife as got a 2012 3 series 330d with about 120,000 miles on the clock and it’s runs great I have x type jag diesel 2.2 with 190,000 on and still going strong unbelievable for a jag 😂but it’s front wheel drive good on the snow but very hard to work on space wise it’s very tight took me 2 days to change the alternator so I’m hoping to get a cheap BMW soon to make my life easier anyway sorry for waffling on but I am retired and nowt else to do apart from watching other people work 😂😂
I think your information was the last missing piece to this mistery. Thanks for sharing your insight! I will take a closer look at that front seal when I'm back at the garage. I was under impression that the radial seal would be damaged when the belt gets squeezed inside, but I guess there is enough space and flex in the seal. Another subtle clue that I found during editing the video is that the chain tensioner hex head had oil grime and what looks to be belt fibers on it. That means it was replaced before the belt failed, so the piece would not be able to get inside during chain replacement.
@ it’s just coincidence that I saw a video the other day where the same thing happened to a bmw so I can’t take all the credit as soon as I saw what looked like a piece of belt it just came flooding back,I think you’re right about the other stuff being unusable it’s not worth the risk.
Popular opinion is that these N42/N46 engines are the worst engines that BMW ever built. I do not share that opinion. Have you owned a N43/N53? :) They can be very good engines if: 1. The service intervals were done regularly 10-15k km with LL01/LL04 oil, 2. Did not do too much short distance driving, especially during cold winter time (moisture in oil separates from oil and will corrode Valvetronic components: ua-cam.com/users/shortstY9KdNR65dg?si=V2TJHguV2hLwIeda). Engine needs to heat up to evaporate the moisture: ua-cam.com/video/4U-4kKXzfwc/v-deo.htmlsi=gbUHcfOTZFB3KDIb, 3. Valve stem seals need to be replaced to fix oil consumption (>0.5l/1000 km). These go bad due to poor maintenance and short distance driving - extremely common). ua-cam.com/video/WJZ4e_Ku_Yk/v-deo.htmlsi=X_r-8CZ87qdofpcb 4. CCV & hoses need to be replaced (if it fails, which does happen quite often, >10 years). 5. Plastic chain rail guide goes brittle over time and heat cycles. It's very common for them to break and cause the chain to jump. In some cases the plastic pieces can block the oil pickup and cause oil starvation, leading to spun con rod bearings. ua-cam.com/video/ANWggY4_j0Y/v-deo.htmlsi=le0XTh3ZbGTxVrfV 6. Chain tensioner: old designs are weak and loose tension, it must be replaced with the latest revision. Slack chain can cause the brittle plastic guides to break and it jumps. 7. All of the accessible seals need to be replaced at 200k km/15 years (vacuum pump, VANOS solenoids, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plug cylinder o'rings, ...) Keep in mind that a lot of these issues are very common on all BMW engines of this vintage. N42/N46 only adds Valvetronic, but it has a very sturdy rotating assembly and reliable piston rings. So the best strategy is to: 1. get a good virgin engine with good service intervals and highway driving, then replace all of the problematic items described above. That will give you a very good chance of easy + 200k km with only minor problems like a failed sensor or ignition coil. This is for an enthusiast DIY-er. 2. get a car with good service intervals and where all of the above items were taken care of at a reputable BMW specialist. Very rare, this is for people that just want to drive:) 3. also, get the 2.0 L version. Fuel consumption is almost the same, problems are the same, maintenance is the same, but you get 20% more power or 28 more hp. You might as well enjoy the car a little:) All in all the cost of parts that need to be replaced for +200k km is about 300-400 EUR and the labour is about 8-16 hours if you don't do it yourself. These engines are as complex, (if not more) than some the 6 cylinders (M52/M54). They are an expression of BMW's desire to engineer an engine with good economy and performance, but that also introduces some complexity and weak spots that need to be addressed during the lifetime of the engine. These weak spots are most probably the result of cost cutting (weak plastic parts). Usually people buy them for cheap and don't take good care of them. Then they break and blame the engine immediately. Compared to other economy cars and engines in the same segment, like Toyota and Mazda, these can not really compete in terms of reliability, but such is the cost of complexity and a bit more sporty driving feel. There is much more I could talk about but let’s end it here:) This is my, admittedly slightly biased, opinion.
@@BimmerZenthanks ❤️, my dad actually has a bmw 318 i 2002. It has over 200,000km most of the issues mentioned we have gone through. But I love driving it and love the feel. Pretty powerful aswell
Plastic mesh in the oil pickup tube is a shame. The cheap reason why the engine has died. BMW is went crazy on cost cuts. But the engine definitely can be overhauled.
@@Oleg-fp9hn I have since gotten a very good hint on what happened and this time it was not the plastic rails fault. That piece of belt was squeezed under the front radial seal and that caused all the damage to the rail and clogged up the pickup. Not servicing the oil leaks and serpentine belt was the root cause.
Hello, could you give me some opinion on what may be happening? ua-cam.com/users/shortsd2MEqR4hmN0 or ua-cam.com/video/oJEsjdZCuWU/v-deo.html . Thanks!!!
the problem is the alternator pulley that siezes and then it starts wearing the fan belt and it gets stuck around the crank pulley and then slips into the sump then obviously blocks the oil channels
Yes, that is what happened. The piece that I found in the engine was just thin enough to squeeze between the hub and the radial seal, without leaving major damage. I always thought that would destroy the front seal, but I was wrong:)
@@mestari6289you can remove the belt and then test the alternator pulley with your hand spin it in your hand and see if it slips left to right if it doesnt its locked and will eventualy wear the belt
@@BimmerZenim from south africa have been watching many of your videos i really love the indepth work you do.i have worked on many n46s/n42s as i am a mech anyways goodluck with the project👌
![Installing valve cover and starting the engine - BMW N42/N46 Chain Rail Replacement [PART #8]](/img/n.gif)
Mystery solved: ua-cam.com/video/N7p4dGJHQZU/v-deo.html
you have halped me to do my own engine while it had broken chain guide issue. and now im here watching this just for fun at 2a.m. with couple of beers. women will never understand us
Hey man, I recently purchased your N42/N46 valve seal removal tools and they worked great!
Engine is no longer smoking after idle. Thanks again!
This is best teardown of n42/46 i was struggling with lack of videos of this engine. Thank you soo much. Hope to se full build maybe of this or some other n42/46 engine.
Good video! Thank you.
Edit. Very good video. Please make more like this. Better than I do cars.
Once the mesh is clogged with debris, oil pump keeps sucking until mesh is broken. 22 years old plastic mesh became very brittle today. Little plastic pieces in the filter are the mesh.
You are excellent.
@@伊藤大介-e6dThank you, very kind!
very useful as a reference for my BMW maintenance.
11:16 The engine of my brothers car with the N46 had them switched around, from at least 360.000km till last month at 420.000kms. The car drove fine but the valvetronic had to be disconnected otherwise it would stall. The car had the valvetronic sensor issue since purchase but we never found out why. Changed the motor a few times for a used one, sensor als well but never noticed them switched around. Looking back it didn't have much power but still drove fine. (the person that did the chain also broke their locking tool off in the block by starting it, so we also had to remove that..)
A company like BMW puts so much effort in designing an ultra complicated and expensive-to-build engine,
just to ruin it with their 2 penny cheapo chain guides? Help me understand this. I am stuck with the same crap engine. Admire Your work, thanks.
Hello from the uk I really like your engine rebuilds where everything is explained I’m only 20 minutes into this video but I think I’ve seen this problem before on another from that young lad from Norway EMS I think but not sure getting back to the problem the auxiliary belt breaks and goes behind the front pulley into the sump where it gets distributed everywhere oil goes theirs a new piece that goes behind the pulley now to stop this happening,I just wanted to get this comment in before the end because I’m sure you’ll work it out 🎉
Good guess, I get in to that at the end of the teardown;D
@ don’t spoil the video for me 😂I’m retired now but I’ve worked as a mechanic in the past but I drove trucks for the last 25 years of my working life,the cars back then were so easy to work on it’s laughable,I think people get the wrong idea thinking that because you’re working on cars that you must be a petrol head when in fact it’s the engineering that’s interesting anything that bolts together took a lot of working out and precision it fascinates me have a good day 🙏
@@richlee5578 I guess it's possible that piece of serpentine belt could slip in to the engine without leaving visible marks on the front seal? That would be a good explanation...
@ yes I’m halfway through your video now and the piece that you took from the sump looked like the belt and the the further damage to the tensioners could have arisen from trauma 😜caused by the belt going inside,I think I mentioned they now do a plate that fits behind the crankshaft pulley to counteract this so obviously quite a common problem I’d say.
Just saw a 1974 Toyota Celica on one of these "will it run?" channels. It had a beefy Duplex Chain on its little 1600cc. Sarted crying.
Thanks4 the class I have 1 ready to rebuild it was buring oil then I saw my cool hose under high pressure so I pull the engine found pistons ring stuck an timing chain set need replacing the balance shaft bearing where I can get any 2by and torque specs 4the balance shaft bearing cap
Bro you re such a genius, i love your videos, I have the same e46 ti 318 , at the end of the video you showed a 4 pistone m engine, is that from an e30 m? Are you going to put it inside the compact? Would love to see a video of that .
@@morosanuandrei4692 that is the S54 engine from E46 M3. And yeah... it's going in the estorilblau compact:)
Hello again I’ve finished watching this video now and yes you realised what it was it actually gets forced past the crankcase seal but of course with it being a seal it returns to normal leaving no evidence,excellent video I’ve watched a couple now and will watch all what you put up because I’m not familiar with these engines but my wife as got a 2012 3 series 330d with about 120,000 miles on the clock and it’s runs great I have x type jag diesel 2.2 with 190,000 on and still going strong unbelievable for a jag 😂but it’s front wheel drive good on the snow but very hard to work on space wise it’s very tight took me 2 days to change the alternator so I’m hoping to get a cheap BMW soon to make my life easier anyway sorry for waffling on but I am retired and nowt else to do apart from watching other people work 😂😂
I think your information was the last missing piece to this mistery. Thanks for sharing your insight! I will take a closer look at that front seal when I'm back at the garage. I was under impression that the radial seal would be damaged when the belt gets squeezed inside, but I guess there is enough space and flex in the seal.
Another subtle clue that I found during editing the video is that the chain tensioner hex head had oil grime and what looks to be belt fibers on it. That means it was replaced before the belt failed, so the piece would not be able to get inside during chain replacement.
@ it’s just coincidence that I saw a video the other day where the same thing happened to a bmw so I can’t take all the credit as soon as I saw what looked like a piece of belt it just came flooding back,I think you’re right about the other stuff being unusable it’s not worth the risk.
If you follow that link it’s the belt inside the sump he finds it at about 17 mins in.
Haha, we all have the same "what is this stuff...?" reaction to the "mistery" gasket in the engine:D
@ I know that’s what triggered me 😂
May I recommend the purchase of a breaker bar? :D That poor little ratchet breaking those head bolts. It was surely in a lot of pain.
Any updates on the n43? Love this video btw!
I'm just finishing the low oil pressure fix video xD
@ can’t wait to see it!
can you please help me find a BMW N46 engine
Mistery = Misery + Mystery
@@simontist ☺️
i think I have asked this question before, but are these engines actually that good ? what is your opinion about them ?
Popular opinion is that these N42/N46 engines are the worst engines that BMW ever built. I do not share that opinion. Have you owned a N43/N53? :) They can be very good engines if:
1. The service intervals were done regularly 10-15k km with LL01/LL04 oil,
2. Did not do too much short distance driving, especially during cold winter time (moisture in oil separates from oil and will corrode Valvetronic components: ua-cam.com/users/shortstY9KdNR65dg?si=V2TJHguV2hLwIeda). Engine needs to heat up to evaporate the moisture: ua-cam.com/video/4U-4kKXzfwc/v-deo.htmlsi=gbUHcfOTZFB3KDIb,
3. Valve stem seals need to be replaced to fix oil consumption (>0.5l/1000 km). These go bad due to poor maintenance and short distance driving - extremely common). ua-cam.com/video/WJZ4e_Ku_Yk/v-deo.htmlsi=X_r-8CZ87qdofpcb
4. CCV & hoses need to be replaced (if it fails, which does happen quite often, >10 years).
5. Plastic chain rail guide goes brittle over time and heat cycles. It's very common for them to break and cause the chain to jump. In some cases the plastic pieces can block the oil pickup and cause oil starvation, leading to spun con rod bearings. ua-cam.com/video/ANWggY4_j0Y/v-deo.htmlsi=le0XTh3ZbGTxVrfV
6. Chain tensioner: old designs are weak and loose tension, it must be replaced with the latest revision. Slack chain can cause the brittle plastic guides to break and it jumps.
7. All of the accessible seals need to be replaced at 200k km/15 years (vacuum pump, VANOS solenoids, oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket, spark plug cylinder o'rings, ...)
Keep in mind that a lot of these issues are very common on all BMW engines of this vintage. N42/N46 only adds Valvetronic, but it has a very sturdy rotating assembly and reliable piston rings. So the best strategy is to:
1. get a good virgin engine with good service intervals and highway driving, then replace all of the problematic items described above. That will give you a very good chance of easy + 200k km with only minor problems like a failed sensor or ignition coil. This is for an enthusiast DIY-er.
2. get a car with good service intervals and where all of the above items were taken care of at a reputable BMW specialist. Very rare, this is for people that just want to drive:)
3. also, get the 2.0 L version. Fuel consumption is almost the same, problems are the same, maintenance is the same, but you get 20% more power or 28 more hp. You might as well enjoy the car a little:)
All in all the cost of parts that need to be replaced for +200k km is about 300-400 EUR and the labour is about 8-16 hours if you don't do it yourself.
These engines are as complex, (if not more) than some the 6 cylinders (M52/M54). They are an expression of BMW's desire to engineer an engine with good economy and performance, but that also introduces some complexity and weak spots that need to be addressed during the lifetime of the engine. These weak spots are most probably the result of cost cutting (weak plastic parts).
Usually people buy them for cheap and don't take good care of them. Then they break and blame the engine immediately.
Compared to other economy cars and engines in the same segment, like Toyota and Mazda, these can not really compete in terms of reliability, but such is the cost of complexity and a bit more sporty driving feel.
There is much more I could talk about but let’s end it here:) This is my, admittedly slightly biased, opinion.
@@BimmerZenthanks ❤️, my dad actually has a bmw 318 i 2002. It has over 200,000km most of the issues mentioned we have gone through. But I love driving it and love the feel. Pretty powerful aswell
The auxiliary belt snapped amd was sucked by the crank. That is what most likely destroyed the engine
Correct answer! I just released the video now: ua-cam.com/video/N7p4dGJHQZU/v-deo.html
@BimmerZen great job. Do some n47 if you have the chance. Its a nice engine to rebuild
Plastic mesh in the oil pickup tube is a shame.
The cheap reason why the engine has died.
BMW is went crazy on cost cuts.
But the engine definitely can be overhauled.
@@Oleg-fp9hn I have since gotten a very good hint on what happened and this time it was not the plastic rails fault. That piece of belt was squeezed under the front radial seal and that caused all the damage to the rail and clogged up the pickup. Not servicing the oil leaks and serpentine belt was the root cause.
@@BimmerZen yes, right. but is case steel mesh all this debris will not came into oil system and ruin rotating assembly.
I think this engine got destroyed by tht silicone
Hello, could you give me some opinion on what may be happening? ua-cam.com/users/shortsd2MEqR4hmN0 or ua-cam.com/video/oJEsjdZCuWU/v-deo.html . Thanks!!!
the problem is the alternator pulley that siezes and then it starts wearing the fan belt and it gets stuck around the crank pulley and then slips into the sump then obviously blocks the oil channels
Damn I just changed my serpentine belt. I have to check if it starts to wear. No wear after 500km.
Yes, that is what happened. The piece that I found in the engine was just thin enough to squeeze between the hub and the radial seal, without leaving major damage. I always thought that would destroy the front seal, but I was wrong:)
@@BimmerZen My serpentine belt was tightly wrapped behind the crackshaft pulley but it didn't break the seal behind it. I was very lucky.
@@mestari6289you can remove the belt and then test the alternator pulley with your hand spin it in your hand and see if it slips left to right if it doesnt its locked and will eventualy wear the belt
@@BimmerZenim from south africa have been watching many of your videos i really love the indepth work you do.i have worked on many n46s/n42s as i am a mech anyways goodluck with the project👌