Under the Valve Covers - BMW M42 and MB OM617

[JHZR2]

DId a valve cover changeout on my 1991 BMW 318i with 140k. It seemed to be weeping some oil, and I was getting a lot in the spark plug holes, so I needed to give them a changeout.

Pulled the VC on my 318i - took some pictures. Only used my canon p&s, so not the best flash. Made the images far more brown than they were in real life.

So some pictures:

The brownish stuff in the cast iron of the cams doesnt seem to be either sludge or varnish. There is a little bit of thick deposit on the upper portion of the valve cover, which is removed with a firm wipe of a paper towel. It isnt sludge or a globby-type coating. Very thin, just staining. The car has seen syn oils (M1, RTS 5w-40, schaeffer 9000) since Ive owned it, which was 2002 at 72k.

 

[JHZR2]

Also ran upon some images of my turbodiesel engine in my 82 300CD, from when I had done a valve adjustment. So figured Id put this in here too...

 

[dparm]

Touch of sludge on that top one, but for 20 years old I'd say that looks good.

 

[tig1]

Looks great. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[OVERKILL]

A little staining, but otherwise looks good for her age.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Touch of sludge on that top one, but for 20 years old I'd say that looks good.


Yeah, Im a little surprised. But, there is no sort of globby sludge, just a thick-ish deposit.

A bid sad since most of the time Ive run HDEO, and Im running M1 HM 10w-30. Ive never not run a HD/A3/similar oil.

Might need to get some Kreen in there.

 

[toneydoc]

Those pictures show no problems for a 20 year old engine. That looks really good. Keep doing what you are doing. Hope the gasket clears up the leak.

 

[oliveoil]

Originally Posted By: toneydoc
Those pictures show no problems for a 20 year old engine. That looks really good. Keep doing what you are doing. Hope the gasket clears up the leak.

+1

 

[Boczech]

Originally Posted By: oliveoil
Originally Posted By: toneydoc
Those pictures show no problems for a 20 year old engine. That looks really good. Keep doing what you are doing. Hope the gasket clears up the leak.

+1


+2 That looks good and especially for being 20yrs old


B

 

[The motor guy]

Looks good.

 

[demarpaint]

Nice!

 

[Jim 5]

Thanks! I love me some naked OHC pictures!

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: toneydoc
Those pictures show no problems for a 20 year old engine. That looks really good. Keep doing what you are doing. Hope the gasket clears up the leak.


+2

 

[BearZDefect]

Cam lobes on well used engines are interesting to see. Is it just me, or do the OM617 cam lobes have an unusual visual surface pattern?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Cam lobes on well used engines are interesting to see. Is it just me, or do the OM617 cam lobes have an unusual visual surface pattern?


Define well used. I have only two degrees of chain wear after 165k miles. Practically new!

The cam surface looks like every single other OM 617 cam surface that Ive owned, and they all ran like tops.

 

[BearZDefect]

Right, "well used" is vague, I should have said something like "with over 100k miles."

I did not mean to imply that anything looked amiss. I am just curious about that cam lobe surface. Though unrelated I'm sure, it made me think of tiny grooves used to hold lubricant.

 

[addyguy]

Sorry if I missed it, but what oil(s) do you run in the 300TD?