Adjusting Valves and Fixing Oil Leaks

[athflying79]

Did the valves for the first time since I've owned the car (and first time I've ever done valves). They were definitely over due. I couldn't get a .10 to slide under any of them and one of the banjo bolts was not even finger tight (replaced them with the new bolts). The valvetrain from what I could tell was in good shape. No sludge, but a caramelish color throughout. Cleaned the valve cover and sandblasted the top. Was going to paint, but decided I didn't have time. I also found something interesting. The dealer that did the first valve job etched into the plate on the inside of the valve cover under the MAF. Had the name of the dealer, that the valves were done cold, and the date. I also made sure to replace the gasket and torqued the head. I was a little disappointed the Bentley doesn't mention re-torqueing the banjo bolts. While I was in there I put some new Bosch plugs in. When I first got the car, I put the platinum 4+ whatever they are in and what a waste of money. After a few weeks, the car really started to run rough. I wish I had found this board sooner cause I would have known not to use them. My Indy sold me the plugs for $2 each.

I was going to pull out the fuel injectors to see what kind of shape they were in. I had a set of O-rings as well. I couldn't for the life of me get them out. Got the wiring duct off...it was a bitch to. I pulled and pulled on the fuel rail and it didn't budge. I decided that since they seem to be working and were not to noisy...just leave them alone. So I put the fuel rail bolts back in and put the wiring duct back.

Lastly, with the airbox out of the way and from doing the belts the other day, I could see the crankshaft position sensor was caked with oil. I searched the forum and found the thread on the fronts of M30 engines leaking oil. Found the big bolt on the bracket and I could turn it with my fingers. Cleaned the area up, cleaned the bolt, and put a little red RTV on the threads and tightened her up. Hopefully that's the end of my oil leaks.

Only problems I ran into were the fuel injectors not coming out and lots of brittle plastic. I broke the MAF cover, breather tube from valve cover to intake hose, heater core cover, and some other cover by the rear of the engine bay. Going to order all new from BMA. Might go to the dealer for the breather hose since she won't run without it. I have a rubber glove covering the hole, just so that I could move it in the driveway.

Still to do...finish the front suspension and steering links and R&R the oxygen sensor. After that, she should be in excellent mechanical condition and can start working on cosmetics.