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M5 engine bay detailed

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RoyW
Posts: 2868
Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
Location: Albany, NY

M5 engine bay detailed

Post by RoyW »

One of this year's winter projects was to get my M5 engine bay detailed, so it looked at least as good as the exterior and interior of the car. It had a serious cosmolene (sp?) issue! And, to additionally get a set of euro headers installed that I had purchased and had jet-coated last year.

Last week I got the car back from VSR, where the headers were installed, the freshly powder coating of valve cover and plenum was done, and much of the engine/engine bay detailing was completed (I was there doing some it myself) :)

I might add, as has been mentioned on this Forum before, that the euro headers that you get these days from BMW are of much poorer quality that in the past. The weld are not very good, and they are bigger dimensionally (not as compact) and difficult to fit. The worse thing, per Mario at VRS, is the poor alignment both in the horizontal and vertical plane. Generally the only modification he says he typically always made to install a new VSR Dual Cat Center Section to the original Euro headers was a length alteration and a change from a 2 bolt to a 3 bolt flange... but, that is not the case with the current headers BMW is selling! See picture below of the alignment issue that had to be addressed.

Anyway, here's a few shots of the finished work on the engine bay... looks pretty good I think :D

-RoyW

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Last edited by RoyW on Feb 04, 2013 11:04 PM, edited 2 times in total.
wkohler
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Post by wkohler »

Roy, that's simply stunning.
Bulletproof 5
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Post by Bulletproof 5 »

look awesome great job. :up:
Mark 88/M5 Houston
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Post by Mark 88/M5 Houston »

Looks great Roy.
ealinn
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Location: New London, NH

Post by ealinn »

Perfect, that's how it's done. I was saddened to learn today that a good friend of mine who worked on your car left last week. He was always excited when one of your cars came in.
Coldswede
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Location: Back U.P. North,. Where the water's blue, the wind is free and seasons four.

Post by Coldswede »

Fess up Roy, those are really pictures of a New E28 M5 that you found someplace. Right?



As always Roy it looks perfect. :up:
positiv
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Post by positiv »

Very well done Roy. The engine compartment looks like new. :up:


Regards
Bent
T_C_D
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Post by T_C_D »

Beauty!
Adam W in MN
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Location: Don't waste my motherf***in' time!
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Post by Adam W in MN »

Inspirational! :cool:
ldsbeaker
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Post by ldsbeaker »

Wow. That is unreal.
bhopp
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Post by bhopp »

I'm crying, that is so beautiful
leadphut
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Post by leadphut »

Pretty nice Roy.
Brad D.
Beamter
Beamter
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Post by Brad D. »

Wow.
gray635
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Post by gray635 »

Roy:

The engine bay looks great! I haven't seen your M5 since 5erFest in Chattanooga, 2007 - I've got the panoramic group photo framed and hanging in my office. Hope you will bring it to The Vintage this year.
PorscheDude
Posts: 152
Joined: Sep 06, 2009 9:39 AM
Location: Bel Air, Md.

Post by PorscheDude »

As someone who just did an engine detail and cosmolene removal, I know your pain. But the end result is so gratifying.

Very nice!
Mab1957
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Post by Mab1957 »

Looking Good, Billy Ray :cool:
2ndeagle
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Post by 2ndeagle »

Wow!! Hat's off.
e_schauble
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Post by e_schauble »

Beautiful! Ok, gotta ask what product(s) and/or process did you use to get the engine bay SO clean? Any wisdom you can share is greatly appreciated!
johnnye23
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Post by johnnye23 »

Like stepping back in time and looking at an engine bay in 1988. Great job as usual Roy.
OcCoupe
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Post by OcCoupe »

Nicely done!!! Hats off to you.
RoyW
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Post by RoyW »

e_schauble wrote:Beautiful! Ok, gotta ask what product(s) and/or process did you use to get the engine bay SO clean? Any wisdom you can share is greatly appreciated!
Thanks everyone for the nice compliments on the results of my M5 engine/engine bay detailing... much appreciated :D

As for the question regarding the process and products used, it was basically a complete removal of pretty much everything on the engine and then either: 1) media blasting or renovation and re-spray of parts; 2) lots of elbow grease cleaning with brushes, rags, and Purple Power everywhere (that was my major contribution); 3) or parts replacement with a new ones where necessary to make it look new, e.g., hoses, clamps, tanks, etc.

The blasting and re-coating was needed on all the parts with the cosmolene issue. I had tried just about everything cleaning-product-wise prior, with little to no improvement.

Of course, with all the items removed from the engine, it seemed prudent to replace all of the small hoses that are up against the firewall and impossible to get to other-wise. Also, decided to replace the starter while assessable. And, of course, I was having the headers installed, and some basic maintenance work done, so stuff had to come off for that work which made it logical to do the "detailing" at the same time.

Finally, I had a number of items cad-plated to give it a little more pizazz. :) All in all, it was a lot of man-hours. :shock: But, well worth IMO :D

-RoyW
Karl Grau
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Post by Karl Grau »

My engine bay didn't look too bad until I saw your pics. Thanks a LOT. ;)
Das_Prachtstrasse
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Post by Das_Prachtstrasse »

Karl Grau wrote:My engine bay didn't look too bad until I saw your pics. Thanks a LOT. ;)
Ditto. Beautiful job.
Ben
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Post by Ben »

Gorgeous work Roy! You have the coolest cars. :D
Duke
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Post by Duke »

Mehhhhh....looks OK. Missing stickers on the top of the power steering container. Paint either chipped or on the outside of the right strut tower ;)
Eddie in TO
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Post by Eddie in TO »

It looks spectacular.

I feel your pain on the parts cleaning experience. The patience and elbow grease required on a job like this may not be for everyone.

BTW...love the header color! Those are some very sexy curves. :rofl:
RoyW
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Post by RoyW »

Duke wrote:Mehhhhh....looks OK. Missing stickers on the top of the power steering container. Paint either chipped or on the outside of the right strut tower ;)
And this ^ from my "secret Santa box swap" buddy :laugh: I can always count on you Duke for some "constructive" criticism :)

I'll check on the validity of that sticker and get one if appropriate. And, as for the chipped paint on the right strut tower?? Made me look :laugh:

-RoyW
Duke
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Post by Duke »

RoyW wrote:I'll check on the validity of that sticker and get one if appropriate. And, as for the chipped paint on the right strut tower?? Made me look :laugh:

-RoyW
Nothin but LUV Roy :cool: ....gotta keep you straight. :banana:

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There are actually three in different languages.
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03 Label (DEUTSCH) 32411123325
03 Label (ENGLISH) 32411123326
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What is the red in the pic?
Eddie in TO
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Post by Eddie in TO »

Duke wrote:

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What is the red in the pic?
Roy's a vampire! :lol:
Anyone that comes too close will...
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