N54 Full Build with Specs and Parts list

Modifyit

Private
Nov 7, 2016
40
10
0
South Jersey
Ride
2009 335i
Soooo...
I've decided to post a bit about my build

Starting with the story leading to my decision,

So a few months back I had my oil pan gasket replaced. Upon removal of the pan we found shattered pieces of metal of what appeared to be a valve keeper and roller. I assumed it was from a previous repair and I did not have the funds at that time to tear my engine apart for a proper diagnosis so I drove it as is for months until now.

Lets fast forward to a more recent time. My brother opens a business called Forced Induction Performance based out of Berlin right here in Jersey where he specializes in building and tuning performance cars (Guess I Got lucky) So I figured there is no better time to build my engine than right now to showcase his talent and possibly get the BMWs guys on our side also.

I wasted no time and pulled my car into one of his bays and started the disassembly process. Upon tearing down my engine I noticed quite a few things wrong.

1) my intake ports were gunked up with about a quarter inch of carbon on the walls, incredible.

2) the engine was leaking from damn near every seal it had in it

3) My oil pan had metal shaving in the oil

4) Coolant was contaminated with oil

Last but not least, this thing was missing an entire rocker arm! (It was found inside the engine later on)




Now to explain the process

I went a head and removed the front end of the car to make the engine removal easier.

Front Bumper and Headlights removed
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With the front clip out the way everything is easily accessible!

Pull the engine with Wiring harness all together.\
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I think Im missing something..
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Now the engine is free, its time to get to work with disassembly!
Remove wiring harness and all sensors
All pulleys and other accessories need to come off.

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Here you see my brother catching a selfie while I'm admiring these baby turbos


Now with most of it off and out of the way I can remove this valve cover and take a look inside
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Wow, its missing an entire Rocker!
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Lets dig deeper and remove the head

The pistons and cylinder walls appear to be ok
Although dirty, the actual cylinder deck is in good shape.
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I proceeded to the bottom of the engine and removed the oil pain to gain access to the crank and rod bearing.

The rod bearings show excessive signs of wear but the crank appears to be in good shape. I'm assuming this car was ran low on oil a few times prior to me purchasing it.
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Check out the bare block!
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Its in very good condition aside from the dirt of course


*UPDATE* 07/03/17

A company called Arsenal Motorsports tried to Scam me!
I ordered the main and rod bearings from this company on 6/15/17. It is now 7/03/17 they still have not shipped them or even attempted to contact me and explain whats happening. Neither do they answer my phone calls or emails. Finally I contacted them through Facebook and got a response. The person stated that they were being coated and would be shipped that week (This was stated last week). Just to be sure I contacted my bank and started the dispute. Sure enough, today is Monday the 3rd of July and still nothing. Its incredible that no one has put these people on blast yet. I've heard about multiple people not receiving their items (AFTER I Purchased mine) and now I see that it is 100% true. Now, who knows whats happening with this company. They might have very well been an honest company once before but today I cannot vouch for them. Please stay away from Arsenal Motorsports! The build must continue.......




*UPDATE* 07/09/17

My custom pistons from JE are done! Excited to pick them up tomorrow since its a sunday. I expect nothing but the best from them, will post pictures as soon as I have them with me. Also I've decided to close the deck! Figured why would I do all this work with new parts and etc to leave the deck as is. So Jake from Motiv has decided to work with me and help make that happen. Will keep everyone updated with the entire process! For now I attached more photos of how the head and valves looked.

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Although dirty, the valves are in pretty good condition

Time to clean this baby up
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My little brother using a fine brush to remove residue and old gasket material.



That's working very well!
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Not quite done but its looking pretty good

The Pistons are done and Looking Incredible! Check out the Photos of the Piston/ Rod Setup, its gorgeous.
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*UPDATE* 08/05/17
So things have been really hectic lately with work and etc so I haven't been able to update this. The head and crank were sent off to a Machine shop mear me and are looking great! Will post pictures of them below. Also I'm talking to a few companies to find the best turbo kit for me. Will update when I make a decision
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*Update* 9/25/17
Been very busy with work and etc that I haven't really had much time to post updates. long story short, I got King to make up a set of tri- metal Rod and Main bearings then sent them out to Calico for coating! They came out great. Clearances are on points so far but of course we will remeasure prior to installation. I'll attach a few photos up above. Also, of course Motiv did a great job with the block! things looks incredible now.

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they came out awesomeee! look at that coating!

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Check out the Block!!! Incredible work from those guys over at Motiv!

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Next up, the Cylinders and Cams will be sent out for Honing and Polishing.Will keep you guys updated with that.

*Update* 10/22/17
Picked up the block today from the Machinists. The deck looks great and is now within BMWs specifications. The cylinders were honed and Rings gapped for each cylinder individually. Check it out!
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Now we remeasure and make sure everything is just right!
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Bolted and Torque the bed plate on with the bearings and all clearances are spot on!
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*Update* 11/04/17
At this point the only thing Im waiting on is the Turbo Kit. I went with a company called "You wish Performance" Although that name is sketchy I decided to go with them. I left a down payment to start the process back in August and was given a 3-4 week time frame until it would be done. After a few weeks they got in touch with me requesting more money to proceed with the project. I complied and paid a large portion of the total to get it moving. It has now been 3 months and I still have not received my kit. I got in touch with them and once again they told me 2 more weeks wait. I'll give it a bit more time but I'm growing a bit impatient. Ill give it a bit more time, lets see how this goes.

Here's the Parts list for the build so far
Custom Molnar Connecting Rods
Custom JE 10.2:1 Forged Pistons
Ferrea Valve Kit
ARP Head Studs
OEM Head Gasket Set: 11127557265
OEM Head Gasket Set: 11127572758
OEM Block Gasket Set: 11117567210
OEM Timing Chain: 11318618317
Deck has been closed by Motiv Motorsports also!




 

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1and1

Specialist
Dec 28, 2016
65
35
0
Tally, FL
missing an entire rocker arm! (It was found inside the engine later on)

Cool- I'll bite! Where was the rocker arm?

I'm guessing you weren't driving it during the time following the oil pan gasket replacement and this tear down?

What are your plans/goals with the rebuild?

Looking forward to following along with your rebuild progress! Lots of pics & details!
 

Modifyit

Private
Nov 7, 2016
40
10
0
South Jersey
Ride
2009 335i
Cool- I'll bite! Where was the rocker arm?

I'm guessing you weren't driving it during the time following the oil pan gasket replacement and this tear down?

What are your plans/goals with the rebuild?

Looking forward to following along with your rebuild progress! Lots of pics & details!
Whats amazing is that i daily drive my car. I drove it every day and even raced my car daily. Tbh it ran perfectly fine. Thats why i was so shocked to find my internals to be in such poor condition. But my goal is to be a 100% reliable 700hp daily driven vehicle. I want to make this thing virtually bullet proof
 

Nick380

Private
Nov 4, 2016
40
21
0
CA
Excellent thread, I was planning on rebuilding my own N54. You should add a list of the tools you used to dissemble as well as assemble the engine.
 

Jsherry20

Sergeant
Dec 21, 2016
313
47
0
Good luck with the build, I heard it gets pretty tricky in places! Still curious where the arm was lol
 

Modifyit

Private
Nov 7, 2016
40
10
0
South Jersey
Ride
2009 335i
Good luck with the build, I heard it gets pretty tricky in places! Still curious where the arm was lol
Tbh it doesnt seem too bad so far. The trickiet part is probably the timing. But yea i found the arm inside the block shattered in little pieces. Crazy
 

Jsherry20

Sergeant
Dec 21, 2016
313
47
0
The timing and torquing the bed plate correctly seems tricky, I can't believe it didn't ruin the block that is pretty amazing if you ask me lol
 

Modifyit

Private
Nov 7, 2016
40
10
0
South Jersey
Ride
2009 335i
The timing and torquing the bed plate correctly seems tricky, I can't believe it didn't ruin the block that is pretty amazing if you ask me lol
Yea thats what i figured but we'll figure it out. And beleive me Im still shocked it ran so well with a missing rocker and theres no signs of damage in the engine either
 

Bmwfixerguy1

Lieutenant
Jun 5, 2017
875
292
0
Ride
07 335i MT
Tell your brother good luck..

I'm a master tech down the street at BMW of Mt Laurel if my services need to be solicited lol ;)

Anyways let him know in the future that the engine and all bmw engines for that matter come out the bottom.. Can have that out in under 2 hours coming out the bottom!
 

Modifyit

Private
Nov 7, 2016
40
10
0
South Jersey
Ride
2009 335i
Tell your brother good luck..

I'm a master tech down the street at BMW of Mt Laurel if my services need to be solicited lol ;)

Anyways let him know in the future that the engine and all bmw engines for that matter come out the bottom.. Can have that out in under 2 hours coming out the bottom!
Beleive it or not . Mt Laurel is where I get my oil change and etc at. but it came out fairly easy from the front too. Id say 2 or 3 hours and it was out.