Manifolds Lifted

I've been doing a lot of service and restoring / changes to the interior but this week it was time to look at the engine.
All the tips that I've been reading on this site has been very helpful, I THANK YOU ALL FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE, it's always encouraging to know how others has solved different problems and that there are some other DIY out there.

I've dismounted the manifolds (It took around 3 hours mainly a question of tooling and patience), here are some info...

I did't remove the electrical channel on top of the manifolds, I just disconnected some of the cables so I could lift it upp a bit.
The last nut that is located "behind" the fuellines are a real b... to remove. Nearly gave up. Now I'm wondering how I ever will get it mounted again (how did they mount it at the assembly line??? .

I discovered a coolantleak on the main coolantpipe under the manifolds (I did't even know I had one) .
The valvecovers were a bit rusty where the soundisolation have been in contact. I'll have them repainted.
I'll change upper and lower oilpangaskets since they showed signs of leaking (last year I drove 1300 km and just had to fill 1,5 litres of oil), maybe after the new gaskets are fitted it will take even less oil .
The camshafts were both in excelent condition (at last something positive) :)).
I'll also change the enginemounts and the thermostat.

My manifoldsgaskets have been leaking thats easy to see but I'm not sure that I'll change the manifoldsgaskes themselves. To me they don't look as they have any cracks, the only thing I could see was the "prints" from the grinded surface of the matingsurface of the manifolds in them. My theory is that the leakage is due to that they get so hard (agening) at the thin sealingarea so that the dont seal up any more. I'll will cut out high temp gaskets to be fitted on both sides of the original gaskets, The original gaskets costs around 350$ and how long will they last?

What else should I have a look at? Any tips or advise are most welcome.

Sorry for the spelling but but it might be the other way around if you tried to write in Swedish.

I have digipics but my PC software is not working at the moment, Is anyone interested?

Best regards

Björn

Even though the manifold spacers look fine, they're riddled with tiny hairline cracks, which are sufficient to let air into the intake when the engine is cold. Also, you'll notice the seal bead cast into the surface of new spacers is missing from used spacers, i.e.:

In the high-contrast picture above (sorry), you can barely see the raised bead of the new gaskets around the inside perimeter, which get flattened with time and heat. I also added a thin coating of Hylomar, a non-drying sealant made by Permatext, on both surfaces of the spacers.

I would also strongly encourage you to remove the camshaft covers and check in banjo bolts, particularly the rears. Mine, and several other owners bolts were loose upon examination. Relatively cheap, BMW issued an updated bolt with blue Loctite applied to ensure they'll not loosen. Here's a picture of the bolt and the spraybar it secures. Make sure you clean the spraybar internally and ensure the spray holes are not blocked. Also, purchase new aluminum crush washers for the banjo bolts.

Stephen Cohen had problems with his cork water gasket cover leaking and replaced his, and mine was weeping as well (I deferred since I'll have the engine apart again this summer). And of course, I'd replace all the water, fuel, and vacuum hoses as well, since access to these components is so easy with the top of the engine removed.

Mark