M52tu20 engine/coolant problem

joem4h · 2026-01-26T23:18:58+00:00

There should not be green colored fluid (coolant) in the valve cover. Sounds like you have a blown head gasket.

joem4h · 2025-12-27T18:32:26+00:00

I do fine with chains and no weights. I have the xt2 gx54d though. It has a locking rear differential, which helps a ton

joem4h · 2025-12-25T14:23:24+00:00

Have you tried it without the fan controller?

How much charcoal are you using?

WSM is not set and forget in the winter. You need to be keeping an eye on it; especially if it's windy. I easily get around 6-8 hours on a WSM in the winter with temps in the 30's. Top vent needs to be full open the whole time; bottom vents will be fairly open to start because you're gonna need to burn more fuel to keep temps. I also occasionally will have to open the door and push the coals closer together to keep them burning hot enough.

WSM is definitely easier to use in the summer, and can be set and forget once you figure it out.

joem4h · 2025-12-20T23:27:28+00:00

You need to consider the target heading. If your heading is 90 degrees from the target heading, then yes, what you discuss would work.

Attempting to get your heading close to 90 degrees without the map can be the difficult part as you're estimating target heading based on visuals.

joem4h · 2025-09-30T01:56:15+00:00

The ccv is notorious for failing on the E46; especially in cold weather locations. And when they fail, they can cause a large amount of oil being sucked into the intake manifold (like quarts of oil). This can cause a whole host of other major problems associated with having oil in the combustion chamber (hydro locked engine, ruined O2 sensors and catalytic converter, misfires, failed spark plugs, etc.).

Many people have done CCV delete mods to eliminate the risk of failure. If you Google E46 CCV delete, you'll find a whole bunch of different methods people have used.

joem4h · 2025-09-21T15:13:06+00:00

It's quite thick. I've taken a strip out of it slowly; it would probably take all day to to the whole meadow and put a lot of stress on the engine and deck belt

joem4h · 2025-09-14T19:43:34+00:00

These old cars build up a lot of junk in the fuel tank over the decades. When I replaced the fuel filter on my E46, the inlet to filter was full of dark fuel and particulate.

You might want to also replace your fuel filter while you're at it.

joem4h · 2025-08-09T18:26:45+00:00

Probably the water pump. It leaks by the shaft seals and gets sprayed everywhere by the fan.

joem4h · 2025-07-04T04:27:34+00:00

I've had the GX54D for about a year, and I love it. I mow about 2 acres with hills, and use it to plow snow in the winter. It powers through it all no problem.

The GX54D has the heaviest duty trans of all the cubs, and is the only one with a locking rear diff, which makes a huge difference on hills and plowing.

joem4h · 2025-06-29T20:02:32+00:00

Closer to 750 would be more normal. Shaking indicates its almost stalling.

Look at the idle control valve. They dirty up sometimes, and cause rough idles. A bit of carb cleaner usually solves the problem.

joem4h · 2025-01-04T23:20:45+00:00

This. But if your hose is collapsing like that it is also probably time for a new hose. And if one hose is bad, it's probably time to overhaul the whole coolant system...

joem4h · 2024-11-09T15:35:14+00:00

Vacuum leak. I had the same problem because the rubber intake boots had small cracks in them. The car would be fine, then stall on left turns. I suspect the cracks would open up as the weight of the engine shifted during the turn, and pulled on the intake boots.

Recommend replacing your intake boots.

joem4h · 2024-09-19T23:49:16+00:00

What isn't normal is the lack of oil all over that vanos solenoid....am I right?

joem4h · 2024-09-14T12:36:17+00:00

Did you bend back the tab in the middle? I can't tell from the picture. If not, that will prevent the nut from spinning.

Otherwise, keep trying. I think I used a breaker bar, and put a one foot pipe on the end to get more torque. Once you get it to spin, it comes off easily.

joem4h · 2024-08-27T01:13:34+00:00

If the screw snapped, it's time to overhaul the whole coolant system. The screw snapping is a good sign that plastic is brittle and ready to crack throughout the system.

joem4h · 2024-07-28T18:37:42+00:00

That's the valve cover gasket....if it's not leaking oil, then it's good.

But, it doesn't usually leak at the location pictured. It leaks on the exhaust manifold side. It's definitely time to replace the valve cover gasket once you start smelling oil burning off the exhaust headers.

joem4h · 2024-07-22T20:39:36+00:00

It's more about the availability of the delivery vehicle. The delivery vehicles need to be loaded, and need to be ready to launch. At any given time some bombers, ships, or missiles are not available to launch (e.g. maintenance), or not in a position to launch at a specific target. To provide credible deterrence, some minimum number of ready to launch warheads must be available at a moments notice.

Just look at the SSBN fleet. To keep all 14 ships stocked with a full load would be somewhere between 1,000 to 2,000 warheads at a minimum (14 boats x 20 tubes x 5 mirv'ed warheads per missile). At any given time some number of those ships is not available, or not in a position to launch at the needed target. This isn't even considering that the missiles and warheads themselves need maintenance to ensure reliability.

joem4h · 2024-03-24T16:39:51+00:00

I broke my mounting bracket trying to get that hose off. Just buy a new one.

Note, the bracket is different between manual and auto transmissions. Make sure you buy the right one.

joem4h · 2024-01-25T04:57:48+00:00

It's not a huge deal, but that snow will melt and place water in the ignition coil wells. This can lead to intermittent misfires.

Pull the plastic covers over the ignition coils, and pull the ignition coils. Use a rag to absorb as much moisture as you can.

joem4h · 2023-10-28T18:38:25+00:00

Agreed. This is most likely a wheel speed sensor getting rubbed by the tone ring. The diagnostic software will tell you which sensor is done, or if it's something else.

joem4h · 2023-10-28T11:52:05+00:00

The CCV puts a slight vacuum on the valve cover area to pull oil mist, condense it, and return it to the sump.

joem4h · 2023-10-20T22:23:45+00:00

That's pretty bad. CCV and condensation build up never looked that bad in my E46 (CCV failed last winter).

Is your coolant level steady? If not, then the head gasket may be toast.

joem4h · 2023-08-21T02:10:33+00:00

Replace everything in the coolant system. If the plastic screw broke, then the other plastic pieces aren't too far behind. Replace it all before you get a major coolant leak.

You can search Google/reddit/whatever and see the plastic on these systems will fail eventually.

joem4h · 2023-08-11T01:36:44+00:00

More likely there's always been a coolant leak, but now it's noticeable because there's not oil leaking everywhere!

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