Hmmm, the pics of the removed head, speck of dirt and head gasket didn't post in the last post so here they are:
First view inside the engine and it looks pretty good or at least relatively clean and free of buildup.
And the business side of the head. On the head mating surface you can see the small gap in the dark line where the oil leak was coming from. It is the lower right corner, slightly out of focus but still clearly visible.
And there it is, the indentation in the aluminum and the damaged head gasket where the speck of dirt was. I didn't find the speck so I just hope he has found a nice quiet spot in the garage never to return to any M96 engine ever again!
Ok, and now onto the IMSB. From other online threads the general consensus is that my IMSB is probably original. Similar to other OEM bearings, mine is a dual row NSK that was made in Japan. It seems to spin freely but the IMS was full of old dirty oil so the seals have definitely been compromised. I haven't removed it yet; I was having trouble with the pinion bearing remover and still need to get a blind hole bearing remover. Also, I haven't really decided on what to replace it with. At the moment I'm leaning towards another OEM bearing since this one lasted 160k miles! I will probably remove the outer seal....?!? Let me know what you guys think as I really am having trouble making an IMSB decision. And I'm running out of money so the OEM bearing is around $50 although I might also need to buy the Pelican kit just to get a new center bolt. Take a look at my flange and let me know if it is suspect. It has some marks on it and an indentation, specifically on the shiny part that goes inside the inner race of the IMSB. I don't think that's critical as it just needs to fit inside and once in, the center bolt and nut hold everything together tightly.
About to peer into the dreaded IMSB!
OEM? NSK "Made in Japan" IMSB
The IMS flange has some slight damage. Not sure whether to reuse or replace?
More problems arose during removal of the cams when one M6 bolt broke and another came out with damaged threads:
That sure did break easily! And it's going to be fun getting the broken piece out of the head.
And another one bites the threads! Fixable but another expense and/or struggle.
And now a look inside the cylinders. At first I was worried about the small marks on the lower part of the bore but I was reassured this is normal.
Even though I've been told this is normal, it remains a bit worrisome. Still, considering the engine has 160k miles on it, it's pretty impressive. Unless of course, the engine is not original.
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