Range Rover TD6 swap for M57 BMW , it's not gone well

I bought a very cheap 2003 RR TD6 down on one cylinder and smoking like a steam train , bought a M57 engine out of a X5 and got it fitted, seller has over 4000 feedback on eBay, I collected it , every nut and bolt undone , every water pipe and loom connection, not cut out with an angle grinder like most

Took it all to the mechanic I've used for over 10 years, he fitted it and , it ran like **** chuffing like a train and pushing oil out of the dipstick , fitted a modified crankcase breather which stopped most of it , however the dink dink dink is still there, worse when it's revved and much worse when driven under load

I found a M57 forum on faceache somewhere in Europe, they seem to think it's an injector issue , it's running the 6 LR injectors , sump and ecu but everything else is off the BMW engine , still smokes a lot but the mechanic thinks it's in the exhaust

I'm reluctant to buy another engine and still be in this position but another £1000 lighter , what I have in it at the moment is close to walk away money

Any suggestions appreciated

This is what it sounds like

If the other problems you mentioned are sorted and the ECU thinks everything is fine i'd lean toward injectors as well with that knock, especially if it smokes grey/white under load. Impossible to tell from behind a keyboard, but I'd get a mechanics stethoscope on each injector, you need a professional ear for it really mind. But a good one should make nice even sharp defined taps / clicks at idle, while a bad one will be a dull clatter with less even taps / clicks mixed in. the early generation CR systems BMW used (sort of 2002 to 2007ish) are very good, and the injectors are cheap(ish) to have repaired, listen to them all running then get the bad one out if you can find it - usually a recoverable injector can be re-manufactured for around £80-150

I doubt you are, but obviously do not drive it at the moment. Cracked leaking injectors will finish off a head gasket before anything else, and that is an arsehole of a job on the M57 if you haven't got a big wallet.

If you cant find the bad injector, get the intake manifold off and take each glowplug out one at a time, start the engine and rev it, if the knock is gone that's the bad injector, if it persists carry on (you'll be down to 5 pots but the noises are obvious and this is the point of the test). Takes about an hour to get the inlet manifold off a bmw e46 330d if memory serves, must be easier on a rangey so worth a try? Also a good time to get the swirl flaps out of the manifold on the new engine if they aren't blanked already, that's the last thing you want ruining a recently fixed engine!

last point is, a crisp set of brand new injectors on a solid m57 will have defined, smooth power strokes at idle and the engine will vibrate on its mounts side to side in a sharp but continuously even manner

Worn injectors will result in a less defined sound, almost like bubbling oil in a deep fat fryer makes, and the engine will have less defined vibration with much less side to side definition and will be more all over the place. bad injectors will almost sound like a smooth engine to an untrained ear, but bear this in mind if you fix your current problem and then end up with this issue.

Fingers crossed!

Thanks for that detailed reply, I completely forgot I'd posted on here , I ended up just getting another engine out of a car I saw running , with hindsight I should've had a new piston and rings fitted in the original engine but you learn by your mistakes

10 months now running fine

@holidaychicken is proficient in these engines i believe

I've only dabbled with one and that was all turbo rebuild related really and injector loom but that didn't sound nice in the video.
i was fortunate enough to have my faultmate registered to it as well so i could read live date for the injectors which identified the faulty loom and also helped sort the turbo issue.