Need some help S54 rod bearing dilema

[Sajk]

Probably should post this in the Z4 section but this forum is much more active. I recently acquired an E85 M roadster to live in the garage with my Z3 2.8

As part of the sale the dealer committed to do the rod bearings. The car has covered 68k kilos and is a 2007 build according to its vin.

Through the process of trying to get comparison quotes I found one BMW dealer far far away from me quoted including labour and my local dealer only quoted excluding labour so I went to see the service manager.

His advice was that for that year and distance traveled there is no need to replace the bearings and recommended that I get the dealer to just pay me the value of the cheapest quote and we pull the sump off and do an inspection.

Now M54 and M52TU engines I know pretty well. All I know about the S54 rod bearing issue is what I have read on the internet.

Specifically to the guys on this forum who have years of experience with these cars.... What would you recommend that I do.

cheers

 

[Ianmc]

As I understand it, the S54 was recalled in the USA because of oil pump failures which led to bearing failure. As a consequence, the recall for the oil pump replacement included replacing the bearings. I don't think this was a recall in the UK and my over 200K S54 was fine without such attention. Most who have had bearings replaced as a precautionary measure have reported little apparent undue wear.
I guess you takes your chance and pay as you see fit.

 

[GazHyde]

For reference on my Z4M with more details of the replacement parts and pictures of the old shells - https://zroadster.org/threads/interlagos-z4m-roadster-the-spicy-meatball.48237/post-701663

I bought mine on 123k miles with nothing in the service history to show they'd been done, so mine was more of a no brainer to do them. Although for peace of mind having seen what mine looked like it was clearly the correct decision. Of course you are never going to know until you can get eyes on them!

Attached is the E46 M3 S54 Connecting Rod Bearings Replacement bulletin "SI B 11 04 04" which shows the complete process for the rod bearing replacement. May be useful for you to peruse what's involved. It's also worthwhile changing the engine mounts "while you're at it".

 

[Sajk]

So these have not been done and in a 2007 build car should have the updated bearings. The service manager at my local dealership said to me today that he would leave them alone or just do an inspection.

From what I can tell an inspection is pretty much all the work to strip to get the sump off anyway.

 

[GazHyde]

From what I can tell an inspection is pretty much all the work to strip to get the sump off anyway.

Exactly this I'm afraid, you have to remove them to look at the inside of the bearing.

 

[Kieran Monaghan]

As I understand it, you can have a sample of your oil analysed to see if there is a higher than normal content of bearing material? If yes then the bearing may indeed need to be replaced. That's big money and you may decide to go the whole hog and get all the other known weak points done at the same time. I guess if the car is a keeper then get all the work done now and enjoy it with future peace of mind. Good luck with what you decide.

 

[bertiejaffa]

I recently bought an E86 Z4MC - 2007 with 94K on the clock and had mine done. https://zroadster.org/threads/my-z4-coupe-itch.51177/page-3 as you can see here the wear was significant and definitely needed doing. My local BMW specialist charged me around £1300 for this which was inline with other quotes that I received from other garages that were willing to undertake the work (note that not all of them were willing to).

The work requires the steering rack to be removed and the engine mounts and then, as mentioned above, you have to physically dismantle the conrod ends to check the wear and tear by which time you might as well just replace them.

Oil sampling is available, however it will only tell you whats been in the oil since the last oil change - if the car has been maintained as an M engine should be then youll probably not find much useful information.

Personally, if youre keeping the car, get them done would be my advice

 

[Delk]

I have spent my life working with large ship engines and remote generation stations where we rely on oil analysis. The engines in this case are as big as a house and oil volume is considerable. Its not cheap but considering the costs of the equipment and oil itself in these volumes its beneficial. As stated above if you change the oil the results are pretty much useless as you lost the history.

With the big engines we don't change oil unless really required since its purified and treated. The base oil it selected on the fuel type burned so that the chemical additives will be maintained with the oil topped up from consumption.

 

[Sajk]

Thanks. Do you know where an oil analysis can be conducted in Jhb?

 

[Sajk]

And the two dealers who have quoted are on different planets. One tells me that because it's Z that the e46 procedure does not apply and its an engine out job. One does not. What is the truth?

 

[GazHyde]

And the two dealers who have quoted are on different planets. One tells me that because it's Z that the e46 procedure does not apply and its an engine out job. One does not. What is the truth?

100% not an engine out job, it has to be taken off the mounts and suspended on an engine brace so the front subframe can be removed. You can then remove the sump and carry out the procedure.

 

[Sajk]

Thanks.

 

[JAJ278]

Having had mine done at 65,000 miles, with no previous evidence of problems, I would recommend you get it done. Mine was just starting to show some bearing wear and we caught it in good time. All the work was done with the engine in the car, including the bearings , with a full top, bottom and Vanos refresh. The head came off for an inspection and that highlighted the worst problem. The head only required 40nm to undo the bolts, they had stretched considerably. It was a good job we decided to have a look and got lucky before the problems became a disaster.

 

[Sajk]

Thanks for the feedback. Mine has done 68,000 kilos so gong to do a couple of oil analysis checks to see what is going on before we open her up. One dealer wanted USD 1500 and the engine out clowns USD 3100.

 

[JAJ278]

I’d say $1500 is pretty cheap. Mine was a lot more than that.

 

[JAJ278]

For reference on my Z4M with more details of the replacement parts and pictures of the old shells - https://zroadster.org/threads/interlagos-z4m-roadster-the-spicy-meatball.48237/post-701663

I bought mine on 123k miles with nothing in the service history to show they'd been done, so mine was more of a no brainer to do them. Although for peace of mind having seen what mine looked like it was clearly the correct decision. Of course you are never going to know until you can get eyes on them!

Attached is the E46 M3 S54 Connecting Rod Bearings Replacement bulletin "SI B 11 04 04" which shows the complete process for the rod bearing replacement. May be useful for you to peruse what's involved. It's also worthwhile changing the engine mounts "while you're at it".

By the way. If you change the engine mounts, which I would recommend, go for something like Powerflex. I installed their standard fast road ones and the improvement in gear selection was amazing.

 

[Brian H]

Probably should post this in the Z4 section but this forum is much more active. I recently acquired an E85 M roadster to live in the garage with my Z3 2.8

As part of the sale the dealer committed to do the rod bearings. The car has covered 68k kilos and is a 2007 build according to its vin.

Through the process of trying to get comparison quotes I found one BMW dealer far far away from me quoted including labour and my local dealer only quoted excluding labour so I went to see the service manager.

His advice was that for that year and distance traveled there is no need to replace the bearings and recommended that I get the dealer to just pay me the value of the cheapest quote and we pull the sump off and do an inspection.

Now M54 and M52TU engines I know pretty well. All I know about the S54 rod bearing issue is what I have read on the internet.

Specifically to the guys on this forum who have years of experience with these cars.... What would you recommend that I do.

cheers

For piece of mind I would get them done, if you sell on it will be a benefit, mine were done at 70k (ish) and were showing signs of wear.

 

[Sajk]

Thanks guys.
@brian70k miles I assume.

I am at 69k kilometers

 

[Sajk]

The current plan is to drive it for a couple of months and start doing used oil analysis but it is an inevitable cost MR. Anderson

 

[2006.Z4MR.Toronto]

The current plan is to drive it for a couple of months and start doing used oil analysis but it is an inevitable cost MR. Anderson

The problem with this is a point in time analysis that is doesn't show the actual wear.
I did mine at 123km and they needed to come out. If you plan on keeping the car get it done and never worry about it. If you think you'll flip the car... get it done and the buyer won't be able to use that against you.