Quote:
Originally Posted by BMRLVR
Getting a shop to mount and balance tires is hardly the same a finding a shop to build an engine. Last time I checked mounting and balancing tires was hardly a skilled trade and the requirements to work at a tire shop are not too strict. Basically if you can't do some research via the Internet and or talk to some buddies and find a reputable engine shop the the incompetence is yours! 9 times out of 10 I could tell if a shop is good by speaking to the staff and by doing a tour of the facility. Reputations will generally precede a good shop!
As for having bearings made, it will cost bigger dollars than anyone here is willing to put out. Basically the bearings would cost almost the price of having the machine work done per set!
|
Maybe in Canada there are great shops on every corner but that's definitely not the case here. And even if you find a good engine builder, what are the chances that he has experience on the S65? I understand that the essential parts are the same but every engine has its own quirks and experience definitely counts for something. Then factor in any specialized BMW tools requried for the S65, such as timing tools as I understand, and you're narrowing down the universe of potential shops dramatically. (see
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=193). So even if you get around to finding a reputable shop with the necessary experience and tools, you're still contending with ripping the whole front end of the car apart to get the engine out. What are the chances that every fastener will be put back in place and torqued to spec? I am not saying that it is impossible to do the work properly, I am saying that it is more likely that things won't be put back together properly (even if you get the jornals sized and the engine properly reassembled).
You're a trained mechanic and know precisely what to look for when oursourcing work. Most of us do not have your background and our mechanical abilities are limited to maintaining our M's and doing whatever is within our skills at home. So it may be easy for you to identify a particular shop to do the work but for most of us, it's not.
To all of this add (1) the remote possibility that the bearings were specifically sized as they are for a particular reason and that opening up the clearance causes other unforeseen problems and (2) the value of an M3 with 40-50K miles (assuming that's when the work is done). There's also the question of whether an M3 with resized crank journals takes a hit in value (assuming the seller discloses this).
I think most of us have three practical options:
1) Sell the car when it goes out of warranty;
2) Get an extended warranty that at least covers the engine; or
3) Replace the OEM bearings with OEM bearings when the warranty expires.
As to the last option, if you've had the car since new, you should be able to gauge how long you can go on the new bearings before replacing them.