Blown motors, Rod Bearing failure S65 Registry.

[rpl77]

Originally Posted by TrakBch

I paid 2200 for My warranty. Covers most mechanical, but doesn't cover any electronics like entertainment units, nav, Modules/parts related to DSC/ABS/TPMS.

That was 2 years/24K miles. So far LKQ Engine, Power steering pump, washer reservoir/pump, random suspension bushings/arms and Brand new OEM transmission.

It's going to expire in 6 months, but I'll be re-upping for another 2 years. But will scale back to powertrain only.

what warranty company did you go with?

[rpl77]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

I do wonder why owners just don't take out a warranty...it costs me ~$1000 US a year which admittedly is no small amount of money but it seems worth it for peace of mind.

Originally Posted by Jonnykin

This is what anyone worried about this engine should do. Car warranty is hands down the beat approach to the issue. If it blows up get it replaced... simple and so worth the $2500 beans.

Originally Posted by Kurt_OH

AND the warranty covers much more than bearings.

guys, which warranty company did you go with--bmw or 3rd party? i'm looking into fidelity now

[MasterP]

Mine was Western General, they have changed their name to "protective." I think WG had a bad reputation so that may have been why they changed their name. I got the warranty at BMW of Dallas, which is also the place where most of my claims were handled.

MY engine replacement was handled by Spec Motorsports in McKinney, TX. They covered Most of the repairs to the engine except the Oil Cooler and the lines.

I bought Level II originally. But will only get level I now since not much of the car is stock anymore.

Not much of it was stock when they did the claims, but there's not point paying more up front now.

[Jonnykin]

Originally Posted by rpl77

guys, which warranty company did you go with--bmw or 3rd party? i'm looking into fidelity now

Its 3rd party. It's got a 50$ deductible but to my knowledge no limit. I would have to pull the paper work to know more.

[foolio2]

Originally Posted by stubble88

got my car back
remanufactured motor
was told it did not have a break in period.
the shop forman said to just take it easy for a while.
He didnt provide much of any new information for me.

Does anyone know if the remanufactured motors have any new or updated Bearing technology?
Does anyone have any info at all for me on this subject?

Has anyone Blown their second motor?

thanks

You probably got my motor with new rod bearings

Don't worry, I broke it in very tenderly to the letter.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by rpl77

guys, which warranty company did you go with--bmw or 3rd party?

I have a BMW one...on the basis that they are less likely to break out the fine print and reject a claim that a third party one.

[Rennwerks]

Decided to swap mine this weekend. Wasn't too bad of a job all and all. Dropping the subframe with the P/S reservoir and pump still attached to the lines was the way to go.

My M3 is a '09 with 61K. Supercharged with the ESS 550 kit since 20k. I track it and competed in the One Lap of America with it this year. Liqui Moly 10w50 every 3-5k or every three weekends of track time.

Definitely some wear on the uppers. Not wear like I have ever seen before. Went with WPC coated genuine bearings and ARP studs. No noise or anything and just had a raving Blackstone report on the last oil change.

If you plan on keeping the car it's a job worth doing. Took 15hrs total labor. I am a shop owner and technician so I had a lift and shop equipment at my disposal.

[Harpua]

Originally Posted by Rennwerks

... No noise or anything and just had a raving Blackstone report on the last oil change....

Raving good, or raving bad? Care to share the report findings?

[Rennwerks]

Raving good. I'll scan it and post it on Monday when I'm back at the shop.

[pbonsalb]

I was waiting for someone to post some pics. My bearings should be back from WPC this week and I will be doing the job. I was planning to hang the calipers and drop the subframe with suspension. Looks like the intake manifold has to be pulled for access?

[Rennwerks]

I find it easier to do the passenger side plugs with it off, so I pulled it. Only took an extra two or three minutes since the coolant was drained. I also left my ignition coil covers off as the supercharger bracket on the drivers side makes the cover impossible to remove without pulling the supercharger off.

I posted a thread to the DIY forum about the process: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1018487

[dj_dub]

Just got my bearings done as preventative maintenance. $2800 to me is well worth the peace of mind.

My car is a 2010 E90 M3 with 55k miles at the time of service, oil changed every 5k miles using the recommended TWS 10w60. My original bearings weren't bad at all. But I'm happy I have WPC treated ones in there now!

Also, the shop where I had these done at, Performance Technic, informed me that I should keep it below 5k RPMs for the first 1k miles (break in period), do another oil change after that point as well and continue to use TWS 10w60 oil every 5k miles.

[CrusherM3]

Originally Posted by stubble88

Just wondering if we are going to start a thread with a poll taking count of those who have blown motors? I would think this would have happened already. Stupid idea?

Count me in. 2012 E-92 with just over 20k miles. Car in shop now for engine replacement. BMW covering the cost.

[aus]

So I updated the Original Post to list the screen names of the people who had bad engines. Now it's real people and not just a bunch of links.

I also included a link to the NHTS to file a complaint if your engine blew and you lost power while driving or spilled oil on the road. I figure it MAY help if enough people register a complaint to pressure BMW into doing something about this obvious problem.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/Vehicl...nt/index.xhtml

.

[antonio010]

Hello, found this thread while googling around for rod issues. I guess I'm the latest victim, was driving home 2 hours ago doing about 65mph when I heard a loud knocking sound under load and immediately got a message on the idrive telling me to turn off the car immediately. Ended up towing it home while I debate what to do from here.

A little history, I purchased this car (2008 M3) from a 3rd party dealer 4 months ago at 86k miles, it's currently at 90k miles. I do not have an extended warranty. I'll be contacting BMW to see what my options are on Monday. I haven't raced or tracked the vehicle and I baby it for the most part with the occasional spirited driving on the freeway. I have 3 other vehicles, turbo vehicles so I'm familiar with proper startup, maintenence, etc (R32 skyline, Evo 8, RX7 FD) though I've never experienced ROD failure on an NA motor. This is definitely a first for me.

If anyone has any suggestions on course of action, I'd appreciate. This is also my first post as I'm more of a lurker.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by antonio010

Hello, found this thread while googling around for rod issues. I guess I'm the latest victim, was driving home 2 hours ago doing about 65mph when I heard a loud knocking sound under load and immediately got a message on the idrive telling me to turn off the car immediately. Ended up towing it home while I debate what to do from here.

A little history, I purchased this car (2008 M3) from a 3rd party dealer 4 months ago at 86k miles, it's currently at 90k miles. I do not have an extended warranty. I'll be contacting BMW to see what my options are on Monday. I haven't raced or tracked the vehicle and I baby it for the most part with the occasional spirited driving on the freeway. I have 3 other vehicles, turbo vehicles so I'm familiar with proper startup, maintenence, etc (R32 skyline, Evo 8, RX7 FD) though I've never experienced ROD failure on an NA motor. This is definitely a first for me.

If anyone has any suggestions on course of action, I'd appreciate. This is also my first post as I'm more of a lurker.

Ohhh man... feel realy sorry about your luck !
That's why I want to say....BMW how many more to prove that the S65 bearings realy s@ck ?!?!

[aus]

Originally Posted by antonio010

Hello, found this thread while googling around for rod issues. I guess I'm the latest victim, was driving home 2 hours ago doing about 65mph when I heard a loud knocking sound under load and immediately got a message on the idrive telling me to turn off the car immediately. Ended up towing it home while I debate what to do from here.

A little history, I purchased this car (2008 M3) from a 3rd party dealer 4 months ago at 86k miles, it's currently at 90k miles. I do not have an extended warranty. I'll be contacting BMW to see what my options are on Monday. I haven't raced or tracked the vehicle and I baby it for the most part with the occasional spirited driving on the freeway. I have 3 other vehicles, turbo vehicles so I'm familiar with proper startup, maintenence, etc (R32 skyline, Evo 8, RX7 FD) though I've never experienced ROD failure on an NA motor. This is definitely a first for me.

If anyone has any suggestions on course of action, I'd appreciate. This is also my first post as I'm more of a lurker.

Really sorry to hear that. I am happy you found this link through a Google search. I'm pretty sure you're going to need to bring it to a shop or dealer and have them open the bottom of the engine to show the damage before they'll take your claim serioiusly. Then, you'll probably need a lawyer to help you push the matter.

Good luck.

.

[X5-User]

Originally Posted by antonio010

Hello, found this thread while googling around for rod issues. I guess I'm the latest victim, was driving home 2 hours ago doing about 65mph when I heard a loud knocking sound under load and immediately got a message on the idrive telling me to turn off the car immediately. Ended up towing it home while I debate what to do from here.

A little history, I purchased this car (2008 M3) from a 3rd party dealer 4 months ago at 86k miles, it's currently at 90k miles. I do not have an extended warranty. I'll be contacting BMW to see what my options are on Monday. I haven't raced or tracked the vehicle and I baby it for the most part with the occasional spirited driving on the freeway. I have 3 other vehicles, turbo vehicles so I'm familiar with proper startup, maintenence, etc (R32 skyline, Evo 8, RX7 FD) though I've never experienced ROD failure on an NA motor. This is definitely a first for me.

If anyone has any suggestions on course of action, I'd appreciate. This is also my first post as I'm more of a lurker.

OMG..another failure...now this is starting to irritate me..

[Malek@MRF]

Add my Melbourne Red M3 to the list. Bearings failed at 38k. I will do a full write up of my findings of what went on with pictures.

A full write up and thread I will create for the engine rebuild too. The block or rods are not damaged.

[kawasaki00]

Originally Posted by Malek@MRF

Add my Melbourne Red M3 to the list. Bearings failed at 38k. I will do a full write up of my findings of what went on with pictures.

A full write up and thread I will create for the engine rebuild too. The block or rods are not damaged.

Sorry to hear that,
And people say there is not a problem. Same mode of failure across all engines.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Wow...what year is your car?

[Malek@MRF]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

Sorry to hear that,
And people say there is not a problem. Same mode of failure across all engines.

There is clearly a problem, which is why I have been using 0W-40 for a very long time now on this engine and many of my customers do as well. I am willing to invest in Clevite manufacturing new bearings with the proper clearances for the S65, as you mentioned this could be a possibility with your connections to Clevite. We should talk.

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Wow...what year is your car?

Car is a 2011. In all fairness, the car is used very aggressively, and when used this way, failures are expected to a larger degree.

Engine didn't throw any rods and still runs relatively smooth. It made loud ticking noises intermittently, but the noises stopped. Once I knew something was off, I made sure it was never started again. Oil did come out from somewhere on the front of the motor, but haven't been able to figure out where that oil has come from yet until things are taken apart.