When were rod bearings updated?

[Krockit1]

Anyone know when BMW did an inline upgrade to the rod bearings? Read here that it was between MY 09 an 10. My 10 was built November 1, 09. Curious after reading the thread on bearing failure issue. Just had the oil changed yesterday and my service tech has had 0 M3's in for this failure.

[5TAR5CR3AM]

I'm going to bump this as I am curious as well.

[5TAR5CR3AM]

Originally Posted by Dashman

More panicking?

Yes, the desire to gain knowledge about my vehicle is panicking. IMO this is actually something people should know. It would help alleviate some of the tension about the rod bearing issue with some people.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Realoem doesn't tell you when the revision was made.
Nobody knows as yet when the numbers changed.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Realoem doesn't tell you when the revision was made.
Nobody knows as yet when the numbers changed.

Correct. It's rather arbitrary. There might be internal BMW documents that show it by VIN, but I doubt we'll ever get a very reliable answer.

[MFKN3]

Wasn't it october 2008 when the part number changed

[SenorFunkyPants]

There was a crank bearing change autumn 2008 - hard to know for sure if it was a revision for the 2009 MY or on a particular date. 2009 MY starts Sept 2008 but the revision was apparently in October 2008.
The date for the rob bearing revision is uncertain - the only way to tell is by the numbers on the bearings themselves which you see when you strip down the engine. [1]
Note though that the bearing failure rate is actually reassuringly quite low....although you'd think there would be expired M3s abandoned by the side of every road going by M3post.

Edit [1] somewhere around 2011 seems like the best guess so far.

[V8FunNaturally]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Note though that the bearing failure rate is actually reassuringly quite low....although you'd think there would be expired M3s abandoned by the side of every road going by M3post.

Well said, I agree, I think this issue gets more attention than it really deserves. It really is no surprise considering the magnifying effect of a forum, fear, the viral dynamics of the internet, the graphics of a broken engine picture on the internet, and not the least some engine builders shops, racing tech and oil pseudo experts who love the online attention and boot licking they get by trying to control and direct that fear by posting in that thread. It's the online equivalent of a TV reality show.

[dparm]

Agreed, it's an extremely vocal minority. I see it on other auto forums all the time.

[speedaddictM3]

It was sometime in 2011 that the new 702/703 unleaded bearings were used. I believe they were first introduced late in 2008 but only began showing up in cars in 2011. BMW probably had a lot of leftover inventory of the 088/089 bearings that they finished up between 2008 and 2011.

[Jonnykin]

I agree the bearing issue gets too much attention. It's a big fix so I'm mot surprise people post about it all time....

The engine in this car is touted as one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable in its class... Shit happens no matter what you buy or how much you spend. That's why you get a warranty

[M3-S65]

I did some research on other cars when I first read the 90+ pages about the bearing problems etc. I was honestly looking for another car that I wouldn't have to worry about...what I found is that all performance cars have problems.....all of them. That's when I realized that the forum is a place where problems are posted more often than praise. So what you read is over-weighted to the negative...anything over-weighted to the negative (or for that matter to the positive) is primarily emotion not logic. I would guess we all have a low probability of bearing failure especially if we monitor it via blackstone reports, allow the oil to warm up sufficiently before we raise RPM, change oil more often, and honestly don't over modify/SC the engine...

[Petros]

Originally Posted by M3-S65

I did some research on other cars when I first read the 90+ pages about the bearing problems etc. I was honestly looking for another car that I wouldn't have to worry about...what I found is that all performance cars have problems.....all of them. That's when I realized that the forum is a place where problems are posted more often than praise. So what you read is over-weighted to the negative...anything over-weighted to the negative (or for that matter to the positive) is primarily emotion not logic. I would guess we all have a low probability of bearing failure especially if we monitor it via blackstone reports, allow the oil to warm up sufficiently before we raise RPM, change oil more often, and honestly don't over modify/SC the engine...

The GTR doesn't seem to have any problems

[Jonnykin]

Originally Posted by Petros

The GTR doesn't seem to have any problems

Sure it does, it's a Nissan...

[Petros]

Originally Posted by Jonnykin

Sure it does, it's a Nissan...

such an intelligent well thought out well articulated point indeed from a typically classy BMW 3 series driver

[Jonnykin]

Originally Posted by Petros

such an intelligent well thought out well articulated point indeed from a typically classy BMW 3 series driver

Everyone's got their own likes and preferences.

[Petros]

Originally Posted by Jonnykin

Everyone's got their own likes and preferences.

Agreed. But liking or hating cars for the sake of the tiny plastic badge on the hood is a bit ridiculous IMO. Except for rare and exclusive marques like Ferrari or Bentley or Aston, all other car makes are equal IMO. A BMW or Merc badge to me isn't any more prestigious than a Nissan or Chevy badge. I'm pretty sure the average Altima or Maxima driver could have easily gotten an entry level zero-option 3 series or C class if they wanted to, and have that same BMW or Merc badge. That's why I can't quite understand BMW drivers who say it's just a Nissan or just a Toyota or just a Chevy.

[G80indy]

Found this image from another thread.
New is on the right

[M3-S65]

Originally Posted by Petros

The GTR doesn't seem to have any problems

Actually , they have transmission problems and repair or replacement on them can be as high as 18 to 22K!!

Just go to Google and type in GTR transmission problems...tons of it. Like I said ...all performance cars have issues...

A quick search on Google found this forum entry:

Hey guys,
I currently own a C63 AMG and I'm really leaning towards a GT-R next, only thing that's holding me back is all the transmission/warranty horror stories I've been hearing about.
Since signing on to NAGTROC ive been seeing alot of threads about transmission malfunction, random CEL, car going into limp mode, etc......
So I ask you guys, are GT-R's and they're transmissions really that sensitive and problematic?

-Thank you in advance.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________________________________
The transmissions do appear to be the weak link with this car. My car had the transmission changed out at 7500 miles. It has almost 20K on it now and I have had no issues since, but then again it is used only as a DD. Since there have been a number of 2012 that have required a tranny swap, it appears that Nissan has done little if anything to address the GR6's weaknesses.
_

[track_warrior]

Weird, i asked my dealer if they had any cars in for rod bearing failure and the reply was 0. I hope im in the clear my car is a 2011.5, and my oil analysis have been fine so far.

[SenorFunkyPants]

There doesn't seem to be any reliability benefit in having the new (2011) bearings with the slightly bigger clearance. The engine failure rate remains fairly consistent and if anything the older lead faced bearings are statistically slightly more reliable....it looks like BMW stuck with the lead faced bearings pretty much right up to the EU deadline.
Either way your chance of an engine failure is very low.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by M3-S65

Since there have been a number of 2012 that have required a tranny swap, it appears that Nissan has done little if anything to address the GR6's weaknesses.
_

It only takes one record lap around the 'ring to sell'em, ugly as they are.