BMW NA Approves New S65 Engine Replacement Due to Bad Rod Bearings

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

How many of the 60,000 E9x M3 owners are on this forum? 10%? 20%? I assume there are more failures we know nothing about. BMW probably knows of more but obviously won’t tell unless it comes out in the class action lawsuit in CA.

More like 5-6 % are/were on this forum.
Congrats! Finally someone got it . Actually I was the only one ALWAYS talking from the *WORLDWIDE BEARING FAILURE NUMBER*

Because *BIMMERPOST IS NOT THE WORLD* and I bet my car on it that the worldwide failure number is beyond our imagination !

Hope for you guys ( and for us too ) that the class action lawsuit is no joke .
But there is more...
What can BMW do for us ? They never had a fix in the last 10 years for the S65/85 bearing issue .
Meanwhile our S65's are old ! Today they are between 5 and 10 years old...

And sadly for some of us and in the rest of the world...The shit is real !

[admranger]

Originally Posted by Fstylin

I dropped off my e93 at the dealership after it was sitting for almost a year. I started it and immediately heard an odd noise coming from the engine. When attempting to load it on the trailer it seemed to have no torque as I could barely drive it onto my trailer!

It seemed to rev in a healthy state outside of the odd noise coming from he engine bay but i knew something was wrong. The dealer believed it was something wrong with the rod bearings as they found metal shavings in my oil... Which lead to me finding this post... I was very curious as to how they knew it may be related to rod bearings without fully inspecting the engine and now I see this is a know issue.

I need help as the gave me an estimate of $28k for a new engine... NOT doing that!

I know it is a ridiculously long way away from you, but I'd reach out to DeansBimmer here on the forum (go post a bunch so you can PM people). He's in the Dallas area iirc. Figure out a way to get your car to him or have him recommend a competent shop in the Houston area.

If the damage isn't severe, you *might* be able to get away with some new rod bearings (use BE Bearings and ARP bolts) and an engine flush to remove any residual crap in the oil galleries (and pray your mains didn't get eaten).

Good luck and I'm sorry that you're experiencing this...

[Fstylin]

admranger thanks for the advice i will be pursing as much as i can to salvage this problem for low cost!

I really would like this goodwill repair from BMWNA!

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by Fstylin

admranger thanks for the advice i will be pursing as much as i can to salvage this problem for low cost!

I really would like this goodwill repair from BMWNA!

Goodwill repair from BMW? Have you contacted them?

[Fstylin]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Goodwill repair from BMW? Have you contacted them?

Not yet! I planned to contact the person who started this thread but I've been on the road working. I'm now home for a few days and will make this a top priority as my baby is collecting dust sitting in the garage and its painful to see!

[grantwoodOK]

Based on my experience with my own failure which was just over a year ago, BMW will assist in the repair of a engine that in their opinion can be repaired. This assistance in my case was providing the parts at wholesale, and then labor less $2000. Even with this cost my out of pocket was going to be about $12-$15K. I elected to make the car better and had the engine rebuilt as a 4.4L stoker. This is my opinion was a better, a certainly more satisfying choice. I have provided information of my failure and proposed solution and cost the the attorney handling the Class Action. I personally believe this has a slim chance of succeeding and ever providing a fix or relief to owners who've already had a failure.

[swifty]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

Based on my experience with my own failure which was just over a year ago, BMW will assist in the repair of a engine that in their opinion can be repaired. This assistance in my case was providing the parts at wholesale, and then labor less $2000. Even with this cost my out of pocket was going to be about $12-$15K. I elected to make the car better and had the engine rebuilt as a 4.4L stoker. This is my opinion was a better, a certainly more satisfying choice. I have provided information of my failure and proposed solution and cost the the attorney handling the Class Action. I personally believe this has a slim chance of succeeding and ever providing a fix or relief to owners who've already had a failure.

Who built the stroker for you?

[Nazty Naze One!]

Any updates on the lawsuit? When is the trial date?

[grantwoodOK]

Originally Posted by swifty

Who built the stroker for you?

THE Infamous Troy Jeup...

[swifty]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

THE Infamous Troy Jeup...

How's his work holding up on the s65?

[mikemulkern96]

Originally Posted by swifty

How's his work holding up on the s65?

Amazing, I just purchased a 2011 e93 with 58K. You're telling me if my bearings bust I could have it bored out bigger? Give me the low down, are we ruining or improving reliability?

[grantwoodOK]

Originally Posted by swifty

How's his work holding up on the s65?

So far so good. only put about 1200 miles on it since the rebuild but I've hammered it pretty hard.

[grantwoodOK]

Originally Posted by mikemulkern96

Amazing, I just purchased a 2011 e93 with 58K. You're telling me if my bearings bust I could have it bored out bigger? Give me the low down, are we ruining or improving reliability?

The S65 is not a reliable engine to start off with so IMHO it's not any worse and will probably be better.

Having bought this car after trading in a AMG E63 the handling was way better but low down torque was no where close to even a C63. Having done the stroker I'll tell you I'm way happier with the overall responsiveness of the engine. It makes me smile a lot!

[deansbimmer]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

The S65 is not a reliable engine to start off with so IMHO it's not any worse and will probably be better.

I would challenge this opinion. Aside from S65's needing their bearings replaced (like most other S motors), the engine is quite robust and reliable, rarely "breaking down" as the result of a mechanical failure. We see far more reliability issues with other engine platforms. Break downs are more often electrical related anyway so calling the S65 itself unreliable isn't really a fair statement IMO. Glad you got it done though. Carry on.

[Lexshive]

Someone please shed some light on this class action lawsuit and when the trial date and or know of a verdict? anyone? Bueller? I have spark plugs that are smashed from cylinder 5 with a rod bearing failure but the motor still runs just cant get it out of limp mode anymore. the piston on cyl 5 has created too many hot spots at this point and can't correct itself with fuel and timing is what myself and a hand full of reputable bmw mechanics and master techs have came up with. Im about to tear the motor down and rebuild myself as I have done successful motor rebuilds and have the means to do so with some help along the way of course. If I can at least get the parts for a smaller cost but am most likely going to get ARP hardware and aftermarket pistons along with aftermarket bearings that are reputable. I would love to catch BMW with their dick in their hands if i tear this down and can prove some negligence or get something out of this deal? Bueller? anyone?

[Banana Hammock]

Longest running April Fools joke ever.

[cmyE93M3]

Originally Posted by Lexshive

Someone please shed some light on this class action lawsuit and when the trial date and or know of a verdict? anyone? Bueller? I have spark plugs that are smashed from cylinder 5 with a rod bearing failure but the motor still runs just cant get it out of limp mode anymore. the piston on cyl 5 has created too many hot spots at this point and can't correct itself with fuel and timing is what myself and a hand full of reputable bmw mechanics and master techs have came up with. Im about to tear the motor down and rebuild myself as I have done successful motor rebuilds and have the means to do so with some help along the way of course. If I can at least get the parts for a smaller cost but am most likely going to get ARP hardware and aftermarket pistons along with aftermarket bearings that are reputable. I would love to catch BMW with their dick in their hands if i tear this down and can prove some negligence or get something out of this deal? Bueller? anyone?

You're not the first, nor the last, many have either just reserved themselves to the fact the rod bearings are wear items with no feasible way of detecting when the ideal time is to replace. I just did my rod bearings at 75K (last week), they were in need. I debated doing it since May, but gave in knowing $2K is cheaper than $12K on a rebuilt motor.

Relating to the class action lawsuit, whatev's...Most of us would of moved on long before that ever gets settled, if at all.

[jrAdiRon]

Does anyone here know of a particular person in BMW North America who has great authority we can reach out to regarding these matters?

[pbonsalb]

No one has thought of that before....

[Eau Rouge]

I have been around these forums a very long time. I can assure you that not everybody that says that they did it by the book actually did it by the book. I am referring to engine break in and allowing the oil temperature to attain the optimal range before going WOT + redline.

Having said that, I do think parts such as rod bearings can fail. I think they will fail more often when the driver / owner disregard recommended best practices by the manufacturer.

We will never know how many rod bearings' failure were due to flawed parts nor how many failures were the result of driver decisions.

Mine has 61k on the odometer and I cannot remember ever having wondered whether bearings would fail on my next road trip.

The whole RB thing, to me, is pointless. If one has a rod bearings concern, drive something else. If it isn't a concern enjoy the BMW model that has the ultimate naturally aspirated engine.

Cheers

[InnerBlueSkies]

Originally Posted by Eau Rouge

I have been around these forums a very long time. I can assure you that not everybody that says that they did it by the book actually did it by the book. I am referring to engine break in and allowing the oil temperature to attain the optimal range before going WOT + redline.

Having said that, I do think parts such as rod bearings can fail. I think they will fail more often when the driver / owner disregard recommended best practices by the manufacturer.

We will never know how many rod bearings' failure were due to flawed parts nor how many failures were the result of driver decisions.

Mine has 61k on the odometer and I cannot remember ever having wondered whether bearings would fail on my next road trip.

The whole RB thing, to me, is pointless. If one has a rod bearings concern, drive something else. If it isn't a concern enjoy the BMW model that has the ultimate naturally aspirated engine.

Cheers

I second that motion

[Timujin]

If only I knew the engine warm up and driving habits of the previous owner of my M3.

If I purchased my M3 new I probably wouldn't deal with replacement RBs.