Blown motors, Rod Bearing failure S65 Registry.

[deansbimmer]

Originally Posted by deathbunny

Thanks good to hear its not bearings It was shortly after a cold start but it deff wasn't smooth. I can try again once it's warmed up but there is an event at the big stadium right beside my house atm.

Is it normal for them to vibrate like this or it there something I need to be getting checked out. I understand it has stiffer bushings and what not than my old 335 so not sure if this is just normal. It went through the BMW dealership inspection but not like that means anything

My M3 is smooth as butter... Vibration could be caused by a hundred different things. It will need to be checked out and the tech search specifically for the cause.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by deathbunny

Just got done reading through this and a few other threads about this. Went out to give a listen to the 2012 with 40k miles I just bought last week and I don't hear anything out of sorts HOWEVER slowly reving the engine from idle to 3k rpms I do have a lot of vibration (wheel shakes seat shakes etc) especially in the 1.5 - 2.5k rpm range and it gets smother as the revs go up. I have felt it will driving but I always assumed it was the DCT clutches doing their thing but its there in neutral.

Is this normal or a possibly an early sign of RB problems? I did buy a warranty with it but that doesn't keep me from worrying at least some now.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

You can't "feel" bad rod bearings. Vibrations could be the engine mounts though...

I could, it was exactly like he described.

[deathbunny]

Originally Posted by Nugget

I could, it was exactly like he described.

I drove it over to the dealership and by the time I got there it was warmed up and didn't vibrate as much. They had another m3 on the lot and I fired it up and it was smoother than mine when they we're both cold but about the same cold as mine warmed up. I ended up taking it home instead of leaving it because I assumed they were gonna say nothing was wrong with it anyway. Once I get back in town I'll take it to the Indy shop I trust and have it gone over not really sure what else to do at this point but at least I bought a warranty. Thanks for the info!

[deansbimmer]

If you think you felt the rod bearings vibrate before they were replaced but also changed the engine mounts, then the swap of the engine mounts was the vibration cure.

Bearing vibration is due to excessive clearances- very excessive. If they are so far gone that you can "feel" rod bearings vibrating then the engine would be well past being repairable due to the crankshaft damage that would have occurred. You would also be able to clearly hear the rod knock.

Vibration enough to shake the seats and steering wheel would be powertrain suspension, or the engine is running rough due to some other issue.

[deathbunny]

Thanks! It does it in neutral when the car isn't moving also so hopefully it's just the motor mount.

[SDPLV]

Nevermind. Just out of balance fronts.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by deansbimmer

If you think you felt the rod bearings vibrate before they were replaced but also changed the engine mounts, then the swap of the engine mounts was the vibration cure.

Bearing vibration is due to excessive clearances- very excessive. If they are so far gone that you can "feel" rod bearings vibrating then the engine would be well past being repairable due to the crankshaft damage that would have occurred. You would also be able to clearly hear the rod knock.

Vibration enough to shake the seats and steering wheel would be powertrain suspension, or the engine is running rough due to some other issue.

Correct.
I could hear the knock when cold and a tear down confirmed that the rod didn’t go back together properly after preventative RB replacement.
Engine is getting a full rebuild.

[Siajoon]

Cold start

Operating Temp

tell me what you guys think.. sounds like rod bearings to me... its at BMW right now waiting for my SA to udpate me

[shakywarrior]

Originally Posted by S1A35

Cold start

Operating Temp

tell me what you guys think.. sounds like rod bearings to me... its at BMW right now waiting for my SA to udpate me

First video sounded normal.

Second sounds different.

[Siajoon]

BMW had 3 techs that were familiar with the car and they said it sounded fine.. so I geuss I have to just relax. In the case of it actually being problematic, I have a strong case for them to help me out since I brought it to there attention multiple times.

[grantwoodOK]

Just had my 2011 M3 E93 fail yesterday. Only 70,000 miles on it.

[BrewRifle]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

Just had my 2011 M3 E93 fail yesterday. Only 70,000 miles on it.

Did it fail with the original OEM bearings?

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

Just had my 2011 M3 E93 fail yesterday. Only 70,000 miles on it.

Post the full story!?

[Rogue-OP]

So I should skip getting an M3 (S65)? Or if I get one, preemptively replace the rod bearings?

[PetrolFumes]

Originally Posted by Rogue-OP

So I should skip getting an M3 (S65)? Or if I get one, preemptively replace the rod bearings?

don't skip still a great car. it's hit or miss but doing preventative maintenance and replacing bearings and you're good

[squartus]

Originally Posted by Rogue-OP

So I should skip getting an M3 (S65)? Or if I get one, preemptively replace the rod bearings?

To be honest, if I had it all to do over again... I would not of bought it, love the car and its 1 of a kind now and will never sell it but the issues and the cost were crazy.

[RoundelObsession]

Originally Posted by Rogue-OP

So I should skip getting an M3 (S65)? Or if I get one, preemptively replace the rod bearings?

SKIP IT!

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by grantwoodOK

Just had my 2011 M3 E93 fail yesterday. Only 70,000 miles on it.

Bearing failure ?

[PetrolFumes]

Originally Posted by squartus

To be honest, if I had it all to do over again... I would not of bought it, love the car and its 1 of a kind now and will never sell it but the issues and the cost were crazy.

what happened? bearings?

[pbonsalb]

Squartus is one of the few who changed rod bearings and still had a failure. His new rod bearings were fine. The failure was actually an unrelated problem with the main bearings. A handful of cars have suffered main bearing failures. Nowhere near the number that have had rod bearing failures. One possible theory is load on the front bearing from a supercharger drive belt; Squartus has a supercharger. But a few non supercharged cars have apparently had bad main bearings. No one is replacing mains as preventative maintenance since is is way, way more work than doing rod bearings and there have not been many main bearing failures.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Rogue-OP

So I should skip getting an M3 (S65)? Or if I get one, preemptively replace the rod bearings?

Don't skip on one of the finest NA engines that will ever be built for regular people

Simply replace the rod bearings when you get the car. It's not worth stressing about.

I'll keep my E92 and E90 even if I have to do rod bearings on them every 50k miles. My biggest concern now is how I can add an E93 to the family... that is how wonderful the S65 is

[PetrolFumes]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Squartus is one of the few who changed rod bearings and still had a failure. His new rod bearings were fine. The failure was actually an unrelated problem with the main bearings. A handful of cars have suffered main bearing failures. Nowhere near the number that have had rod bearing failures. One possible theory is load on the front bearing from a supercharger drive belt; Squartus has a supercharger. But a few non supercharged cars have apparently had bad main bearings. No one is replacing mains as preventative maintenance since is is way, way more work than doing rod bearings and there have not been many main bearing failures.

so scary considering I have a sub 20k mileage frozen blue I am considering doing an ESS 625 kit