Official S65 Rod Bearing Condition Example Thread

[Silverstoneorspacegray]

Just had mine done by the guys at ACM. 09 DCT with a little over 50k

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by admranger

12 hours of labor is BS. I'm not a tech and I did it 3 times back in my garage in Vegas (lift, decent set of tools). By the 3rd time I was down to about 8 hours (maybe less) start to finish. I was 53 when I did the bearing changes. A skilled (younger) full-time tech should do it in 7 or less.

Yup, my fat ass on jack stands did it in about 12 hours. With a lift and knowing what I know now, 8 hours no worries.

[spazzyfry123]

Let's see... Mine came with
BE bearings with shipping
Rod bolts
Oil pan gasket
Oil pan bolts and washers
Power steering fluid
Power steering reservoir (I opted to change mine out with new)
Motor oil and filter
Also changed out motor mounts with Vibra Techninc while they were in there

Labor to install all above was $1200. Looks to be the going rate around this area.

[Iyzmi]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Let's see... Mine came with
BE bearings with shipping
Rod bolts
Oil pan gasket
Oil pan bolts and washers
Power steering fluid
Power steering reservoir (I opted to change mine out with new)
Motor oil and filter
Also changed out motor mounts with Vibra Techninc while they were in there

Labor to install all above was $1200. Looks to be the going rate around this area.

How much was the labor to install your Autosolutions shifter? I was quoted $300, which seems about right.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Iyzmi

How much was the labor to install your Autosolutions shifter? I was quoted $300, which seems about right.

I have the invoice sitting at home that has the exact number, but I think it was like $275?
Something I did not consider is that the OEM shift knob has an integrated boot. So if you are planning on changing that out (I am going to use weighted ZHP knob), you need to get a new boot. I just had them put the factory knob/boot back on and I'll get a new boot later on to change myself.

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by admranger

12 hours of labor is BS. I'm not a tech and I did it 3 times back in my garage in Vegas (lift, decent set of tools). By the 3rd time I was down to about 8 hours (maybe less) start to finish. I was 53 when I did the bearing changes. A skilled (younger) full-time tech should do it in 7 or less.

Around here they don't charge the hours they actually work but the "book hours".

[Silverstoneorspacegray]

I'm not arguing with the recommendation but I'm curious about the justification for an extended break in period for rod-bearings. If they don't touch metal what are we breaking in?

[pbonsalb]

They do not actually need any break in. But driving gently and then gradually going harder for a few days is reasonable in case something was not done right - you might catch it before a potential disaster. I have no idea where the 1,000 mile recommendation came from.

[Richbot]

I ran it for 400 miles, changed the oil because I was getting an eye twitch thinking about any of the crud introduced in the swap staying in there for long, which is totally irrational, and am driving it normally (read: commuting + mild hoonage where safe) now. It has only exploded into a ball of fire 3 times since.

[MaximusB]

I'll contribute.

Car history:
2013 E92, purchased at 25,000 km or 15534 miles, previous owner purchased the car new. Car had full service history and previous owner followed BMW recommended oil change interval. All services were done at local BMW dealer.

Current:
Warranty expired this past year. Currently have 56,000km or 34796 miles. Since purchased I change the oil every 10,000km or 6213 miles with BMW W Twin oil. All oil changes were done at local dealer.

Driving habit:
Not a clue what the previous owner was like. I baby my car since the day I got it. Always wait for cold start cycle to end before driving off and I wait an extra minute or so when it is cold out. Daily the car all last year and did a few driving events with local BMW club.

Bearing condition:
The shop is finishing up the car today but here are some photos. Will post more detail and close up pictures of the bearings after I go pick it up. The bearings haven't been clean or wipe down yet.

The shop told me they've seen worst after having done several S65 RB jobs recently. However, there are some minor wear for such low mileage.











New motor mounts, the old ones already have several small cracks.

[MaximusB]

What are everyone's clearance after swapping out the RBs? I replaced mine with BE and the shop measured the clearance and it is 0.002, not sure at which cylinder. Will have the full measurement when I pick up the car.

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by MaximusB

I'll contribute.

Car history:
2013 E92, purchased at 25,000 km or 15534 miles, previous owner purchased the car new. Car had full service history and previous owner followed BMW recommended oil change interval. All services were done at local BMW dealer.

Current:
Warranty expired this past year. Currently have 56,000km or 34796 miles. Since purchased I change the oil every 10,000km or 6213 miles with BMW W Twin oil. All oil changes were done at local dealer.

Driving habit:
Not a clue what the previous owner was like. I baby my car since the day I got it. Always wait for cold start cycle to end before driving off and I wait an extra minute or so when it is cold out. Daily the car all last year and did a few driving events with local BMW club.

Bearing condition:
The shop is finishing up the car today but here are some photos. Will post more detail and close up pictures of the bearings after I go pick it up. The bearings haven't been clean or wipe down yet.

The shop told me they've seen worst after having done several S65 RB jobs recently. However, there are some minor wear for such low mileage.

New motor mounts, the old ones already have several small cracks.

Cheers Maximus. Interesting. I'm at similar phase, current mileage 57k km, bought with 19k km, baby it since. Planning to do my RB'n next Autum when coming closer to warranty out. So you did engine mounts already at this low mileage, guess the shop will have a look at that too.
Your shells doesn't look too bad in my eyes but than again the engine is still young. What did you pay up in Vancouver mate?

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by MaximusB

What are everyone's clearance after swapping out the RBs? I replaced mine with BE and the shop measured the clearance and it is 0.002, not sure at which cylinder. Will have the full measurement when I pick up the car.

Mine plastigauged to ~0.002 as well. Plastigauge is terribly inaccurate though. Only thing it does is let you know stuff is not too terribly tight or overly sloppy.

Cheers,

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by MaximusB

I'll contribute.

Car history:
2013 E92, purchased at 25,000 km or 15534 miles, previous owner purchased the car new. Car had full service history and previous owner followed BMW recommended oil change interval. All services were done at local BMW dealer.

Current:
Warranty expired this past year. Currently have 56,000km or 34796 miles. Since purchased I change the oil every 10,000km or 6213 miles with BMW W Twin oil. All oil changes were done at local dealer.

Driving habit:
Not a clue what the previous owner was like. I baby my car since the day I got it. Always wait for cold start cycle to end before driving off and I wait an extra minute or so when it is cold out. Daily the car all last year and did a few driving events with local BMW club.

Bearing condition:
The shop is finishing up the car today but here are some photos. Will post more detail and close up pictures of the bearings after I go pick it up. The bearings haven't been clean or wipe down yet.

New motor mounts, the old ones already have several small cracks.

You'll love those motor mounts! I out the same ones in mine when I did the swap. Definitely tightens up the car a little, but introduced zero NVH. I'm impressed!

[Green-Eggs]

Originally Posted by MaximusB

I'll contribute.

Car history:
2013 E92, purchased at 25,000 km or 15534 miles, previous owner purchased the car new. Car had full service history and previous owner followed BMW recommended oil change interval. All services were done at local BMW dealer.

Current:
Warranty expired this past year. Currently have 56,000km or 34796 miles. Since purchased I change the oil every 10,000km or 6213 miles with BMW W Twin oil. All oil changes were done at local dealer.

Driving habit:
Not a clue what the previous owner was like. I baby my car since the day I got it. Always wait for cold start cycle to end before driving off and I wait an extra minute or so when it is cold out. Daily the car all last year and did a few driving events with local BMW club.

Bearing condition:
The shop is finishing up the car today but here are some photos. Will post more detail and close up pictures of the bearings after I go pick it up. The bearings haven't been clean or wipe down yet.

The shop told me they've seen worst after having done several S65 RB jobs recently. However, there are some minor wear for such low mileage.











New motor mounts, the old ones already have several small cracks.

I bet your installer was comparing them to the older lead-copper bearings and thinking they looked good. These are the newer 702/703 tin-aluminum bearings. They are actually in pretty bad shape for 702/703 bearings.

[MaximusB]

Originally Posted by Helmsman

Cheers Maximus. Interesting. I'm at similar phase, current mileage 57k km, bought with 19k km, baby it since. Planning to do my RB'n next Autum when coming closer to warranty out. So you did engine mounts already at this low mileage, guess the shop will have a look at that too.
Your shells doesn't look too bad in my eyes but than again the engine is still young. What did you pay up in Vancouver mate?

I would consider getting motor mounts done at the same. From what I gathered here the oem mounts don't last very long and doing them with the RB won't add much more time to the job. Might be a better idea to order them with the RBs and have them ready. Cheers!

Originally Posted by Scharbag

Mine plastigauged to ~0.002 as well. Plastigauge is terribly inaccurate though. Only thing it does is let you know stuff is not too terribly tight or overly sloppy.
Cheers,

Good to know! Also based on the BE wiki, 0.002 is definitely better than stock clearance. Unfortunately I don't know what my stock clearances were to begin with.

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

You'll love those motor mounts! I out the same ones in mine when I did the swap. Definitely tightens up the car a little, but introduced zero NVH. I'm impressed!

Awesome, I can't wait!

[Jerry.E90M3]

Got mine done at MRF Engineering. Malek is a great guy and very, very knowledgeable about the E9X M platform. Thanks again, Malek.

[shane_c]

Rod bearings replaced 68000km,
at the lower end of wear compared to others replaced at Bromspec

[330ciprem]

Originally Posted by Duk996

2012, 28k miles. Not bad...

Correct me if I am wrong but your bearings look mint!!

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by 330ciprem

Correct me if I am wrong but your bearings look mint!!

For aluminum bearings (2012) those do not look that great. For S65 motor, they look good, but for aluminum bearings they are not great.

[Duk996]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

Mine plastigauged to ~0.002 as well. Plastigauge is terribly inaccurate though. Only thing it does is let you know stuff is not too terribly tight or overly sloppy.

Cheers,

I spot checked 2 rod bearing clearances with plastiguage and got .002 as well. Arp 625 bolts and vac "extra clearance" bearings.

[Duk996]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

For aluminum bearings (2012) those do not look that great. For S65 motor, they look good, but for aluminum bearings they are not great.

I thought they looked totally normal. Remember, bearings are supposed to have a wear pattern over 2 thirds the contact area (or something like that). They did only have 28k miles though...