▀▄ eas | S65 Rod Bearing Replacement: An ongoing "Journal"

[tom @ eas]

Blackstone report was received today, copper/lead readings are abnormally high as expected:



reference:



Image added to post #2 for reference.

[W///]

^ Good info. Now we can match catastrophic looking bearings with insanely high lead and copper numbers (lead = 6x the avg, copper = 2.5x the avg)

[DLSJ5]

Tom, great info, EAS is always identifying/addressing the needs and demands of the BMW community, well done!

[M3PO]

Wow, I am really starting to get worried. My copper and lead have averaged 10 and 36 respectively over the last 15K miles (two changes). I am due for another one shortly...

[Radiation Joe]

Redline 5W-30 street mixed 50/50 with Redline 40W race. 7500 mile intervals.

Three UOAs. Zero lead each time.

YMMV

[DLSJ5]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Redline 5W-30 street mixed 50/50 with Redline 40W race. 7500 mile intervals.

Three UOAs. Zero lead each time.

YMMV

Good stuff, how many miles on the motor Joe?

[jbraslins]

got this today, should i be worried?

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by jbraslins

got this today, should i be worried?

Note your report is incorrectly listed as a 3.2L S54 engine, this changes the Universal Average column on the right slightly as seen in the chart I posted just before you.

Someone just made a typo. Email Blackstone and they will provide a corrected report for you.

[jbraslins]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Note your report is incorrectly listed as a 3.2L S54 engine, this changes the Universal Average column on the right slightly as seen in the chart I posted just before you.

Someone just made a typo. Email Blackstone and they will provide a corrected report for you.

wow, good catch. thank you.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by DLSJ5

Good stuff, how many miles on the motor Joe?

87,000 miles

Maybe I wore all the lead away early in life. Here's a link to my last UOA.

[signes]

Damn, a lot of miles again. How many cumulative miles in E9x M3s (including your last one)?

[4corners]

I have no reason to believe there is any problem with my car. No funny noises, just beautiful mechanical ones. It hauls ass and outperforms 95% of the cars on the road. I add oil once between oil changes. 2008 E92 with ~85000 miles, I ordered the Blackstone kit today. We'll see.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by signes

Damn, a lot of miles again. How many cumulative miles in E9x M3s (including your last one)?

87k currently on the 2011,
49.95k on the 2009 e90 before I turned that POS DCT in off of lease,
67k on the 2003 e46 M3, that was an awesome car, I miss it. It would have had a 100k+ on it but I split time between it and an RS6 Audi. That was another awesome car. I thought the e90 would be a great compromise between the e46 and the RS6, but the two of them together were infinitely better than the e90. Nothing drives better than an e46, and the RS6 felt like it was carved out of a solid piece of steel (plus 500hp and AWD).

I do tons of highway miles, so my lack of lead in the UOAs may be skewed due to that.

[jbraslins]

Corrected:



Since it's only Lead and this oils does have two recent VIR weekends on it, I think I am not worried Will re-test in 2k miles.

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Redline 5W-30 street mixed 50/50 with Redline 40W race. 7500 mile intervals.

Three UOAs. Zero lead each time.

YMMV

You should have zero lead Joe....... Your bearings have no lead in them since you drive a 2011 model!

[e92zero]

Originally Posted by BMRLVR

You should have zero lead Joe....... Your bearings have no lead in them since you drive a 2011 model!

In that case, what should we be looking for? Do you know when exactly did BMW switch over to the no lead bearings, 2011.00 2011.5 or 2011.75? I have a 2011 model with a 2010/07 build date. Thanks.

[regular guy]

Originally Posted by e92zero

In that case, what should we be looking for? Do you know when exactly did BMW switch over to the no lead bearings, 2011.00 2011.5 or 2011.75? I have a 2011 model with a 2010/07 build date. Thanks.

The part number changed in October 2008. So the theory is all bearings after Oct-2008 are no-lead bearings.

I'm still working to confirm this.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by BMRLVR

You should have zero lead Joe....... Your bearings have no lead in them since you drive a 2011 model!

We have (2) MY11s here that show lead in the reports.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by regular guy

The part number changed in October 2008. So the theory is all bearings after Oct-2008 are no-lead bearings.

I'm still working to confirm this.

All the bearings have a sacrificial lead layer; part number changes can also be underlying supplier changes and not necessarily a redesigned/upgraded part.

[regular guy]

Originally Posted by thekurgan

All the bearings have a sacrificial lead layer; part number changes can also be underlying supplier changes and not necessarily a redesigned/upgraded part.

Understood. There are persistent reports from "connected" vendors that BMW switched to no-lead bearings at some point. At this time, the only bearing change on S65 occurred in October 2008. That's why it's only a theory.

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

We have (2) MY11s here that show lead in the reports.

Tom do you have any plans to replace bearings on either of these MY11's? If so, I'm sure you'll check to see if they're 088/089 bearings vs. 702/703's. If they're 088/089's, I realize it's not proof, but it's still another piece of data.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by regular guy

Tom do you have any plans to replace bearings on either of these MY11's? If so, I'm sure you'll check to see if they're 088/089 bearings vs. 702/703's. If they're 088/089's, I realize it's not proof, but it's still another piece of data.

One was our previous M3, which saw a good amount of track usage.



This car was sold a couple of months ago. The 2nd one is a recent M3 we just took possession of a couple of months ago with low mileage. We plan on performing an inspection on its replacement to get a low mileage comparison (~18,000mi).



We also start a MY08 track-dedicated M3 build next week, an oil analysis and rod bearing inspection is among the first items on the list.

Those that local are more than welcome to drop by and see in person.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by regular guy

Understood. There are persistent reports from "connected" vendors that BMW switched to no-lead bearings at some point. At this time, the only bearing change on S65 occurred in October 2008. That's why it's only a theory.

That was only a change for the main bearings. The rod bearings haven't changed (part numbers) since the beginning from what I understand. Hence all rod bearing wear will begin to show up as increased lead initially I would assume?