DIY: S65 M3 Rod Bearing

[TheBreeze]

Really excellent and detailed DIY. Big kudos to Shadow and all who contributed. I tackled this job by myself over superbowl weekend, this DIY was invaluable prep and made it really easy to get all ducks in a row. On the advice of others, I did purchase a 12mm bi-hex 12pt deep socket to remove the original rod bolts and I'm very glad I did. My regular gearwrench 12pt sockets were a little too loose for comfort, while the bi-hex socket fit much better. The downside is that quality bi-hex sockets ain't cheap - I paid $30 for the single socket. I'm a pretty competent amateur mechanic, so I was pretty comfortable tackling this job. I mostly followed the DIY. I borrowed a friend's quick-jack to do the job, so at least I didn't need to mess with jack stands. The quick-jack provides around 20" of lift, which gave me plently of room underneath the car to work. I was still on my back the whole time, but at least it was easy moving around. I ended up discconecting the tierods, LCAs, and thrust rods at both knuckles, which let me swing the subframe out under the front bumper (I left the steering box hoses connected). This provided me with unobstructed access to the oil pan and made it much easier to get to the good stuff. It really didn't take too much more time, and I'm confident it greatly lowered the hassle/annoyance factor. I didn't bother sorting the oil pan bolts into the cardboard template - there's only 3 different lengths and it's very easy to know which ones go where. I also did not remove the fan, as there was just enough room to get a socket and breaker bar on the crank pulley nut. Toughest part of the job was probably getting the steering hooked back up - there's not a lot of room to get your hands in there to push the couplings together. No issues getting it lined up though. I ended up using BE bearings/bolts, and glad I did. The extra coin spent on the BE bolts were worth it in time savings alone. I ended up plastiguaging everything and all clearances were consistent. I did replace the motor mounts while I was in there, and also took the opportunity to re-tap one of the oil pan drain holes that was getting a little sticky. Overall, the motor appeared to be in great shape for almost 88k miles. From underneath, it was all *very* clean, cylinder walls looked perfect, crank was perfect, all metals looked like new.

I haven't driven the car a ton since completing the job, but so far, it's running great without any weird noises :-). The initial fire-up was a bit nerve-wracking for the first couple of seconds while oil pressure built back up. I was a bit surprised I had to add probably close 9.5L of oil before the oil level would show full. The spec says capacity is 8.8L, but perhaps that's not adjusting for an engine completely empty of oil. One issue I had was mentioned by another poster - I think some oil worked it's way into the bellhousing. After I completed the job and started the car and verified there were no obvious leaks, I parked my car in the driveway pointing downhill while I cleaned the garage. This left a big oil blotch on the driveway and the bottom of the rear oil pan sump covered in oil. I cleaned it all up and will monitor from here - hopefully it was just oil trapped in the bellhousing

Regarding the quick-jack lift, really awesome and clever peice of machinery. It's compact enough to store easily and is so much easier then messing with floor jack and jack stands. My buddy was kind enough to offer to loan me his any time I need it, but I may have to buy for myself after this experience. If you do a lot of wrenching, it's pretty darn convenient.

Some pictures of the job, the "workshop", the sister mistresses, and finally the patient ...

[SYT_Shadow]

Glad to hear it all worked out TheBreeze!

I have a quickjack as well and it's very convenient! So much better than jackstands!

Happy motoring!

[///M3 Gusta]

That's a sweet garage. Nice work!

[tdott]

TheBreeze Good job! Garage looks great too!

How was the Quickjack on the Swisstrax tiles? Did it leave any marks or did you use anything underneath it?>

[pbonsalb]

Great to see more people DIYing. Nice garage.

[TheBreeze]

Originally Posted by tdott

TheBreeze Good job! Garage looks great too!

How was the Quickjack on the Swisstrax tiles? Did it leave any marks or did you use anything underneath it?>

Thanks tdott! The quickjack worked fine on the tiles, since it spreads the weight out nicely. Floorjacks with skinny wheels do more damage for sure. I keep a stock of replacement tiles and replace as needed once or twice a year. I do generally like the slatted floor - it can be tough on bare feet and the knees, but it's nice that most dirt falls through the floor so you're not laying in crud that comes off the bottom of the car. I just run a power washer on it every couple of months to push the crud out from underneath.

[wakebrdr1]

Well done TheBreeze! I recently just moved off of Trelllingwood, I'm pretty sure I've seen you in the neighborhood. I'm trying to psych myself up to do the same on my 09 E92. Did you keep track of how long it took...and any interest in helping a fellow DIY'er work on another one (for a fee of course)

SYT_Shadow, it's been just over a year...anything you would do different after a year of driving/track time?

Great thread, thanks all!

[TheBreeze]

Originally Posted by wakebrdr1

Well done TheBreeze! I recently just moved off of Trelllingwood, I'm pretty sure I've seen you in the neighborhood. I'm trying to psych myself up to do the same on my 09 E92. Did you keep track of how long it took...and any interest in helping a fellow DIY'er work on another one (for a fee of course)

SYT_Shadow, it's been just over a year...anything you would do different after a year of driving/track time?

Great thread, thanks all!

You're not too far from me, it's quite possible you've seen me around :-), though I don't daily drive the M3. It took me probably 12 hours of actual working time, I slowed down a little at the end - I'm kinda old and I was getting tired ;-). I took it apart on Saturday afternoon and let it drip over night, made it a cleaner job. Not fun having oil drip in your eyes or ears as you're laying under the car :-). PM me about the help, we should be able to work something out - I'll work for cocktails and good food ;-).

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by wakebrdr1

Well done TheBreeze! I recently just moved off of Trelllingwood, I'm pretty sure I've seen you in the neighborhood. I'm trying to psych myself up to do the same on my 09 E92. Did you keep track of how long it took...and any interest in helping a fellow DIY'er work on another one (for a fee of course)

SYT_Shadow, it's been just over a year...anything you would do different after a year of driving/track time?

Great thread, thanks all!

Nothing i haven't put in the first few posts. I update them as more information comes out

[inTgr8r]

Is there a protective coating on the BE bearings that has to be removed prior to installation

If this has already been covered, sorry if I missed it.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Is there a protective coating on the BE bearings that has to be removed prior to installation

If this has already been covered, sorry if I missed it.

No

The parting lines are already sanded down

[admranger]

Originally Posted by TheBreeze

Really excellent and detailed DIY. Big kudos to Shadow and all who contributed. I tackled this job by myself over superbowl weekend, this DIY was invaluable prep and made it really easy to get all ducks in a row. On the advice of others, I did purchase a 12mm bi-hex 12pt deep socket to remove the original rod bolts and I'm very glad I did. My regular gearwrench 12pt sockets were a little too loose for comfort, while the bi-hex socket fit much better. The downside is that quality bi-hex sockets ain't cheap - I paid $30 for the single socket. I'm a pretty competent amateur mechanic, so I was pretty comfortable tackling this job. I mostly followed the DIY. I borrowed a friend's quick-jack to do the job, so at least I didn't need to mess with jack stands. The quick-jack provides around 20" of lift, which gave me plently of room underneath the car to work. I was still on my back the whole time, but at least it was easy moving around. I ended up discconecting the tierods, LCAs, and thrust rods at both knuckles, which let me swing the subframe out under the front bumper (I left the steering box hoses connected). This provided me with unobstructed access to the oil pan and made it much easier to get to the good stuff. It really didn't take too much more time, and I'm confident it greatly lowered the hassle/annoyance factor. I didn't bother sorting the oil pan bolts into the cardboard template - there's only 3 different lengths and it's very easy to know which ones go where. I also did not remove the fan, as there was just enough room to get a socket and breaker bar on the crank pulley nut. Toughest part of the job was probably getting the steering hooked back up - there's not a lot of room to get your hands in there to push the couplings together. No issues getting it lined up though. I ended up using BE bearings/bolts, and glad I did. The extra coin spent on the BE bolts were worth it in time savings alone. I ended up plastiguaging everything and all clearances were consistent. I did replace the motor mounts while I was in there, and also took the opportunity to re-tap one of the oil pan drain holes that was getting a little sticky. Overall, the motor appeared to be in great shape for almost 88k miles. From underneath, it was all *very* clean, cylinder walls looked perfect, crank was perfect, all metals looked like new.

I haven't driven the car a ton since completing the job, but so far, it's running great without any weird noises :-). The initial fire-up was a bit nerve-wracking for the first couple of seconds while oil pressure built back up. I was a bit surprised I had to add probably close 9.5L of oil before the oil level would show full. The spec says capacity is 8.8L, but perhaps that's not adjusting for an engine completely empty of oil. One issue I had was mentioned by another poster - I think some oil worked it's way into the bellhousing. After I completed the job and started the car and verified there were no obvious leaks, I parked my car in the driveway pointing downhill while I cleaned the garage. This left a big oil blotch on the driveway and the bottom of the rear oil pan sump covered in oil. I cleaned it all up and will monitor from here - hopefully it was just oil trapped in the bellhousing

Regarding the quick-jack lift, really awesome and clever peice of machinery. It's compact enough to store easily and is so much easier then messing with floor jack and jack stands. My buddy was kind enough to offer to loan me his any time I need it, but I may have to buy for myself after this experience. If you do a lot of wrenching, it's pretty darn convenient.

Some pictures of the job, the "workshop", the sister mistresses, and finally the patient ...

Nice work and I like what you've done with your workshop. I loved having the cabinets up off the floor in my Vegas garage. Nice place to park the jack too. Clever!

Have you ever lost a nut or washer in the open flooring?

[TheBreeze]

Originally Posted by admranger

Nice work and I like what you've done with your workshop. I loved having the cabinets up off the floor in my Vegas garage. Nice place to park the jack too. Clever!

Have you ever lost a nut or washer in the open flooring?

Thanks! Small nuts/washers. and o-rings can drop under the flooring, but it doesn't happen very often. A magnet or needlenose pliers will usually do the trick, or worst case, you just pop up the tile then snap it back in once you've fetched the goodies.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by TheBreeze

Thanks! Small nuts/washers. and o-rings can drop under the flooring, but it doesn't happen very often. A magnet or needlenose pliers will usually do the trick, or worst case, you just pop up the tile then snap it back in once you've fetched the goodies.

I thought that might be the case. I have decided I like the open design vs. the closed design of the floor in my previous garage. Spills can be more easily washed/rinsed out as you stated earlier.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by admranger

I thought that might be the case. I have decided I like the open design vs. the closed design of the floor in my previous garage. Spills can be more easily washed/rinsed out as you stated earlier.

The open design is FANTASTIC!!!
I've had it for several years now and absolutely love it.
The floor is always clean.
I just run the shop vac around every couple of weeks, and that is it.
It's also much easier to walk on than concrete.

[swhat]

Did you guys use any oil pan grease? I think there's a leak for my oil pan after reinstalling.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by swhat

Did you guys use any oil pan grease? I think there's a leak for my oil pan after reinstalling.

No need for anything other than the oil pan gasket iirc.

[contie92]

out of curiosity on average how long is it taking to do this job with out a lift for you guys with the quick jack ?i have 62k on my car now i wana do these at around 70k or before i get a super charger what ever comes first .

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by swhat

Did you guys use any oil pan grease? I think there's a leak for my oil pan after reinstalling.

No. None was used in the original installation either.

If you torque them to spec you should be fine if you used a new gasket

Sometimes oil hides out in the bellhousing and then leaks out

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by contie92

out of curiosity on average how long is it taking to do this job with out a lift for you guys with the quick jack ?i have 62k on my car now i wana do these at around 70k or before i get a super charger what ever comes first .

It's likely you can still do it in one day

[deansbimmer]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

Sometimes oil hides out in the bellhousing and then leaks out

This is a big one. Many hearts have been broken after this job when they found a pool of oil under the car and pulled everything back out to "reseal" a perfectly good oil pan gasket.

Be sure to clean any leaked oil out from the transmission bellhousing while the oil pan is off, so that this doesn't happen to you.

[TheBreeze]

Originally Posted by contie92

out of curiosity on average how long is it taking to do this job with out a lift for you guys with the quick jack ?i have 62k on my car now i wana do these at around 70k or before i get a super charger what ever comes first .

Took me around 12 hours of working time, I did the job by myself on a quickjack. I started on a Saturday afternoon, took about 3 hours to get everything apart, at which point I quit for the day to let the remaining oil drip out. Picked it back up Sunday to R&R the bearings and button it all back up, not counting all the breaks I took, probably another 9 hours. Now that I've done it once, I'm sure sub-10 hours is very doable, less if you have good help.