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      10-03-2018, 03:53 PM   #1
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Rod bearing inspection after replacement?

Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I'm a new E90 M3 owner and this whole rod bearing thing has me spooked. My car is a 2011 with 25k miles, so I'm not too worried just yet.

My question is, has anyone pulled out the bearings after replacement to inspect and make sure this whole thing isn't reoccurring? You can find a billion posts of the original bearings being taken out and shown how horrible they are. But you don't see any posts about anyone taking out the BE bearings (for example) after 20-30k miles. If those posts exist, then I haven't found them.
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      10-03-2018, 04:48 PM   #2
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I second a request for information on this. BTW, I'm a new M3 owner too (2010 M3, 75k Miles, 9 days or so) and the rod bearings have me in full-on stress mode right now, thanks internet.

I just haven't had the balls to actually start another RB thread around here

But I've wondered the same thing myself.

1. Is the issue with the actual rod bearings? Or is it with the crankshaft and/or connecting rods?

2. If it's the crankshaft or rods, do the upgraded bearings have any difference over stock that mitigate the problem?
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      10-03-2018, 06:57 PM   #3
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Read the threads and you will find as much info as is out there. Feel free to spend as much on labor to inspect your changed bearings as you spent on labor to replace them.
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      10-03-2018, 07:19 PM   #4
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oil sample testing tells you what you need to know.
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      10-03-2018, 11:12 PM   #5
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Mileage is irrelevant as it all depends on how the shells were torqued down/journal clearance variance during the early build stages. If you can't confirm the work done, I suggest you do it asap.

There were some who pulled out after doing rod bearing jobs with BE and VAC/WPC and they looked good as new it's likely a factory related issue.
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      10-03-2018, 11:14 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r View Post
oil sample testing tells you what you need to know.
No it doesn’t. Dean and Malek do.
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      10-06-2018, 10:36 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CarPoor View Post
No it doesn’t. Dean and Malek do.
I agree they know their stuff
But they don't have magical powers that they can tell bearing condition of an operating engine without a tear down.
Bearings once replaced have lead (for LCI cars) that can be tracked with sample testing.

Oil sample testing has already saved one engine for me.
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      10-06-2018, 12:20 PM   #8
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Once you replace your bearings, taking oil samples from that point forward, w/ the baseline as a starting point, might be more "telling" than simply doing a single analysis on your factory bearings and thinking you have a clean bill of health.
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      10-08-2018, 04:27 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r View Post
I agree they know their stuff
But they don't have magical powers that they can tell bearing condition of an operating engine without a tear down.
Bearings once replaced have lead (for LCI cars) that can be tracked with sample testing.

Oil sample testing has already saved one engine for me.
Sure but I’ve seen engines failed on here with perfect Blackstone reports
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      10-08-2018, 06:15 AM   #10
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I don’t think any failed engines have had oil analysis every change from new. That data would be useful. A report here and there or reports starting once the car is older and has some mileage won’t be as useful.
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      10-08-2018, 08:19 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRussski View Post
Sure but I’ve seen engines failed on here with perfect Blackstone reports
after bearing replacement?

With OE bearings on LCI cars I agree, testing is a waste of time and $
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Last edited by inTgr8r; 10-08-2018 at 08:29 AM..
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      10-08-2018, 08:27 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
I don’t think any failed engines have had oil analysis every change from new. That data would be useful. A report here and there or reports starting once the car is older and has some mileage won’t be as useful.
I agree.
It needs to be done consistently to establish a trend.

Unfortunately with LCI cars there's no point testing due to no lead in the OE bearings.
Thats why I did my bearings right after I bought it and with only 18K miles on it.
Now I can establish a trend with every oil change over time.
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      10-08-2018, 10:02 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r View Post
after bearing replacement?

With OE bearings on LCI cars I agree, testing is a waste of time and $
No before, a lot of newbs here think that just because their 2nd Blackstone reports shows great results, it means that they’re safe from beating failure

Edit: Sorry I misunderstood that you mentioned AFTER RB replacement. Yes you’re right.
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      10-16-2018, 07:08 AM   #14
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I guess what I was interested in is seeing pictures of rod bearings after being replaced.

I'm speculating that the clearance could be an issue when the engine is factory fresh which causes those initial scoring marks. It's obviously wearing down which should increase the clearance. What I'm saying is, maybe the bearings wear very shortly after the engine is new and there isn't a progressing problem after that? Like the bearings at that point and then with 50k more miles look the same. Again, this is just speculation and I have no idea what I'm talking about. :-)
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      10-16-2018, 07:38 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtx450 View Post
Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I'm a new E90 M3 owner and this whole rod bearing thing has me spooked. My car is a 2011 with 25k miles, so I'm not too worried just yet.

My question is, has anyone pulled out the bearings after replacement to inspect and make sure this whole thing isn't reoccurring? You can find a billion posts of the original bearings being taken out and shown how horrible they are. But you don't see any posts about anyone taking out the BE bearings (for example) after 20-30k miles. If those posts exist, then I haven't found them.
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1073979
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      10-16-2018, 11:14 AM   #16
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Only a few changed bearings have been pulled so far. The number of examples should grow as some decide changing is periodic maintenance.

The idea that the problem occurs early and stops has been floated before, along with many other theories. It is possible but no one knows. Engines have failed with low miles and high miles. And most engines with low and high miles are running fine with original bearings. Recommendations can be made to be proactive and to do nothing. You have to make up your own mind.
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      10-16-2018, 12:07 PM   #17
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Thanks for the info!
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      10-16-2018, 01:19 PM   #18
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I changed mine in 2014 when my extended warranty expired. That was my decision based on all the evidence I had — mostly what I read here. Had 60k then, about 93k now.
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      10-16-2018, 01:51 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r View Post
oil sample testing tells you what you need to know.
False. Plenty of people have had failures right after a "good" oil sample result.
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      10-17-2018, 12:46 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inTgr8r View Post
oil sample testing tells you what you need to know.
i would disagree only because once these go- they go without any warning. you could graph your lead counts on the '08-'10 bearings since new, but there is no number of parts per xxx that is going to indicate you should change- you're just going to know the end is near.
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