Rod bearing replacement around Seattle

[astris]

Originally Posted by digitalPULSE

Ian/IS Motorsports is awesome and I've taken my M3 to him for every major mechanical service for my car so far. Just before Christmas I had him replace the clutch and flywheel (2008 MT E92) on my car as well as replace the brake rotors and pads, and he did my rod bearing service back in March of 2017. BE bearings with ARP bolts still going strong with zero issues almost 4 years and 40,000 miles later. I plan on having IS Motorsports handle my valve cover replacement sometime later this year, too.

The shop looked crazy busy based on the number of cars and activity when I was there dropping my car off - like 3-4 E9X M3s, an M4, a wide-body MKV Supra that was being unloaded in the parking lot, plus some other cars. Even though it looked packed in the shop I didn't have any issues or delays with getting my car in for service and I never had any issues getting ahold of Ian when calling the shop.

When I picked up my car I did have a few minutes to chat with Ian and better check out the shop. I asked him about the rod bearing services and I recall him saying that he's recommending the VAC bearings nowadays. I haven't paid attention to the rod bearing stuff for a few years now, but I think he preferred VAC bearings because they're easier to source over the BE bearings and that there's a prove service history out there now. I'd just say give him a call and see what he can do for you and your situation.

Wonder if one of the M3's was mine? I dropped it off for a boost gauge install and the Supra was there.

Ian has done all the mods on my car along with a few maintenance bits that showed themselves along the way. If I end up keeping the car, I'll definitely have him do my rod bearings.

[Mimmer]

Yeah went in for some things I couldn't do myself or didn't want attempt make it worse. I will say tho they did over torque 1 my wheels .... not end world as I have tools remove and retorque but still ...

I would go back for now see if I run into anything else. But overall super nice people and service Is good and fixed my problems.

[ol doc gully]

Originally Posted by digitalPULSE

I recall him saying that he's recommending the VAC bearings nowadays. I haven't paid attention to the rod bearing stuff for a few years now, but I think he preferred VAC bearings because they're easier to source over the BE bearings and that there's a prove service history out there now. I'd just say give him a call and see what he can do for you and your situation.

Excellent, thanks very much, was wanting to have some idea of his preference before I mentioned things. Haven't gotten a hold of him yet.

[drwankel]

I had Ian at IS garage do my rod bearings late last year. So far so good!

[ol doc gully]

Add another extremely happy IS Motorsports rod bearing repair customer.

Ian was extremely communicative, fast, and went above and beyond to help me greatly with a handful of other niggling issues the car was having.

He would be my first choice for any other future service I wouldnt plan to do myself.

[joe6mt]

Ian he’s a great guy! I’m going to pay him a visit soon as I get back from deployment and knock out some preventive maintenances.

[astris]

IS Motorsports has done all my mods to date (suspension, exhaust, supercharger, boost gauge). Heading back for rod bearings (BE and BE/ARP) in a couple weeks. They've also helped resolve a number random issues along the way. Best prices around too.

[bugg]

Man, wage inflation is here. Called around as I'm looking to get this done on my new-to-me 2011 E90 w/68k miles. Looks like prices have jumped up quite a bit in the area.

IS Motorsports is quoting around $3500 w/OE motor mounts, which was matched by Strictly BMW. G2 gave a ballpark of $4500. Haven't heard from AR in Oregon yet.

For reference, another forum poster I met up with when looking for an E9X this April had his rod bearings done for $3300 at G2 Motorsports 2-3 years ago.

[astris]

Originally Posted by bugg

Man, wage inflation is here. Called around as I'm looking to get this done on my new-to-me 2011 E90 w/68k miles. Looks like prices have jumped up quite a bit in the area.

IS Motorsports is quoting around $3500 w/OE motor mounts, which was matched by Strictly BMW. G2 gave a ballpark of $4500. Haven't heard from AR in Oregon yet.

For reference, another forum poster I met up with when looking for an E9X this April had his rod bearings done for $3300 at G2 Motorsports 2-3 years ago.

I supplied all the parts and IS just did the labor. Total came out to less than that.

I used to go to G2 years ago, but will never go back. Last time my car was there they couldn't figure out the issues wanted to charge me something like 12 hours of labor for troubleshooting. To be "nice" they only charged me like 8 hours. All because they couldn't figure it out. While they were working on the car, I asked them to do an oil change. They charged me around $350! This was years ago. Luckily the bulk of the work was covered by insurance. I recently had them quote me on rod bearings and it was something like $5500+.

[astris]

FYI, you can get BE bearings for $559, no tax, free shipping from AutoTalent. BE ARP spec rod bolts for $280. Pretty sure that's cheaper than anywhere and they are in stock.

Got mine from them and would highly recommend. Golan @ AutoTalent is great to work with.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by bugg

Man, wage inflation is here. Called around as I'm looking to get this done on my new-to-me 2011 E90 w/68k miles. Looks like prices have jumped up quite a bit in the area.

IS Motorsports is quoting around $3500 w/OE motor mounts, which was matched by Strictly BMW. G2 gave a ballpark of $4500. Haven't heard from AR in Oregon yet.

For reference, another forum poster I met up with when looking for an E9X this April had his rod bearings done for $3300 at G2 Motorsports 2-3 years ago.

I had G2 (Group 2 Motorsports) do my rod bearings in early 2017 for $3000 or so. I seem to recall it being $3600 out the door, but that included motor mounts and tax. Either way, they were pretty high even then in 2017, but I went with them as I trusted them, and their location was way more convenient that other Seattle area shops that knew how to do this work. Sounds like their prices have increased quite a bit since then.

[bugg]

Originally Posted by jiggz

I had G2 (Group 2 Motorsports) do my rod bearings in early 2017 for $3000 or so. I seem to recall it being $3600 out the door, but that included motor mounts and tax. Either way, they were pretty high even then in 2017, but I went with them as I trusted them, and their location was way more convenient that other Seattle area shops that knew how to do this work. Sounds like their prices have increased quite a bit since then.

Yeah, G2's location is hard to beat. I could probably walk home from there, but at their quoted prices I'd rather buy a QuickJack and do it myself.

I think I'm leaning towards Ian @ IS or Andrew @ Bavarian House in Portland. Andrew has an E92 himself and is actually taking the time to discuss options w/me regarding motor mounts and bearing choices.

On an unrelated note, it sounds like every shop I talk to prefers VAC. Not sure how much of it is related to how difficult BE bearings were to source for a while.

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by bugg

On an unrelated note, it sounds like every shop I talk to prefers VAC. Not sure how much of it is related to how difficult BE bearings were to source for a while.

I'm sure that's the exact reason. Shop wants to sell you what they can actually get.

[F36Baker]

Just got my bearings done.

$2400 for VAC Bearings and the arp bolts. Motor mounts as well. I went with Bavarian house

Phone number is 971-238-4680

He is located by the pdx airport. I had my car next day. He's legit, does great work. Was a master tech at Kuni bmw. Check out his IG to see his work.

https://instagram.com/bavarianhouse....dium=copy_link

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by F36Baker

Just got my bearings done.

$2400 for BE Bearings and the arp bolts. Motor mounts as well. I went with Bavarian house

Phone number is 971-238-4680

He is located by the pdx airport. I had my car next day. He's legit, does great work. Was a master tech at Kuni bmw. Check out his IG to see his work.

https://instagram.com/bavarianhouse....dium=copy_link

Great price! I generally covet convenience over most things, but given the price difference between the primary shops in Seattle that do this work, I'd have to consider Bavarian House if I was in Seattle and needed bearings done.

[bugg]

Originally Posted by F36Baker

Just got my bearings done.

$2400 for VAC Bearings and the arp bolts. Motor mounts as well. I went with Bavarian house

Phone number is 971-238-4680

He is located by the pdx airport. I had my car next day. He's legit, does great work. Was a master tech at Kuni bmw. Check out his IG to see his work.

https://instagram.com/bavarianhouse....dium=copy_link

Good to hear another endorsement for Bavarian House. I'm leaning towards taking a trip down to PDX to get the job done and then buying myself a QuickJack set with the $1000+ difference over a Seattle shop.

[F36Baker]

Originally Posted by bugg

Good to hear another endorsement for Bavarian House. I'm leaning towards taking a trip down to PDX to get the job done and then buying myself a QuickJack set with the $1000+ difference over a Seattle shop.

It's worth it, Andrew was a master tech for Kuni bmw so he's not a "random guy good at repairing bmw". He's legit! He's done like 4-5 rod bearing jobs in the last two weeks.

[BashBosh]

Hi

I called/emailed around and got the below. YMMV. But thought I'd share. I haven't heard back from IS yet. Also - Eastside said they only use OE. My car is an '08 which used the lead/copper bearings, so would OE be the newer and harder tin/aluminum bearings ? They said they dont use aftermarket.

Strickly - ~4800
Eastside - 3950 - doesn't include engine mounts.
Rolf's - 4-5k - said they are doing these frequently
KD automotive Redmond - said they dont do it
Gerties Garage - said they dont do it
Bavarian House - 3k, VAC + ARP + Mounts.
IS Motorsports - waiting to hear back.

Confirms the wisdom of the group that Bav House and perhaps IS are best placed to do this work. Eastside would be convenient but I was perplexed by the 'OE only'.
Hope this is useful for others.

[drwankel]

Originally Posted by BashBosh

Hi

I called/emailed around and got the below. YMMV. But thought I'd share. I haven't heard back from IS yet. Also - Eastside said they only use OE. My car is an '08 which used the lead/copper bearings, so would OE be the newer and harder tin/aluminum bearings ? They said they dont use aftermarket.

Strickly - ~4800
Eastside - 3950 - doesn't include engine mounts.
Rolf's - 4-5k - said they are doing these frequently
KD automotive Redmond - said they dont do it
Gerties Garage - said they dont do it
Bavarian House - 3k, VAC + ARP + Mounts.
IS Motorsports - waiting to hear back.

Confirms the wisdom of the group that Bav House and perhaps IS are best placed to do this work. Eastside would be convenient but I was perplexed by the 'OE only'.
Hope this is useful for others.

I asked strictly bmw about this a few years ago, and they said they only do OEM bearings. Did they change? What was included for that 4800?

[BashBosh]

I didn't get details from Strictly - when I heard the price I wasn't interested.

[jiggz]

Strictly wasn't even doing this job in 2017 when I had my RB's done - I called around multiple shops and they wouldn't even quote it.

As well, my SA at BMW Seattle asked me a little while back where I'd had mine done & how much I paid - they were thinking about getting into the RB replacement business but not sure they ever did. In 2017 they wouldn't even acknowledge rod bearings.

[BashBosh]

I called dealership in bellevue and asked for a quote - they never called back so I took that as them not being interested. If anyone has a dealership quote that would be interesting - especially now that all these cars are out of warranty maybe they are OK doing the work