complete engine blow

[maicol76]

Hello guys

Here are pictures of my broken engine.

Mine is 2011 e92 w/DCT.
I installed a NEW engine(produced in 2013) at BMW official A/S center after experiencing rod bearing failure at 18200miles.
After installing, this engine's mileage is 39100miles.

My m3 has only been used for track driving for three years(track only mileage : about 6000~12000miles)
I've taken really really good care of my car especially engine after experiencing rod bearing failure.

<My M3's mod>
BMC drop in filter
Akrepovic evo
secondary air pump removed
all A/C parts removed
ecu chip tuning
rod bearing replacement with VAC's, and installed oil pan baffle.


There was no DTC related in engine before track driving.
The day the engine broken, all data recorded in data logger with stock and aftermarket sensors are perfect.
oil temp, oil pressure, water temp, map, fuel and etc..all are perfect. There was not even a shake.
The engine broke down as soon as I put in the 6th gear.


The difference between last year is rpm limit.
Rpm didn't exceed the 8400 rpm until last year.
I raised the limit about 200rpm this year, but never exceeded 8600.
(all the rpm data was recorded in data logger)
max rpm was 8574 recorded in logger.

=> 'raised the limit' means 'the recorded rpm data' on data logger.
8400 is limit on current ecu, 8300 was last year. (I have pictures of mapping program from tuner)
If you set the limit rpm, Normally +100~200 more rpm is recorded in the real world, because engine is not a digital component like computer.

Now I and mechanic are investing the reason.

VAC rod bearing(10~15 track days during 3920 mileage) is prefect.
valve spring and conrod are not broken.
intake valve and piston is completly destroyed.
Hydraulic valve lifter looks perfect. there is no gap or scratch.

We guess it's because piston hit valve, may be.
But, I don't know the reason why exactly.
valve spring fatigue? engine knocking?

I'm very confused.
I'll keep posting about this.

[Transfer]

Wow thanks for sharing and keep us posted. Sorry for your loss!

[pbonsalb]

So this is your second engine failure?

[///M Power-Belgium]

S65 RIP !
#reallysucks .

[BanjoPaterson]

Sad for your loss. Interesting that the VAC RB's look good -- what about main bearings (the other bug bear on this forum)? Please keep us posted and, again, sympathy.

[eatsleepboost]

April fools?

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by eatsleepboost

April fools?

No . Because it was actually from 2 weeks ago => http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1481065

[eatsleepboost]

Ah good call Belgium. That sucks to hear. Subscribed for more info.

[SDPLV]

No bueno, esp with so many DDs hitting 100k. These 2 engines came short of 20k and 40k.
I guess track use shortens life though but damn.

[maicol76]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

So this is your second engine failure?

yes. I lost 2 new engines.

[BayE30]

Looks like the old e36 m3 when the valves float and contact piston...curious to know the point of failure.

[Honda]

Originally Posted by maicol76

yes. I lost 2 new engines.

wow..that's nuts...I would be screaming all day at BMW NA for this BS

[GORDON.M3]

Damn. Sorry to hear...

[m3jala]

Thanks for posting the details for benefit of community. Hope the new build is well underway.

[tdott]

Is the rod bearing shown from the damaged rod?

You are saying a dropped intake valve caused that damage?
Are all other valves okay? Did this only happen to 1 cylinder?

[jcolley]

Detonation. If the valve spring isn't broken, you didn't get piston to valve contact on a single valve if the keepers were still in place.

How do all the other piston tops look? Which cylinder was this?

Are you running the stock DME? Given the laundry list of track car mods you have, I would seriously look into a standalone ECU with much greater flexibility and an actual knock sensing system instead of the ionic crap.

[maicol76]

Originally Posted by tdott

Is the rod bearing shown from the damaged rod?

You are saying a dropped intake valve caused that damage?
Are all other valves okay? Did this only happen to 1 cylinder?

yes. from the damaged rod.

[Doc Oc]

Stuck or faulty injector?

[LVI]

What made you think raising the rev limiter to 8600 rpm was a good idea? Not sure if it's related to the failure but it surely didnt help. When was the 8574rpm reading recorded and when did the engine fail? Do you have an hour/runtime marker for both? Jcolley knows more than me and it looks like unless you snapped a valve spring, it's very likely this was some serious detonation. Any broken valve springs? I didnt see you answer this ...

That rod looks like a banana ... Whos "state of the art (i.e. shit)" "chip tune" are you running?

[LVI]

Originally Posted by Doc Oc

Stuck or faulty injector?

He says fuel was "perfect" ... Whatever that means. OP what fuel data are you saying is looking perfect?

[maicol76]

As a result of disassembling head, we couldn't find any marks of knocking at all pistons surface. And there are no scratches on all cylinder walls except broken 1st cyl.

The length of valve springs are all equal.
All valve retainers, stem seals and retainer locks look great, even at 1st cyl.

But, the shape of one broken intake valve is different from the rest. The part where the head and stem met was broken without stem bent.
The rest were just bent.

After disassembling, we tested the strength of valve.
Even though we hit a normal valve very hard with a big hammer several times, we failed to break valve. just bent.

I know that absolutely this test was different from the circumstance in cylinder inside. But, valve was not weak as we thought.

Why was the only one valve broken without bent?
Valve floating on just one valve without bent stem?
If valve floating is right, why? just because a few times high rev, 8400~8570?

If the broken valve was weaker than the rest, I can only think of this as a manufacturer defect.

I'll keep posting. If you have something to advice me, plz feel free to do it for me.

[GORDON.M3]

What tune were you running on the car?