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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
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I'm going to preventatively replace my 72K N55 rod bearings
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07-02-2019, 12:45 PM | #243 |
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Two things that the fatman said jumped out at me:
"I figure these bearings will last me as long as I want to keep the car." "The more pictures that get posted like this, the more I'm very happy I changed mine when I did." I agree wholeheartedly. We all can agree that there is a bearing problem, whatever the cause. Maybe someday BMW will come clean and enlighten us. Until that day comes if we intend on keeping these fine rides we all must make risk tolerence decisions. I pegged the mileage for taking proactive measures somewhere between 60 and 70 k miles. I was at 78 k, and considering all of the go faster options I have bolted on my engine, I was getting nervous. |
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07-06-2019, 05:28 AM | #244 |
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Happy Saturday all,
Ever since I decided to install WPC-treated OE rod bearings instead of just OE or coated aftermarket bearings, I have been trying to find information on someone who has run WPC-treated bearings for some time, and then pulled them to check the wear. This information has proven very difficult to come by, especially somebody who has done this in a BMW application. Anyway, I came across the following (all credit to Paul Vo) where this guy removed WPC-treated OE bearings from his S54-equipped E46 at 15,000 miles. This is an engine that has a well documented history of worn rod bearings. So, what do you all think? |
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09-26-2019, 08:12 PM | #245 |
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In for updates
Got my 1st custom tune by wedge and 1st pull misfired, car started sounding very weird after that. To me it sounds high pitched a lot of engine sound which overpowers the exhaust and a slight sound of knock (I'm thinking) around 3k rpm. Turbo seals are done but car has new injectors, plugs, coils, hpfp, boost solenoids, and I can't help but think my rod bearings are about to go. Oil pressure is good but the car is pulling massive timing (could be due to failing turbo) but I'll try and get a video of what the car sounds like. I guess my next step would be oil analysis and vanos solenoid, but also curious could this be a jumped timing chain? Compression test and leak down test came out within spec. Lot of info I know but any help would be appreciated, so much money has gone into the car already |
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09-27-2019, 10:08 AM | #246 | |
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Like a few logs of just before this issue |
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09-27-2019, 08:32 PM | #247 |
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11-07-2019, 08:25 PM | #248 |
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11-11-2019, 10:06 AM | #249 |
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Car is still sounds weird and sometimes wants to misfire when given too much throttle at low rpm. I probably put like 10k hard miles on it since after replacing every maintinance item and top end still pulls like a train. Turbo is blowing lots of oil and I keep getting this code for BOV jammed closed. Black Friday imma just go full send and buy the big boost kit 6159 bb turbo but I won't install it till I save up enough to swap out my rod bearings and valve cover gasket, while I'm in there I might as well throw in MILVS. Got big plans, hopefully I can thinks settled by 2020
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11-13-2019, 04:06 PM | #250 | |
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02-08-2020, 03:30 AM | #251 |
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Bump . Just found out I need to replace oil pan so rod bearings is a consideration for me. How did the instal go? Should I replace mine with my car being at 140k miles while I have the pan off? N55 f30 2012 140k miles
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02-08-2020, 07:50 AM | #252 | |
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Whether or not you should inspect or replace your rod bearings while the pan is down is entirely up to you. I would carefully weigh how long you plan to keep the car, its value, cost of the parts/labor, maintenance history of the car, how much power you're making, how long you can afford to be without the car, your mechanical ability, etc. If it were my car, knowing what I know about the N55 and at 140K miles, I would not hesitate to replace the rod bearings. At the very least, I would pull a rod cap or two to inspect; that would only cost you a few new stretch bolts and 10 minutes or so. Last edited by fatty335; 02-09-2020 at 12:45 PM.. |
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02-09-2020, 12:36 PM | #253 | |
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06-13-2020, 12:12 PM | #255 |
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Nicely done and thanks for posting up pics of the old ones! Just out of curiosity, what did you end up putting back in in terms of shells and bolts (OE, King, coated or non-coated, ARP etc.)?
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06-13-2020, 12:15 PM | #256 | |
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Billy Mason at BMB Autowerks in Northern NJ |
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06-20-2020, 09:47 AM | #257 |
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I'm very curious about this whole rod bearing thing with N55.
I hear every now and then about spun bearings or seized engines at under/near 100k miles. And of course the seized engine shortly after OFHG replacement. But not too long ago there was an F31 335i for sale here with 137k miles, and it seems to be on original bearings/engine, and I've heard of a couple others with over 100k miles on original bearings. Is it just luck that these have lasted so long? I've been wanting an N55 powered car since in my opinion the N54 sounds horrible and also has its fair share of issues. But this rod bearing stuff makes me question the whole thing.
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06-20-2020, 10:14 AM | #258 | |
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06-20-2020, 10:39 AM | #259 | |
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1. Both the N54 and N55 experience faster rod bearing wear than what I would expect for the miles 2. This is/was likely due to a combination of design (tight clearances for efficiency at ~.0018), extended oil drain intervals/free maintenance early on, hard driving on cold oil, and questionable tuning/mods for higher specific output 3. Obviously, every engine and owner are different and the above variables will be weighted more/less heavily in each case For me, I bought a n55 equipped 2011 335i with ~60,000 miles on the clock and multiple previous leasees/owners and a largely unknown service history. I plan to keep the car for some time and changing the bearings made the most sense for me. I'm glad I did because at ~72,000 miles, my bearings didn't look so hot. As for the OFHG issue (warning - more personal opinion to follow), I believe a momentary or multiple momentary oiling disruptions caused by air pockets introduced into the system during the repair worsens a preexisting worn rod bearing condition that ultimately results in the bearing failing. This could explain why we didn't see many failures until recently and why BMW didn't release the priming SIB earlier - fresher bearings can handle it; worn bearings not so much. Or it could be something totally different... Last edited by fatty335; 06-20-2020 at 05:15 PM.. |
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06-20-2020, 02:00 PM | #260 | ||
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Yes I've read some various theories about the OFHG thing. One being that coolant can have found its way in there during the job because you have to remove some lines for better access (I might be wrong here, I don't remember it 100% correctly). Hard use, and possibly big power or poor tunes can probably contribute to this as well. I would probably only go for a reasonable tuning since I live in a country where majority of the highest speed limits are just 50 mph (80km/h), with the exception of a few highways with 68 mph (110km/h). So there isn't really a need for any crazy tuning. Quote:
Yeah I'm guessing the N55 cars also have this crazy 30,000km oil change interval like most other newer BMWs have. I personally change oil on my car every 10-15,000km/1 year. Sometimes earlier than that as well. I would most likely be looking at E9x 335i or F1x 535i when the time comes. Would probably be easier to find a 535i that haven't been modified than a 335i, but time will show. The OFHG issue definitely seems like a mystery. Don't think I'd dare to change that myself because of this. Are there any aftermarket options that "eliminates" the rod bearing issue, or are you just going to prepare yourself to change them again after 60-80k miles?
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06-20-2020, 05:14 PM | #261 | |
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In my opinion, "eliminating" the issue would include altering the rod bearing clearances to something more traditional for our journal size (.002 - .0025) and moving to a performance oriented tri-metal bearing. Of course, this would need to be accomplished via crank machining or sourcing a bearing that would give you the increased clearance (none currently available for the n54/n55 AFAIK). |
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06-22-2020, 05:04 PM | #262 | |
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There are now several brands of bearings that offer an "x" bearing which gives you .001" more clearance (~.0025" total). Or, you can mix and match with regular bearings for +.0005" (~.002" total). Last edited by bbnks2; 10-19-2020 at 09:19 AM.. |
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06-28-2020, 04:49 PM | #263 | ||
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I hope that helps. Last edited by SCS55; 06-28-2020 at 04:57 PM.. |
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06-28-2020, 05:23 PM | #264 | |||
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