[wicklowjohn]

Hi guys,
Newbie on the forum and after checking through this forum on the 320si I wanted to see if anyone still had one running and if there is anything specific I should be looking at for maintenance, as I recently picked up a 2006 320si with 104k km which is running well.

Will upload some pics of mine as they are saying i need to resize when i try to attach here

[Empty01]

Hello guys,
Looks like i'm reviving old theme, but if there is no active members which still have alive BMW 320SI, maybe it doesn't need to create new one.
So my story is that I bought 320SI with 85k km on it and after that i've read lots of bad stories about this engine and cylinder liner damage.. Is it really that common and going to happen for all N45 engines ? :/
I really love my car, it is in very good condition, no signs of any damage to the engine yet, so it would be really nice to keep it if there is still chance not to break the engine..
Maybe someone still successfully driving one and can give me some advice how to protect this engine and when it is possible to notice that some serious engine failure will happen soon?

Thanks a lot!

[atinybug]

I think those models were only sold in Europe, and this forum is largely populated by Americans and Canadians, so you might not get very many people who have that car here.

[Empty01]

Thanks! I will try to check some other forums then
But still if there is somebody who want to speak about SI please Pm me or write your oppinion in here

[Jan E.]

I post the PM on your question her also for others to read:

I know some have driven nearly 200.000km with no problems on an original engine. And still going strong. And some that have just driven 20.000km. I think the problems have been somewhat quiet for a while. So maybe BMW finely have found a solution to the problem (steel liners in all the new engines?) And that many people with warranty and insurance have got the new engines? I don’t know...
I just know that my new engine has factory mounted steel liners and matching piston rings. Not the old alu. And the problem should be gone for ever

My symptoms were that the car became hard to start. And it had a hash idling. It was more of the symptoms when the weather was damp or raining. And the symptoms vanished after changing the plugs. But came back after some miles. New plugs fixed the problem again, but again came back. Each time with more symptoms (I guess because more and more cracks in the cylinder walls).
At the end it was impossible to rev higher that about 1500 o/min. Then it died, and it was really heavy to start.

The only ways to check if you have beginning problem is to remove the top to have a look inside the cylinders. Or: Remove the plugs and look with a borescope around the top of the cylinder walls.
Especially cylinder 2 and 3 usually has the most cracks.
You can also take a compression test. But then you only know if you have bad compression or not. And not if the problem is anything else. But it can give an indication if you have an OK engine. But I also think an compresion test won't reweal the beginning of smal cracks.

Jan E.

[Three_thirty_I]

I seem to remember reading about these engines. Those cylinder liners I gather seemed to crack and fall apart randomly?

[Jan E.]

Yes, but still a lot of them driving around. And there’s been somewhat quiet about the problem the last years.
I recon it’s because most of them got steel liners now maybe? -Factory or after marked fitted.