09 66K Rod Bearing Replaced!

[lutfy]

Finally got around to it. CPO expires day after tomorrow and took care of it this weekend. 66K miles, 6K track miles. Oil changed every 7.5K miles. Replaced with VAC/ARP combo (thanks Malek).

Glad I was not one of the cynics and caught it in time!

[javarithms]

Good call!! The left ones (guessing top bearings) don't look good at all. You can see the layers of material that have been worn down.

[Longboarder]

Jeeez good call. Going to Malek's shop to chat about it now.

[Shredicus]

Damn that is some uniform but nasty wear on the tops. Any chance you had a Blackstone report done before you got these installed?

[JRV]

Have yet to see a proactive replacement on this board where original bearings looked good. Damn you BMW!!!!

[BrewRifle]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Jeeez good call. Going to Malek's shop to chat about it now.

You going with VAC's coated bearings and ARP-625 rod bolts as well?

[KudosM3]

Did you do a Blackstone report prior to replacing?

[dlaw]

Originally Posted by Shredicus

Damn that is some uniform but nasty wear on the tops. Any chance you had a Blackstone report done before you got these installed?

this.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Jeeez good call. Going to Malek's shop to chat about it now.

Malek didnt do to the install, I live in DC and took the car to OffCamber Motorsports in NJ (very happy with the service). However, Malek did speak with me for 30 mins (gratis) and guided me in the right direction as to which bearing/bolt combo to use. I trust Malek's judgement and went with this for peace of mind.

I dont do blackstone reports or such. According to the tech who worked on the car, its not easy to see copper until it scrapes off some of the layers, sometimes it can be a little 'too late'. Car was under CPO warranty so I didnt give a hoot. Its expiring in 3 days and I am "glad" I got this sorted.

Long and short, this is a KNOWN problem with these cars and I suggest getting it done once the warranty comes to an end.

There was a thread on skeptics speaking of low odds of failure, but in my case it was a ticking time bomb (as evidenced); failure was was imminent, just a question of time....

Lutfy

[Tracyis300]

I also have a 09 w/66k and i plan to do that same setup.
How does the motor feel & sound? Anything different?!

[IIAp3x]

Nice, good save brother! Congrats!

[Longboarder]

Originally Posted by lutfy

Malek didnt do to the install, I live in DC and took the car to OffCamber Motorsports in NJ (very happy with the service). However, Malek did speak with me for 30 mins (gratis) and guided me in the right direction as to which bearing/bolt combo to use. I trust Malek's judgement and went with this for peace of mind.

I dont do blackstone reports or such. According to the tech who worked on the car, its not easy to see copper until it scrapes off some of the layers, sometimes it can be a little 'too late'. Car was under CPO warranty so I didnt give a hoot. Its expiring in 3 days and I am "glad" I got this sorted.

Long and short, this is a KNOWN problem with these cars and I suggest getting it done once the warranty comes to an end.

There was a thread on skeptics speaking of low odds of failure, but in my case it was a ticking time bomb (as evidenced); failure was was imminent, just a question of time....

Lutfy

Speaking of gratis, today I dropped by to discuss bearings with Malek and for free he just installed extended DCT paddles and put some treatment on my 3-year old steering wheel to make the leather feel entirely new. Lucky to have him close by!

Bearings are cheap insurance in my opinion so I'm going to drop off the car at Malek's next week for bearings and a supercharger intercooler upgrade and start using the car again for Airstrip events

Glad you got yours sorted out in time.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by lutfy

Malek didnt do to the install, I live in DC and took the car to OffCamber Motorsports in NJ (very happy with the service). However, Malek did speak with me for 30 mins (gratis) and guided me in the right direction as to which bearing/bolt combo to use. I trust Malek's judgement and went with this for peace of mind.

I dont do blackstone reports or such. According to the tech who worked on the car, its not easy to see copper until it scrapes off some of the layers, sometimes it can be a little 'too late'. Car was under CPO warranty so I didnt give a hoot. Its expiring in 3 days and I am "glad" I got this sorted.

Long and short, this is a KNOWN problem with these cars and I suggest getting it done once the warranty comes to an end.

There was a thread on skeptics speaking of low odds of failure, but in my case it was a ticking time bomb (as evidenced); failure was was imminent, just a question of time....

Lutfy

It was the right thing and on the right time for replacing your bearings .
Seems more and more people are using my words too ...like "ticking time bomb" , and what could be the reason of it ?
Serious..Do you noticed ticking noises ?
Glad you caught the dragon by the tail and I really hope your new bearings doing better , and many thanks for sharing

[MFL]

Just turned 80k, stock bearings, #notgivingafuck

It's totally an issue, but I'm hoping that my engine grenades before the warranty lapses. Between the local stealers and BMWNA, I'd love to see them out 15-20k with my $100 Deductible.

[Scrippy]

I'm not made of money but $2,400 < is money well spent IMO! I'm glad I did mine and my motor does feel smoother. I miss that coming from a 335 to the M3. That tick was annoying/embarrassing.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

It was the right thing and on the right time for replacing your bearings .
Seems more and more people are using my words too ...like "ticking time bomb" , and what could be the reason of it ?
Serious..Do you noticed ticking noises ?
Glad you caught the dragon by the tail and I really hope your new bearings doing better , and many thanks for sharing

If truth be told I couldn't spot any prominent ticking sound before or after. Not saying it was not there just that I didn't specifically hear it. That's for the warning on this issue

Cheers,

Lutfy

[Black Gold]

wow, really glad that you caught this in time.

so, the cost of this swap is around 2500?

back when I had my e92 there wasn't much information about this issue, the game has definitely changed.

its amazing to me that multiple cars in this high performance segment (also the LS7 with its valve guides and propensity to blow motors) have obvious issues that are not acknowledged by the manufacturer.

do you feel like the new bearings have fixed the issue? is there anything you will do to inspect them as time moves on to ensure that they are still in good condition?

[pbonsalb]

They are not easily inspectable. If you did the labor to inspect, you could just replace. With early bearings or the VAC/Clevite, you could monitor oil for lead.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

wow, really glad that you caught this in time.

so, the cost of this swap is around 2500?

back when I had my e92 there wasn't much information about this issue, the game has definitely changed.

its amazing to me that multiple cars in this high performance segment (also the LS7 with its valve guides and propensity to blow motors) have obvious issues that are not acknowledged by the manufacturer.

do you feel like the new bearings have fixed the issue? is there anything you will do to inspect them as time moves on to ensure that they are still in good condition?

All modern high performance cars have some issue or the other. Its just nature of the beast. My Sti had blown head gaskets since the turbo was so close to cyl 3, my RX7 blew an apex seal, in the end, BMW's are still pretty reliable for what we use them for (tons of track time here in multiple generations including a Euro SMG1 E36 M3). My 911 has the fear of RMS bearing blowing....

I am unsure if this is a permanent fix. From what I have gathered, this "should" suffice. Malek took apart a ~40K supercharged motor with this setup (VAC/ARP) and it showed no prominent wear. Its still premature but we will know as time goes forward. Blackstone is a good way to catch as pbonsalb indicated.

Oh well, I could be out $2K or sell it and then be out a lot more in depreciation for a new car. Otherwise the car has served me well. Hope others are able to replace the bearings (now considered a wear/tear item) in due time.

Cheers,

Lutfy

[X5-User]

Lutfy, how long it took you to do the swap (including trip time)? I am debating doing it close to DC or make a trip to north.

[Killerfish2012]

Rod bearing replacement provides a false sense of security if the main bearings were untouched.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by Killerfish2012

Rod bearing replacement provides a false sense of security if the main bearings were untouched.

How many cars with replaced rod bearings have had their main bearings fail?