Preventative Maintenance (rod bearings, etc.)

[Cincinnatus]

Howdy, folks. I'm driving a '13 M6 that presently has 57K miles on it. I've been thinking about pre-emptively changing the rod bearings and perhaps any other items that tend to fail on this car with a mind to long-term ownership.

I understand there are two methods, one where the suspension only is removed and the work is done from the bottom. The other more extensive method is where the entire motor is removed, which also presents the opportunity to add forged internals with a mind to tuning up the car. Do I have that right?

Can some of you opine on what the cost of each would be? If you advocate for adding forged internals with a mind to tuning up the car, what performance improvements might there be in a real-world performance sense? IOW, to what degree would 0-60 and 1/4 mile times improve? And the real question... although I live not too far from Pocono Raceway and have entertained the thought of tracking the car, if I'm not intending to do that regularly, would these mods present anything other than 'bragging rights' that would justify the extra expense?

Part 'B' of this question relates to what other items on the car, like suspension parts or engine peripherals (to replace aging plastic parts or upgrading springs and/or struts), are targets for replacement or improvement, and whether they might not be a better investment for me than forged internals. I find a bit of 'drift' in the car during *ahem* "spirited" driving which is a bit alarming from time to time and I plan on holding on to the car for a while, so I'm just looking down the road for the best ROI on my investment.

Thanks in advance!

[TinCanSailor]

Beautiful M6 and apologies for not responding sooner; I’ve been wrenching on my wife’s F10 550, daughter E93 335 and my sons 2000 F250 7.3k SD for the past week and still have plenty of work to do through the weekend.

You are correct about the 2 methods. To be honest the bearings, rods and pistons could be done with an engine bridge in place but anyone worth their weight in salt would drop the front assembly and knock it out in a much shorter time frame.

In regards to other items to address while doing this with engine out. I would do 5150 CP rods and pistons if ya want the additional peace. I’d also do the plugs, coils and injectors. By them from FCP euro and enjoy lifetime warranty. While there you could do the valve seal job; I think 5150 might have a kit for this as well. The rods, pistons and bearings from 5150 would be about 5k-ish. The plugs, coils and injectors you’d be about 1.5k.

Labor would vary by shop hour rate and if ya don’t have a trusted supplier indy shop near you then I’d reach out to RKAutowerks, ship it to them and just wait in full confidence for its triumphant return and then enjoy a near worry free WoT life.

In regards to other other items; I would do a diff brace for sure, then the rear axles and driveshaft if you think that you’ll be doing jack rabbit starts on the regs. Otherwise if you are going to be doing rolling start WoT tests in Mexico you’d be good with just the let diff brace.

DM me your contact info if ya wanna chat and/or HMU on IG tincan.sailor and we can continue to chat there.

Best Regards,
-noah

[m6_paloalto_2017]

There must be something in the air. I have 75K on my M6 running as perfect as can be...
1. Should I change the rod berrings? This is my first M Car, have had 25 K plus miles
2. Is dealer or some specialty shop better (I will to some research on pricing)
3. I tend to like to keep things forever if they are nice, my X3 2004 has 240K miles and really runs perfect, cross fingers. Aiming for the m6 to last to 250K

[FlyinLowSD]

Originally Posted by m6_paloalto_2017

There must be something in the air. I have 75K on my M6 running as perfect as can be...
1. Should I change the rod berrings? This is my first M Car, have had 25 K plus miles
2. Is dealer or some specialty shop better (I will to some research on pricing)
3. I tend to like to keep things forever if they are nice, my X3 2004 has 240K miles and really runs perfect, cross fingers. Aiming for the m6 to last to 250K

Beautiful picture! Which road?

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by m6_paloalto_2017

There must be something in the air. I have 75K on my M6 running as perfect as can be...
1. Should I change the rod berrings? This is my first M Car, have had 25 K plus miles
2. Is dealer or some specialty shop better (I will to some research on pricing)
3. I tend to like to keep things forever if they are nice, my X3 2004 has 240K miles and really runs perfect, cross fingers. Aiming for the m6 to last to 250K

Some folks are very blessed and don’t have any issues on their cars with well over 100,000 miles on them original bearings and everything.

I do know that a cottage industry of manufacturers and specialty repair shops have popped up in florist very well just because of these cars and the N63TU variant.

If you do not drive the car hard, or you do not do modifications like DME tuning, JB4, BM3 or VHD. Then I wouldn’t worry about things like pistons and connecting rods, but the rod bearings are definitely something that you can be proactive about. Compared to the cost of a rebuild, the bearings cost is a low enough dollar figure that will absolutely help you long term own/drive this car.

[m6_paloalto_2017]

Thank you TinCanSailor; some day would like to run hard on track but no time, otherwise pretty heavy foot but even that in population centers offers no benefits only a headache. Yes, and I don't do (not opposed) any modifications.

On a side note, am I getting this right? , that engine noise is "fake" , and needs to be turned off. I would invest in that. Looking forward to all inputs to meet my goal of 250K. thank you and happy fall to the M6 Clan of Brothers and Sisters.

[BMWRog]

Yes, fake engine sound is injected into the cabin. This unfortunate mistake by BMW (in my view), can be rectified by unplugging the connector to the ASD module in the boot (trunk). Having done this, it will bring up an error when diagnostics are read by the garage, so remind them not to reconnect it!

[Cincinnatus]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

You are correct about the 2 methods. To be honest the bearings, rods and pistons could be done with an engine bridge in place but anyone worth their weight in salt would drop the front assembly and knock it out in a much shorter time frame.

In regards to other items to address while doing this with engine out. I would do 5150 CP rods and pistons if ya want the additional peace. I’d also do the plugs, coils and injectors. By them from FCP euro and enjoy lifetime warranty. While there you could do the valve seal job; I think 5150 might have a kit for this as well. The rods, pistons and bearings from 5150 would be about 5k-ish. The plugs, coils and injectors you’d be about 1.5k.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and thorough reply. I may touch base via PM to explore this further, but in the interest of helping others looking on, here are a couple concerns.

Based on the work and parts you outlined, it sounds like the bill would be coming in at about $12k or more. That seems like a pretty big number for a car that's got a street value in the low 30's. Not sure what adding all the forged parts would be in terms of performance improvements that would make a hit like that worthwhile. Can you outline what the upside would be?

I do have a good indy shop near me in Northern NJ but they'd be sending the motor out. So I'm pretty sure the whole bill would be about $5k for bearings alone, a far more tolerable number if basic reliability is the goal. So far all the Blackstone tests are good and I'm not burning oil, and I have no plans to track the car at the moment. But the allure of more power is quite a siren's song.

Thanks!

[danielgmanm6]

I would assume a bad injector, bad oil pump, and or bearings could blow your motor regardless of beefed up internals. If you're going to keep the car long term, I would start with replacing rod bearings, plugs and injectors. If you have the cash I would just upgrade to a higher performance platform vs putting in 10k-15k in just making the car reliable lol. Just my 2 cents. With higher mileage you're absolutely rolling the dice.

[hirkaismyname]

Originally Posted by danielgmanm6

I would assume a bad injector, bad oil pump, and or bearings could blow your motor regardless of beefed up internals. If you're going to keep the car long term, I would start with replacing rod bearings, plugs and injectors. If you have the cash I would just upgrade to a higher performance platform vs putting in 10k-15k in just making the car reliable lol. Just my 2 cents. With higher mileage you're absolutely rolling the dice.

Which ones do you suggest on RE: higher performance platform.

I am selling mine and looking to trade into something different.

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by hirkaismyname

Which ones do you suggest on RE: higher performance platform.

I am selling mine and looking to trade into something different.

I like the 911 turbos, GT3 platform and even the caymen GT4. If you got the bread, porsche all day.

[m6_paloalto_2017]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

Some folks are very blessed and don’t have any issues on their cars with well over 100,000 miles on them original bearings and everything.

I do know that a cottage industry of manufacturers and specialty repair shops have popped up in florist very well just because of these cars and the N63TU variant.

If you do not drive the car hard, or you do not do modifications like DME tuning, JB4, BM3 or VHD. Then I wouldn’t worry about things like pistons and connecting rods, but the rod bearings are definitely something that you can be proactive about. Compared to the cost of a rebuild, the bearings cost is a low enough dollar figure that will absolutely help you long term own/drive this car.

what is considered "driving the car hard" ? ty

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by m6_paloalto_2017

what is considered "driving the car hard" ? ty

Jack rabbit starts/ burnouts. Also, running the engine into high rpm and high temps. Tunes that exploit engine dynamics for higher hp. The high temps generated within the hot v design especially on the rear two cylinders can compromise the engine.

[eugkim]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and thorough reply. I may touch base via PM to explore this further, but in the interest of helping others looking on, here are a couple concerns.

Based on the work and parts you outlined, it sounds like the bill would be coming in at about $12k or more. That seems like a pretty big number for a car that's got a street value in the low 30's. Not sure what adding all the forged parts would be in terms of performance improvements that would make a hit like that worthwhile. Can you outline what the upside would be?

I do have a good indy shop near me in Northern NJ but they'd be sending the motor out. So I'm pretty sure the whole bill would be about $5k for bearings alone, a far more tolerable number if basic reliability is the goal. So far all the Blackstone tests are good and I'm not burning oil, and I have no plans to track the car at the moment. But the allure of more power is quite a siren's song.

Thanks!

Nice to see a fellow NE Pa'er. I did some research before purchasing my M6. Spoke to RK about engine work, and they recommended I stay closer to home. They suggested TY Speed in Jackson, NJ. I called them and they were really helpful. When I'm ready to replace my rod bearings, I'm calling them.

[Cincinnatus]

Originally Posted by eugkim

Nice to see a fellow NE Pa'er. I did some research before purchasing my M6. Spoke to RK about engine work, and they recommended I stay closer to home. They suggested TY Speed in Jackson, NJ. I called them and they were really helpful. When I'm ready to replace my rod bearings, I'm calling them.

Let's meet up and talk shop! I'm in Pike County. Where are you located?