2014 S63TU M6 Engine Replacement Experience

[Lcssmu]

Hello All- I recently posted about my "worst nightmare" of the rod bearings failing on my 2014 M6 with 37k miles. I wanted to post this thread just because it may be helpful to someone else in the future- it was this forum by which I found RK Autowerks.

Quick recap- despite full and regular maintenance and a recent oil change, the engine seized without warning. BMW dealership quoted me $49k to replace the engine (I paid $40k for the car). After a lot of online searching it became clear that a company named RK Autowerks in Texas has become the "go to" shop for replacement S63TU engines (M6/M5).

While you can have them send you the new engine (you ship back your old block)- I elected instead to ship my car to their shop. I was told that it would take around six weeks, but I think they had a cancellation or something as the car was ready in only two weeks.

I'm not very mechanical so forgive any mistakes here- but my understanding is that they usually use a refurbished block and then install all new OEM BMW parts. In my case, I was told they just used a brand new block. Their scope of work includes a long list of things- but basically you end up with a new engine. In addition, they use the updated version of the rod bearings and valve seals to make sure you don't have the same issue twice.

In my case, they also did an "Ignition Package" which included spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel injectors, and decoupling element. Finally, they installed a new engine crank.

Total cost (which is publicly listed on their website as of 6/25/23) was $16,899- so about 1/3 of what BMW wanted as their starting price.

I picked the car up personally and drove it back to Denver (750 miles). Per RK orders, I've taken it easy on the car for the first 1,000 miles. I'm going to have the oil changed this week, after which I will drive it normally.

Again- I've personally had a great experience with RK and would recommend them to anyone with the same nightmare that I faced.

[Cincinnatus]

Thanks for posting your experience with RK, it's informative and reassuring should the day come when one of us has the same issue.

[jporter396]

I'd say my experience is exactly like yours . They make owning these cars much more enjoyable knowing a solid option against the catastrophic exists. 10k miles later the car is perfect after their rebuild . 👍🏻

[Vyloka]

Is there any benefit to having the rod bearings replaced prior to this failure? Or is the general consensus to replaced the motor IF it ends up happening to seize

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by Vyloka

Is there any benefit to having the rod bearings replaced prior to this failure? Or is the general consensus to replaced the motor IF it ends up happening to seize

You can absolutely benefit from having this done before the failure. In fact doing so could spare you some additional costs since your engine is still in good working order. If you plan on making power over the OEM specs I would suggest sending the car to RK to have the do forged rods and pistons in addition to the bearings. If you have a local independent bmw/euro car shop that has a verifiable history of rebuilding the s63tu engines then you could opt to have the work done locally.

[mikerx5]

Rod bearing replacement - cost roughly? Common to find someone to do these? Would love to have the assurance of no issues engine-wise

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by mikerx5

Rod bearing replacement - cost roughly? Common to find someone to do these? Would love to have the assurance of no issues engine-wise

Rod bearings cost about 500 dollars, labor will vary based on the number of man hours and hr rate of the shop. The bearings can be done with the engine in but it does require the lower assembly to come off. I suspect you could spend another 2k or 3k on labor which still far far far cheaper than the engine swap.

[stg2011]

Would love to have the assurance of no issues engine-wise.

[Jeffxxx]

Did anyone with motor issues have regular Blackstone oil analysis completed during oil changes prior to the event?

[Vyloka]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

Rod bearings cost about 500 dollars, labor will vary based on the number of man hours and hr rate of the shop. The bearings can be done with the engine in but it does require the lower assembly to come off. I suspect you could spend another 2k or 3k on labor which still far far far cheaper than the engine swap.

Are you able to list out the exact parts that should be purchased?
I am interested in speaking with a shop in my area/ maybe even the dealership to have all these bearings switched over, just bite the bullet now to prevent issues in the future
Your advice would be appreciated

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by Vyloka

Are you able to list out the exact parts that should be purchased?
I am interested in speaking with a shop in my area/ maybe even the dealership to have all these bearings switched over, just bite the bullet now to prevent issues in the future
Your advice would be appreciated

The peace of mind you'll have after getting the bearings done is worth the cost of admission. Hit up the folks at 5150autosport.com. I think the have a couple of options on bearings. I am not associated with them but found them to be very responsive to my questions.

I have not done this work myself and would have to defer to folks that deal with engine builds more frequently.

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by Jeffxxx

Did anyone with motor issues have regular Blackstone oil analysis completed during oil changes prior to the event?

I had one test done on my first engine before the bearings seized and they didn't report anything abnormal. I have read in other forums where folks went through a similar scenario. Check the F10 M5, X5M and X6M forums as well.