Blown Motor Already

[ppasiakos]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

My car had the bearings replaced by bmw as a preventative measure and the engine still ate itself. The rod bearings have proven themselves to be a bit of an issue but knowing the warranty company didn't push back on the replacement then I'd prolly let it ride as well. Who knows what the prev owner did or if it was the mods maybe if you stick to a very short oil change interval and have the DP's coated you may be able to avoid a repeat. Just know that a new factory engine isn't an assured path to never seeing the issue arise again.

Oh I understand that. However I should be able to have some confidence in a new motor off the assembly line and not a refurbished remanufactured motor. It will have a 2 year unlimited mile warranty from BMW as well. And I will baby it for the 1200 mile break in period and do my oil changes on the regular. I didn't have a chance at regular maintenance as the car spun a bearing after a month and a half after buying it.

[Cincinnatus]

There is a specific run-in regime for any ///M car that requires an oil service before 2k miles(?) and no revs beyond a certain point during break in. I'd suggest you be mindful of those guidelines for this new motor to have everything seated and settled properly or you'll likely regret it.

On my end, I bought an M6 from a dealer in Chitown coming up on 4 years ago at 28K and I've religiously changed the oil every 5k miles with Blackstone testing to be sure I'm in good shape to my present 49k miles. I drive assertively, but don't beat on the car, often hitting the limiter on the highway just to 'clear my throat' with no problems. To date, I consider myself to be lucky I own one specimen of only 1933 F13's to come to the US.

<knocking wood>

[patchesj]

Originally Posted by TinCanSailor

My car had the bearings replaced by bmw as a preventative measure and the engine still ate itself. The rod bearings have proven themselves to be a bit of an issue but knowing the warranty company didn't push back on the replacement then I'd prolly let it ride as well. Who knows what the prev owner did or if it was the mods maybe if you stick to a very short oil change interval and have the DP's coated you may be able to avoid a repeat. Just know that a new factory engine isn't an assured path to never seeing the issue arise again.

It's not the bearing, it's the crank.... Telling you, if BMW would actually allow access to the data this is a bad batch of machining on the cranks. Rod journals were not concentric or off spec for whatever reason.

For the OP, I wouldn't be worried about a new factory motor. Break in is critical for these things and seems to be critical for oil ring seating and how much oil it burns (they all burn it, proper break in seems to keep it minimal).

Regarding coating the DPs, I've just sent a set off to Swain for whitelighting.

[TinCanSailor]

Originally Posted by patchesj

It's not the bearing, it's the crank.... Telling you, if BMW would actually allow access to the data this is a bad batch of machining on the cranks. Rod journals were not concentric or off spec for whatever reason.

For the OP, I wouldn't be worried about a new factory motor. Break in is critical for these things and seems to be critical for oil ring seating and how much oil it burns (they all burn it, proper break in seems to keep it minimal).

Regarding coating the DPs, I've just sent a set off to Swain for whitelighting.

appreciate the tip for Swain as I had not heard of them.

[BBHMM]

Originally Posted by ppasiakos

So here is an update. Warranty will pay up to $46,000 for brand new BMW motor, no remanufactured stuff. Also both turbos will be replaced. Parts are on order should arrive Tuesday/Wednesday. Downpipes were not coated or wrapped.

Thats great news congrats, also a question did you remove all the mods before warranty company inspect car? Or just left it with all mods?

[Marcus Frost]

Congratulations on the dodged bullet!

I am very curious what the failure was, but I suspect there was considerable damage if they are coming out for a full new engine versus a reman. Who knows, perhaps it's just a warranty company that likes to pay $46,000 for a blown motor claim.

For what it's worth - if I were to venture a guess, this is not a defective rod bearing issue.

[patchesj]

Originally Posted by Marcus Frost

Congratulations on the dodged bullet!

I am very curious what the failure was, but I suspect there was considerable damage if they are coming out for a full new engine versus a reman. Who knows, perhaps it's just a warranty company that likes to pay $46,000 for a blown motor claim.

For what it's worth - if I were to venture a guess, this is not a defective rod bearing issue.

Usually in spun bearing situations there will be metal shavings/dust/particles filling the oil, and there is no easy way to clean this out of the complex passages and bearings of things like the turbo, VANOS, etc. Easier to just replace everything the oil touches than risk future failure.

[ppasiakos]

My tech only pulled the number 4/8 bearings and they were burnt up. Metal shavings everywhere. Copper in the pan. And the oil filter looked like a puddle of glittered oil. So yeah they are replacing everything including turbos to not take a chance.

[patchesj]

Originally Posted by ppasiakos

My tech only pulled the number 4/8 bearings and they were burnt up. Metal shavings everywhere. Copper in the pan. And the oil filter looked like a puddle of glittered oil. So yeah they are replacing everything including turbos to not take a chance.

I would be VERY interested in them checking out the machining on the crank....

[Marcus Frost]

Originally Posted by patchesj

Usually in spun bearing situations there will be metal shavings/dust/particles filling the oil, and there is no easy way to clean this out of the complex passages and bearings of things like the turbo, VANOS, etc. Easier to just replace everything the oil touches than risk future failure.

Agreed - up to this point the OP did not make any reference to possible failure causes other than "blown motor" - however now it does seem that there were "burnt up" bearings on #4 and #8.

People are going to point to a manufacturer defect, but I'm just not convinced.

[Marcus Frost]

Originally Posted by patchesj

I would be VERY interested in them checking out the machining on the crank....

It would be great to get some more information from the tech but to be honest, more and more techs are becoming less and less versed on subjects such as mechanical engine fundamentals. Most of the German marques do not allow technicians to service engines or even transmissions - they are "remove and replace" - hence their ability to properly diagnose failures is not always great.

While yes, tolerances can cause bearing failure, so can detonation, drops in oil pressure, or simply continued operation at high loads without allowing oil to come up to temperature.

The fact that this car was just purchased, at auction, with low miles - I think someone might have previously had a failure, maybe put a set of bearings in the car, and sent it off to the auction. It could have also been the tune, since OP said the car felt sluggish - perhaps there was something else. We could sit here and speculate all day but personally I'm not willing to point at a S63 tolerance fault with what I've read thus far.