2006 ZCP Rod Bearings @ 85K

[~CSL~]

Attached is the Valve inspection measurement record

[~CSL~]

Good choice, the OEM bolts are definitely looked upon as the correct part, definitely added some labor time, but worth it.

Yes, it was nice - I was able to speak to the guy that did the job for about 20 minutes; very experienced. Crank and Motor were in outstanding condition. Any sign of copper in the oil and they replace rod bearing in their personal and race vehicles. No break in required, warm oil to correct temp and send it. Motul 8100 Oil. Ceratec is good stuff, many people use it, they are agnostic; fine with, fine without - just change the oil yearly on a low mile car. I was given the used bearings, they had a few 5 gallon water bottles filled with used bearings . Valve train fully checked, zero adjustment required, 100% in spec; I was given the record sheet, no shims changed / added. That was the majority of it, as I recall.

[Cubieman]

In the end, they used BE Bearings with OEM BMW Rod Bolts - not ACL / WPC / ARP

Good choice, the OEM bolts are definitely looked upon as the correct part, definitely added some labor time, but worth it.

[~CSL~]

What type of bearings did the shop put in?

I got some ACL's from Lang about 5 years ago,they are a but more expensive as they supposedly hand pick the sets. There is a top/bottom bearing in this set Lang "hand selects".


Years later after reading about various QC issues in bearings, and Lang's reputation I'm thinking of just buying some genuine bearings, stupid expensive, but so is a motor.

In the end, they used BE Bearings with OEM BMW Rod Bolts - not ACL / WPC / ARP

[sapote]

Nothing. They look great for 88k, and no, they don't need replacement. Prob go another 88k in all honesty. But you're not allowed to say that, you must submit to fear.

Does anyone have any idea how many s54, S65 & s85s are out there on stock bearings? The enthusiast population replacing bearings early is very small.

#2 worn down to copper. This set of bearings must be replaced or one is gambling with rod knock spun bearing, worst case crankshaft damaged, within 20K to 30k miles depending on driving style.

[~CSL~]

What type of bearings did the shop put in?

I got some ACL's from Lang about 5 years ago,they are a but more expensive as they supposedly hand pick the sets. There is a top/bottom bearing in this set Lang "hand selects".


Years later after reading about various QC issues in bearings, and Lang's reputation I'm thinking of just buying some genuine bearings, stupid expensive, but so is a motor.

WPC with Late Model (3/2024) APR Bolt is exactly what the service doc says - so i assume they used the ACLs with the WPC treatment. I pick it up Thursday morning when I am back in town, once I have the detailed sheet I’ll let you know for sure.

[Cubieman]

What type of bearings did the shop put in?

I got some ACL's from Lang about 5 years ago,they are a but more expensive as they supposedly hand pick the sets. There is a top/bottom bearing in this set Lang "hand selects".


Years later after reading about various QC issues in bearings, and Lang's reputation I'm thinking of just buying some genuine bearings, stupid expensive, but so is a motor.

[~CSL~]

to the untrained eye - what on this image indicates a bad bearing?

While I have no interest in debating “good vs. bad”, I’ll give you my thought process - from a strictly technical perspective these are not “bad”, top of cylinder 2 is showing early stages of wear, as the Babbitt has started to wear through and you can see the copper underneath. But no, not “bad” per se - but the reframe is from “unknown” to “known”, and what’s that worth to you? For me, this is a car with two previous owners, neither of whom I know and is over 20 years old; all I have is a “mostly” intact service history, that’s it. My approach is to eliminate as many variables as possible for my owner experience - the price I was willing to pay for the car was factoring this in.

I sent it to a shop that races and works on E46 M3s extensively and had them do the Vanos, Rod Bearing and Guibo directly this was all pre planned,. Over time I will continue to pick off and address whatever I deem as an appropriate PM for my car, because it’s what I choose to do with my time and my money - everyone gets to make their own decisions.

tldr; bearing were not bad, I chose to PM them and the Vanos to move an unknown to a know.

Cheers,

[Tbonem3]

Nothing. They look great for 88k, and no, they don't need replacement. Prob go another 88k in all honesty. But you're not allowed to say that, you must submit to fear.

Does anyone have any idea how many s54, S65 & s85s are out there on stock bearings? The enthusiast population replacing bearings early is very small.

[4getr34]

Just a data point for everything we already know, and for anyone "one the fence" about doing the bearings. When I picked mine up a few weeks ago, I took it directly to a shop to have the VANOS and rod bearing done, glad I did. Really just a reference info...

Cheers,

to the untrained eye - what on this image indicates a bad bearing?

[Keith_MN]

A reminder that there are people who seriously believe and try to convince others that rod bearings needing replacement is a myth. 😜

Same with vanos. Just saw a 35k car with broken hub tabs. Some people seem to go out of their way to convince others that anything under ~100k is fine.

[sd561]

Lesson learned the hard way for me. I should have gotten them done. The dealer had the service done in preparation for eventual sale, which was to me. @104k.

10k trouble free miles, including initial 2600mi delivery drive coast to coast, 4 flawless blackstone reports and 2.5y later, on a whim really, I scheduled the service, knowing it had effectively just been done but wanted peace of mind. I got spooked starting the car last winter when I heard a very brief cold start rattle.

the mystery shop dealer hired reinstalled the rod caps —backwards — on 3 of 6 cylinders. bearings for cyl 1-5 looked brand new still. cyl6 was torched but didn’t spin. Engine out or new s54 and I chose the latter. Slapping in new bearings and sending it wasn’t tenable for me. Huge L.

If you’re not sure, just get it done.

[EthanolTurbo]

A reminder that there are people who seriously believe and try to convince others that rod bearings needing replacement is a myth. 😜

[~CSL~]

That is the way to buy an M3. I don't trust the average fast and furious ex-owner putting king bearings in the car. Rather do it myself to know it was done right with quality parts. Given the rising prices of S54s, I'd always immediately do rod bearings when buying an E46...and even an E9X.

Completely agree - its just part of the game at this point.

[chris719]

Just curious, did you run an oil analysis before you replaced them? I’m at 88K miles and haven’t replaced mine but have 10 years worth excellent oil analysis reports so have held off on doing them. It’s the only big 3 I haven’t done yet

The problem with oil analysis is that it doesn't really catch everything. Certain particle sizes get missed by the method the labs normally use. A long history is a good indicator but hard to fully trust. I would say that bad UOAs mean you have an issue but good UOAs are not necessarily conclusive. There were a couple examples on m3post of S65 engines having many good UOA in a row but then still spun a bearing or looked really bad on teardown.