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S54 rod bearing

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Vanne
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S54 rod bearing

Post by Vanne » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:43 am

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Edit: not sure in what order the original pictures went, but ill reformat them and add them as they come.

Holy s**t...

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Bloody HELL!! :?

Pics show that bearings were about to fail @ 206k. kilometres Soo lucky I got this done.. The PO told me that before i had the car he ran TWS for its entire life.. though that said, i have no idea about when he did his oil changes..

Guys have said before that rod bearings is a 100k interval service item.. looking at this, they sure as crap are right. I was blown away at how much metal is missing on some of the shells. Id say an oil analysis would have shown me that straight away. Do your selves a favour.. get them checked/changed at 100k. there are too many layers missing for 200k, change at 100k. (kilometres)
Last edited by Vanne on Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:19 am, edited 11 times in total.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by Vanne » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:45 am

Cheers Beedub.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by ga41 » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:05 am

When I suggested this a while ago people were skeptical..... Mine were worse at around 60k miles and had to replace the crankshaft and 1 rod as well! At least you caught it before any issues occured mate.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by GuidoK » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:13 am

Here on the european mainland a lot of users (and specialists) change these bearings every 80k (kilometers).
And if you sometimes see those bearings for good reason. 206k is really pushing it.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by TonyP » Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:21 am

This is enough to put me off an ///M car, just for my sanity, TWS is the oil type??

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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by Beedub » Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:36 am

scary stuff cuts basically this appears to be happening in pretty much all the recent //M engines at totally different rates. some last 206km, others barely make 50k miles, vane those were on the edge of failing. i LOVE this engine but rod bearings needing a total strip down of the bottom end shouldn't be a consumable like they are on the s54, s65, s85. Good save vane, you was on edge of loosing the engine here!

we should ALL be factoring in some kind of schedule to remove and replace these. ill do mine at 25k. i figure that being supercharged adds stress so lets say they may have 50k worth of wear on them, not sure if this logic is right but if it saves my engine.... no probs at all.

This is the most worrying aspect of s54 ownership by far. On the plus side, 206km is a good engine life.

Has anyone ever seen a supra 2jz engine opened up?? the rod bearings a like double the size!
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by Bing » Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:53 am

Wow, caught them just in time :o

I'm going to be asking that mine are checked at my imminent Insp2. Though I guess they won't be able to check the bottom end easily...

My car appears to be making a bid to be treated with the same level of care as children, pets, wives and family :cry:
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by DPG » Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:57 am

What labour time do you reckon to check and replace them? ? 4 hours

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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by srhutch » Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:11 am

Bing wrote:Wow, caught them just in time :o

I'm going to be asking that mine are checked at my imminent Insp2. Though I guess they won't be able to check the bottom end easily...

My car appears to be making a bid to be treated with the same level of care as children, pets, wives and family :cry:
No point checking them as such, just replace as the only additional cost will be the shells. I wouldn't mind betting any decent garage would refuse to put the used ones back anyway.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by Bing » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:06 am

Okay, might not be able to do that right now. Any idea of parts cost ? I'll go google, but not quite sure what I'm looking for...
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by BMWZ4MC » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:12 am

I don't understand why they wear at different rates. I've tracked mine since I bought it, so you would expect that to hasten wear of all engine components, yet when I changed mine at 50k miles they were immaculate. The only important factor I can think of is that I undertake additional mileage-based oil changes between every routine service and also after every two or three track days.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by BMWZ4MC » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:13 am

Bing wrote:Okay, might not be able to do that right now. Any idea of parts cost ? I'll go google, but not quite sure what I'm looking for...
The bearing shells are not expensive but there's a fair amount of labour involved dropping the bottom of the engine.
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by GuidoK » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:31 am

I think the bearingshells will be about £200.
Plus oil, filter, sumpgasket etc.. total estimate £400 or so...
Labour maybe 1000-1500?
BMWZ4MC wrote:, yet when I changed mine at 50k miles they were immaculate.
You have pictures of your rodbearings?
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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by DPG » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:53 am

At £1500 - £2000 I think I'll let the warranty take care of any issues.

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Re: S54 rod bearings thread

Post by simonlpearce » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:58 am

Frightening stuff!
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