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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

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RedUn
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by RedUn » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:25 pm

It's all risk isn't it, who knows till you take them out... I'm going to do mine at 60k and at the same time I'll do the top end too (and probably some cams :evil:)
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by hopz121 » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:47 pm

RickRob wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:41 pm
bmwaddict wrote: Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:01 pm 107k mate. Well overdue so I wasn't taking any chances.
I fully get the peace of mind element, but were the old bearings worn? I was talking to BMW technician who said that he had never seen knackered shells, even on cars with over 150k on the clock.
Most BMW Tech's wont be working on these cars anymore as most are serviced by Indys now, the choice is yours what you want to do regarding it.

The fact is unless you know 100% the history of the car and previous owners you wont know how it has been treated.

I was glad I decided to change mine after I saw the state of the ones I removed from the car, it now gives me confidence to use the car to its full ability instead of constantly worrying if it will soon spin a bearing at the top end of the rev range.

My car had a pretty decent service schedule too and since my ownership the oil has been dropped every 6000-7000 miles, I would have thought there is many cars which are as bad or worse than the wear seen on my bearings.

For the price I wouldn't think twice about changing them, if your car decides to spin a bearing it will be a lot more than £800-£1000 and could even total an engine!
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by RickRob » Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:53 pm

Thanks for the advice.

I have decided that, assuming the Zed doesn't need a lot spending on it to get it through an MOT, I will get the shells done this year. As has been said £800 is not a lot for the peace of mind. I plan to keep the car "forever" and want to make sure that the car is not the one that packs up first!

Additionally I got the car at a great price 3 years ago, have only spent money on servicing and tyres. If it was a "normal" car I would be looking to move it on at a loss, so in theory the "Zed bank" is in credit to the tune of a large sum!

Thanks again chaps!
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Mangozac » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:36 pm

hopz121 wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:47 pm Most BMW Tech's wont be working on these cars anymore as most are serviced by Indys now, the choice is yours what you want to do regarding it.
This is quite true: a friend of mine is a BMW technician and he also agrees that it's quite rare for them to see cars of Z4M vintage or beyond. He drives an E46 M3 though and changed his rod bearings at 130k kms. Not knowing how it has been treated by some of the owners before me, I intend to do mine at around 120k kms.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Ewazix » Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:10 am

RickRob wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:53 pm Thanks for the advice.

I have decided that, assuming the Zed doesn't need a lot spending on it to get it through an MOT, I will get the shells done this year. As has been said £800 is not a lot for the peace of mind. I plan to keep the car "forever" and want to make sure that the car is not the one that packs up first!

Additionally I got the car at a great price 3 years ago, have only spent money on servicing and tyres. If it was a "normal" car I would be looking to move it on at a loss, so in theory the "Zed bank" is in credit to the tune of a large sum!

Thanks again chaps!
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Argenta » Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:33 pm

Mine's booked today for this job, comforting enough!
21st of June.
172000km's, and there wont be much more until after! :)

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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by RickRob » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:21 pm

Argenta wrote: Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:33 pm Mine's booked today for this job, comforting enough!
21st of June.
172000km's, and there wont be much more until after! :)
Please post pics of the old shells!
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by BMWZ4MC » Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:46 pm

In this thread, there are several mentions of 'not sure how it might have been treated before you got it' and 'it might have been tracked' implying that high rpm and track use correlate with premature wear of the bearing shells.
I had mine changed at 50k miles and they were perfect. At that point, mine had covered 25k unknown miles in the hands of the previous owner, then 25k miles in my hands. The latter miles were spent exclusively between 7500 and 8000 rpm, including a great many miles of track use.
The anecdotal evidence from my experience does not support an association between the car being driven hard and excessive bearing shell wear (although I accept that n=1).
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by mmm-five » Sun Jun 11, 2017 11:07 am

BMWZ4MC wrote: Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:46 pm The anecdotal evidence from my experience does not support an association between the car being driven hard and excessive bearing shell wear (although I accept that n=1).
Will have to wait and see what 150,000 road/track/ring miles have done to mine...when I eventually get around to getting them looked at :P

Mine doesn't move unless it's going to do enough miles to get everything up to temp (engine, coolant, gearbox & diff) - so I always make sure my short (less than 10 mile) trips include the 'long way home'.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by tomscott » Sun Jun 11, 2017 11:13 am

TBH I would suggest the wear generally prone when the car is not up to temp. So short journeys, going past 3000 when not warm etc

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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by bmwaddict » Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:56 pm

tomscott wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2017 11:13 am TBH I would suggest the wear generally prone when the car is not up to temp. So short journeys, going past 3000 when not warm etc
This. People ragging their cars before up to temp is what wears the shells is what I've been told.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Ewazix » Sun Jun 11, 2017 7:15 pm

bmwaddict wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:56 pm
tomscott wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2017 11:13 am TBH I would suggest the wear generally prone when the car is not up to temp. So short journeys, going past 3000 when not warm etc
This. People ragging their cars before up to temp is what wears the shells is what I've been told.
Not running an ///M I hadn't realised that the S54 uses relatively heavy 10/60 and as mentioned in the review someone posted it takes a while to properly warm the oil in the cast iron block, I'm guessing he has a point.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97645&p=1432728&hilit

As a matter of interest, why such thick oil? I was wondering if it was to maintain the very high oil pressures needed at the high revs the engine can work at?
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by tomscott » Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:41 am

It takes a long time to circulate properly and the tolerances are so small that until the oil is warm and circulates wear is inevitable. It is a wearable part although BMW doesnt actively promote this as by the time most cars get to the 100k mile mark they are 6-7-8-9-10 years old and they have moved onto the next latest and greatest.

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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Argenta » Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:17 am

With mine been over 107k miles now, first drive of 2017 was on wednesday, shortest route to the workshop. :)
Had a quick chat today after they checked cyl1, enough to see it was worn (not badly but still) so they ordered a set of new shells now.
It'll feel good having done this!
Will put up pics next week.

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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by hopz121 » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:32 pm

Argenta wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:17 am With mine been over 107k miles now, first drive of 2017 was on wednesday, shortest route to the workshop. :)
Had a quick chat today after they checked cyl1, enough to see it was worn (not badly but still) so they ordered a set of new shells now.
It'll feel good having done this!
Will put up pics next week.
Any pics yet buddy?
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