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

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hopz121
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by hopz121 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 9:50 pm

Hi all,

Had my Rod bearings changed on my 2004 E46 M3 today and thought i would share my thoughts as i know the Z4M shares the same engine and suffers similar issues!

I booked the car in to be done at my specialist as preventative maintenance as i knew it could be a potential issue and i didn't fancy ruining the bottom end of my engine.

I don't really know how well the car had been looked after before myself but in my ownership i have always warmed it up correctly and dropped the oil every 6k-7k and the car seems to have a pretty through service record.

Ill let the pictures do the talking....to say i was very lucky is an understatement!

Ash

ImageE46 M3 Rob Bearings @ 107k by Ashley Hopson, on Flickr

ImageE46 M3 Rob Bearings @ 107k by Ashley Hopson, on Flickr

ImageE46 M3 Rob Bearings @ 107k by Ashley Hopson, on Flickr

ImageE46 M3 Rob Bearings @ 107k by Ashley Hopson, on Flickr

ImageE46 M3 Rob Bearings @ 107k by Ashley Hopson, on Flickr
Last edited by hopz121 on Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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

Post by GuidoK » Thu Apr 27, 2017 9:56 pm

I wonder if you'd plastigauge that worn one, how much the clearance is.
That way you can at least get a good idea of the wear, and how the clearance varies over the width.
For some reason really nobody does that or share that info.
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hopz121
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by hopz121 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:03 pm

No wear on the crank fortunatly :thumbsup:
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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

Post by bmwaddict » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:07 pm

Interesting read hopz, especially as I'm about to purchase an s54 engined car with 107k on the clock! Had planned on getting it done immediately anyway just to be safe, but this has just confirmed that's a good idea! Thanks for sharing.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Das882 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 10:08 pm

A timely intervention, you were lucky to get away with that one...it would not of lasted much longer before damaging the Crank!! I think seeing this I'm glad that I went down the oil analysis route. :D
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by ZAR4MC » Fri Apr 28, 2017 5:52 am

Just in time, well done sir :D
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Viren » Fri Apr 28, 2017 8:16 am

Does anyone know why that one is so badly worn whereas the one on the opposite side is not too bad.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Mangozac » Fri Apr 28, 2017 9:53 am

That's 107k miles, right? If so then it's not totally surprising to see them fairly worn.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by hopz121 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:18 am

Mangozac wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2017 9:53 am That's 107k miles, right? If so then it's not totally surprising to see them fairly worn.
Yep miles.

I got the car at around 91k and have been bringing it up to my standard slowly over the last 16 months or so.

The next thing is the body work then I'll go and do a Vanos overhaul
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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

Post by maxman » Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:26 am

Which bearing is showing wear,the cap or the one from the con rod.Why the two colour indicators on the bearing.?

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

Post by Z4M-2006 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:31 am

Oh my oh my...

Very lucky, they are amongst the worse I have seen that haven't spun or damaged the crank.

Lottery ticket this weekend,? Lol

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

Post by hopz121 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 11:24 am

Z4M-2006 wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:31 am Oh my oh my...

Very lucky, they are amongst the worse I have seen that haven't spun or damaged the crank.

Lottery ticket this weekend,? Lol
Think I may have to get one now...... If I win ill be able to finish the M3 off which will be a bonus :D

I have seen a few worse than this, one did actually spin but otherwise not many, although not many seem to be actually changing them yet so I expect there is a lot of S54's in a similar state to this on the road!

I wouldn't go much past 100k by what I know now.

Gives me reassurance now though that they should be ok for another 100,000 miles though, ill also continue to chance the oil and 6-7k intervals. :thumbsup:

It's painful driving it under 4000 RPM for a while though but it will be worth it in the end.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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

Post by hopz121 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 11:26 am

maxman wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:26 am Which bearing is showing wear,the cap or the one from the con rod.Why the two colour indicators on the bearing.?
The ones with the most wear are the all the top half ones, the bottom half were not too bad as the photos show.
2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe - Manual - Silver Grey
2017 BMW F31 318d M-Sport - Auto - Glacier Silver
2007 Porsche Cayman 2.7 - Manual - Arctic Silver
2003 Renault Clio 172 Cup - Blue
2003 BMW E85 Z4 3.0i - Gone
2008 BMW E90 330i SE - Gone

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

Post by Das882 » Fri Apr 28, 2017 12:26 pm

Viren wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2017 8:16 am Does anyone know why that one is so badly worn whereas the one on the opposite side is not too bad.
The upper bearing shell takes all the the loading, when the cylinder fires the force pushes the piston/conrod down onto the crankshaft thus loading the top bearing shell.
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S54 Bearings changed today @ 107k....... Very worn shells content!

Post by Fishy Dave » Fri Apr 28, 2017 12:28 pm

hopz121 wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2017 11:24 am
although not many seem to be actually changing them yet so I expect there is a lot of S54's in a similar state to this on the road!

I wouldn't go much past 100k by what I know now.
I'm past 50k now but am going to change them just in case as I'm sure the track use will have increased the wear, will post photos up once I start in a month or two. Still waiting on price back for parts from BMW. :)
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