Lost the Engine

joelselman · 09-09-2015, 01:41 PM

at THILL in the trusty yellow Z4 two weeks ago. Slight hiccup then limped into pits barely running. now I have good, normal compression in cylinders 1-5 and 0 in cylinder 6. Pulled the valve cover and don't see anything obvious but I don't have a borescope. I guess I found how far you can push an M54B30: 32,000 total miles, about 15,000 track.

GuidoK · 09-09-2015, 02:09 PM

If I think what could all be going wrong you'd probably have to lift the head to properly diagnose, but a quick peep with a boroscope is obviously an easy test to do prior to putting real hours into it.

I'm interested to see any follow ups on this problem

Luckily the m54b30 is easy to resource on ebay or a breakers for a fair price, so even if it's really bad, its not thàt bad

What oil viscosity are you running? (arizona is pretty hot I imagine)

joelselman · 09-09-2015, 02:27 PM

I'm interested in figuring it out also. Been running 15w40 changing about every 1500 track miles.

pokeybritches · 09-09-2015, 02:52 PM

Do you have any power adders or a raised redline?

GuidoK · 09-09-2015, 02:56 PM

You're sure you did the compression test properly? (no leakage at the sparkplug hole)?

Was it a compressiontest or leakdown test?

Any ecu codes?

joelselman · 09-10-2015, 09:33 AM

Engine is bone stock, tons of codes. I'm ordering a borescope today.

seank · 09-27-2015, 11:39 PM

Sorry to hear Joel. It explains why we didnt see you at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.

joelselman · 10-25-2015, 02:29 PM

Yup, I was signed up for Sonoma...looking forward to it. The old engines out now, so I should be ready for next year. Gonna try to find my rear end noise too.

I'm probably not going to find cause. Complete BMW reman going in. I am sending fuel injectors out for checking, though.

3002 tii · 03-23-2016, 10:41 PM

Any update?

Twixboy · 03-24-2016, 12:39 PM

He posted this about 4 months ago, so he probably still has the Z4. Hoping he would give an update as well.

Quote:

I special ordered a 2011 E90M with DCT and comp suspension to replace my E85 3.0 Z4 (mostly track) AND my 2007 Dodge Charger SRT daily driver. Traded the Dodge but decided to keep the Z4...glad I did! Didn't like the M3 at all. Felt too heavy for track use and rode like a covered wagon. Dumped it after 2 years and bought a 2001 E39 530 which I redid. Love it for street. I'm sure your 335 is nice, too.

joelselman · 03-24-2016, 02:52 PM

Never took the engine apart. 0 compression on #6 and the backfiring melted the interior of the intake manifold on #6 runner so I just assumed it burned or dropped an intake valve. Because of approx. 15,000 track miles, I decided to replace entire engine. Got estimates from Dinan and VAC for mild rebuild; about $13-15K w/o install!!! Complete reman from BMW was about $9K w/o install...went that route. BTW, when I jacked up the engine to remove, top halves of both motor mounts fell out on the floor. I was amazed I hadn't felt an issue!

Car's first outing (fingers crossed) will be BW on 4-16. Coolant is now redline water wetter instead of anti-freeze and I think I'll run race fuel.

Beedub · 03-25-2016, 01:51 AM

the bmw mounts are not adequate for a properly driven track vehicle.

pokeybritches · 03-25-2016, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelselman

Never took the engine apart. 0 compression on #6 and the backfiring melted the interior of the intake manifold on #6 runner so I just assumed it burned or dropped an intake valve. Because of approx. 15,000 track miles, I decided to replace entire engine. Got estimates from Dinan and VAC for mild rebuild; about $13-15K w/o install!!! Complete reman from BMW was about $9K w/o install...went that route. BTW, when I jacked up the engine to remove, top halves of both motor mounts fell out on the floor. I was amazed I hadn't felt an issue!

Car's first outing (fingers crossed) will be BW on 4-16. Coolant is now redline water wetter instead of anti-freeze and I think I'll run race fuel.

$13-15k is a lot for a rebuild. A good shop should be able to do it for half as much. I'm looking at building mine for high boost, and I was told "ballpark" $15k for an entire build, including forged pistons and rods, machine work, drivetrain modifications, turbo, intercooler, fabrication, and so on.

However, if you're looking at doing a lot of custom head work, I can see paying a little more for it... because head work is very engine-specific, and the difficulty lies in knowing what to do more so than how to do it. What works and what doesn't are industry secrets. I believe VAC has raced M54-based cars, so they probably know what to do. If you're not looking to do anything special, then VAC isn't worth the premium.

What did you do with the old engine?

GuidoK · 03-25-2016, 11:06 AM

You're buying a stock new engine for 9k?

joelselman · 03-25-2016, 01:24 PM

The engine price was exchange and it might have been closer to $7K actually. Ran about $9-10K with all the addl stuff.

09-09-2015, 01:41 PM	#1
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	Lost the Engine at THILL in the trusty yellow Z4 two weeks ago. Slight hiccup then limped into pits barely running. now I have good, normal compression in cylinders 1-5 and 0 in cylinder 6. Pulled the valve cover and don't see anything obvious but I don't have a borescope. I guess I found how far you can push an M54B30: 32,000 total miles, about 15,000 track.
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09-09-2015, 02:09 PM	#2
GuidoK #buildnotbought 10641 Rep 4,853 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0i ESS TS2+ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tinkering in the garage iTrader: (0)	If I think what could all be going wrong you'd probably have to lift the head to properly diagnose, but a quick peep with a boroscope is obviously an easy test to do prior to putting real hours into it. I'm interested to see any follow ups on this problem Luckily the m54b30 is easy to resource on ebay or a breakers for a fair price, so even if it's really bad, its not thàt bad What oil viscosity are you running? (arizona is pretty hot I imagine) __________________ Z4 3.0i \| ESS TS2+ supercharger \| Quaife ATB LSD \| Brembo/BMW performance BBK front/rear \| Schrick FI cams \| Schmiedmann headers+cats \| Powerflex/strongflex PU bushings \| Vibra-technics engine mounts \| H&R anti rollbars \| KW V3 coilovers/KW camber plates \| Sachs race engineering clutch \| tons of custom sh#t
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09-09-2015, 02:27 PM	#3
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	I'm interested in figuring it out also. Been running 15w40 changing about every 1500 track miles.
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09-09-2015, 02:52 PM	#4
pokeybritches Colonel 479 Rep 2,782 Posts Drives: ESS/G-Power Z4M, VF Z4, 996tt Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (12) Garage List 2006 BMW Z4M [10.00] 2006 BMW Z4M [8.50] 2003 BMW Z4 3.0i [9.00]	Do you have any power adders or a raised redline? __________________ VF Engineering Z4 3.0i, ESS Z4M, G-Power Z4M, 996 Turbo
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09-09-2015, 02:56 PM	#5
GuidoK #buildnotbought 10641 Rep 4,853 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0i ESS TS2+ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tinkering in the garage iTrader: (0)	You're sure you did the compression test properly? (no leakage at the sparkplug hole)? Was it a compressiontest or leakdown test? Any ecu codes? __________________ Z4 3.0i \| ESS TS2+ supercharger \| Quaife ATB LSD \| Brembo/BMW performance BBK front/rear \| Schrick FI cams \| Schmiedmann headers+cats \| Powerflex/strongflex PU bushings \| Vibra-technics engine mounts \| H&R anti rollbars \| KW V3 coilovers/KW camber plates \| Sachs race engineering clutch \| tons of custom sh#t
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09-10-2015, 09:33 AM	#6
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	Engine is bone stock, tons of codes. I'm ordering a borescope today.
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09-27-2015, 11:39 PM	#7
seank enthusiast 48 Rep 1,695 Posts Drives: e30 m3,e90 wagon,sprinter,z4m Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: sacramento, ca iTrader: (4)	Sorry to hear Joel. It explains why we didnt see you at Sonoma Raceway this weekend.
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10-25-2015, 02:29 PM	#8
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	Yup, I was signed up for Sonoma...looking forward to it. The old engines out now, so I should be ready for next year. Gonna try to find my rear end noise too. I'm probably not going to find cause. Complete BMW reman going in. I am sending fuel injectors out for checking, though.
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03-23-2016, 10:41 PM	#9
3002 tii Lieutenant General 2280 Rep 12,565 Posts Drives: Z4 M, X5, GX460 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (99) Garage List F15 X5 xDrive35i [8.75] E86 Z4 M [10.00] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.43] E82 135is (Retired) [9.50] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.41] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.25] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [9.20]	Any update? __________________ Follow for latest mods
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03-24-2016, 02:52 PM	#11
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	Never took the engine apart. 0 compression on #6 and the backfiring melted the interior of the intake manifold on #6 runner so I just assumed it burned or dropped an intake valve. Because of approx. 15,000 track miles, I decided to replace entire engine. Got estimates from Dinan and VAC for mild rebuild; about $13-15K w/o install!!! Complete reman from BMW was about $9K w/o install...went that route. BTW, when I jacked up the engine to remove, top halves of both motor mounts fell out on the floor. I was amazed I hadn't felt an issue! Car's first outing (fingers crossed) will be BW on 4-16. Coolant is now redline water wetter instead of anti-freeze and I think I'll run race fuel.
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03-25-2016, 01:51 AM	#12
Beedub Major General 423 Rep 5,327 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4 M roadster vt2-500 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	the bmw mounts are not adequate for a properly driven track vehicle. __________________ Z4MR VT2 - Clubsport build. Multi award winning Detailing \| Wrap \| PPF specialists UK based - www.topwrapz.com
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03-25-2016, 11:06 AM	#14
GuidoK #buildnotbought 10641 Rep 4,853 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0i ESS TS2+ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tinkering in the garage iTrader: (0)	You're buying a stock new engine for 9k? __________________ Z4 3.0i \| ESS TS2+ supercharger \| Quaife ATB LSD \| Brembo/BMW performance BBK front/rear \| Schrick FI cams \| Schmiedmann headers+cats \| Powerflex/strongflex PU bushings \| Vibra-technics engine mounts \| H&R anti rollbars \| KW V3 coilovers/KW camber plates \| Sachs race engineering clutch \| tons of custom sh#t
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03-25-2016, 01:24 PM	#15
joelselman Private 5 Rep 59 Posts Drives: 2005 Z4, 2001 530 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: lake havasu city, az iTrader: (0)	The engine price was exchange and it might have been closer to $7K actually. Ran about $9-10K with all the addl stuff.
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