StickMon's S54 Rod Bearings thread?

[tiltmode43]

Given your miles, that doesn't sound too bad! Still must feel nice to have it done.

Looking forward to some pics.

[Vanne]

Stick, glad your bearings were not too bad mate.. yeah i figured on 1000 kms and i generally drive below 4k , so no issues there mate.

I had my carrier bearing fail a few months back mate, and you'll know it when it goes man.. massive vibrations at launch, but smooths out when load drops.. (and not in every gear, pretty much only in 1rst and 2nd for me.)

i had my guibo replaced at the same time, though it was still in pretty ok nick..

[Beedub]

looking forward to pics.

[StickMon]

To recap - 128k miles, rarely over 5000 rpm, never over 7000 rpm, at least since I bought it with 40k miles.
Cylinder 1 --> 6 Tops on top, bottoms on bottom.

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by StickMon

To recap - 128k miles, rarely over 5000 rpm, never over 7000 rpm, at least since I bought it with 40k miles.
Cylinder 1 --> 6 Tops on top, bottoms on bottom.

Attachment 1313683

Attachment 1313684

What Oil were you using?

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by StickMon

......
Andrew did a test with rods off another S54 and the ARP bolts.
He found that if he stretched the ARP bolts to the prescribed 0.006" the bore was oval.
He had to stretch them 0.007" to get the bore round, and he wasn't comfortable over stretching them, so he went with stock bolts.

Thanks for the ARP info.
Props to Andrew for doing a test!
That's surprising info. It would be interesting to get some feedback from ARP.

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by tikamak

What Oil were you using?

Castrol 10W-60. Standard ///M stuff.
Just switched to the new "Twin Power Turbo".

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Thanks for the ARP info.
Props to Andrew for doing a test!
That's surprising info. It would be interesting to get some feedback from ARP.

Something for those with ARP bolts to lose sleep over.

[Vanne]

Stick, any close ups of the top 6 shells?
Those actually do look pretty knackered.

[Shipkiller]

Of course the uppers look bad.
The upper bearings have the most load, and wear first.

All in all, I think his bearing look normal for the amount of mileage he has on the car and the relative ease (no slam intended) in which he had driven the car.
It was just time for this maintenance and a rod bearing replacement will have to happen with every S54 at least one in its lifetime.

[NickyC]

I think those bearings look great considering the amount of miles on the car!

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Stick, any close ups of the top 6 shells?
Those actually do look pretty knackered.

Looks like #5 took a lot of time off work, and #6 has a limp.
Yours look more consistently worn, or maybe it's just because mine are only starting to get through the lead.

[Vanne]

thanks for the close up mate, yeah, mine were def much worse.. and your spot on for having this done mate, peace of mind is worth a lot.

I agree Ship, no hassle intended, just nice to get a close up of those top shells. i guess warming up the car properly is a massive factor on these engines and I agree, should be done on every S54 around 100k.

Whats next Stick?

[StickMon]

BimmerWorld spherical RTABs.
Sway bar end links and bushings at both ends. Maybe stock, maybe not.

[StickMon]

600% reduction in lead!

[XMetal]

Wow...that looks fantastic - those WPC stuffs actually works

[SaltyNC]

Originally Posted by StickMon

600% reduction in lead!

Congrats on that positive report.

Salty

[ga41]

Just saw this thread and briefly read through it...

Originally Posted by tiltmode43

General question - Are there any proven cases of Z4M S54 failing due to rod bearings?

Mine did out of the blue two and a half years ago. Well maintained, occasionally tracked, semi-frequent use of 7000+ RPM, 65,000 miles... It scored 2 connecting rods and the crankshaft. Costed a lot of money to get it fixed here....