E61 V8 Bearding
Discussion
ian_cab28 said:
Hi,
Just to update on this love in on the v8's. Had/have an e39 540 touring, 200k 2001, still goes like stink smooth engine, fantastic but had it for 7 years and fancied a change. Bought a 545 touring for £4990 from a place in Cannock (M500 PSW), 2004 104k fairly bare spec but pan roof etc, etc. A week into ownership I notice in heavy traffic when up to temp it smokes...badly.... oil consumption about 0.3L in 200 miles. Back to garage, after 6 weeks of farting about, water pump, ccv valves, valve stem seals diagnosed but also scored bores to one cylinder which condemned the rebuild option as oversized pistons at £200 x 8 required plus a rehoned alusil block. Garage man gave me my money back. something about beyond economic repair !
This engine is great when working but really the m62 was so much better, I'd never touch an n62 again after all I've learnt (valve stem smoking leads to cat break up and drawn back into cylinder via valvetronic a la MR2 issue). I've replaced it with an n52 530i sport touring and I'm selling the 540, but tbh the e39 really stacks up well to e61 , certainly the 540 smooth wave of torque and planted feeling compares v.well to the 255bhp of the 530 even if bhp/tonne comparable. Maybe I've been in it too long!!
Anyways best of luck all, change the oil regularly would be my advice ! apparently same seal gasket issue in n63 bi-turbo engine.
So does this always lead to bore scoring or is that just bad luck?Just to update on this love in on the v8's. Had/have an e39 540 touring, 200k 2001, still goes like stink smooth engine, fantastic but had it for 7 years and fancied a change. Bought a 545 touring for £4990 from a place in Cannock (M500 PSW), 2004 104k fairly bare spec but pan roof etc, etc. A week into ownership I notice in heavy traffic when up to temp it smokes...badly.... oil consumption about 0.3L in 200 miles. Back to garage, after 6 weeks of farting about, water pump, ccv valves, valve stem seals diagnosed but also scored bores to one cylinder which condemned the rebuild option as oversized pistons at £200 x 8 required plus a rehoned alusil block. Garage man gave me my money back. something about beyond economic repair !
This engine is great when working but really the m62 was so much better, I'd never touch an n62 again after all I've learnt (valve stem smoking leads to cat break up and drawn back into cylinder via valvetronic a la MR2 issue). I've replaced it with an n52 530i sport touring and I'm selling the 540, but tbh the e39 really stacks up well to e61 , certainly the 540 smooth wave of torque and planted feeling compares v.well to the 255bhp of the 530 even if bhp/tonne comparable. Maybe I've been in it too long!!
Anyways best of luck all, change the oil regularly would be my advice ! apparently same seal gasket issue in n63 bi-turbo engine.
I can't really comment. I think mine must have been burning oil quite badly for some time whether this lead to the break up of the cat im not sure. There was mention on this thread of another scored block so it made me wonder if not fixing the valve seals early doors can lead to this as a knock on.
It was a car from glossop, used to smoke into central Manchester serviced at halfords nationwide in its later years!!!##££% but spoke to them and they'd done a lot of work and seemed to know what they were on about..so I put prejudice to one side.
Previous owner bounced it onto BMW dealer who bounced it to trade. You'd never see fault unless get engine well warmed up and then idle. It would spontaneously smoke no need to boot it !
It was a car from glossop, used to smoke into central Manchester serviced at halfords nationwide in its later years!!!##££% but spoke to them and they'd done a lot of work and seemed to know what they were on about..so I put prejudice to one side.
Previous owner bounced it onto BMW dealer who bounced it to trade. You'd never see fault unless get engine well warmed up and then idle. It would spontaneously smoke no need to boot it !
philmots said:
Mine's been diagnosed with split egr and oil leaking through the breathers. Its had the the intakes walnut blasted. Should be interesting to see how it does when I get it back and I'm hoping for a roasted nut aroma as waft along the m25. No bore scoring which is nice.
The service manager was telling me about a year old F10 M5 they just replaced the engine on. Came in because the engine was making a knock. Hello £30k warranty claim.
Re: halfords/nationwide that was my first reaction but most of the work had been done at the same branch, they were very open and knowledgeable about what had been done.
Certainly way better than when trying to ask BMW dealers about work carried out (that old data protection stuff again!).
I took it to Autotech in Warwick and the owner said it was an 8 out of 10 car, all modules up to date, no suspension issues etc etc, even he didn't see smoke issue but didn't have it up to temp.
I do feel bm lost the plot a little with the n62, n63, and n53. Really disappointing to see a poor seal material spec cross onto the next gen engine. Major open up engine work shouldnt really happen at <10 years and 150k imho.
Certainly way better than when trying to ask BMW dealers about work carried out (that old data protection stuff again!).
I took it to Autotech in Warwick and the owner said it was an 8 out of 10 car, all modules up to date, no suspension issues etc etc, even he didn't see smoke issue but didn't have it up to temp.
I do feel bm lost the plot a little with the n62, n63, and n53. Really disappointing to see a poor seal material spec cross onto the next gen engine. Major open up engine work shouldnt really happen at <10 years and 150k imho.
So just to clarify, and sorry to go all 'PH'.
You've bought a cheap poverty spec V8, maintained by Halfords, owned and used by a guy who thinks taking his BMW V8 to Halfords for servicing is a good idea, and are saying the engine is fundamentally flawed because now the seals have gone.
You've bought a cheap poverty spec V8, maintained by Halfords, owned and used by a guy who thinks taking his BMW V8 to Halfords for servicing is a good idea, and are saying the engine is fundamentally flawed because now the seals have gone.
Minor Barge News. My new go flat winter tyres are going flat. The car started bonging at me about tyre pressure 2 days ago. Yesterday I used my new rechargeable Michelin pump from Halfords - well worth the £80 obviously - and pumped them up to 2.4 front and 2.8 rear. This morning the car started bonging again. I continued my journey to the gym but regretted it. When I got to the gym I could feel the steering had started to pull to the right. Yes the driver's side front was pretty flat looking and a little warm to the touch. I pumped it up immediately but when I stopped the pump I could hear a definite hiss. So now the car is at my local friendly garage for diagnosis.
In summary go flat tyres are great until they go flat. Then you're foo foo lamar'ed. The lesson I've learnt is if the car bongs and you're running go flats then you need to Stop.
In summary go flat tyres are great until they go flat. Then you're foo foo lamar'ed. The lesson I've learnt is if the car bongs and you're running go flats then you need to Stop.
To be fair, HR, I don't think any of those things would really affect the seals/ seal material choice etc...
I can't think of a car I have owned over the last few years that hasn't had its fair share of scare stories on the web!
As soon as I hand over money, I suddenly start worrying about smoke and leaks etc etc.
It's probably why I am in a 'cheap' 545i and not an 'expensive' M5 now - shear fear!
I can't think of a car I have owned over the last few years that hasn't had its fair share of scare stories on the web!
As soon as I hand over money, I suddenly start worrying about smoke and leaks etc etc.
It's probably why I am in a 'cheap' 545i and not an 'expensive' M5 now - shear fear!
ATM said:
In summary go flat tyres are great until they go flat. Then you're foo foo lamar'ed. The lesson I've learnt is if the car bongs and you're running go flats then you need to Stop.
At least with go flat tyres, any tyre place will repair it. With run-flats you can't drive around on a flat for long and most garages will not plug them (despite the tyre manufacturers being fine with a plug: http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/goodyear-quality/tech... ).I think if you are running around in 10 year old ex £60k cars you need to focus more on what has been done rather than whose done it. Your full BMW sh is little more than fluids and friction materials at over extended durations, no magic longevity improving pixie dust applied to bushes, zf box, maf and central coolant pipe seal etc etc
The presence of HUD, logic7, pillow headrests etc etc is scant consolation when the engine is fubar'd unless you like breaking car parts on ebay.
The n62 is simply not as durable as the engine that proceeded it , great when working but valve seals are a £2.5k service item. That is why they are cheap to buy.
The presence of HUD, logic7, pillow headrests etc etc is scant consolation when the engine is fubar'd unless you like breaking car parts on ebay.
The n62 is simply not as durable as the engine that proceeded it , great when working but valve seals are a £2.5k service item. That is why they are cheap to buy.
ian_cab28 said:
I think if you are running around in 10 year old ex £60k cars you need to focus more on what has been done rather than whose done it. Your full BMW sh is little more than fluids and friction materials at over extended durations, no magic longevity improving pixie dust applied to bushes, zf box, maf and central coolant pipe seal etc etc
The presence of HUD, logic7, pillow headrests etc etc is scant consolation when the engine is fubar'd unless you like breaking car parts on ebay.
The n62 is simply not as durable as the engine that proceeded it , great when working but valve seals are a £2.5k service item. That is why they are cheap to buy.
I'm sorry you bought an old poorly maintained nail you couldn't afford to fix, I'm glad it hasn't coloured your opinion though The presence of HUD, logic7, pillow headrests etc etc is scant consolation when the engine is fubar'd unless you like breaking car parts on ebay.
The n62 is simply not as durable as the engine that proceeded it , great when working but valve seals are a £2.5k service item. That is why they are cheap to buy.
The ZF box is at least one issue HR doesn't have to worry about, or the central coolant pipe which was the 4.4 issue..
The 4.8 had quite a lot of different parts, only oil leak mines had was from the vacuum pump/oil pressure switch.. This was sorted for under £100! The rocker covers are dry, and it's nearly on 100k..
I had to have a new sump fitted to my ZF as it was weeping but it wasn't a bad thing as flushing the old fluid out made a huge difference.
If mine ever needs the valve seals done I'll most probably use this service... £1250.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/301799401728
I personally think that's good value, but it's probably based around £20 an hour and not £120 at a main dealer. One of my mates is an Audi salesman, some of his customers don't bat an eyelid losing that a month on a new car!
The 4.8 had quite a lot of different parts, only oil leak mines had was from the vacuum pump/oil pressure switch.. This was sorted for under £100! The rocker covers are dry, and it's nearly on 100k..
I had to have a new sump fitted to my ZF as it was weeping but it wasn't a bad thing as flushing the old fluid out made a huge difference.
If mine ever needs the valve seals done I'll most probably use this service... £1250.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/301799401728
I personally think that's good value, but it's probably based around £20 an hour and not £120 at a main dealer. One of my mates is an Audi salesman, some of his customers don't bat an eyelid losing that a month on a new car!
Cock ....on a more to positive note to Mr Phil, that looks a good find.. Agreed all engines have issues, have a real bug bear with engine smoking and oil consumption tho. I read that the 4.8 had quite a few mods, may yours go on for many miles while bikerboy gets hit by a dmf clutch change...blimey !
hornetrider said:
I'm sorry you bought an old poorly maintained nail you couldn't afford to fix, I'm glad it hasn't coloured your opinion though
Cock ....on a more to positive note to Mr Phil, that looks a good find.. Agreed all engines have issues, have a real bug bear with engine smoking and oil consumption tho. I read that the 4.8 had quite a few mods, may yours go on for many miles while bikerboy gets hit by a dmf clutch change...blimey !
hornetrider said:
I'm sorry you bought an old poorly maintained nail you couldn't afford to fix, I'm glad it hasn't coloured your opinion though
ian_cab28 said:
Cock
I heard you the first time! Just banter chap, you should try it!
ian_cab28 said:
....on a more to positive note to Mr Phil, that looks a good find.. Agreed all engines have issues, have a real bug bear with engine smoking and oil consumption tho. I read that the 4.8 had quite a few mods, may yours go on for many miles while bikerboy gets hit by a dmf clutch change...blimey !
Cheers for your kind thoughts. Not sure when I'll need a clutch, it had a new one as part of the pre-sale prep when I bought it.I share your hatred of engines which use excessive amounts of oil though. I've had 2 x M52 and 1 x M54 and they all liked to drink a bit. Thankfully my first foray into N62 V8 territory is a happy one as this one doesn't.
Interestingly, I found this little snippet on wiki...
Wiki said:
In the International Engine of the Year awards in 2002, the N62 won overall as well as claiming the "Best New Engine" and "Above 4-litre" categories
Happy Christmas! 
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