Advice : BMW warranty claim

[ging84]

fourspoons said:

Still, if I am looking on the positive side, 3 weeks in a manual 320d has at least totally reaffirmed by decision to buy a petrol automatic.

And probably saved you £50 a week in fuel

[fourspoons]

ging84 said:

And probably saved you £50 a week in fuel

Well it would if I did a significant number of miles of course. But my 100 miles per week, not so much.

[oobster]

Would you not consider rejecting the car (if the repair saga carries on much further) and asking the dealer to order you a fresh new car?

[fourspoons]

I could try I suppose but after the initial saga that might be pushing my luck a bit too far?
After waiting for authorisation and then delivery of the engine, they have only really been working on it for 2 weeks which I don't think is unreasonable for the amount of work involved...

[Sheepshanks]

fourspoons said:

Still, if I am looking on the positive side, 3 weeks in a manual 320d has at least totally reaffirmed by decision to buy a petrol automatic.

How much slower are its lap times?

[fourspoons]

OK well good news. I have the car back today and everything appears to be running nicely.
Despite the initial 'problems' the service I've had since BMW authorised the work has been very good.
They even took some pictures of the damage for me. I'm no expert so I'm not sure exactly what's occurred.

[Crusoe]

big end failure on the cylinder furthest left in your image.



Would guess that the bolt failed judging by the mess left of bits bashing around though it could have been the bearing breaking up. May not have been tightened correctly (over tightened possibly) or material defects. Oil starvation could also cause the piston friction to increase and fail at the bolts.

Edited by Crusoe on Thursday 26th February 12:12

[Soov535]

fourspoons said:

OK well good news. I have the car back today and everything appears to be running nicely.
Despite the initial 'problems' the service I've had since BMW authorised the work has been very good.
They even took some pictures of the damage for me. I'm no expert so I'm not sure exactly what's occurred.

Holy Sh it!!

[hornetrider]

Well, that is a proper job.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Gtom said:

Was there not a official/semi official bmw video done with Chris Harris in a m235i all about how to drift, on a track?!

I remember a specific audience participation advert at the cinema (the cinime advert where you play along on your phone while the add is rolling) where the BMW M235i is shown, driving fast on a track and you, the audience, must chose the correct line for each of the corners it takes. If you guess all right, you win some popcorn.

The popcorn is beside the point, the advert shows the car on a track taking the racing lines.

I guess the advert should have had A) 2 wheels over the rumble strips, B) round the outside, C) big end failure

and then if you pick C) you get free popcorn.

[Megaflow]

fourspoons said:

OK well good news. I have the car back today and everything appears to be running nicely.
Despite the initial 'problems' the service I've had since BMW authorised the work has been very good.
They even took some pictures of the damage for me. I'm no expert so I'm not sure exactly what's occurred.

I assume the large lump of aluminium on the table is what is left of an oil pump/balancer that was bolted to the smaller piece which is gamely hanging in there under cylinder one.

Full marks for doing it properley...

Edited by Megaflow on Thursday 26th February 12:34

[fushion julz]

fourspoons said:

Yes absolutely.

I know my car is different (E30 M3), but I ran a bearing a few years ago on a trackday at Brands Hatch...My car was obviously well out of any warranty so I had no basis for any sort of claim, but I did a bit of research as to why the bearing failed.
I discovered the primary cause was oil starvation in (principally) left hand corners. The sump in the S14 motor is quite small (4.5litres) and is totally unbaffled. Oil surge if the oil level falls too low...a simple (bolt in) addition to the sump to provide a baffle around the pump pick-up cured the issue.

A conrod letting go is likely to be caused by a failed bearing (or possibly a failed big end cap bolt) and this is likely to be caused by oil starvation. Personally, if I was going to use the car on a track again I'd be looking at baffling the sump...cost is minimal and benifits are huge!

[fourspoons]

fushion julz said:

I know my car is different (E30 M3), but I ran a bearing a few years ago on a trackday at Brands Hatch...My car was obviously well out of any warranty so I had no basis for any sort of claim, but I did a bit of research as to why the bearing failed.
I discovered the primary cause was oil starvation in (principally) left hand corners. The sump in the S14 motor is quite small (4.5litres) and is totally unbaffled. Oil surge if the oil level falls too low...a simple (bolt in) addition to the sump to provide a baffle around the pump pick-up cured the issue.

A conrod letting go is likely to be caused by a failed bearing (or possibly a failed big end cap bolt) and this is likely to be caused by oil starvation. Personally, if I was going to use the car on a track again I'd be looking at baffling the sump...cost is minimal and benifits are huge!

Thanks for that. Interestingly Silverstone is mostly right hand corners.
Ironically if I modified the sump they would invalidate my warranty in a heartbeat but I can keep getting free engine replacements for 3 years

[fushion julz]

lol...the "modification" involves a sheet of steel with a rubber flap valve to limit the flow placed accross the sump.

A dry sump system would also solve the problem but is significantly more complex and expensive.