My brave pill: E92 BMW 335i with the infamous N54 engine
Discussion
Mr Tidy said:
N52s do seem to get through some oil. My 330i needed 2 litres for 5,500 miles between services so it's much worse than yours despite having new cam-cover and filter housing gaskets. 
Which only really leaves the sump gasket as the likely culprit, but it's cheaper to just keep topping up than get that replaced!
I’ve done the oil filter housing / cooler gaskets on the 330i and have the rocker cover and CCV system in the garage ready to do. The back of the rocker cover looks like it’s weeping. Which only really leaves the sump gasket as the likely culprit, but it's cheaper to just keep topping up than get that replaced!
I’m pretty sure the sump gasket on the 330i is leaking having been under the car but I have zero interest in getting that sorted at the moment. It’s not using that much oil.
car user said:
I found PMP friendly enough but certainly rough and ready. I first went there for walnut blasting which they did cheaply and fast. After they did it I noticed a couple of bolts missing in the engine bay that they'd forgotten to replace. Nothing serious so when I needed the head replacing because of an ovalled injector bore due to missing bracket, I went back. I supplied all the parts and they did the labour. At that time I didn't feel confident enough to DIY that job.
They handed the car back and it was eating oil, backfiring on overrun, smoking massively at startup (i still cant figure out how this happened due to timing) and running rough. I took the car back and they said it was unrelated so rather than argue I just decided to take the car apart again and find out myself and use the opportunity to fit the teflon seals since I forgot to ask them to do that.
I took the valve cover off and used some eBay N54 timing tools to verify it and the timing turned out to be 3 teeth of the flywheel out. Upon inspecting the cams I could see they had just manhandled them with an adjustable spanner and eyeballed the timing.
After retiming everything was perfect again.
I contacted them after to point out their mistake and they just said they would investigate but nothing came of it. Lesson learned, just do it yourself unless you live near Birds or Darren Woods.
Interesting. I was thinking of using pmp for n54 front and rear crank seal replacement as they’re recommended across several places and close to me. This is giving me doubts although crank seals replacement aren’t as complicated a thing as timing. They handed the car back and it was eating oil, backfiring on overrun, smoking massively at startup (i still cant figure out how this happened due to timing) and running rough. I took the car back and they said it was unrelated so rather than argue I just decided to take the car apart again and find out myself and use the opportunity to fit the teflon seals since I forgot to ask them to do that.
I took the valve cover off and used some eBay N54 timing tools to verify it and the timing turned out to be 3 teeth of the flywheel out. Upon inspecting the cams I could see they had just manhandled them with an adjustable spanner and eyeballed the timing.
After retiming everything was perfect again.
I contacted them after to point out their mistake and they just said they would investigate but nothing came of it. Lesson learned, just do it yourself unless you live near Birds or Darren Woods.
Court_S said:
Mr Tidy said:
N52s do seem to get through some oil. My 330i needed 2 litres for 5,500 miles between services so it's much worse than yours despite having new cam-cover and filter housing gaskets.
Which only really leaves the sump gasket as the likely culprit, but it's cheaper to just keep topping up than get that replaced!
I’ve done the oil filter housing / cooler gaskets on the 330i and have the rocker cover and CCV system in the garage ready to do. The back of the rocker cover looks like it’s weeping. Which only really leaves the sump gasket as the likely culprit, but it's cheaper to just keep topping up than get that replaced!
I’m pretty sure the sump gasket on the 330i is leaking having been under the car but I have zero interest in getting that sorted at the moment. It’s not using that much oil.
The under tray does a good job of hiding sump leaks. I didn’t have a drop of oil on my drive but after taking my E92 325i in for a valve cover replacement, a leaking sump gasket was discovered.
Similar to yourself, I didn’t want to fork out as it’s not that bad yet. The good thing about gasket leaks is that they’re often slow so there’s no rush to replace it.
DKIE92 said:
Considering the age of these E9x cars and because it’s a BMW, it’s probably almost normal to have a leaking sump lol.
The under tray does a good job of hiding sump leaks. I didn’t have a drop of oil on my drive but after taking my E92 325i in for a valve cover replacement, a leaking sump gasket was discovered.
Similar to yourself, I didn’t want to fork out as it’s not that bad yet. The good thing about gasket leaks is that they’re often slow so there’s no rush to replace it.
I’ve had the oil filter housing / cooler gaskets done on this last year. Rocker cover looks fine. There is a slight weep from an oil pipe underneath the car but the union that is leaking is right next to the cats so looks like an absolute turd to get at. It’ll keep for now especially as this uses next to no oil between changes. The under tray does a good job of hiding sump leaks. I didn’t have a drop of oil on my drive but after taking my E92 325i in for a valve cover replacement, a leaking sump gasket was discovered.
Similar to yourself, I didn’t want to fork out as it’s not that bad yet. The good thing about gasket leaks is that they’re often slow so there’s no rush to replace it.
I’ll get the top of the 330i dry and worry about the sump in due course.
We finally had a nice day on Saturday and my family were out, so it was time to get stuck into the spring detail.
Whilst not too grubby at the time of cleaning, the paint was quite contaminated with tar spots and fall out. At the start of the day.
I used Garage Therapy Zero shampoo as a snow foam to help remove the old protection and then used it as a shampoo. Once dried, it was chemically decontaminated, rinsed, washed and dried again. After such a wet winter, there were quite a few stubborn bits of tar around the lower parts of the car.
Once I’d removed the last of the contamination, I went if the car with my DA polisher, a medium Hex Logic pad and Scholl S20 to remove the worst of the minor imperfections. There are a few deeper ones left, but I couldn’t be bothered with a two stage polish.
Once polished, it was wiped down with Angelwax Stripped Ease and I applied a coat of Fusso wax topped of with Kiwami Extreme for extra gloss.
The glass and interior were then given a good going over, spray sealant applied to the wheels and the tyres dressed before the obligatory post detail pics
The inevitable happened on Saturday night and it rained…..again, so here’s a beading shot as well.
Whilst not too grubby at the time of cleaning, the paint was quite contaminated with tar spots and fall out. At the start of the day.
I used Garage Therapy Zero shampoo as a snow foam to help remove the old protection and then used it as a shampoo. Once dried, it was chemically decontaminated, rinsed, washed and dried again. After such a wet winter, there were quite a few stubborn bits of tar around the lower parts of the car.
Once I’d removed the last of the contamination, I went if the car with my DA polisher, a medium Hex Logic pad and Scholl S20 to remove the worst of the minor imperfections. There are a few deeper ones left, but I couldn’t be bothered with a two stage polish.
Once polished, it was wiped down with Angelwax Stripped Ease and I applied a coat of Fusso wax topped of with Kiwami Extreme for extra gloss.
The glass and interior were then given a good going over, spray sealant applied to the wheels and the tyres dressed before the obligatory post detail pics
The inevitable happened on Saturday night and it rained…..again, so here’s a beading shot as well.
InitialDave said:
That garage therapy zero decon stuff is pretty good, I've used it a few times when I need a good strong wash.
I find it doesn't have a huge amount of cling/dwell as a snow foam, though I might not have been mixing it strongly enough.
Yeah, it’s pretty thin. I use more than it recommends to get a slightly thicker foam. It does seem to do a good job of removing what’s left of wax after a few months.I find it doesn't have a huge amount of cling/dwell as a snow foam, though I might not have been mixing it strongly enough.
roadie said:
Looking mega, I am amazed that you can get through all of that in one day! My E92 always surprises me as to how large it is and how much body there is to cover.
It was a long day with not many breaks but you’re right, there’s a fair amount of metal to deal with. God knows what it’s like on the newer versions which are huge in comparison.This update might come as a bit of a surprise….I sold the car on Saturday! 
I’d been so certain that I was buying an M3 this year that in my head I think I was done with and ultimately once I’ve decided to move something on, me it a mountain bike or a car, it’s a sitting duck. I figured that I’d chuck it up for sale to see what happened, if it sold cool, if not any doubts were going to be put to bed. I was doubtful that it’d be an easy sell because it’d been modified and they’re not exactly a rare car but in the end it went quite quickly.
I did like the car, but a few things had begun to grate. One was of my own making whereas there wasn’t much I could do about the other….
The combination on Eibach pro springs and M3 arms meant that the front end was really low. It looked great but could be frustrating on speed bumps (especially witches tit jobbies). That was entirely my own fault and I was actually thinking about going back to stock springs if it didn’t sell.
The other thing was the seat position - it’s just too bloody high in an E92. You feel like you’re sat on the car and the more I noticed it the more it bugged me.
So, that’s it for the 335i. It was a rollercoaster at times for sure, but overall a positive experience. I was quite sad overall to see it be driven off but I think that’s quite a nice way to move a car on.
I’d been so certain that I was buying an M3 this year that in my head I think I was done with and ultimately once I’ve decided to move something on, me it a mountain bike or a car, it’s a sitting duck. I figured that I’d chuck it up for sale to see what happened, if it sold cool, if not any doubts were going to be put to bed. I was doubtful that it’d be an easy sell because it’d been modified and they’re not exactly a rare car but in the end it went quite quickly.
I did like the car, but a few things had begun to grate. One was of my own making whereas there wasn’t much I could do about the other….
The combination on Eibach pro springs and M3 arms meant that the front end was really low. It looked great but could be frustrating on speed bumps (especially witches tit jobbies). That was entirely my own fault and I was actually thinking about going back to stock springs if it didn’t sell.
The other thing was the seat position - it’s just too bloody high in an E92. You feel like you’re sat on the car and the more I noticed it the more it bugged me.
So, that’s it for the 335i. It was a rollercoaster at times for sure, but overall a positive experience. I was quite sad overall to see it be driven off but I think that’s quite a nice way to move a car on.
Court_S said:
This update might come as a bit of a surprise….I sold the car on Saturday!
I’d been so certain that I was buying an M3 this year that in my head I think I was done with and ultimately once I’ve decided to move something on, me it a mountain bike or a car, it’s a sitting duck. I figured that I’d chuck it up for sale to see what happened, if it sold cool, if not any doubts were going to be put to bed. I was doubtful that it’d be an easy sell because it’d been modified and they’re not exactly a rare car but in the end it went quite quickly.
I did like the car, but a few things had begun to grate. One was of my own making whereas there wasn’t much I could do about the other….
The combination on Eibach pro springs and M3 arms meant that the front end was really low. It looked great but could be frustrating on speed bumps (especially witches tit jobbies). That was entirely my own fault and I was actually thinking about going back to stock springs if it didn’t sell.
The other thing was the seat position - it’s just too bloody high in an E92. You feel like you’re sat on the car and the more I noticed it the more it bugged me.
So, that’s it for the 335i. It was a rollercoaster at times for sure, but overall a positive experience. I was quite sad overall to see it be driven off but I think that’s quite a nice way to move a car on.
Next project please I’d been so certain that I was buying an M3 this year that in my head I think I was done with and ultimately once I’ve decided to move something on, me it a mountain bike or a car, it’s a sitting duck. I figured that I’d chuck it up for sale to see what happened, if it sold cool, if not any doubts were going to be put to bed. I was doubtful that it’d be an easy sell because it’d been modified and they’re not exactly a rare car but in the end it went quite quickly.
I did like the car, but a few things had begun to grate. One was of my own making whereas there wasn’t much I could do about the other….
The combination on Eibach pro springs and M3 arms meant that the front end was really low. It looked great but could be frustrating on speed bumps (especially witches tit jobbies). That was entirely my own fault and I was actually thinking about going back to stock springs if it didn’t sell.
The other thing was the seat position - it’s just too bloody high in an E92. You feel like you’re sat on the car and the more I noticed it the more it bugged me.
So, that’s it for the 335i. It was a rollercoaster at times for sure, but overall a positive experience. I was quite sad overall to see it be driven off but I think that’s quite a nice way to move a car on.
patience young padawan….
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