E91 Straight Six Bearding

E91 Straight Six Bearding

Author
Discussion

ATM

18,099 posts

218 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
ferrisbueller said:
ATM said:
This looks nice. Really good advert too lads. What do we think?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292731367627
If you're trying to flog your car just say so?
What's the fun in that?

cerb4.5lee

30,197 posts

179 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Folks, I know it's in a different car but I've been getting slightly concerned about the Oil Consumption in my N52. For most of it's life it's been getting through a litre in about 4 - 5000 miles or so, but recently it seems to have gone up to 1 litre every 2000 miles or so.

Car has 126k on it - should I be worried?
My N52 engine used 1 litre of oil every 2k miles even at 50k miles. I think its pretty normal for them to use it heavily. I wouldn't be worried.

ferrisbueller

29,262 posts

226 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
ATM said:
ferrisbueller said:
ATM said:
This looks nice. Really good advert too lads. What do we think?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292731367627
If you're trying to flog your car just say so?
What's the fun in that?
Surely less tedious than ever-so-subtly cross posting all your cars for sale on every thread.

ferrisbueller

29,262 posts

226 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
bodhi said:
Folks, I know it's in a different car but I've been getting slightly concerned about the Oil Consumption in my N52. For most of it's life it's been getting through a litre in about 4 - 5000 miles or so, but recently it seems to have gone up to 1 litre every 2000 miles or so.

Car has 126k on it - should I be worried?
Assuming no leaks?

Rocker cover/oil cooler etc worth checking if they're original.

ATM

18,099 posts

218 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
ferrisbueller said:
Surely less tedious than ever-so-subtly cross posting all your cars for sale on every thread.
2 threads. Hardly excessive.

Do you want to buy an early 996?

ferrisbueller

29,262 posts

226 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
ATM said:
ferrisbueller said:
Surely less tedious than ever-so-subtly cross posting all your cars for sale on every thread.
2 threads. Hardly excessive.

Do you want to buy an early 996?
2 for this car.

Nope.

stevesuk

1,345 posts

181 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
ferrisbueller said:
bodhi said:
Folks, I know it's in a different car but I've been getting slightly concerned about the Oil Consumption in my N52. For most of it's life it's been getting through a litre in about 4 - 5000 miles or so, but recently it seems to have gone up to 1 litre every 2000 miles or so.

Car has 126k on it - should I be worried?
Assuming no leaks?

Rocker cover/oil cooler etc worth checking if they're original.
Ours was doing the same. It had always needed topping up between services, but recently it needed topping up every two or three months, rather than once or twice a year.

Garage found 3 leaks. Rocker cover, oil cooler and something else I can't remember. Too early to say if its solved the problem (only had it done last month). But, if it was the reason our oil consumption had more than trebled, then the problem hides itself quite well under the bonnet (there was an oily film over part of the engine, but not masses of it).

Quite an expensive job when you're paying someone to fix it - and only a few months after we'd have the water pump changed. First year since we've had it, that it's cost us over £1000 in non-routine maintenance. But as the garage said, these things are more or less consumable items (o-rings, gaskets etc.). Its just the labour involved in changing them that hurts.

Next thing to worry about is the clutch on ours. Quite a low mileage - but a mileage accumulated mainly around town. My wife's been using the car for the last few months, and she reckons she's getting some clutch judder when pulling away in 1st gear. Quick straw poll... have any of you had to change the clutch yet, and if so, what mileage did you make it to? smile

bodhi

10,333 posts

228 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
stevesuk said:
ferrisbueller said:
bodhi said:
Folks, I know it's in a different car but I've been getting slightly concerned about the Oil Consumption in my N52. For most of it's life it's been getting through a litre in about 4 - 5000 miles or so, but recently it seems to have gone up to 1 litre every 2000 miles or so.

Car has 126k on it - should I be worried?
Assuming no leaks?

Rocker cover/oil cooler etc worth checking if they're original.
Ours was doing the same. It had always needed topping up between services, but recently it needed topping up every two or three months, rather than once or twice a year.

Garage found 3 leaks. Rocker cover, oil cooler and something else I can't remember. Too early to say if its solved the problem (only had it done last month). But, if it was the reason our oil consumption had more than trebled, then the problem hides itself quite well under the bonnet (there was an oily film over part of the engine, but not masses of it).

Quite an expensive job when you're paying someone to fix it - and only a few months after we'd have the water pump changed. First year since we've had it, that it's cost us over £1000 in non-routine maintenance. But as the garage said, these things are more or less consumable items (o-rings, gaskets etc.). Its just the labour involved in changing them that hurts.

Next thing to worry about is the clutch on ours. Quite a low mileage - but a mileage accumulated mainly around town. My wife's been using the car for the last few months, and she reckons she's getting some clutch judder when pulling away in 1st gear. Quick straw poll... have any of you had to change the clutch yet, and if so, what mileage did you make it to? smile
Mine's going in later in the week to have new shocks and springs all round (probably going to get the B12 Pro Kit fitted), so will ask him to take a look - already looking at a sizeable bill for the bouncy bits, could do without attending to the oily bits as well.

On the clutch, I noticed mine juddering in first when I brought it home from the garage on 56k - that was 4 and a bit years ago and I'm still on the same clutch. It's especially bad if it is cold and wet outside - almost as if there's a layer of moisture on the clutch plates it needs to clear. A few more revs normally smooths it out. I can also feel a slight judder changing gear on the move if I'm aggressive with letting the clutch out - how much is the clutch and how much is the CDV doing it's job I don't know.

helix402

7,832 posts

181 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
The CDV won’t cause clutch judder. For some reason in the world of internet forums BMW CDVs are the a terrible item and must be removed instantly.

cerb4.5lee

30,197 posts

179 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
helix402 said:
For some reason in the world of internet forums BMW CDVs are the a terrible item and must be removed instantly.
They should be removed instantly for me. A manual gearbox without a CDV is a much more enjoyable experience. I wanted to take a hammer to the gearbox in my Z4M every time I used it...fortunately I only kept it for 5 months and even that was too long!

MajorMantra

1,265 posts

111 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
bodhi said:
On the clutch, I noticed mine juddering in first when I brought it home from the garage on 56k - that was 4 and a bit years ago and I'm still on the same clutch. It's especially bad if it is cold and wet outside - almost as if there's a layer of moisture on the clutch plates it needs to clear. A few more revs normally smooths it out.
Mine does this sometimes too. I won't worry unless it become persistent. My car is on 105k miles.

I did initially consider a CDV removal but after getting used to how the car drives I'm not that bothered. It's not a sports car and I don't launch it, so it doesn't really matter.

Swervin_Mervin

4,429 posts

237 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
stevesuk said:
ferrisbueller said:
bodhi said:
Folks, I know it's in a different car but I've been getting slightly concerned about the Oil Consumption in my N52. For most of it's life it's been getting through a litre in about 4 - 5000 miles or so, but recently it seems to have gone up to 1 litre every 2000 miles or so.

Car has 126k on it - should I be worried?
Assuming no leaks?

Rocker cover/oil cooler etc worth checking if they're original.
Ours was doing the same. It had always needed topping up between services, but recently it needed topping up every two or three months, rather than once or twice a year.

Garage found 3 leaks. Rocker cover, oil cooler and something else I can't remember. Too early to say if its solved the problem (only had it done last month). But, if it was the reason our oil consumption had more than trebled, then the problem hides itself quite well under the bonnet (there was an oily film over part of the engine, but not masses of it).

Quite an expensive job when you're paying someone to fix it - and only a few months after we'd have the water pump changed. First year since we've had it, that it's cost us over £1000 in non-routine maintenance. But as the garage said, these things are more or less consumable items (o-rings, gaskets etc.). Its just the labour involved in changing them that hurts.

Next thing to worry about is the clutch on ours. Quite a low mileage - but a mileage accumulated mainly around town. My wife's been using the car for the last few months, and she reckons she's getting some clutch judder when pulling away in 1st gear. Quick straw poll... have any of you had to change the clutch yet, and if so, what mileage did you make it to? smile
Weirdly similar to me. Next to no costs int eh last 6yrs. Then committed to spending best part of £2k on refreshing the chassis. 2mo later the water pump goes.

Now I'm looking at needing a new sump gasket, downpipe>exhaust gasket and bolts (only currently held on by one rusty nut out of three and the rust itself!) and also fuel breather hose.

phil_cardiff

7,043 posts

207 months

Monday 17th September 2018
quotequote all
Swervin_Mervin said:
Weirdly similar to me. Next to no costs int eh last 6yrs. Then committed to spending best part of £2k on refreshing the chassis. 2mo later the water pump goes.

Now I'm looking at needing a new sump gasket, downpipe>exhaust gasket and bolts (only currently held on by one rusty nut out of three and the rust itself!) and also fuel breather hose.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to the suspension and did it make a big difference?

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Tuesday 18th September 2018
quotequote all
zippyonline said:
Yup OE is Pierberg. My original pump that I took off at 188k miles (preventative maintenance, no actual failure) clearly has a Pierberg logo on it.


140 (20-05-2017) by Chris Reeves, on Flickr
Seems like I spoke too soon - the water pump on my E91 325i decided to depart this world on Wednesday. So I had 12 or so miles behind an RAC Transporter to my usual BMW Indy.

Still despite it not being booked in I got it back on Saturday morning, so not all bad - but it wasn't cheap!

Swervin_Mervin

4,429 posts

237 months

Tuesday 18th September 2018
quotequote all
phil_cardiff said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
Weirdly similar to me. Next to no costs int eh last 6yrs. Then committed to spending best part of £2k on refreshing the chassis. 2mo later the water pump goes.

Now I'm looking at needing a new sump gasket, downpipe>exhaust gasket and bolts (only currently held on by one rusty nut out of three and the rust itself!) and also fuel breather hose.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to the suspension and did it make a big difference?
Replaced most of it! Practically everything at the rear excl subrame bushes. So all control arms, bolts, shocks, mounts and balljoints. At front it was new mounts, shocks, tie rods and control arm bolts. Id already had new control arms on nsf but decided to leave osf as I was running out of money!

Has made a noticeable difference yes. Just more composed over bumps, a bit less wallow in bends. Essentially rides like new again. A lot of the bits on the rear were heavily perished tho. Also made a difference to the ride height which is still noticeable! If i see another e91 now I can generally tell from a distance which have shot parts especially on the rear.

I certainly don't regret it. If im in the financial position to do so next year then I plan on getting bodywork tidied up next. Mainly front end as bumper has some mi or bump damage ans it's all stonechipped. Starts to become a question of how long to keep it tho. Had it 6yrs now which is a very long time for me. But until I can get in something like a 6GC then I might stick with it

Edited by Swervin_Mervin on Tuesday 18th September 15:58

phil_cardiff

7,043 posts

207 months

Tuesday 18th September 2018
quotequote all
Swervin_Mervin said:
phil_cardiff said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
Weirdly similar to me. Next to no costs int eh last 6yrs. Then committed to spending best part of £2k on refreshing the chassis. 2mo later the water pump goes.

Now I'm looking at needing a new sump gasket, downpipe>exhaust gasket and bolts (only currently held on by one rusty nut out of three and the rust itself!) and also fuel breather hose.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to the suspension and did it make a big difference?
Replaced most of it! Practically everything at the rear excl subrame bushes. So all control arms, bolts, shocks, mounts and balljoints. At front it was new mounts, shocks, tie rods and control arm bolts. Id already had new control arms on nsf but decided to leave osf as I was running out of money!

Has made a noticeable difference yes. Just more composed over bumps, a bit less wallow in bends. Essentially rides like new again. A lot of the bits on the rear were heavily perished tho. Also made a difference to the ride height which is still noticeable! If i see another e91 now I can generally tell from a distance which have shot parts especially on the rear.

I certainly don't regret it. If im in the financial position to do so next year then I plan on getting bodywork tidied up next. Mainly front end as bumper has some mi or bump damage ans it's all stonechipped. Starts to become a question of how long to keep it tho. Had it 6yrs now which is a very long time for me. But until I can get in something like a 6GC then I might stick with it

Edited by Swervin_Mervin on Tuesday 18th September 15:58
You're the kind of bloke I want to buy a car from!

Swervin_Mervin

4,429 posts

237 months

Tuesday 18th September 2018
quotequote all
Cheers. I don't keep my cars pristine by any stretch. Anything I have is well maintained though, but I'm not precious about them. They all get used to lug cr4p around! I haven't ever done a full refresh like that before though - I guess that's a measure of how I feel about the car, and that I might not change for some time yet.

When it's cost so little to maintain for so long, I don't begrudge dropping a little on it - it's far less than the lease payments would be over 12mo for anything vaguely interesting.


ferrisbueller

29,262 posts

226 months

Monday 24th September 2018
quotequote all
OEM suspension: Lemforder and Sachs, correct?

bodhi

10,333 posts

228 months

Tuesday 25th September 2018
quotequote all
ferrisbueller said:
OEM suspension: Lemforder and Sachs, correct?
I can confirm Sachs did the dampers, as I've just had four replaced on the 1 Series and was told the Sachs were OEM Equivalent.

Naldrett

154 posts

146 months

Tuesday 25th September 2018
quotequote all
A wee bit 'arty' perhaps but nice to see someone appreciating the significance of the last of the line BMW straight sixes in an E91:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPU_l-BujI