BurntSoup

Well it's a long time since I've posted but thought I'd leave quick update for any interested. I ended up getting BE bearings through Turner Motorsport online and used the 'Rod bearing overall kit' option they provide selecting to get some new engine mounts, boots etc while there (also a couple of spare throttle actuators for when they become a problem). Parts took a little while to get in as the bearings were out of stock at the time. Kit seemed pretty well thought out, had clear instructions and an install video. I talked with the team down at Edgell Performance in Wairau valley North Shore Auckland and they fitted them for me over a few days. Their workshop is pretty darn tidy and they were good to deal with. You can definitely see some wear on the old shells, not too bad compared to some I've seen online but glad for the piece of mind to get them done. FWIW had around 170km on the odometer when the job was done but actual engine mileage is closer to 100km (replacement engine). Job was done about a year ago, no issues.

I couldn't find any mention of these here so thought I'd share. Reading around and from my own experience it seems that the little tabs which you use to direct the airflow on the E90/92/93 are not long term reliable. After a while the plastic 'legs' which direct the horizontal side to side movement snap off from the main tab and the whole thing falls apart. It looks like the design is ultimately a bit weak and after X years fails as the plastic becomes brittle. Both a dealer and a local service department I use said the fix was a replacement air vent unit circa $270 + fitting. At the time only one had broken but I hardly use them so didn't worry too much. Then over the last year the other 3 in the cabin all suffered the same fate. Anyway, google found me a USA based company selling an aftermarket product simply called 'vent tabs' (www.venttabs.com). Reviews were positive and they were only ~13 USD each. Postage was horrendous but even so getting 4 new ones was much cheaper and faster to fit. If a number of people wanted them you could share on the international freight. Took around 5min to fit the lot. Visibly you can't tell them apart from the originals unless you are about 10cm away and knew what you were looking for The design is not as fancy as the OEM ones (which have an extra pivot point in them) but they appear to be much stronger and look like they will last. They are slightly stiffer on the horizontal movement than originals but you hardly adjust them that frequently and a spot of lubricant of some kind that was plastic friendly would probably make them smoother. Anyway, hopefully this helps someone. Photo attached in my E92 M3 for good measure. Tab on the left is new after market one, tab on the right is the broken OEM one just sitting there before I swapped it out. Cheers

Nice one Sam, what did you end up getting? Year, colour?

Hey guys, posted an update in the other thread. The work can definitely be done here but decide if you want genuine parts or aftermarket first as it seems some places have a policy of not using non genuine BMW parts or customer supplied parts. 9000Redline, regardless of this I've loved the car for the year+ I've had it. The workshops seem to agree they are reasonably reliable. Aside from this the main other things you might look out for could be: Throttle body actuators: -seems these will go at some point, distance varied greatly 80k-200k.. when they do the consensus is replace both to save on overall labour. If the work has been done already that's great. I believe you can still drive in 'limp mode' when one goes so at least you can get home/to workshop. I'm also told they are readily available in NZ so you hopefully don't have to wait a couple of weeks to get the part in. DSC Pump: Mine went. Got the message to 'drive conservatively' on the display until fixed ?. Got it rebuilt and it's going fine after 8months. Thermostat sensor: Might not happen but if this goes I've read the engine will over-cool and run below temperature inefficiently. Relatively cheap part, bit of labour to replace it. Gearbox/drivetrain: I don't think this is M3 specific. At some point I'll post about this separately once I've tried fixing this. A DSC E92 M3 car I test drove made a soft metallic 'clink' noise when the car transfers momentum from forward to aft or aft to forward. My manual does it too so seems unrelated to transmission. Seems not be a major issue, I've found some info with a reference to a BMW service alert. seems the fix is to use a specific grease between the drive shaft and gearbox. Vent tabs: Also not M3 specific but f* me they seem like a dumb design and are prone to snapping off. don't think this is a cheap/easy fix. still looking into this. Others who are more mechanically minded and or technical will probably have more to add. Regardless, I'm happy with mine.

Just thought I'd post an update for those interested. BM workshop were happy to do the work and they seem like they are pretty reputable (indication was ~3.8k+GST which I felt was pretty reasonable). They are however only willing to use genuine BMW parts and have policy about not using customer supplied parts -concerns over warranty etc which I can kind of understand if customers were supplying parts they had no experience with and expecting to hold them to account. I had planned to go a head with BM workshop and use the BE bearings for the exact reason Andrew mentioned above, luckily I had not pressed the order button yet. So now I've got to decide if I want to put the standard BMW ones in (which won't show up any wear in oil analysis) or go to someone else trustworthy enough to do the job. I feel putting the new BMW bearings in there is just inviting the same issue again down the track somewhere (with no easy way to tell if it's happening), but I can't say I like the idea of someone doing an average job there and having excessive wear developing after only a short distance due to over/under tightening or something. I think I'd be wondering every 10k if I should be looking at them again..hah Anyway, I've not had much spare time this week to follow up and I'm out of town next. Will ponder this some more and decide who to talk to next or if I should just get new BMW parts. Anyone else have good experience with Bavarian Motors? Cheers

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Hadn't heard of Bavarian Motors until you mentioned them, they seem to have a few mixed google reviews (but I guess who doesn't when you deal with a lot of people) -I used to use Burgers Motor Works years ago for my old E36 325. I know burger sold just over a year ago, the new guys seemed ok. They sorted my DSC pump out for me on the M3 about 6 months ago. aja540i, Can I ask what made you decide on the BR product over new BMW bearings or WPC coated BMW bearings? Any recommendations over ordering online from Turners motorsport for BE or WPC? Re VIN stamped on block I don't think I'm going to be able to find that myself in a hurry but I'll ask whoever I get to do the work to have a look for my piece of mind. Would have thought CCBMW would know. -FWIW I found guy on YT "BMtroubleU" posted a short clip "Engine number location BMW M3 E93 V8", seems to only be the engine number though not the VIN. Once I get there I'll post and update.

Thank you! -A couple extra for you to do than me it seems! Do you think you will use BMW parts or a 3rd party like BE for the bearings?

Hi All, I'm looking to replace these as preventative maintenance on my 2008 UK E92 M3. Based in Auckland, north shore. First, my car has had some 'fun' in it's past. The previous NZ owner purchased the vehicle with the engine not working (apparently run out of oil) he then purchased a replacement engine and clutch in London when bringing back another vehicle (an X5). I'm told the new engine and clutch is from a 2010 with 40,000 miles on it (~64km). My car itself had done around 137,000km when I collected it and I'm up around 153,000 now. Previous owner seemed pretty genuine and a bit of a character at that. This would suggest the engine has done around 80,000km but I don't have any paperwork to clarify 100% Having made the decision to replace these for piece of mind I'm wondering: If I should use OEM bearings or some of the aftermarket options like BE. Is there any huge disadvantage one way or the other? Generally speaking I like the idea of keeping things original where it makes sense. However if I understand it correctly, the new replacement part BMW bearings are harder wearing and made of different materials which it's not possible to identify wear with an engine oil analysis. Some of the other brands like BE are perhaps better for monitoring lifetime wear through oil analysis? When I was in at CC BMW yesterday (factory recall on battery cable) I asked about this. They said they can do the work but suggested that there were different parts and bolts for different versions of the engine. So without the chassis number of the car the engine came from they wouldn't know for sure which parts to order, they could pull the bearings out and look the order the parts (2 week lead-time) or order both options at my expense. BM Workshop who I inquired about about doing this work to yesterday indicated they done a few S65s and more S85s which give me some confidence in them doing the work. When I asked them about different parts they reckon the parts are all the same and they wouldn't need to open it up work work out what to order. The chap at BM Workshop sounded pretty confident but does anyone know for sure about this? When I look online I can't see any different parts listed for years of engine at places like Turner Motorsport, parts say they fit all years of coupe, sedan and convertible so to me this supports his assertion that there is no difference. Aside from BM Workshop I read aja540i mentioned using Taylor Automotive but I was unable to reach them this week on the phone (perhaps still on holiday). Is there anyone else I should consider for this work? I know this is a reasonably sizable job and appreciate the workshops have to make their margin, I've had ballpark estimates from 4.3k to 5k for this including parts, does this sound about right? based on aja504i's indication it seems it's probably in the ballpark. Thanks for your help

Cheers guys, Thanks Olaf have sub'd to the Auckland room. Would be nice to meet a few community members. Yeah Michael, I think after seeing some nasty photos and reading too many internet opinions it will give me piece of mind to do the work. Have spoken to BM workshop already and they sound reasonably confident (perhaps more-so than CC BMW in Takapuna). I saw aja540i mention doing this on his S85 last year at Turners but could not get hold of them this week.

Hi All, Have just found this forum, thought I'd join and say hello. Had my 2008 M3 manual (UK model), for just over a year now. It's my daily drive and I'm very glad to have picked it up. I collected in Christchurch and drove up to Auckland last Dec through Kaikoura (awesome roads), easy car to live with and enjoy it every time I drive it. After a year I'm getting around 14L/100km, mostly motorway driving. Gets more thirsty when booted but I didn't get it for the fuel economy I'm now up to around 153km on the clock and I'm looking at replacing the rod end bearings as preventative maintenance. (Will probably post on this elsewhere for some input). Obligatory pics attached. (Nurb sticker will probably go once I do the bearings and move on to cosmetic stuff -paint touch up, mags tidied etc.) cheers