[NxTH]

A mechanic let me know that they found a tiny amount of metal glitter in my oil filter. ('13 N55 335i with 100K miles). They said to just keep an eye on it and it could even be normal. They did an OFHG job and checked the filter. OFHG job was done early last year, but since then the gasket kept leaking and bolts became loose on their own. I finally abandoned that shop and brought it to a new place where they correctly fixed the issue. It was then they noticed the filter glitter.

I'll be sending oil to Blackstone.

Another shop recently did a BG EPR ( https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/engin...e-restoration/ ) treatment. Could this have caused temporary glitter? Or am I heading to rod bearing issues?

BG commented that the flush might have broken loose all of the particles that were stuck somewhere attached to grime and sludge from years back and that's what is now in the filter.

Oil changes have been done every 5K miles for the past 3 years during my ownership. The car drinks oil pretty fast when using 5W30. Upon switching to 5W40 it has been normal.

No codes apart from a rare Vanos code that comes maybe once every 2 months, claiming that adjustment is not possible.

[thejeremyman9]

What kind/color of "metal" glitter? I guess you may have to wait until the blackstone report to know if it was glitter and not flakes.

Are you EWG or before the changeover?

[NxTH]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

What kind/color of "metal" glitter? I guess you may have to wait until the blackstone report to know if it was glitter and not flakes.

Are you EWG or before the changeover?

PWG. I'll need to ask the shop further questions as we look into it. The receipt said "a very small amount of metal glitter can be seen in the oil filter".

I'm in Finland so the whole Blackstone process might take awhile. Shop said that they sometimes see glitter and it's not a sign of anything necessarily, but it needs to be kept an eye on. I might just go a step further and replace bearings regardless. Just curious if it's possible it's coming from the vanos instead.

[rlesko]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

What kind/color of "metal" glitter? I guess you may have to wait until the blackstone report to know if it was glitter and not flakes.

Are you EWG or before the changeover?

Can you explain what does PWG/EWG have to do with this?

[NxTH]

Originally Posted by rlesko

Can you explain what does PWG/EWG have to do with this?

From what I understand, PWG era was more prone to rod bearing issues.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by NxTH

PWG. I'll need to ask the shop further questions as we look into it. The receipt said "a very small amount of metal glitter can be seen in the oil filter".

I'm in Finland so the whole Blackstone process might take awhile. Shop said that they sometimes see glitter and it's not a sign of anything necessarily, but it needs to be kept an eye on. I might just go a step further and replace bearings regardless. Just curious if it's possible it's coming from the vanos instead.

Well I hope they primed the oil pump when the OFHG was replaced.


https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...51166-9999.pdf

[n55david]

Originally Posted by rlesko

Can you explain what does PWG/EWG have to do with this?

Pwg cars tend to fail more often. Plus really easy to do after an ofhg if they don't do the correcting priming procedure etc.

[rlesko]

Originally Posted by n55david

Pwg cars tend to fail more often. Plus really easy to do after an ofhg if they don't do the correcting priming procedure etc.

My question is why is this more present on PWG cars? Using PWG vs EWG is a marker of build change, I'm curious what changed since the turbo itself isn't causing this.

[n55david]

Originally Posted by rlesko

My question is why is this more present on PWG cars? Using PWG vs EWG is a marker of build change, I'm curious what changed since the turbo itself isn't causing this.

Unsure but there was more than just a turbo change.
E series pwg n55 cars are the worst (almost like a hybrid n54/55) and progressively gets better when you get the the ewg cars. Might be one specific thing but likely it's a combination of little things to end up causing this.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by rlesko

My question is why is this more present on PWG cars? Using PWG vs EWG is a marker of build change, I'm curious what changed since the turbo itself isn't causing this.

The rod bearings themselves changed at the transition from PWG to EWG. It doesnt have anything to do with the turbo, as you noted, this is a marker of the changeover.

[NxTH]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

The rod bearings themselves changed at the transition from PWG to EWG. It doesnt have anything to do with the turbo, as you noted, this is a marker of the changeover.

There seems to be more opinions on that, https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=28

[thejeremyman9]

Feel free to do your own research/check for your own vehicle/VIN

[NxTH]

Rod bearings will be changed next week. I will post a photo of them here after.

[NxTH]

Will be getting the car back on monday. Shop let me know the bearings were pretty shot. Definitely confirms the fact that you can't be too careful with the N55. The moment you see glitter, it's best to tackle the bearings as soon as possible.

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by NxTH

Will be getting the car back on monday. Shop let me know the bearings were pretty shot. Definitely confirms the fact that you can't be too careful with the N55. The moment you see glitter, it's best to tackle the bearings as soon as possible.

Pictures?

[rlesko]

+1 on pictures. But also, bearings are a symptom of a oil starvation. Wonder if it was due to not priming the oil circuit properly after the OFHG replacements.

[NxTH]

Photos coming early next week when I get to see the bearings. The shop doubted it was due to the other shop's OFHG installation, but rather just excessive wear over time.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by rlesko

+1 on pictures. But also, bearings are a symptom of a oil starvation. Wonder if it was due to not priming the oil circuit properly after the OFHG replacements.

Highly probable

[NxTH]

Here are the rod bearings. I don't really know what I'm looking at, but to a novice it looks like excessive wear and some scratches?

[NxTH]

And today, I have something that sounds like rod knock after the bearings were changed:

Car is going back to shop later this week, but I assume the engine is now toast?

[SuperLomi]

That doesn’t sound like rod knock. Hard to say what it is, likely something not put together correctly during assembly. Timing chain maybe? (Just trying to think of what components get messed with when pulling rod bearings)

Hard to say if it’s catastrophic, or just another repair.

[NxTH]

Originally Posted by SuperLomi

That doesn’t sound like rod knock. Hard to say what it is, likely something not put together correctly during assembly. Timing chain maybe? (Just trying to think of what components get messed with when pulling rod bearings)

Hard to say if it’s catastrophic, or just another repair.

Have to cross my fingers it's something fixable. I've had a shit 2023 and looks like it's not improving.