[Brad757]

A small number of N57 motors have suffered main bearing failure (mainly twin turbo)

I've read quite a few articles in respect to this, but never found a satisfactory answer due to the range of variables.

I have read about low mileage, well serviced cars spinning bearings. Some posts have said they changed the oil every 10k (miles) or less, warmed the car up before putting under load. From what I have read, most were running 5w30 oil.

Now I know that it is only a very small percentage in total but tends to be catastrophic in nature requiring another engine. No warning given beforehand either.

I know some of the M cars suffered rod bearing failure. Again from what I have read, they ran tight bearing clearances which made oil starvation an issue. The formulation of the oil changed also with less phosphorus and zinc which was a protective factor.

Curious to what peoples views are

[Watsey]

I can only recall one person posting on bimmerpost about their N57 having suffered a spun bearing -it does seem to be incredibly rare.

I've been running 5W30 in my remapped 330d for the past 20K miles or so, mainly because (apparently) it can help to quieten noisy lifters as they get older. The car has now done just shy of 100K miles.

I do intermediate oil changes every 7K miles or so, preceded by adding an engine flush oil additive (Liqui Moly or Archoil) and have been using Archoil AR9100 friction modifier in every oil fill for the past 50K+ miles.

I have no proof as to whether this approach and these products have any meaningful or long-lasting benefit (!) but the engine still performs well in daily use and also at a handful of track sessions each year.

One thing I wasn't expecting : the turbo requires a full tear-down and rebuild due to badly leaking oil seals which suddenly became a problem around 1,500 miles ago. It's not a massive total bill to fix the problem, but I'm still surprised that (even on a remapped car) the turbo hasn't made it past 100K miles.

[Andy07841]

Watsey,what's your turbo symptoms please and how did you come to that diagnosis,I'm having problems with my turbo I think too 😞

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Andy07841

Watsey,what's your turbo symptoms please and how did you come to that diagnosis,I'm having problems with my turbo I think too 😞

The only symptom has been oil consumption.

I've run BMW 3-series cars for nearly 20 years and they've never used oil between servicing. My current 330d suddenly started using oil ~1,000 miles ago at a rate of ~.05L per tank of fuel (say 500 miles).

I had a chat with the BMW specialist (indy) which now looks after the car and they said that turbo seals would be the first thing they'd suggest investigating. I removed the front under tray, removed the intercooler and the boost pipe from the turbo to the IC was wet with oil.

I then took the car to the indy and the turbo was removed. There was clear evidence of oil on the outlet (cold) side of the turbo - this seems to have definitively confirmed the diagnosis.

The turbo was sent away to Venom Hybrid Turbos for uprating (strengthened components, but not a hybrid turbo upgrade) and will be refitted on Monday next week. (Update : I won’t go into the details here, but I ended up rejecting the Venom Hybrid Turbo and had a new OEM turbo fitted instead).

[Andy07841]

Thanks for the info watsey,my car seems to have a blocked intercooler/too much pressure according to dr gini software I've used.also the turbo seems very noisy like it's whining especially when cold and sounds like the turbine blades tbh, but goes away when the car warms up,also the car has an pre cat o2 sensor fault which is kind of leading me towards the turbo

[Watsey]

I'm not familiar with dr mini software. Might be worth cross-checking your fault diagnosis using a different reader - OBDFusion or similar. You'll need an OBD dongle or cable, but I expect you already have one.

Could be worth checking the boost levels, for example. I think it's unlikely that the car has a blocked intercooler. Have you checked the DPF for the ash and soot levels, been for an extended steady drive to allow a full DPF regen (or triggered a force regen using Carly or similar) ?

Exhaust back-pressure is worth checking.

[penfold2105]

Hey I wonder if anyone knows what this noise is. Happens when the engine is cold then. Sounds like some rattle with the rpm.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j6z...w?usp=drivesdk

[Enabled]

Originally Posted by penfold2105

Hey I wonder if anyone knows what this noise is. Happens when the engine is cold then. Sounds like some rattle with the rpm.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j6z...w?usp=drivesdk

It almost sounds timing chain like. I would remove the decorative covers and the foam pad on top of the injectors and try to localize the sound closely. If it's at the back of the engine, then you'll have investigate it very closely for timing chain.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by penfold2105

Hey I wonder if anyone knows what this noise is. Happens when the engine is cold then. Sounds like some rattle with the rpm.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j6z...w?usp=drivesdk

Firstly I'd try to rule out any potential sources of sound from outside the engine, i.e. loose components / ancillaries.

That said, my guess/hunch would be the timing chain and/or guides.

It sounds pretty loud - I'd get it checked ASAP.

[Andy07841]

Originally Posted by penfold2105

Hey I wonder if anyone knows what this noise is. Happens when the engine is cold then. Sounds like some rattle with the rpm.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j6z...w?usp=drivesdk

What's the mileage on your car?
That sounds very much like your timing chain 😞

[penfold2105]

Thanks guys. It's 78500 I'm thinking it's timing chain, oil pump or crankshaft. I've changed the auxiliary belt also the boost charge pipe as it had a leak. Since changing the pipe my car is back to wheel spinning easily again 😂

[jakk]

Just noticed this how did you get on?

[yulian]

Originally Posted by Brad757

A small number of N57 motors have suffered main bearing failure (mainly twin turbo)

I've read quite a few articles in respect to this, but never found a satisfactory answer due to the range of variables.

I have read about low mileage, well serviced cars spinning bearings. Some posts have said they changed the oil every 10k (miles) or less, warmed the car up before putting under load. From what I have read, most were running 5w30 oil.

Now I know that it is only a very small percentage in total but tends to be catastrophic in nature requiring another engine. No warning given beforehand either.

I know some of the M cars suffered rod bearing failure. Again from what I have read, they ran tight bearing clearances which made oil starvation an issue. The formulation of the oil changed also with less phosphorus and zinc which was a protective factor.

Curious to what peoples views are

It could be a quality of inserts (liners). I know at least 5 people from Facebook and other x5 communities users who was affected and had to swap engine. Solution proposed is to change them before they will wear out.

[K1UF]

Happened to me unfortunately ! 98k full service history !