2013 135is rod bearings issues?

[simpson_3]

I've been possibly looking to upgrade to a faster car lately and I really like the 2013 135is with the N55 or the 2013 335i e92 with the N55. I've seen several rod bearing failures in the 2011's and a few in 2014 N55's. Was the 2013 plagued with this issue?

[dtla1]

I've seen a couple people post about Rod bearing issues, not really too many to call it plaqued by the problem. I'm also not sure if anyone ever got to the root cause of their issue when it happened.

I suspect the couple reports of failure that I've seen one here have either been caused by long, high G cornering. Even then, I would assume that the high G's and sustained cornering to cause oil starvation and in turn a failure can only be possible on a race track, and with exceptionally grippy tires (200tw or stickier).

The other potential cause, again, only my theory, is contamination with coolant most likely occurring during an oil filter housing gasket change.

Overall though, I would say that rod bearing failure is pretty rare on the N55, at least based on the reports seen on this forum.

[simpson_3]

Originally Posted by dtla1

I've seen a couple people post about Rod bearing issues, not really too many to call it plaqued by the problem. I'm also not sure if anyone ever got to the root cause of their issue when it happened.

I suspect the couple reports of failure that I've seen one here have either been caused by long, high G cornering. Even then, I would assume that the high G's and sustained cornering to cause oil starvation and in turn a failure can only be possible on a race track, and with exceptionally grippy tires (200tw or stickier).

The other potential cause, again, only my theory, is contamination with coolant most likely occurring during an oil filter housing gasket change.

Overall though, I would say that rod bearing failure is pretty rare on the N55, at least based on the reports seen on this forum.

I have seen a ton of 2011 N55 with rod bearing problems and I heard that there were several defective engines in 2014.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by simpson_3

I have seen a ton of 2011 N55 with rod bearing problems and I heard that there were several defective engines in 2014.

Really? Where did you see the 2011's? I'd like to read up since I also have a 2011.

[tracer bullet]

Agreed, after coming up on a decade of lurking and posting here I would not say rod bearing issues are a thing that would even cross my mind if it came to buying a 1-series.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

Agreed, after coming up on a decade of lurking and posting here I would not say rod bearing issues are a thing that would even cross my mind if it came to buying a 1-series.

Me neither.

[CH400EM]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Me neither.

Same.

[simpson_3]

Originally Posted by dtla1

Really? Where did you see the 2011's? I'd like to read up since I also have a 2011.

Go to the marketplace on here. Like 3 of them for sale are blown or just had new engines. There are a ton on YouTube that have rod knock.

[dtla1]

My search skills are pretty horrible on this site but I searched in the marketplace for rod, rod bearing, and rebuilt and found none on the first page that were cars that had these issues (other than one engine that was rebuilt due to water pump failure leading to hot block and a crack).

[ShocknAwe]

Not a problem that I am aware of across either N54 or N55.

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by simpson_3

Go to the marketplace on here. Like 3 of them for sale are blown or just had new engines. There are a ton on YouTube that have rod knock.

Yeha surprise people are blowing up their over modded N55s sometimes. There is no known rod bearing problem with N54/55 à la S54, S62, S85, etc.

[The Wind Breezes]

Compare small number of failures vs the extremely large number of N55 produced. If that doesn't answer your question I dunno what does.

[Happy Jose]

Don't buy cars with modified engines. Who knows what ridiculous antics these cars have gone through?

Keep the oil and filter changed and learn to drive like a normal human who is cognizant of his survival is dependent on his driving skills.

[Gangplank]

I've been on 1addicts for 4+ years and I may have seen one or two threads about rod bearing issues. I don't recall it being a regular issue. My guess (purely speculation) is that the issue was caused by lack of maintenance. I don't recall a non-tuned well maintained example that had oil changes regularly (read more often than the 1 yr. or 12k miles).

If you think they are an issue please post more than a couple examples. Maybe one of the owners who are BMW trained techs will chime in and let us know how common it is. Just a few examples on a board with 1,000s of members does not suggest it is a common issue. Just say'n.

[Jeb_]

Not a boosted car, but I had a rod bearing fail in my 2011 N51 128i a couple months ago. The car had just under 68k miles on it at the time. Granted I got it with 30k miles on so who knows what the previous owner was doing, but I've been changing the oil and filter every 5k.

The bearing let go at an autocross while cornering hard at high rpm so localized oil starvation is likely at least partially to blame. When the engine was torn apart, besides the number 6 rod bearing, the bearings didn't show any excessive wear.

[Rmtt]

Originally Posted by Jeb_

Not a boosted car, but I had a rod bearing fail in my 2011 N51 128i a couple months ago. The car had just under 68k miles on it at the time. Granted I got it with 30k miles on so who knows what the previous owner was doing, but I've been changing the oil and filter every 5k.

The bearing let go at an autocross while cornering hard at high rpm so localized oil starvation is likely at least partially to blame. When the engine was torn apart, besides the number 6 rod bearing, the bearings didn't show any excessive wear.

I have seen a few threads, most were specifically 2011 models. I have never been inside a BMW Oil-Pan, but I know that if you are tracking it...there is going to be some oil starvation occurring unless the pan is designed to accommodate for it.

It only makes common sense.

[Jeb_]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

I have seen a few threads, most were specifically 2011 models. I have never been inside a BMW Oil-Pan, but I know that if you are tracking it...there is going to be some oil starvation occurring unless the pan is designed to accommodate for it.

It only makes common sense.

For sure. I don't think I've heard of a case of these rod bearings failing and it not being linked someway to track driving or some other issue causing problems with the oil pressure.

At the same time though, There seem to be plenty of people who track them more or less unmodified without issue. So I wonder if it's a case of just a shortcoming in the design that is still fine in 99.999% of scenarios but every once in a while it becomes an issue. Or if the design is fine but there's some additional manufacturing variation or defect that causes that issue every once in a while. If that makes sense.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by Jeb_

For sure. I don't think I've heard of a case of these rod bearings failing and it not being linked someway to track driving or some other issue causing problems with the oil pressure.

At the same time though, There seem to be plenty of people who track them more or less unmodified without issue. So I wonder if it's a case of just a shortcoming in the design that is still fine in 99.999% of scenarios but every once in a while it becomes an issue. Or if the design is fine but there's some additional manufacturing variation or defect that causes that issue every once in a while. If that makes sense.

I think it has to do with a very specific scenario on track. I thought we at some point narrowed it down to sustained high(er) G right(?) hand corners?

I'll see if I can find the thread I'm thinking about.
Edit*: Here is one thread I was thinking about. https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1633165
Remember that this is under heavy side loading on track, regular street driving or a bit of casual HDPE I wouldn't think should be an issue.
Some people also suggest adding an extra half quart/liter of oil before HDPE or Autocross as an extra precaution.

[Jeb_]

Originally Posted by dtla1

I think it has to do with a very specific scenario on track. I thought we at some point narrowed it down to sustained high(er) G right(?) hand corners?

I'll see if I can find the thread I'm thinking about.
Edit*: Here is one thread I was thinking about. https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1633165
Remember that this is under heavy side loading on track, regular street driving or a bit of casual HDPE I wouldn't think should be an issue.
Some people also suggest adding an extra half quart/liter of oil before HDPE or Autocross as an extra precaution.

Sounds about right. The autocross that did my engine in was on a track, so basically almost track speeds with cones laid out so you were essentially constantly cornering while staying at or above 5k rpm.

Thanks for linking that thread, it was very insightful.

I'm in the process of swapping over to a 135i cluster to get some indication of oil temps and just picked up an oil distribution block so I can get a readout for oil pressure. Then we'll go from there.