BMW N55 3.0L Turbo 335i 535i Bad Engine Teardown! What Went Wrong, And Why Was Mike Right?
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2021
- *I mistakenly called the vacuum pump the high pressure fuel pump, still learning!”
If this is the first teardown you are finding, there are over 20 others I've done! Lots of LS's, A viper engine, rx8 rotary, and a couple SRT8 Hemi's to name a few. Check them out here • Blown Up Engine Tear D...
My name is Eric and I own and run a full service auto salvage business called Importapart located in the Saint Louis MO area. Part of our model is dismantling and selling parts from rare and niche market engines. If you're interested in buying parts from this engine or others I've torn down, email us at Importapartsales@gmail.com.
In this video I tear down a BMW 3.0L N55B30 from a 2011 335i. This is a single turbo, direct injected inline 6 which has just a couple notorious issues as I mentioned in this video. This engine is found in 135i, 335i, 535i and X5. This engine fought me a little as far as getting the injectors out and breaking a few bolts. I think a little more care and patience on the next one may yield better results. This is the FIRST N55 I've torn down and many of the tips and tricks I showed you in this video were courtesy of my friend Mike B in Utah, a BMW Tech.
I hope you enjoyed the teardown, and appreciate all comments and feedback.
Thanks for watching, Catch you on the next one!
-Eric - Авто та транспорт
![[柴犬ASMR]曼玉Manyu&小白Bai 毛发护理Spa asmr](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0TsXQ7z2Dh4/mqdefault.jpg)
10 years later my N55 is still going strong, beast of an engine
I bet that 'sand' is walnut. Given the clean first cylinder, I'm guessing whoever was doing the blasting had an 'oh shiiii' moment after realising they hadn't cranked the valves closed.
I bet this too as soon as I saw the stuff on the piston. Someone tried to DIY that shit.
They could still vacuumed that walnut shells by removing the spark plug.
and there is a technique where you use a drill and zipties to remove the crud, it sounds stupid but it works lol
Same thoughts here
Can you imagine... quite a downer
Not mentioned in the video but the purpose of BMW’s Valvetronic is to allow the engine to meter the flow of incoming air with the intake valves via varying the valve lift rather then the opening and closing the throttle body, which is redundant on these engines. This allows for a small improvement in fuel economy because the density of the air in the intake is kept higher then it would otherwise be if a throttle valve were closed or partially closed, this reducing the parasitic drag created by the suction on the piston during the intake stroke.
Nice info, thanks for sharing!
Sure beats having to do a shim job on my previous S38B36.
Less time on fancy valve jobs, more time on improving the qualulity of components... oh wait, na, M3 owners use there cars like iphones, its not a long time, but is a good time :)!
Yup.
Reminds me of when I was a kid and would take my grandmother's appliances apart. Most never worked again, lol.
When I was quite young, my parents went grocery shopping on Saturday mornings, leaving me alone in the house. Mom had a new Singer Sewing machine and cabinet. In one of the drawers was a tool kit. Every Saturday morning, I'd take the sewing machine apart, piece by piece, going further into it as the weeks went by, and always putting back together before the folks got home. To this day, I'm still amazed the sewing machine still functioned.
Lol I'm sure she appreciated that
I once had a 335i with that engine and it was the most fun car I’ve ever had. I’ve driven it across the USA many times. I work as a mechanic and i always say it was the car that helped me develop my skills due its complexity but it wasn’t that unreliable. They’re reliable if maintained and actually driven, not used as a garage queen.
my 335i from 2012 has 140.000km on it, until now only the valvetronic and rear wheel bearings needed to be replaced. I think thats pretty reliable, especially if you remind that it runs with 380PS/610Nm and gets floored often :D
@@Rammsteiner92 Mine had 136,000 miles on it. It was an Illinois car that I imported to Canada and daily driven. I drive it to Arizona in the summer. I only had to do the oil filter housing gasket, water pump and the blower motor. Even the VCG was original and was just starting to seep. Sadly I needed a more practical car. Mine was a coupe. I traded it in for a VW Golf.
@@matte8441 thats sad, selling N55 for a Golf 😅🤣
@@Rammsteiner92 Yeah I miss the driving experience. On the plus side I’m spending way less on fuel and have four doors now 😂
i have a BM3 stage 2 F30 335i (N55) with full bolt ons, been tuned for 30k, and its been as solid as a freaking tank. also a tech, so done very strict service intervals and a ton of preventative maintenance, but it literally has zero leaks and has never thrown a single dash light. its a freaking beast. also, it sounds absolutely amazing
The bearings usually are not a problem anymore with the N54/N55 engines compared to the S54, S62 and S65. Now the main problem now is the miles between oil changes that BMW recommends which leads to failure. Kids will be at 12K miles on a oil change (BMW recommends, sigh, 15k per change), while pushing stage 2 mods/tune, and then be surprised that the lower end is oil staved because they didn't let the engine warm up to thin up the sludge. The oil filter gasket housing averages about 80k and is a pain because one of the bolts is hidden under the intake manifold.
3000 to 5000mile engine oil change interval FTW.
The electronic ONLY (no dipstick) oil level check is crazy-wrong! Dipsticks don’t lie; they give a level cold or warm. And they’re always ready to use.
One of my favorite things about your videos is that you don’t edit them to make it look like you’re perfect and you know everything. You show us that you also at times learn as you go and I love that. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
This is actually the first time I’ve watched one of your tear downs, simply because this is the exact engine that’s in my daily 335i.
I love how you describe in detail how this thing ticks and the problems it has (thanks for alerting me of that serpentine belt risk factor). Very informative all the way through
Ingenious how BMW used old hay rake tangs for valve springs.
They are not valve springs
@@scottfritz4988 Hay rake tangs
Those are not valve springs.
BTW in 1950’s Formula 1 engines had those kind of valve springs
Doug, I thought the same thing, lol
I’ve seen old junk motors at my mechanic that have the same springs. They have been using them for a long time.
This video is giving me flashbacks.....Now retired from working on BMWs........miss the people, but not the cars!!!!!
Brahhh, what a good Saturday night!
Absolutely!
Good to see you here again!
I think the bottom half of the block uses aluminum bolts because it is made of a magnesium alloy and steel bolts would cause issues (galvanic or galling or something)
It’s an AlSi block not magnesium.
@@Supremxcyxi I think it’s a composite block. I know the N52 is a lower magnesium alloy lower and a AlSi upper. I am less sure about the N55 but aluminum bolts would make sense. Also the bolts switched from aluminum to steel when parting the block. The steel were anchored in the AlSi block. I could be wrong about all of this but it would be explain that aluminum bolts and they are generally not used for weight savings.
Similar metals gall.
Aluminum bolts sounds like such a bad idea.
Wow, Friday AND Saturday night dates. I think we're going steady!
I’m tryin’
I love these. So German. So overengineered.
I'm on my 6th BMW and have never had an engine problem. Just a valve cover leak, on my M62 540i.
As long as your car doesn't develop the start-up rattle (timing chain), probably good for 200k till new guides are needed.
Also a good idea to install the updated timing chain tensioner if not done already - very simple to do, part is only $52.
@@sstrasse7931 The M62 was a long time ago. I have an N63TU3 now.
I'm on my third BMW, and they're a great car to drive. Many of my clients are also BMW owners, and they won't switch brands. Doesn't matter what you drive, there are issues, and if you're willing to maintain a car, it will give you good service. One thing I tell people who are considering buying a used BMW, stay away from the four cylinder engines. There has been a terrible history of timing chain and guides failures on those engines, and BMW has extended the warranties to avoid lawsuits.
@@rollydoucet8909 Yep, and stay away from the early N63s.
Wait til u get an f chassis
I have seen these problems so many times!Squirrels go into the air filter intake,start building a nest while snacking on the air filter.Start the engine and BOOM! So easy to prevent by installing a half inch grill on the air intake.
Had a Cobb tuned 09 335 m sport manual sedan with the N54…60K miles. It was a blast. After replacing injectors, rattling waste gates, failed high pressure fuel pumps, did the walnut blasting, and had the dreaded serpentine spaghetti sucked into the main seal.. and ultimately the oil pan, I had to let her go. Current owner has had it for 3 years…not a single problem. Haha. Thanks for these videos! You and mustie are my favorite channels right now .
They're great engines just put a catch can and do your fluid changes earlier than bmw says. I have 1 around 120k and have had very few issues. Less issues than my chevy
What kind of BMW? I’ve been looking into buying one.
Pretty much any 6 cylinder from bmw is fairly reliable with decent hp. I would say an n55 or newer due to the n54 not having much room to play with in the engine bay. They made them easier to work on to me the newer they are.
@@onefastboi14 do not get a v8. The n63 tends to not make it to 50k miles due to the hot vee configuration
@@onefastboi14 new inline 6 B58 is more reliable than the N55. It is the updated version of the n55 and is easy to work on. Follow the same instructions as above, change oil early, change fluids early, and this engine will keep you happy for 200k+ miles
@@onefastboi14 get a 340 or 440, x40i anything with the 40 designation- that's the B58 engine which replaced the N55 and is touted to be a great unit all around
I'm two minutes in and I'm already loving it I work at an oil change place we work on BMWs and Mercedes all the time I never even thought about that and he'll even knowing about that catastrophic failure it's nice to keep in the back of your mind thank you for all you do
I've become addicted to your teardowns. Lol.
Cheers
This channel is the greatest "Don't buy Euro or GM" warning one could ever have.
You gotta love the complexity here. 3 minutes into the hemi video the heads were off. 3 minutes in this video and you’re still looking into the intake hahaha
you're totally getting more comfortable in front of the camera and being yourself more, Eric. its great!!
One of the smoothest, most responsive, and most fun engines I’ve ever owned. Loved that 335i xDrive.
Yes, I enjoy this more then anything else on youtube.. so well done!!
That (dust/sand) is actually walnut shell in the cylinders from whoever cleaned the intake of #6
That’s what I was thinking
Wasn't the "sand" in cyl 5?
@@V1kash1984 Easy to cross-contaminate intake runners if you don't tape up everything properly ahead of blasting. Also, I'm not sure this earlier-version N55 has it, but later versions included a revised PCV system that incorporates passages in the intake runners that lead back to the PCV system built into the valve cover. I've seen some media make it to other cylinders by way of these passages during blasting.
Nuts and sand hmmm.... Must be those Neutral Drop guys again. Shoutout to Stuntman!!
Get ova here!
Always a good day when this guy uploads , we need more longer videos man !
I gotta say, it's great to see how conscientious you are with disassembly. Like working from the outside in so as not to put undue stress on the crankshaft. Doesn't matter how rusty or shagged up an engine is, you treat it with respect and save the things that need saving. Keep up the great work, Eric!
I have a 2006 Z4M Coupe since new. When talking about tendency to spin bearings BMW's solution was requirement of Castrol 10W-60 oil to mitigate. I am not mechanically inclined but find these engine autopsies fascinating to watch. Thank you for posting these videos!
I really love it when you post these videos man. Im learning from you and I really appreciate that
Thank you for another great video. Glad to see there are some good parts in this engine. This is the first time seeing the inside a BMW it is unlike any other engine.
Wow two videos a week!! Man this a great day!! Literally dropped everything to watch this!
Yet another excellent job, Eric - it's always good when we can learn, and you can make a dollar as well.
I think we all kinda have a morbid hope of the engine being bad. We just like to see stuff torn up. 👍
It's also nice to discover a jewel waiting for redemption. Doesn't happen often.
Eric, you’re very talented, and without a doubt a very “nice” guy!
*Watches the headaches of working on the engine.*
*Looks at the pages of used BMWs for sale.*
*Watches more headaches.*
Eh, screw it. Surely, nothing bad will happen to ME!
One of us! One of us! Just think of it as buying a hobby that you get to drive around. They are rewarding to work on in the sense that you know you are saving so much money but maybe not your sanity working on them.
Have a 2014 335i with this engine. Never had an issue with it. The smoothest engine I’ve even driven
Great video, keep up the good work!! Cant wait for the next one. THANKS for explaining every bit and going over failure modes.
It would be nice to see the parts after the come out of the Parts Washer… 🤔
i gotta admit being more of a viewer car guy i have learned sooo much watching the vids when you de construct engines! keep up the awesome work I cant stop watching these. And yes you musta shot this over a couple days the guy in the first half had a different shirt on
I really like your channel I am learning things about engines I don't usually deal with. keep on going with your program!
I love these videos, no stupid intro, humor and just everything
The air impact never gets old 👍🏾
They're also somewhat notorious for shitting themselves after oil changes, apparently. We had a 535i xDrive (F10 chassis) show up at our shop for an oil change; came back on the wrecker a few days later, with the customer saying the engine just 'shut off'. It was eventually determined that one of the cylinders (number 6 IIRC) had shit itself. We're still not sure what happened, since I and a couple other people heard the thing running fine before it left.
at 21:11 I like the fact that you did not act like you knew how that crank pulley came off. I like honesty
I really like you don’t play music and don’t have a canned lead in to your material.
I’m glad you didn’t get burned on that engine.
It is certainly enlightening to see that the extended oil change interval manufacturers are recommended are simply a way to sell engines. I know I’m changing how often I change my oil.
Have you torn down any cheap Mazda 2.5 liter engines? I wouldn’t suppose there is a big market for used parts from those.
Love the channel man and keep tearing those engines down, we can’t get enough!
The caking inside the intake is a common issue with direct injection engines. The engineering geniuses forgot that all the fuel flowing through the intake kept the crap from the PCV from making a mess. So you remove the fuel from the intake, and boom, the crap from the PCV can now make a MESS. I have seen all sorts of brands affected from this.
@@supermotos Yes that was the fix, Ironically after some fords would clog their valves in 20,000 miles
This is an older variant of N55. It’s not an issue on the later ones and the B58 / S55 never had an issue with carbon build up despite being exclusively DI. Going port & DI is a lazy / expensive way to fix carbon build up, which will soon be phased out due to increased emissions.
I don't know that it's a lazy fix. Ford recognized several problems in their first generation 3.5 Ecoboost and addressed them. Perhaps it was an obvious solution to the carbon buildup on the intake valves.
these engine teardown videos got me curious about automatic transmissions. watched a teardown on one of those and somehow even more confused. glad to see an engine teardown again, these make sense to me lol
Love your videos man, keep up the good work.
Your video's are so good mate. Please keep it up!
Head bolts always feel sketchy coming out. They actually stretch a bit you seat / torque them down. The throat is essentially made of spring steel which allows for this stretching. That's why the impact doesn't work well when taking it off because you're essentially impacting a spring.
An improper walnut blasting of the intake valves while the valves were open was the root cause up top. The sand was walnut shell, the nut was dropped in when the intake was removed, and I bet the liquid was brake cleaner they tried when the walnut shell wasn't getting it clean. My 335i N55 made it 122k miles before it spun a rod bearing. When new it had 15500 oil change intervals, every time it was at the shop it got a software update that eventually dropped the oil interval to 11500. The water pump failed at 115k, and a new charge pipe every 25k miles since new. There is a class action lawsuit about the water pump going out causing engine failure, the oil filter housing gasket can leak antifreeze internally into the oil killing bearings. Also, when the crank gets polished, it will need oversized bearings not undersized. Thankfully King makes oversized bearings for doing a proper rebuild now. E90 for life! Last of the great true drivers car!
Another great Vid mate. Well presented, informative and entertaining in a way I can't really explain?! Maybe its because I trained as a mechanic in the late 90's and really miss that job.
I would love to see you do a N63/N63TU, the twin turbo BMW V8
You’re in luck, because I just got one in!
@@I_Do_Cars Here is your pre-job brief:
ua-cam.com/video/tTNT8PczmRA/v-deo.html
@@I_Do_Cars Can’t wait to see one on here! There isn’t that much if any tear down content on that engine, and as an owner of one myself (f10 n63tu), I would love to see how either convoluted or easy the process would be.
My 535i was a fun car to own. It was definitely a driver's car. With a few mods it competed with the V-8's. It was very reliable if you can believe it.
BMWs six cylinder engines are actually solid. Stay away from their v8s tho
I love your videos man. Keep it up!
Like your channel a lot, learning new stuff every time i wath you tearing down those motors, greetings from Belgium, Europe
What bother me the most is that everybody knew direct port fuel injection caused the carbon build up and still put it in their cars knowing they would go bad.
If they'd only added a catch can to the PCV circuit....
@@robertshelton3796 Doesn't help that much
more power is why
Because emissions regulation.
@@robertshelton3796 new BMWs (S55, B58) add a factory catch can-type system to the PCV hence why they don’t have carbon build up issues anymore. This is an older variant of N55 otherwise it would likely have no carbon build up either.
You have a great channel. Including production of the video, the other comments every week are correct.
Great stuff man
You’re the reason I still participate in the stuff
Big 528 fan here but I like them all
I now have a theory after 17 minutes in. That sand stuff you see is walnut shells. Used to clean the valves. Some “mechanic” was initially doing a walnut blast and started with the rear, that’s why it was so clean. Did not realize he dropped a nut down the intake. Went to turn motor over to close cyl 5 valves before cleaning. Couldn’t turn it over and the SOBs couldn’t figure it out and sold customer new/used engine. I’m a mechanic btw
Now watching whole video and seeing a main not looking so good, I’m still sticking to my original theory. That wear/damage was pre existing
Awesome Teardown 😀😀😀😊👍🏼 Thanks Brother 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Another great teardown video.
Electric water pumps are not a failure point; they are maintenance items; they are expected to go around 65 or 70 K. Only the finest plastic
I've seen these pumps fail long before 65k, seems like a failure point to me but who knows.
Love your videos. Very entertaining. Especially when you talk to the engine.
All aluminium bolts are single use. You can buy a rebuild bolt kit. I spun no. 6 bearing, via oil surge on a track day. Pulled the engine out, bottom end apart, no power tools, no broken bolts, replaced n.6 conrod, had crank ground, new bearings main and rod bolts new also. Didn’t even have to pull the head off. Put it back in and it runs perfectly at about 400hp.
Nice video, I like to see you reassemble with proper procedures.
It is good to see the valvetronic system. I am anxiously awaiting a 4.4 liter twin-turbo in an M5 CS.
Really love your content. I’ve learned a lot as a tech from you.
The pickup tray and windage tube are all one peace on this motor.
Seems like a very complicated way to make 300HP
Just the way the timing chain is installed in that engine makes me glad i don't own a BMW
@UA-cam needs a Snickers I just googled it, and that is a pretty cool engine. I didn't know that GM knew what a DOHC was outside of their economy 4 cylinders. Would have been neat to see what they could do with it nowadays if it wasn't discontinued.
@UA-cam needs a Snickers right. Or the 2gr fe makes the same numbers from 3.5 liters, it’s a underrated engine in my opinion it’s strong and sounds good, reliable and there is a lot of them
@UA-cam needs a Snickers ok
it can easily make 600-700hp stock
Another great video... thanks for sharing! Really enjoy these.
What a great video!! Liked and subscribed today. Congrats!
Another great video as always
Thanks for doing this video. It was an overly complicated mess to deal with.
This engine is a legend. It is a legend when it works and when it doesn't.
I never thought watching Adam Sandler ripping engines apart would be so entertaining!
Enjoy your videos...best engine info on the net about what lasts and what doesn't.
BMW just loves their torx fasteners, and always an assortment of sizes for a single component ... It is pretty cool though how the block of the n52 and its turbo relatives are made of a sandwich of magnesium and aluminum. they used hollow cams for weight savings too, and made extensive use of aluminum screws and fasteners early on, but that can be a big headache as well.
I was working on my glove box in a 2011 BMW X3 and the dash cross bar that spans the whole dash is made of magnesium alloy. I thought it was aluminum but it looked to grey and it decided to read the markings. I was shocked when it was magnesium. I guess you can’t always see what your paying for and these are the lengths they go to for 50/50 weight distribution.
Love the 8mm trick lol. Seriously coulda gone way wrong but ehh it's fun to watch!
31:02 you can see that the counter weight on the crankshaft touching the main cap. that would explain the acetone/ATF liquid in the cylinders. The crank is probably warped.
I like that you film in 4k
That nut on top of the cylinder (if it's an 11mm) is one of the intake manifold fasteners.
Keep up the great videos man. Still can't believe this is a sub 100k subscriber channel.
3:30 one advantage of port injection
Edit: just as I wrote that he said it lol
great content love your work
On the n55 there were indeed rod bearing issues, but only really from 2010 to 2013, after 2013 they started using the same bearings as the s55 which has all but stopped the issue except for some unfortunate circumstances when the engine either isn't properly maintained or there's a manufacturing issue, next to none are based on tbe bearing itself now
I also heard the samething, I have a 2016 M235, low milage, so far, no issues
Oil starvation main cause of bad rod bearings on newer n55s, oil pan isn’t designed for heavy track use unless you have m2 n55 which had m3 oil pan.
i was just about to ask you to do a newer bmw turbo engine tear down, niceeeee
Good lord, well I USED to really want a car with one of these engines. What a freaking nightmare!
You may be on to something with the oil change interval. BMW says 10K miles for the oil changes, which is way too long even for quality oils. Based on what my mechanic told me, as well as numerous other sources, to make your BMW engine last and prevent many problems, 5K mile oil changes. Oil changes were likely not done often on that motor.
in europe it's 30000km interval (~19k miles)
I don’t listen to BMW I still do oil changes every 3,000 miles oil is the life of the car.
That valvetrain is pretty wild
Pro tip, for new Euro cars you need a 1/4" E10 socket and even E12 but E10 is critical. Short one E10, snap on is $40 Mac/matco is $18, maybe a little more since I bought one. They are life savers. Almost ALL external torque socket sets start 3/8" at E10. Another item is stubby 1/4" drive universal torx bit. But that's more for working on cars in the car.
These videos are strangely addicting.
21:58 "thankfully this is a low torque...
ᵇᵒˡᵗ"
🤣
New subscriber here. I love the teardown videos and am curious to see where the Porsche project goes. All that said, I'm curious if you have a favorite or preferred engine after everything you've seen? V6, I6, dohc, pushrod, carburetor, fuel injection, high pressure direct injection, ect.
Many engines are great from the factory, but what is the best bet for a diy guy? Dohc requires 4 cams, push rod only 1. I never liked interference engines, but high compression engines seem to be the way of the future... I'm not sure if a video like that is in your wheelhouse but I figured I'd ask. I've always loved Nissan 300ZX's, but that dang vg30dett can be a nightmare to actually work on...
Thanks for the making and sharing all this content! 👍
Since you take teardown suggestions? How about a foxbody 5.0? Love your channel!
watching you hammer smash that crank with a taper punch was neat
On your next teardown, can you see how the piston ring end gaps are clocked. Want to see if the assembly technique of setting the gaps opposite each other works.
I had an alpine white 2011 e90 335i 6at with saddle brown interior 😍 (by far my favorite bmw leather). It was full bolt ons, MHD E30 blend, stock turbo. A sleeper to the unassuming, but comfortable for my gf and I while also being super fun to drive. Sadly she is in a better place now 🙏🏼 (hydroplaned and went across median, no other cars involved). Now I drive a 2016 mineral grey metallic f22 m235i 8at with full bolt ons, MHD stage 2+ 93oct, stock turbo. Just ordered upgraded brake pads, rotors, and brake fluid, as well as ngk spark plugs and delphi coils. Only half of it has arrived so far. Excited to see the difference! Debating between flashing MHD E25 blend map or xhp stage 2 or 3 shortly after, can’t decide which.
I've driven E92 335s since April 2008. Second E92 is a 2013 LeMans Blue N54 335IS, DCT, Now custom tune, LSD, Brembos, Konis, and some other ///M suspension stuff. Only 76K miles.