Hey Eric, I thoroughly enjoyed watching you tear apart this engine. Thank you for that. That was so much worse than I thought it would be, and I even had the oil pan off of that. As you correctly guessed, the loose rod bearings inside the pan was me. The engine was locked tight when I initially started removal. So off came the oil pan and after removing the rod cap from that one cylinder, I was able to get it to turn enough to get all of my torque converter bolts out. I didn't feel like it was worth my trouble to put the bearings back in place so I just threw them in with the rest of carnage. I didn't get into this engine any deeper than that, but my impression with what I saw matches what you found. This didn't appear to be a lubrication failure. That surprised me. In my experience most of the time you eject parts outside the block. a lubrication failure is your root cause. At least in stock engines. I second your assessment that it either jumped time and hit valves, or burnt a piston down from a lean cylinder. For those that care to know, I bought this car with the blown up engine off of the local classifieds. I was told by the seller that the car didn't run and that the mechanic he had taken it to said something about a crack and oil and cooling mixing and leaking, and it needed a new engine. That is all the information I have as to what happened to it. The car was in really good condition though, so I don't think that it was really neglected. I've been a professional auto technician for 20 years now and in my experience, people that take care of the body and interior of their cars, typically maintain them mechanically as well. I know there are exceptions to this, but that has been my experience over the years. If the body and interior are rough, likely maintenance has been shoddy as well. If the body and interior have been kept clean and nice, they've probably been good about their maintenance as well.
I agree, the best maintained cars look and feel the part. Bmw from this era has kinda figured out how to make their interiors and paint quite robust (excluding that soft touch crap), so I’ve seen lots of “clean” but neglected cars but you can still tell. Hope you did alright on this one. Really appreciate the engine, and if you ever need any parts, I owe ya one!
There's definitely exceptions. Some people only care that they look good when they're driving their car regardless of what kind of maintenance they skip or extend. I hear guys debating what the best motor oil is and what the answer to that question is obvious to me. The oil that's changed frequently regardless of the brand is the best.
I'm one of those people that don't care what the car looks like on the outside or in the passenger compartment, but I will make sure it's good on oil & filter, gets new airfilter, new plugs, etc according to manufacturer's recommendation. And the right kind of oil and filter too - not just "whatever is cheapest at the local supermarket". The outside of my car gets cleaned when it rains... :)
Too much boom in the combustion room. Mutilation in the combustion station. Castration of the piston-to-crank relation. Devastation of the bottom-end foundation. Debacle in the combustion tabernacle. Manifestation of engine block ventilation. Celebration of compression liberation.
Helped tear that out of the car, and can tell you the oil pan came like that. Oh the fun we found inside! You are right about the pan being dropped so we could turn the crank far enough to get the torque converters bolts out. When we were done, we put the pan back up with all the goodies we found in it so we wouldn't ruin your fun.
The post-update variant (TU and onward) is a masterful bit of drivetrain tech. The early N63s were an absolute nightmare. They're all frightfully complex, but not terrible to work on. The worst part is all the plastic stuff (wire connectors, clips, brackets, PCV/CCV hoses and valves, coolant tees) they used around the turbos. Best thing you can do for longevity is throw a PTP Turbo Blanket over the factory turbocharger heat shield.
Wow, the level of complexity of that engine is stupefying!! I can't even imagine trying to do routine maintenance on that beast at home, let alone actually repairing/swapping out parts under the hood! Thanks, Eric, for the great autopsy, as always, and thanks for convincing me to stick to older, simpler, more reliable vehicles!!
@@Stylemaster911 I think so, too! They're making SURE you have to bring it to a dealership for even the most basic maintenance at the low, LOW shop rate of $249/hour!
@@czarekaj1098 yes if I still had a European car (only had one, never again) I would take it to an independent specialist like Johnny once it was was out of warranty.
I am but a simple man. I like me pushrod V8s. Simple as. But...I very much enjoy living vicariously through your channel and seeing what else is out there. Watching your teardowns is a staple of my weekend. Cheers.
I never owned anything BUT a pushrod V8 for 30 years, but finally had to relent when options became scarce if you wanted to drive a car-not-truck. Ended up with a GM 3.6 VVT and you know what? It's been great! I'm not buying this "increased interval" oil change BS tho. If anything it seems MORE important to keep the oil as clean as possible with the VVT engines and their timing chains?
I am a retired engineer who worked for a German automotive company. Was at a hotel in Chattanooga and ended up talking shop with some VW engineers over some beers. They asked me why they have so much trouble selling cars to Americans. Your stuff is too damn complicated! I begged my son not to buy his Jetta and of course, he had to learn the hard way. He buys Honda and Toyota now.
I absolutely love these tear down videos, Eric. You present things so well and I always learn so much. Thanks for all your hard work! We do appreciate it!
When removing the head bolts, main bolts, and rod cap bolts, I think it would be interesting to see the "Breakaway" torque value just to see how tight they really were. A wonderful teardown as usual. I cant wait for next week, or the possible "mid week" teardown.
I agree, I started watching Adept Ape as well, and then KT3406E. I did not fully realize that there is a whole world of very heavy construction equipment with accordingly large engines out there. Adept Ape and KT3406E have opened my eyres to that.
Did anyone else notice the sorcery in the oil pump? Brilliant! It's a variable displacement oil pump. Unlike the 50's on American V8's with a spring and plug that dumps excess oil, as the pressure builds, that spring in the right side lets the rotor's housing move up decreasing the vane's displacement. So rather than heat the oil by spraying it past a spring loaded pressure relief it pumps less, saving fuel and not making extra heat.
That was epic destruction! The N63 is definitely not one of BMW's finer moments, at least the earlier ones. I actually thought the engine wasn't terribly maintained, based on the varnish not being bad for so many miles, the very good condition of most of the bearings, including the camshaft bearings, as well as how clean the water passage for the water pump was. As the engine came apart, I was thinking it was killed by a timing problem in the passenger bank. I don't recall seeing you tear down an S55. Please find one!
Between you and the other mechanics I have watched on UA-cam, I have learned a lot about taking things apart. I was dropped a bad transmission out of my 260Z today. As the oil drained out, I did remark about the forbidden glitter mixed in the oil.
I watch all of your videos and they are awesome! Having owned 2 different BMW’s with N63’s, I totally enjoyed this. One of my N63 blew up with 60k miles and another was “bought back” by BMW. I believe there have been several class action law suits on these engines. Tell you what, I would never ever ever go near another BMW again in my life. Their engineering is horrible. They are all marketing hype and nothing more. Garbage cars after 2009 IMO
Re: the oil pump design, it looks like a variable displacement pump. The inner housing (that the rotor ring spins in) pivots depending on oil pressure (the shaft poking out of the pump cover is the pivot, and the big spring left in the housing counteracts oil pressure. As the housing pivots up due to oil pressure, the rotor becomes less eccentric - the big end of the inlet side gets smaller, and the small end of the outlet side gets bigger. That means it pumps less volume per revolution. If there's plenty of oil pressure, the pump backs off so it isn't wasting power trying to cram more oil into the system. If oil pressure is lower than ideal, the spring pushes the housing back down to a higher displacement position to bring the pressure back up. It depends on a spring, so it won't be just one way or the other - all the displacement settings in between are valid - it's analog. Since the pump can adapt, they can also use a much larger pump than usual which can maintain good pressure at idle speeds without getting crazy (both oil pressure and parasitic drag) at high RPM.
I caught that, and stopped to marvel. Should have read a little further down before adding the same comment. I don't know if chevy did this, but ford and dodge both have a high pressure bypass relief. (50's to 90's) Dodge with it's small blocks go a little overboard with this, so a 250K mile engine has the same oil pressure at hot idle as at 4000 RMP.
@@briandonaldson9657 AFAIK, a bypass valve is the standard minimalist approach - just dump the excess oil back into the pan. It wouldn't surprise me if BMW's pump also includes one to handle malfunction of the displacement-adjustment mechanism. Trouble is, as soon as that valve cracks open, you're wasting power. The the flow rate of oil being returned * the oil pressure at the relief valve = some value of wasted HP and fuel to make that HP. Yeah, I know... There may be no tangible benefit (or at least diminishing returns) from letting the oil pressure go higher. Still, dumping the excess has zero benefit outside of limiting oil pressure.
I’m a DIYer, and SO glad I own Hondas. I can’t imagine being a novice and trying to work on something like this, especially while it’s still in the car!
You said it. Even if I had a ton of money I'd stick with Hondas and Toyotas. I work as a caregiver and don't make a lot of money. My car is my life. No car no job. I watch these to learn more and to remind myself to ALWAYS maintain my car. This stuff is fascinating but yikes! This was bad. That must have made one hell of a sound.
@@bradcomis1066I spent a year with a 2011 f10 550i. After the engine went to shit I bought back the 2005 325ci I sold. The e46 is so simple, I do not miss the n63 at all.
@@Ashw1115 That power from the N63 is pretty awesome though. I test drove a couple E60 550i's and they were awesome! Too big to fit in my garage though. Went for an E90. The N52 is a bit of pain in the butt to work with (so much computer BS). The M series stuff is a DIY sweet spot for sure.
I salute you for your efforts to educate and entertain. This is hands down the most broken non-nitrous related disaster I’ve ever seen. The troops salute you. o7 o7 o7
He has a Honda and a Kia from just a few weeks/ months back that beg to differ. Here's the Kia, ua-cam.com/video/mowikQ0jlos/v-deo.html Here's the Honda, ua-cam.com/video/jKmNNBLfFlY/v-deo.html Have fun watching.
After watching this horror story, I took my 2012 750ix with 88,000 miles in to my local BMW dealer (who has done all the service since they sold me the car new in 2011) for an overall checkup. I mentioned it was using a quart of oil every 2,000 to 3,000 miles, but not dripping any oil when parked. They spotted a few drops of oil leaking from the valve covers, so recommended new gaskets. It took a week to get the parts and put everything back together. They also turned the rear brake rotors, replaced the front tension struts, replaced the battery, flushed and replaced the brake fluid, and replaced all the air filters. I also asked them to save some oil and the oil filter, which I planned to send out to a laboratory to see if the engine was shedding any metal. When I drove the car home, it felt better than new, and as I parked it in my garage I was sure it was good for at least another 50,000 miles. No way Eric was right about the N63. A few hours later, the car was on fire, destroying itself, along with two other cars and most of my garage. Once the insurance people are done with the "cause and origin" investigation, I think this would be a great engine to tear down. No wiring harness to get in the way, and the turbo chargers and everything else in the "hot V" have been totally consumed. I suspect the inside of the engine is in pristine condition, so I'd love to see a video of the teardown.
The ultimate teardown would include video of the engine's demise! If, somehow, you could do that it would be sooooo awesome! Imagine, a high revving engine blowing up and then you tearing it down. I wouldn't mind if you actually staged it... just so we could see the resulting carnage.
I thought that Eric was having a joke at our expense, but under all the pipes and hoses and wires there was actually an engine in there! great video for engine malfunction!
Another fantastic video, as always Eric. Your tear down videos are the highlight of my Saturday nights as I wash endless mountains of baby bottles and pump parts. Oh the joys of fatherhood…
I know this was a longer video than normal, but i really enjoyed it. I don't think it could have been made any shorter. Great job, and wow was that engine trashed! Last but not least, thanks Ryan!
Eric, as a retired.master mechanic, and having worked on everything from lawn mowers to rug boats, I can say, I agree entirely on this engine being one of the ones I'd stay a way from. Good video. And if you were not so overwhelmed, I'd bring you one still sitting on my engine stand from my sons Oldsmobile. Keep up the good work, makes us appreciate the good-ol-days!
I have a feeling the driver of this car had his foot all the way down to the floor and more. A lot more. The sound of the explosion must have been deafening within a half mile radius. Well done!
Those things are a nightmare to work on. I agreed to change the plugs on one without knowing what I was getting into. What a piece of shit!! A million ducts and coolant hoses to disconnect and then a special socket to get the plug out. Who thinks to put a bend in the access hole to the plug in the head??? Idiots!
It just requires a certain mindset and no distractions. I’ve done a couple of chains by pulling the complete front clip and just leaving the turbos the hell alone. Valve stems in car, a head in car by using an engine lift etc or at the complete opposite end there are guys who will just drop the whole driveline on a table for any repair at all.
When you think about it, the "hot V' design makes so much more sense..the intake comes in from the cooler outsides of the V and the exhaust comes out the higher inside of the V, where the engine is hottest anyway! Oh as far as the steel rod "trick"..that's BMW's new feature, the "pass-thru!" Adds extra cooling! But seriously, with the way I've seen the way some people hammer on BMWs, I'm surprised there aren't a lot more grenaded engines.
One thing I like about this engine is the fact that the alternator is at the top of the engine in the V, kind of like a Ford. You see, on the Porsche 928 (hint....) they put it on the drivers side low where it is exposed to road debris and water. The cooling duct always gets knocked off, and that of course causes fits with the air conditioning system, since it uses cooling air going to the alternator to determine outside air temperature....
my neighbor called me over to listen to his 2001 750i because it was stumbling and misfiring. He hoped i would know what he should do to get the car running right again. As i stood there next to that car, he hit the key and, a hung open injector caused it to hydrolock and spontaneously spit a large portion of the side of the block at my feet. I was in disbelief that i just witnessed a complete and automatic disassembly of that BMW engine. The car's owner just stood there in shock.. i asked him how much he paid for the car....
When you had your face at the camera reminding people not to buy one in my head I instantly thought of Adam Sandler in billy Madison when he grabbed the kid and told him don’t rush to grow up lol
I think when this one started to let go they guy just put his foot even farther down to the floor. The good bank just kept pumping the power for a few more seconds. Boom. A video is born.
Thank you Ryan! Hey Eric, I believe German Engineers are just like so many engineers... They over think EVERYTHING, and have to make it so complicated that even the trained service people working on their designs go "WHAT THE F**K?"! I think they give each other points for how many times the service people write to them asking that question! The same type of engineers are the ones that design traffic construction here in the U.S.! Anyway, thanks for the great video! Please keep up the good work! 😃
Glad to see all that practice you had since you were a teen has really paid off when you needed to get them injectors out. Anyway, love your videos. Keep up the good work.
Ever been working on something, and in the back of your mind you are "Maybe I should just accept the loss and do a fresh start"? BMW engineers have no such doubts judging by this lovecraftian monster of a engine.
Thanks for the video. It's much more fun to sit and watch you work than it is for me to do it. I think BMW engineers must be competing with each other trying to make every part of the engine more complicated. Having the exhaust between the cylinder banks reminds me of the flat head V8 Cadillac. Which was prone to catch fire from rats nests.
That timing sprocket reminds me of a problem Mercedes had with the same thing, they hadn't been heat treated and were just smearing. I would guess that's the source of your failure. For a heat treated gear to lose all it's teeth, especially from a chain is unlikely. Those teeth are soft, you can tell by the extensive wear on the intact gear.
Hey man! Just a quick heads up, when you use that injector removal tool, flip the slide the other way. It should be hollow on the other side to allow for further travel.
This is the engine that popped my mechanic cherry. After I replaced this engine and put it back together with literally no prior experience and on my end everything worked perfect. I legit see any job as a job and don't care anymore as to what it is or what repair needs to be done I just do it lol.
There was a lot of stuff in this engine I don't like from both longevity and maintenance perspectives however one thing I found very interesting is the adjustable stroke vane oil pump. The pivot's on the left and the plunger on right either decreases or increases in length which changes the amount of offset of the 2 circles thereby changing the oil supply quantity to suit the differing requirements throughout the rpm range. This way you can have your target oil pressure from idle through to max rpm. Normal gear style oil pump have up until now been a very cheap solution but they waste a lot of energy, and sizing (flow rate) is a compromise at best. Great video by the way Eric.
Fragged BMW engines are the best part of this channel. 7 months working on these at a dealership ruined the brand for me ad infinitum. Seeing destroyed BMW tech gives me life.
Thanks for your advice on steering clear of these engines Eric. Greatly appreciate you sharing your experience, it saves me the potential pain and suffering. Cheers and keep up the good work.
Love it! Timing cover hid a real swiss knife with springs in it. This is actually an invention. Imagine a swiss knife which you pull out of the case, and everything just pops out. No more broken nails, you just put back what you don't need.
Another great tear down! Sometimes I would really like to see or hear exactly what happened when an engine is destroyed like that. This one must have been awesome when it was tearing itself apart like that. Thanks for having this cool channel.
I was driving my 2012 750Li and the motor blew so bad that the piston came out the block and blew open my front diff lol the repair bill was damn near 30k thank god for warranty. Now she drives like a 100k dollar car Edit mileage was like 136k
Hey Eric, love the tear downs. Currently i have a vehicle with a Chevy 2.0T and am thinking about doing some upgrades internally. I am hoping that you can get a hold of one so i can get a rough idea on how to take it apart. I know it wont be identical and thats not what you do but i can still learn from it. My car is a 16 but it is in 13-19 Caddies, 13-22 Malibus, 14-23 Buicks, 16-23 Camaros, and 18-20 Equinox, Traverse, and Terrain
The ultimate leasing machine.... Really, it is to the point with modern BMW's that many shops simply will not work on them anymore. A shop fixes something, the owner drives away, and a week later some other problem crops up. "What the hell did you do to my car!" the owner screams into the phone from the side of the road. BMW has made their cars so complex while not emphasizing quality that really, you should never buy one. Lease one instead, they are awesome to drive! BMW like many other companies knows that few people work on their cars anymore. Thus, they design them to be cheap to produce and serviceability is an afterthought. What's more, due to our wealthy society, when a car does need an expensive repair at the 100,000+ mile point, most owners these days simply trade it in. I call it the "Airbus effect". Airbus has publicly stated that irregardless of hours and cycles, their airframes should be recycled at the 25 year point. Their point is that as technology moves forward, older designs need to be removed so that more efficient designs can take over. And while there is actually some logic in this, it is horribly wasteful. BMW seems to think that as well; 100,000 miles or 10 years, and the car should be removed from the road. And they design their vehicles to that standard apparently. Great video!
Airbus trade on the dispatch or mission availability of their products. BMW do not. BMW trade on driving experience and that’s it . When you are sitting in (or on in the case of a motorcycle) one of their products you can’t see how much of an entitled twat you look like. I’ve owned my share, they all broke down eventually
Love all the videos you put out! As a truck guy, I like mostly the American engines but its always enlightening to see the Euro and Japanese stuff. My V10 Ram thanks you for the thermostat housing!!!😁
Good tear down Eric. When you found the fifth valve in the valley between the cylinders I thought that’s awesome it was trying to make itself into a flat head. The connecting rod thought if I beat this valve hard enough it’ll go up here and then I only need to grow a camshaft thus reversing evolution. I really enjoy your tear downs and your car collecting addiction one of my favourite channels.
Good evening Eric. You outdid yourself today. BMW (Blown Motor Works)is true today. The bottom end versus the top end of the engine destruction is priceless one of a kind.
If you notice these have hollow valves, because they’re sodium cooled. While not common, the hollow valves can break leading to all the other carnage you found.
Eric, my stomach is hurting from LOL so much from this video and your ad lib humorous comments. I cannot imagine the noise that the engine made when the cycle of carnage started. Thank you for ICE destruction teardown entertainment to the Nth degree.
This is one of the reasons I quit BMW in Long Island, NY. 1st. Dealer ownership, management, and flate rate, 25 years of mechanic experience, boat technician, bmw technician, bus transit technician, and BAE systems ( high voltage) Always is something better out there. Just never stop looking for. Awesome tear, a part video, junk engine !!!
Viewers coming in clutch for the rest of us. Thanks to Eric and the fans of the channel that donate teardowns. This was one for the record books, you can say that.
GREAT VIDEO!! Eric, you are getting better and better, and you started out so damn good! Thank you Ryan! I may have McNuggets for dinner! What a great day!
So glad i did my research n I got me a 2015 tu and so far man it’s been great 30 miles tuned now and still strong so far all I’ve done was injectors coils spark plugs and oil change
Hey Eric, u can build ur own N63. U have like 7 Engines around. I think u can build one of the seven engines that u have laying around. Here in germany is all worse, u have often to take out the engine from the Car only to do the basic work. Mercedes: Timing Chain, engine out. VW: So fucking much cables!. Everything here to work on is horroble, most of the time ur laying on the engine because u cant get to the bolt from underneath. I love ur Videos :D Greetings from Germany.
Funny that even Germans think their own cars are needlessly complicated and unreliable, Must be hard to accept when they were once world leaders in high quality and reliable vehicles. Those days are long gone now.
I sure wish I would’ve had knowledge of this prior to buying one. 1)Excessively burns oil- low oil indicator between 3-3,500 miles after oil change. 2) Plugs and ignition coils fail about every 30k 3) Fuel line leaks 4) Coolant leaking 5) Tire Pressure Sensor broke *I only use premium gas and Mobil One oil I’m not sure what the actual problem is but it seems like the brakes are engaging when I take my foot off the accelerator at low speeds(usually between 15-30 mph and I have to press the accelerator harder than normal to get the car to accelerate.
Lmao, hearing you say "The puppy who lost his way" and all the references of people referring to you and Adam Sandler is gold. Thanks for the teardowns man
Hey Eric, I thoroughly enjoyed watching you tear apart this engine. Thank you for that. That was so much worse than I thought it would be, and I even had the oil pan off of that. As you correctly guessed, the loose rod bearings inside the pan was me. The engine was locked tight when I initially started removal. So off came the oil pan and after removing the rod cap from that one cylinder, I was able to get it to turn enough to get all of my torque converter bolts out. I didn't feel like it was worth my trouble to put the bearings back in place so I just threw them in with the rest of carnage. I didn't get into this engine any deeper than that, but my impression with what I saw matches what you found. This didn't appear to be a lubrication failure. That surprised me. In my experience most of the time you eject parts outside the block. a lubrication failure is your root cause. At least in stock engines. I second your assessment that it either jumped time and hit valves, or burnt a piston down from a lean cylinder. For those that care to know, I bought this car with the blown up engine off of the local classifieds. I was told by the seller that the car didn't run and that the mechanic he had taken it to said something about a crack and oil and cooling mixing and leaking, and it needed a new engine. That is all the information I have as to what happened to it. The car was in really good condition though, so I don't think that it was really neglected. I've been a professional auto technician for 20 years now and in my experience, people that take care of the body and interior of their cars, typically maintain them mechanically as well. I know there are exceptions to this, but that has been my experience over the years. If the body and interior are rough, likely maintenance has been shoddy as well. If the body and interior have been kept clean and nice, they've probably been good about their maintenance as well.
You must be quite the fan of this channel to ruin your own engine so we could be entertained. 😂
I agree, the best maintained cars look and feel the part. Bmw from this era has kinda figured out how to make their interiors and paint quite robust (excluding that soft touch crap), so I’ve seen lots of “clean” but neglected cars but you can still tell.
Hope you did alright on this one. Really appreciate the engine, and if you ever need any parts, I owe ya one!
There's definitely exceptions. Some people only care that they look good when they're driving their car regardless of what kind of maintenance they skip or extend. I hear guys debating what the best motor oil is and what the answer to that question is obvious to me. The oil that's changed frequently regardless of the brand is the best.
I'm one of those people that don't care what the car looks like on the outside or in the passenger compartment, but I will make sure it's good on oil & filter, gets new airfilter, new plugs, etc according to manufacturer's recommendation. And the right kind of oil and filter too - not just "whatever is cheapest at the local supermarket".
The outside of my car gets cleaned when it rains... :)
@@robertwest3093 - He didn't ruin it, he bought it already ruined. Didn't you read his whole comment?
Too much boom in the combustion room. Mutilation in the combustion station. Castration of the piston-to-crank relation. Devastation of the bottom-end foundation. Debacle in the combustion tabernacle. Manifestation of engine block ventilation. Celebration of compression liberation.
Permanent cylinder deactivation.
Cylinder disintegration situation.
Compression no more.
Compression delete
Decompression
Bluetooth connecting rods
Disconnecting rods
Doom in the Room of Boom.
Me: "Hey Eric, you have any books on automatic transmissions?"
Eric: "Nope, just manuals."
The dad in me will gleefully remember this one
@@I_Do_Cars manual elitest jerks 🤝
Helped tear that out of the car, and can tell you the oil pan came like that. Oh the fun we found inside! You are right about the pan being dropped so we could turn the crank far enough to get the torque converters bolts out. When we were done, we put the pan back up with all the goodies we found in it so we wouldn't ruin your fun.
The real MVP.
What even happened to cause this lol
Solid effort, dude.
Thank You for not spoiling his fun and also making this video possible.
Incredible carnage you found, imagine showing that to the customer!
The design team on this engine were all on acid when they did this. This is what makes mechanics retire. Great video!!!
Mr. Rube Goldberg entered the chat, and swore he has never done any illicit drug....
The Saxons are still on pervitin and eukadol. They think it was perfect.jah!
No. Nothing like that. Just some good ol' crack...
Lmao 😂
The post-update variant (TU and onward) is a masterful bit of drivetrain tech. The early N63s were an absolute nightmare. They're all frightfully complex, but not terrible to work on. The worst part is all the plastic stuff (wire connectors, clips, brackets, PCV/CCV hoses and valves, coolant tees) they used around the turbos. Best thing you can do for longevity is throw a PTP Turbo Blanket over the factory turbocharger heat shield.
I absolutely lost it at "knock sensor working overtime" and still got treated to an extra 45 minutes of greatness.
Look for a knock sensor w clutch to help brake remaining rods when loss of crank weight is triggered...
Wow, the level of complexity of that engine is stupefying!! I can't even imagine trying to do routine maintenance on that beast at home, let alone actually repairing/swapping out parts under the hood! Thanks, Eric, for the great autopsy, as always, and thanks for convincing me to stick to older, simpler, more reliable vehicles!!
BMW has a solution to that, you just wait for the engine to blow and then replace the whole thing. 😅
I don't think you could honestly. Not without mega disassembly. It's almost like they were trying to stop you from repairing. My god!
@@Stylemaster911 I think so, too! They're making SURE you have to bring it to a dealership for even the most basic maintenance at the low, LOW shop rate of $249/hour!
Car Ninja has a shop doing repairs on German cars, mainly BMW. He also has a YT channel.
@@czarekaj1098 yes if I still had a European car (only had one, never again) I would take it to an independent specialist like Johnny once it was was out of warranty.
I am but a simple man. I like me pushrod V8s. Simple as. But...I very much enjoy living vicariously through your channel and seeing what else is out there. Watching your teardowns is a staple of my weekend. Cheers.
I never owned anything BUT a pushrod V8 for 30 years, but finally had to relent when options became scarce if you wanted to drive a car-not-truck. Ended up with a GM 3.6 VVT and you know what? It's been great! I'm not buying this "increased interval" oil change BS tho. If anything it seems MORE important to keep the oil as clean as possible with the VVT engines and their timing chains?
You need a longer slide hammer for those injectors, so you can get a bit of the long stroke action. Tends to work a bit better than short strokes.
That's what she said!
A longer shaft indeed
short strokes so as not to wake the master
If the short rod won't remove the injector, it can't be trusted if removed by any other means...
@@anthonybrod5559 It's good you picked up on the joke. lol
I am a retired engineer who worked for a German automotive company. Was at a hotel in Chattanooga and ended up talking shop with some VW engineers over some beers. They asked me why they have so much trouble selling cars to Americans. Your stuff is too damn complicated! I begged my son not to buy his Jetta and of course, he had to learn the hard way. He buys Honda and Toyota now.
I absolutely love these tear down videos, Eric. You present things so well and I always learn so much. Thanks for all your hard work! We do appreciate it!
I agree. LS3 may not be as pretty as those four cam turbos, but it won't fail or self destruct on me
When removing the head bolts, main bolts, and rod cap bolts, I think it would be interesting to see the "Breakaway" torque value just to see how tight they really were. A wonderful teardown as usual. I cant wait for next week, or the possible "mid week" teardown.
that entire slide hammer section was very hilarious to watch loving the teardown so far, keep it up Eric the best teardowns on the site :)
he definitely got some good practice in
This was a magnificent example of fine Bavarian engine carnage. I am deeply impressed.
Adds new meaning to Big Money Wasters ….
They sell you an 'experience'!
@@Syncopia albeit leaving a bad taste in one’s mouth
Been binge watching Adept Ape working on diesels since you did that Cat. Thanks Eric, even your channel recommendations are good.
Same here - the Adept Ape is a great find.
Same. Great channel!
I agree, I started watching Adept Ape as well, and then KT3406E. I did not fully realize that there is a whole world of very heavy construction equipment with accordingly large engines out there. Adept Ape and KT3406E have opened my eyres to that.
@@robertcochran7103 Big fan of KT3406E though he's getting out of truck engines. Diesel techs get paid ok as well. Food for thought
Did anyone else notice the sorcery in the oil pump?
Brilliant! It's a variable displacement oil pump. Unlike the 50's on American V8's with a spring and plug that dumps excess oil, as the pressure builds, that spring in the right side lets the rotor's housing move up decreasing the vane's displacement. So rather than heat the oil by spraying it past a spring loaded pressure relief it pumps less, saving fuel and not making extra heat.
You know it's bad when you have to use a breaker bar and an air impact to pull a spark plug.
Hey. At least there were no drills involved.
That was epic destruction! The N63 is definitely not one of BMW's finer moments, at least the earlier ones. I actually thought the engine wasn't terribly maintained, based on the varnish not being bad for so many miles, the very good condition of most of the bearings, including the camshaft bearings, as well as how clean the water passage for the water pump was. As the engine came apart, I was thinking it was killed by a timing problem in the passenger bank. I don't recall seeing you tear down an S55. Please find one!
Between you and the other mechanics I have watched on UA-cam, I have learned a lot about taking things apart. I was dropped a bad transmission out of my 260Z today. As the oil drained out, I did remark about the forbidden glitter mixed in the oil.
Those are the sparkles from the combustion fairies :'D
I watch all of your videos and they are awesome! Having owned 2 different BMW’s with N63’s, I totally enjoyed this. One of my N63 blew up with 60k miles and another was “bought back” by BMW. I believe there have been several class action law suits on these engines. Tell you what, I would never ever ever go near another BMW again in my life. Their engineering is horrible. They are all marketing hype and nothing more. Garbage cars after 2009 IMO
Re: the oil pump design, it looks like a variable displacement pump.
The inner housing (that the rotor ring spins in) pivots depending on oil pressure (the shaft poking out of the pump cover is the pivot, and the big spring left in the housing counteracts oil pressure. As the housing pivots up due to oil pressure, the rotor becomes less eccentric - the big end of the inlet side gets smaller, and the small end of the outlet side gets bigger. That means it pumps less volume per revolution.
If there's plenty of oil pressure, the pump backs off so it isn't wasting power trying to cram more oil into the system. If oil pressure is lower than ideal, the spring pushes the housing back down to a higher displacement position to bring the pressure back up. It depends on a spring, so it won't be just one way or the other - all the displacement settings in between are valid - it's analog. Since the pump can adapt, they can also use a much larger pump than usual which can maintain good pressure at idle speeds without getting crazy (both oil pressure and parasitic drag) at high RPM.
I caught that, and stopped to marvel. Should have read a little further down before adding the same comment.
I don't know if chevy did this, but ford and dodge both have a high pressure bypass relief. (50's to 90's) Dodge with it's small blocks go a little overboard with this, so a 250K mile engine has the same oil pressure at hot idle as at 4000 RMP.
@@briandonaldson9657 AFAIK, a bypass valve is the standard minimalist approach - just dump the excess oil back into the pan. It wouldn't surprise me if BMW's pump also includes one to handle malfunction of the displacement-adjustment mechanism. Trouble is, as soon as that valve cracks open, you're wasting power. The the flow rate of oil being returned * the oil pressure at the relief valve = some value of wasted HP and fuel to make that HP.
Yeah, I know... There may be no tangible benefit (or at least diminishing returns) from letting the oil pressure go higher. Still, dumping the excess has zero benefit outside of limiting oil pressure.
@@bobski3333
I’m a DIYer, and SO glad I own Hondas. I can’t imagine being a novice and trying to work on something like this, especially while it’s still in the car!
You said it. Even if I had a ton of money I'd stick with Hondas and Toyotas. I work as a caregiver and don't make a lot of money. My car is my life. No car no job. I watch these to learn more and to remind myself to ALWAYS maintain my car. This stuff is fascinating but yikes! This was bad. That must have made one hell of a sound.
To be fair being a DIYer with an E46 or similar isn't too difficult at all.
@@bradcomis1066I spent a year with a 2011 f10 550i. After the engine went to shit I bought back the 2005 325ci I sold. The e46 is so simple, I do not miss the n63 at all.
@@Ashw1115 That power from the N63 is pretty awesome though. I test drove a couple E60 550i's and they were awesome! Too big to fit in my garage though. Went for an E90. The N52 is a bit of pain in the butt to work with (so much computer BS). The M series stuff is a DIY sweet spot for sure.
I salute you for your efforts to educate and entertain. This is hands down the most broken non-nitrous related disaster I’ve ever seen. The troops salute you. o7 o7 o7
He has a Honda and a Kia from just a few weeks/ months back that beg to differ.
Here's the Kia, ua-cam.com/video/mowikQ0jlos/v-deo.html
Here's the Honda, ua-cam.com/video/jKmNNBLfFlY/v-deo.html
Have fun watching.
A Dodge Ram V10 begs to differ.
Yeah, Nitrous can cause all kinds of fun destruction, lol.
Ej253 has entered the chat
I Love the fact that you explain what probably destroyed the engine....Can learn a Lot about the value of good maintenance!
Yea!! If you ever stop making these videos you are going to ruin my Saturday night! 😁👍
After watching this horror story, I took my 2012 750ix with 88,000 miles in to my local BMW dealer (who has done all the service since they sold me the car new in 2011) for an overall checkup. I mentioned it was using a quart of oil every 2,000 to 3,000 miles, but not dripping any oil when parked. They spotted a few drops of oil leaking from the valve covers, so recommended new gaskets. It took a week to get the parts and put everything back together. They also turned the rear brake rotors, replaced the front tension struts, replaced the battery, flushed and replaced the brake fluid, and replaced all the air filters. I also asked them to save some oil and the oil filter, which I planned to send out to a laboratory to see if the engine was shedding any metal. When I drove the car home, it felt better than new, and as I parked it in my garage I was sure it was good for at least another 50,000 miles. No way Eric was right about the N63.
A few hours later, the car was on fire, destroying itself, along with two other cars and most of my garage. Once the insurance people are done with the "cause and origin" investigation, I think this would be a great engine to tear down. No wiring harness to get in the way, and the turbo chargers and everything else in the "hot V" have been totally consumed. I suspect the inside of the engine is in pristine condition, so I'd love to see a video of the teardown.
The ultimate teardown would include video of the engine's demise!
If, somehow, you could do that it would be sooooo awesome!
Imagine, a high revving engine blowing up and then you tearing it down.
I wouldn't mind if you actually staged it... just so we could see the resulting carnage.
That last spark plug sounded like a head bolt with that breaker bar!! Definitely a first for me hearing.
I thought that Eric was having a joke at our expense, but under all the pipes and hoses and wires there was actually an engine in there! great video for engine malfunction!
Another fantastic video, as always Eric. Your tear down videos are the highlight of my Saturday nights as I wash endless mountains of baby bottles and pump parts. Oh the joys of fatherhood…
I know this was a longer video than normal, but i really enjoyed it. I don't think it could have been made any shorter. Great job, and wow was that engine trashed! Last but not least, thanks Ryan!
Eric, as a retired.master mechanic, and having worked on everything from lawn mowers to rug boats, I can say, I agree entirely on this engine being one of the ones I'd stay a way from. Good video. And if you were not so overwhelmed, I'd bring you one still sitting on my engine stand from my sons Oldsmobile. Keep up the good work, makes us appreciate the good-ol-days!
I have a feeling the driver of this car had his foot all the way down to the floor and more. A lot more. The sound of the explosion must have been deafening within a half mile radius. Well done!
I like to think Eric has a bin of perfectly fine wrist pins from all the motors he's torn down.
That last plug was not a spark plug anymore.
It was a spark rivet.
This is more like an engine autopsy than a teardown!
Those things are a nightmare to work on. I agreed to change the plugs on one without knowing what I was getting into. What a piece of shit!! A million ducts and coolant hoses to disconnect and then a special socket to get the plug out. Who thinks to put a bend in the access hole to the plug in the head??? Idiots!
😂 “4 cylinder turbo engine working hard to kill the other 4” - Epic ! Best description ever
Said it before - I genuinely feel sorry for the techs that have to work on these motors.
That’s why the labor book time on these is so high
Same for audis with the TT V6 and V8. Both have their turbos sitting up top. Doing a good number of things on them suck. Powerhouses though.
especially in a car if its that bad on a stand imagine it in a car
It just requires a certain mindset and no distractions. I’ve done a couple of chains by pulling the complete front clip and just leaving the turbos the hell alone. Valve stems in car, a head in car by using an engine lift etc or at the complete opposite end there are guys who will just drop the whole driveline on a table for any repair at all.
Last one I watched was the Mercedes s550 engine, now I’m buying a 750 with this n63 and this video drops! Love it!
When you think about it, the "hot V' design makes so much more sense..the intake comes in from the cooler outsides of the V and the exhaust comes out the higher inside of the V, where the engine is hottest anyway! Oh as far as the steel rod "trick"..that's BMW's new feature, the "pass-thru!" Adds extra cooling! But seriously, with the way I've seen the way some people hammer on BMWs, I'm surprised there aren't a lot more grenaded engines.
Yep I have n63t3 in a 2020m550i. Turbos are much larger. Close to no turbo lag with this set up.
Piston McNuggets cooked in intake manifold oil are so delicious.😄
One thing I like about this engine is the fact that the alternator is at the top of the engine in the V, kind of like a Ford. You see, on the Porsche 928 (hint....) they put it on the drivers side low where it is exposed to road debris and water. The cooling duct always gets knocked off, and that of course causes fits with the air conditioning system, since it uses cooling air going to the alternator to determine outside air temperature....
Another example of shitty German engineering....
Some of the Germans have a water cooled alternator.
my neighbor called me over to listen to his 2001 750i because it was stumbling and misfiring. He hoped i would know what he should do to get the car running right again. As i stood there next to that car, he hit the key and, a hung open injector caused it to hydrolock and spontaneously spit a large portion of the side of the block at my feet. I was in disbelief that i just witnessed a complete and automatic disassembly of that BMW engine. The car's owner just stood there in shock.. i asked him how much he paid for the car....
When you had your face at the camera reminding people not to buy one in my head I instantly thought of Adam Sandler in billy Madison when he grabbed the kid and told him don’t rush to grow up lol
I think when this one started to let go they guy just put his foot even farther down to the floor. The good bank just kept pumping the power for a few more seconds. Boom. A video is born.
Thank you Ryan! Hey Eric, I believe German Engineers are just like so many engineers... They over think EVERYTHING, and have to make it so complicated that even the trained service people working on their designs go "WHAT THE F**K?"! I think they give each other points for how many times the service people write to them asking that question! The same type of engineers are the ones that design traffic construction here in the U.S.! Anyway, thanks for the great video! Please keep up the good work! 😃
Well, as Phil Swift (Mr. Flex Seal) would say, "That's a lot of damage!". Your weekly Saturday night videos never disappoint!
Glad to see all that practice you had since you were a teen has really paid off when you needed to get them injectors out. Anyway, love your videos. Keep up the good work.
Ever been working on something, and in the back of your mind you are "Maybe I should just accept the loss and do a fresh start"?
BMW engineers have no such doubts judging by this lovecraftian monster of a engine.
Like I always say, you need to be more of an electrician than a mechanic nowadays.💯
An electrician and a plumber. Lol
Not many engine failures show up on seismographs, but I suspect this one did. Egad, what carnage.
Complex, beyond practicality.
Plastic tees in the hot V is brilliant! This engine looked like it needed more oil changes too.
Thanks for the video. It's much more fun to sit and watch you work than it is for me to do it.
I think BMW engineers must be competing with each other trying to make every part of the engine more complicated. Having the exhaust between the cylinder banks reminds me of the flat head V8 Cadillac. Which was prone to catch fire from rats nests.
That wrist pin is the reason why I'm liking the video.
That timing sprocket reminds me of a problem Mercedes had with the same thing, they hadn't been heat treated and were just smearing. I would guess that's the source of your failure. For a heat treated gear to lose all it's teeth, especially from a chain is unlikely. Those teeth are soft, you can tell by the extensive wear on the intact gear.
Wrong place to cost cuts in manufacturing.
I love that you follow correct torque pattern even though you are tearing down a POS engine . It shows a level of professionalism .
Get a longer shaft for the slide hammer. Would make the job so much easier.
Hey man!
Just a quick heads up, when you use that injector removal tool, flip the slide the other way. It should be hollow on the other side to allow for further travel.
Just another day with a B.M.W
Blown
Motor
Works 😂
It's blown and it has also blown.
Break
My
Wallet
Bavarian MalWorks.
This is the engine that popped my mechanic cherry. After I replaced this engine and put it back together with literally no prior experience and on my end everything worked perfect. I legit see any job as a job and don't care anymore as to what it is or what repair needs to be done I just do it lol.
I would love to sit down with the engineers and go over the why's of this engine design and layout, to see how they justify their choices.
There was a lot of stuff in this engine I don't like from both longevity and maintenance perspectives however one thing I found very interesting is the adjustable stroke vane oil pump. The pivot's on the left and the plunger on right either decreases or increases in length which changes the amount of offset of the 2 circles thereby changing the oil supply quantity to suit the differing requirements throughout the rpm range. This way you can have your target oil pressure from idle through to max rpm. Normal gear style oil pump have up until now been a very cheap solution but they waste a lot of energy, and sizing (flow rate) is a compromise at best. Great video by the way Eric.
With all those n63 cores you might be able to make 1 and a half good engines
Even if you could build one working engine, it would still be an N63. It is therefore impossible to make any *good* engines from all those cores.
I know how much you hate the Ford 4 L compared to this engine. It’s a gemstone also kudos on the turbo gravel.
Fragged BMW engines are the best part of this channel. 7 months working on these at a dealership ruined the brand for me ad infinitum. Seeing destroyed BMW tech gives me life.
Is it true the newer N63s were better and didn’t have that much failures? Sadly the cars are nice but these engines are just sth else
Thanks for your advice on steering clear of these engines Eric. Greatly appreciate you sharing your experience, it saves me the potential pain and suffering. Cheers and keep up the good work.
While I watched you try to get the spark plugs and fuel injectors out, my first thought was that you missed your calling as a gynecologist.
Love it! Timing cover hid a real swiss knife with springs in it. This is actually an invention. Imagine a swiss knife which you pull out of the case, and everything just pops out. No more broken nails, you just put back what you don't need.
Me and my friends, Bud, Miller, and I do cars on a Saturday night. The lady's at her mother's house this weekend. It's boy's night tonight, baby.
Best one yet!
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy watching your videos. Good stuff! Please, keep it up!
If I ever saw a nightmare engine, this is it. And that was before it blew up.
Another great tear down!
Sometimes I would really like to see or hear exactly what happened when an engine is destroyed like that. This one must have been awesome when it was tearing itself apart like that.
Thanks for having this cool channel.
I bet it was awesome! And.. my heart would drop if I experienced this on my own car.. oof! ("guessing it was more than a misfire")
I was driving my 2012 750Li and the motor blew so bad that the piston came out the block and blew open my front diff lol the repair bill was damn near 30k thank god for warranty. Now she drives like a 100k dollar car
Edit mileage was like 136k
Hey Eric, love the tear downs. Currently i have a vehicle with a Chevy 2.0T and am thinking about doing some upgrades internally. I am hoping that you can get a hold of one so i can get a rough idea on how to take it apart. I know it wont be identical and thats not what you do but i can still learn from it. My car is a 16 but it is in 13-19 Caddies, 13-22 Malibus, 14-23 Buicks, 16-23 Camaros, and 18-20 Equinox, Traverse, and Terrain
The ultimate leasing machine....
Really, it is to the point with modern BMW's that many shops simply will not work on them anymore. A shop fixes something, the owner drives away, and a week later some other problem crops up. "What the hell did you do to my car!" the owner screams into the phone from the side of the road. BMW has made their cars so complex while not emphasizing quality that really, you should never buy one. Lease one instead, they are awesome to drive!
BMW like many other companies knows that few people work on their cars anymore. Thus, they design them to be cheap to produce and serviceability is an afterthought. What's more, due to our wealthy society, when a car does need an expensive repair at the 100,000+ mile point, most owners these days simply trade it in.
I call it the "Airbus effect". Airbus has publicly stated that irregardless of hours and cycles, their airframes should be recycled at the 25 year point. Their point is that as technology moves forward, older designs need to be removed so that more efficient designs can take over. And while there is actually some logic in this, it is horribly wasteful. BMW seems to think that as well; 100,000 miles or 10 years, and the car should be removed from the road. And they design their vehicles to that standard apparently.
Great video!
Airbus trade on the dispatch or mission availability of their products. BMW do not. BMW trade on driving experience and that’s it .
When you are sitting in (or on in the case of a motorcycle) one of their products you can’t see how much of an entitled twat you look like. I’ve owned my share, they all broke down eventually
I’d love to see a Porsche flat 6 at some point!
Are you _trying_ to jynx his car? haha
@@FixingWithFriends 😂 no, I didn’t even think about that. I’ve got a 987 and I’d love to see how they’re laid out
I really enjoy the tear down videos. I especially like the carnage of such engines.
*vigorous strokes back and forth *
"It's coming "
*proceeds to stroke*
"Yeah"
And it came 4 times in a row 🤣
I lost it at the reach-around
Love all the videos you put out! As a truck guy, I like mostly the American engines but its always enlightening to see the Euro and Japanese stuff. My V10 Ram thanks you for the thermostat housing!!!😁
Good tear down Eric. When you found the fifth valve in the valley between the cylinders I thought that’s awesome it was trying to make itself into a flat head. The connecting rod thought if I beat this valve hard enough it’ll go up here and then I only need to grow a camshaft thus reversing evolution. I really enjoy your tear downs and your car collecting addiction one of my favourite channels.
Good evening Eric. You outdid yourself today. BMW (Blown Motor Works)is true today. The bottom end versus the top end of the engine destruction is priceless one of a kind.
sir can you please do another 4.6 3V ik you’ve done one but I BEG OF YOU JUST ONE MORE
Wow. Just... wow... I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as devastated as that engine. You get the trophy!
If you notice these have hollow valves, because they’re sodium cooled. While not common, the hollow valves can break leading to all the other carnage you found.
Eric, my stomach is hurting from LOL so much from this video and your ad lib humorous comments. I cannot imagine the noise that the engine made when the cycle of carnage started. Thank you for ICE destruction teardown entertainment to the Nth degree.
Former BMW owner here. Tesla gained me as a customer because of this type of mess and I'm a mechanic. Never again 😂
This is one of the reasons I quit BMW in Long Island, NY. 1st. Dealer ownership, management, and flate rate, 25 years of mechanic experience, boat technician, bmw technician, bus transit technician, and BAE systems ( high voltage)
Always is something better out there. Just never stop looking for. Awesome tear, a part video, junk engine !!!
Thank you Ryan.
Aside from this being a "that can't happen (but it did!)," I noted where the alternter is buried. Hopefully that was a highly reliable component!!
I really thought you were gonna find a 10mm socket in that first intake...😄
Viewers coming in clutch for the rest of us. Thanks to Eric and the fans of the channel that donate teardowns. This was one for the record books, you can say that.
Great show! Thank you Ryan.
GREAT VIDEO!! Eric, you are getting better and better, and you started out so damn good! Thank you Ryan! I may have McNuggets for dinner! What a great day!
Gotta love it when Eric throws parts
So glad i did my research n I got me a 2015 tu and so far man it’s been great 30 miles tuned now and still strong so far all I’ve done was injectors coils spark plugs and oil change
Hey Eric, u can build ur own N63. U have like 7 Engines around. I think u can build one of the seven engines that u have laying around. Here in germany is all worse, u have often to take out the engine from the Car only to do the basic work. Mercedes: Timing Chain, engine out. VW: So fucking much cables!. Everything here to work on is horroble, most of the time ur laying on the engine because u cant get to the bolt from underneath. I love ur Videos :D
Greetings from Germany.
Funny that even Germans think their own cars are needlessly complicated and unreliable, Must be hard to accept when they were once world leaders in high quality and reliable vehicles. Those days are long gone now.
I sure wish I would’ve had knowledge of this prior to buying one.
1)Excessively burns oil- low oil indicator between 3-3,500 miles after oil change.
2) Plugs and ignition coils fail about every 30k
3) Fuel line leaks
4) Coolant leaking
5) Tire Pressure Sensor broke
*I only use premium gas and Mobil One oil
I’m not sure what the actual problem is but it seems like the brakes are engaging when I take my foot off the accelerator at low speeds(usually between 15-30 mph and I have to press the accelerator harder than normal to get the car to accelerate.
Lmao, hearing you say "The puppy who lost his way" and all the references of people referring to you and Adam Sandler is gold.
Thanks for the teardowns man