I have a 2014 bmw 328 with N20. When dealer told me oil changes were every 15k miles i was like are you drunk? I did mine every 5k miles and still do. Current millage 60k. No issues.
Every issue I saw as a BMW tech was either long service intervals, components not having any at all or someone who owned the car who should be driving a civic.
@@maxtokmin9683 I enjoy Eric’s videos, but he’s either got a grudge for BMW, or doesn’t want to acknowledge that BMW engines, when properly maintained are excellent motors. I’ve seen so much shoddy and half ass engineering out of Chevy & Dodge, that they fall into their own category of unreliable.
When they went to the 12-15k intervals, all of a sudden Transmissions had a life time fill. I asked what they did to the transmission fluid that it should not be changed at 30k inspection 2 services. FSE replied nothing… what did you do to the transmission? Nothing, was his reply. How long do you expect the Transmission to last? “Until its not our problem” Figured out BMW did all if this because consumer reports tore them up on cost to maintain the car which was at the time a new metric they used to evaluate the cars. Within 2 years of consumer reports beating up bmw, you got 13-15 k oil changes!
M-Series engines were really tanks! My old E46 had an M54B30 with 250000+ miles on it. There was even a time when I got distracted during an oil change & drained the pan then lowered the car & started it up. It ran for maybe 40 seconds til i noticed the oil light flashing & realized I forgot the part of the oil change where you actually add the oil. That engine went on to run another 25k miles with absolutely no problems. The only reason I got rid of the car was because of the burned out trans. I also had an E39 M52B28TU with 460000+ miles. Ironically, that car too was retired due to the transmission. The good ole days of BMW. Mechanical water pumps, metal impellers, aluminum valve covers, PFI, & of course…Dipsticks !!
That engine lasted too long, which is why this design was created to replace it. Selling something that fails shortly after warranty, and is not repairable, increases the likelihood of another sale. One less used car on the market is one more new car that will sell. Few people who buy new cars keep them to the end of the warranty, so they don't care, but the 2nd owners do. I'm interested in how much the used price of BMW's has been affected by selling (soon-to-be) trash...
How many gallons of oil do you put in it every month. As long as you pay attention to the oil level, BMWs and Mercedes pretty well, give them themselves an oil change every week or so. They just leave it all over the road, driveways, parking lots, etc
In those country the automaker own the dealers. If the car fail, the automakers have to pay the repair under warranty. That's why Japanese CVT fluid change under 30k miles at dealers.
@@James-vt2cb I’ve had good luck with Mercedes. Never had any engine problems out of any I’ve owned. I have two currently. They’ve been fairly flawless.
@@adotintheshark4848 That's what I was thinking, apart from motorcycle engines with include the whole transmission and stuff, what an insanely complex little engine
Bought my n20 with 26k miles, tuned it since week one, change i oil every 4k mi., and beat the snot out of it every time I drive it. Still runs strong with no issues 4 years later.
The oil pan was leaking on mine, and when I eventually let my mechanic replace it, he found the little bits of chain guides .. so that cost me quite a bit extra but we caught it in time. My F30 is still going strong :)
I haven't seen any recent owner's manual, but back in the day even when the book called for 6,000+ mile oil changes, if you read the fine print "severe use" was still recommended as 3,000 miles/3 months. "Severe use" is what you're doing driving in stop-and-go traffic 90% of the time in or near any medium-large American city. Modern cars and synthetic oils are probably fine every 5k but I wouldn't go any longer than that!!
You can look at it like this as well. You spend the 60 bucks or whatever it is to get your oil changed and get at least 300,000 mi out of your vehicle like I have with mine. Or you can get your oil changed every 10,000 MI as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer and then buy a new car every 2 years. I'm not a mathematician, but I feel like one of those requires far less money
Some motors I still would not go much past 3k - as some use the oil pressure through very small holes to push the timing system... So any contamination = buildup
The 'severe use' category is unfortunately a gimmick. EU regulations mandate very long oil service intervals, and to comply with this, manufacturers include the 'severe use' note, which essentially applies to almost any kind of usage.
I've seen a couple of these get close to 200k miles with timely oil changes... The wastegate likes to get loose every 40k-60k miles...and there is only so much threaded rod to take up the slack LOL!
Wifes 2015 328i with the n20 just passed 130k miles. I change the oil every 5k miles.. not the 9k that pops up on the dash. Did do the oil cooler gaskets and belt at 100k but still running great. :::knock on wood:::
If your engine has a turbo charger, you’re a fool if you wait longer than 5k miles to do oil changes. I’ve owned MANY turbo charged cars since long before they were popular. Going back to a 1983 Buick Skyhawk & then 1986 Mustang SVO. The number one killer of a turbo charger is dirty oil.
My Skoda 1.2 turbo, had oil changes at the recommended 15000 km, and was still quiet and smooth after 140 000 km, when it was written off in a crash. The problem is people will save a few pounds, using cheap oil, you should only ever use the manufacturers specification oil.
Some plastics are high heat resistant up to like 300 to 400 degrees, which is also higher than where the oil is cooked. If the plastic melted, pretty much guarantee the engine is toast.
@@ericnewton5720 Well of course, the 'high heat' plastics were the only way it was made possible in the first place. Sort of like Ford's wet timing belts?.. LOL! But I digress. The heat, combined with the oil-based plastic components, of any kind, over time, is a factor. Catastrophic 300 to 400 degree failures are due to these deliberately poor designs.
@bliglum Yeah, the plastics thing is hit or miss. In one sense these "engineering marvels" from over there are also littered with them, and technological progression in that regaird can't exactly be scoffed at. On the other hand, plastic! Theres a reason most of us hate the stuff, amd thats because there are too many examples surrounding us of the pure junk that disintegrate the moment you look at it wrong 🤣 I guess the other side would be that using metals would "hurt muh weight savings" tho. Amd shoot the price up even harder honestly.
Ford and GM used to use basically plastic cam gears back in the 1960s and 1970s. Stop trying to pretend that only modern engines or import engines are junk.
I wish all manufacturers would realize that no wear surface in an engine should have plastic, especially on interference engines. In the case of chains, far better to have sprockets guiding it then sliding on plastic or metal.
@@hfxpro Better to have sprockets guiding it? Tell that to BMW M42 owners. The sprockets were known to fail and destroy the engine. The later model timing case has a guide and is considered more reliable.
@@yucannthahvitt I found just the opposite in American and Japanese motors including diesels. I will give guides one advantage in that they usually will generate some chain slap noise before you jump timing, where as if the bearing goes, its usually catastrophic. Add in ridiculous oil change intervals, and I could see why a guide would be better. The problem is, I had too many guides fail way early on both Japanese and American cars which had decent service records. Changing a timing chain + guides + tensioner every 50K miles along with cleaning every part I could get too without pulling the motor got old quick. I almost wonder if the dealers and the parts stores were getting their parts from the same crappy supplier, since they did often look identical. Of course, getting older, I pretty much now ignore any manufacturer service interval over 7-8K for oil (prefer 5K), 40K (prefer 30-35K) for diffs and transmissions, and 60-100K on coolant. Have had much better success.
Up until the early to mid 1980s, it was not unusual for hard ridden motorcycle engines to be worn out in 15.000 miles or less. Pistons, piston rings, cylinders, small and big end rod bearings, valve guides, clutch plates and gearbox pinions could all be well beyond their wear limits, or even failing completely. The strides metallurgy and oils have taken since then is remarkable.
@@Gapines23 Same. I owned a Pantera many years ago. Always wanted one till I actually had one. Not a fun car to drive for a tall person. I find it crazy he actually tried to drive that home. Way too much rust and damage for that to be a 14,000 mile care. No way. He should have passed. I was told long ago that for every $1000 more you pay for a car you save $3000 in repair costs (or restoration costs).
IMHO yes - oil gets acidic as it absorbs moisture and gunk from the combustion process. I believe this pulls the plasticisers out of the plastic pieces, making them brittle. Going for super long OCIs means the oil spends more time in this "yuck" state.
@@compu85 I had the same theory but my problem with it was that if long oil change intervals was the only factor, we should see similar timing chain guide failures in all of the auto manufacturer's engines.
Oil change intervals do almost nothing to timing guide failure rates. Oil pH stays fairly stable as long as you change it in a reasonable time and gasoline dilution ends up the primary contaminant which can build up on repeated short trips. In the end it's just a design problem and not the owner's fault. That said if you changed your oil every 3 months you probably wouldn't suffer a guide failure. Not sure that's relevant though...
Your humor is what keeps me glued to your channel! Covering the fragmented chain guide was classic...I’d love to be the guy who picks up the parts you toss so cavalierly...but it;s a long commute from Phoenix to wherever you are! Keep it up!
I love your videos. I love the banter. I have and never will touch an engine. So, I get to do this through you. You provide a wonderful service to old guys like you. Blessings to you
It pisses me off that manufacturers use plastic for parts that are under constant stress, also constantly in contact with oil. The constant heat cycles and oil contamination cause these failures, especially if the service intervals aren't being met.
prettymuch all of the corporations nolonger want to innovate - it's now about subscription programs and early replacement - all while they guilt trip you about climate change ;-) (it's your fault still right!?).
@@hariranormal5584 Not the engineers, but the cost controlling department surely does ;) When the engineers are allowed to make some parts better, the engines would last even when complex 400k, but nowadays cheap is king and the manufacturers fight over fractions of cents with the companys that actually make the parts.
@@jensharbers6702 I wonder what goes behind their mind. If they don't care for it to even last long, why even care for it to last 5 days? The people clearly can just change engines and everything else every week, I mean, we don't care right? So it's weird I say this and I've seen beautifully, shining new Range rover's that were being towed. So much for luxury, lol....
@@hariranormal5584 Well, they need to think that way so the shareholders are happy. Cars that last as long as E39 and so on aren't viable if the company needs to make more and more profit. Sadly that's the way the world runs now -.-
I don’t understand the connection between 15k oil change intervals and broken timing chain guides. Yes, there’s varnish and dirt but the timing guide would have broken with 3k oil changes.
The long oil change causes the chain to wear at the links and "stretch". Eventually it gets long enough the tensioner can't extend enough and it slaps the guides and breaks them. The issue is worse with direct injection because of the increased soot from DI which abraids the tight clearances in the chain links. The chain and some of the guides are shared with the n52 which does not have these issues. Part of the 2015 fix was a tensioner that appears to extend more. I am betting changes to the metalurgy of the chain. They dropped oil change invervals to 10k. The BMW LL01 oil spec after 2018 has a test specific for the n20 timing chain as well.
Soot can clog the fine tensioner oil port meaning it doesn’t extend or doesn’t extend when oil pressure is low at startup meaning it slaps and breaks guides. I’m at 82k miles on my pre update 2013 n20 on original chain. I did change the tensioner to the new one at 45k miles and do change oil every 4k miles. The other weak point is thrust bearing wear causing crank end float which scores the bore. I never depress clutch and leave neutral until all light go out on startup and there is good oil pressure as this pushes the crank against the thrust bearing. I have disabled start stop and also depress clutch on start on my manual z4. This probably helps the chain also as good oil pressure builds up the tensioner extends before reving engine.
Im glad im blessed with the magical N52B25. Had only small problems with it. I mean the normal stuff like valvecovergasket and a coolinghose broke of. The most expensive thing i had to fix was an unhappy camgear.
Fascinating stuff. I owned a 2010 MINI Cooper S for about five years. Never had any real problems with it, but always changed the oil every 5,000 miles in spite of the factory spec. Even so, all the horror stories about failed timing chain guides, excessive carbon on the intake valves, etc., spooked me into trading it in on a 2015 Fiesta ST. So yeah, what you found here simply bears out what the MINI Forum was talking about back then. Disappointing…
'15 328i here with an N26. Bought the car @40k miles. Do all the maintenance myself, oil every 5-6k. It's at 83k now and is in excellent mechanical shape. Sent in an oil sample for analysis and came back with great results. I inspect the chain every now and then because I'm still paranoid despite all the precautions I take, but I love it. It's a great entry level sport sedan IF you take care of it
Every time I watch one of these , l say to myself , how much more fucked up can they build stuff ? Let's see how difficult we can make this to work on ! Seems like all these engines and trans were made to fail because they have to complicate everything to the point where you can't fix it in the car ! Not just BMW !
They will continue engineering them to only last a set number of miles as long as people keep buying them, unfortunately. I guess the best thing we can do as mechanically-inclined individuals is educating others as to the games being played with their wallets.
@@adotintheshark4848 Audi and Mercedes are worse I feel like, but it's definitely not a "teardown and rebuild in the driveway this weekend" type of project for me. 😆
If you unbolt the large bolt in the front of the crank the timing chain and guides come out as a unit with the lower crank gear. Same for the oil pump chain and gear
Hmm, aside from lots of oil varnish, all of the piston rings were still nice and not sticking. Likewise, almost everything else looked either fine or still sellable as a used part. What causes the timing guides to shed pieces apart from plastics doing what plastics do when exposed to heat cycling and plain age? As far as i can tell, this engine came out of a vehicle that was maintained per the official maintenance guide, and the owner took it in for a diagnosis the moment warnings showed up. The way that oil pickup was clogged, this engine was real close to having oil starvation under hard driving and trashing every moving part inside.
@jimmyaber5920 53 minutes ago (edited) If you buy $5000 per quart virgin synthetic oil with nano particles and magic pixie dust and bluetooth remote viscosity regulation you still need to change it 5k or less unless it runs on cng or lp gas. The gasoline combustion residue carried into oil is absorbed by the plastics and rubber gaskets and it hardens them. The guides wear much more from chain slide if long oil drain is done. In my near 50 years wrenching on stuff I have seen an engine from too fresh oil but I have made a fortune for myself and the parts makers from replaced stuff killed by old oil. Walmart Supertech at 5k is a FAR better plan than Amsoil/Lubrimoly/Roylap Purple for 10k. EXCEPTION: If you drive 400 miles per day you are safe with 10k
This past Spring I changed the Chains and cassettes on a 2013 328i... In my driveway! I am thankful that it was not all wheel drive! With the tools I had to buy it made the job a lot easier, But I am NOT impressed with this engine at all! Electric Water pump? Why? No Dipstick to check oil level! B.S. I also had to change the oil feed line to the Turbo because they updated it to include a Check Valve to stop Smoke when starting after sitting and prevent drain down " Dry Start". The Crank bolt Really put the locking tools to the test in which they passed! 100f lbs then 270 degrees which is 3/4 of a turn on a 18 mm bolt! Big fun but I would highly recommend you do it with the engine in the car or good luck doing it with the engine out. These parts were still intact when I did the job so no damage anywhere😋.
@@michaelskinner896 I don't remember exactly but it was well over 100k and it was more preventive than anything. It did have some chain rattle at idle and I do know about those noisy injectors. The cassette did fall apart when I took it out and the chain was stretched a little. There were a few oil leaks around the top end and I told him to change his oil more often. This was my first time ever working on one of these engines. I miss the old 4 and 6 cylinder cars because they seemed better built and more reliable. I did use updated parts from BMW too.
@@billchildress9756 Thanks for the reply and info. I have a 2014 428 with the N26 SULEV engine. I purchased it new and I used it as my DD when still working. I've since retired so I don't drive it that much now, but it does have 31,000 miles on it. So far, no issues and it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. I'm aware of some of the issues related to this engine, but I've been very religious about making sure all of the fluids are changed regularly. I would never let engine oil go for 10k miles let alone the 15k interval. The only thing I think about for its future is carbon build-up on the intake valves. I run the best gas I can get, and regularly use Liqui-Moly fuel cleaners even though it won't clean the back of the valves. Too bad all modern engines don't use port and direct injection.
When I bought my 328i 6 years ago, it had around 60k miles on it. It was running fine but I let the shop change the timing guides, chain and also the oil pump and chain. There is an improved chain and guide which is installed. I had it replaced as preventive maintenence. Now I'm 6 years and 50k miles further, without any issues. I'll let the oil change every 7,5 to 10k miles or every year at least. Glad I replaced it all before ran into trouble. Once updated and proper maintained I think it is a reliable engine. My previous car was a 330i N52 btw. Those cars are nice, run smoother but also have there problems. Clogged piston rings and ticking cam rockers/lifters. Dont know how to call them in english😅
The oil pump pickup looks exactly like the pickup from my big block 396 chevy that spun a bearing way back when. GM had nylon coated timing chain gears, to reduce NOISE, that would break off and clog the pickup. Good to see the automakers have not learned anything in the last 30 years.
Worked on quite a few of these. Problems I saw was fuel pump problems, charge pipes disintegrating, oil cooler leaks turbos and chain issues due to DI and long oil change intervals.
4:20 You can normally power up the DME with clip leads and use the CAN bus wires to pull the mileage and vin numbers off, I set up a rig for working on BMW DMEs, I've used the ICOM interface, launch x431 and the Delphi diagnostics system to pull data off them.
Watching a video like this makes me glad I got out of bmw and didn't buy a newer one. Plus going by a dealership on the way to work almost everyday and seeing so many going back on a flatbed didn't help either.
M276 Benz engine, 6,000 mile oil changes twice a year. 132k miles no issues. Changed secondary tensioners because of start up rattle along with oil check valves just for peace of mind. Fingers crossed.
You do realize the throwing empty brake clean cans & the music with holding the can at the camera before he sprays it was copied from Eric O at south main auto right?
Hi Eric, thanks for your videos - it great to see the real technical details….even though it is frustrating for customers ! Just a comment to the newer german engines: here in Germany engine workshops complain about the crappy oil pumps with too low oil pressure in nearly all newer german cars - regardless if it is BMW, Mercedes or VW. There are some companies that use their own reinforced oil pumps with higher oil pressure when the engines are repaired. In my opinion it’s a shame that something like this is necessary….
These recommended light oils in these like 5W 20. Unlike those 10W 50's and 60's in many other engines and that narrow range promotes oil life. Loss of viscosity in those wide viscosity ranges is rapid. 7500 might be OK in this case but really, why not at 5K. Less probably for that 10 W 50 stuff.
I own an N63TU engine and I change the oil when it tells me to, quite reliably. I do not stretch intervals. Now, I drive the car so little, that I put roughly 2k miles on it per year and the oil still gets changed every year. Due to that, I have not experienced a single issue that the N63T demonstrates. I have never had to add oil between oil changes in the 9 years I have owned it since new. I give the car the maintenance it needs and I think it will continue to be a good engine for me.
So glad I found your channel, your videos are entertaining and educational.. I would bet most people who watch your channel already take good care of their cars and would never do 10k or an absurd 15k mile oil change interval… 5K miles with quality full synthetic oil (proper viscosity) and using good gas makes a significant difference in engine longevity!
Built to last the warranty period or 39mo lease term. Only bonus is the timing chain isn’t a horrible job to replace just costly. The oldest N20 are 12 years old now and if the chain goes nobody bothers to repair it.
I've worked on these since 2019. Some cars do have a 15k km / 1 year interval and those just last considerably longer. The ones with 30k km / 2 year intervals usually die somehow around the time for the 3rd oil change.
I'm not sure I'm feeling ya as far as the oil changes go and their relationship to a plastic part breaking. I'm of the mindset that the part is underengineered and is prone to breaking. Changing the oil more often isn't going to fix that.
Man.. I sure let youtube keep running in the background and found myself actually listening to this BMW engine vid. Whelp, I am out. 4 mins in and not sure how I got here. LOL. Here's a comment and a like anyway for support for not being a political or news item ;) LOL. (needs a cat)
Why do I get a feeling of deja-vu? Wonderfully efficient, but overly complex and fragile pieces of engineering. It’s like being back on the Eastern Front in ‘44.
I just want to say, I am about to do a carbon cleanup on my N20 motor (328i wagon) and I couldn't find a single video showing where it is and how to get to it until I saw this video. I know it's generally in the same place on all these engines, but I wanted to see specifically. Thanks for this video
Anyone who looks at any of the N2X engines it's easy to get a look at the engine condition. Open the oil fill, shine a light down in there and see what it looks like. Also, take a mechanics pick and check the timing chain by pulling on it. If the chain is loose/sloppy, move on to the next one. That'll be a good start to not getting a nightmare. My N20/2014 has 180K miles. I installed new timing chain and components, zero issues.
I just finished doing a timing chain on my Honda K24 and said to myself "gee, it might have been cheaper if they used all plastic chain guides"...thankfully Honda is smarter than that.
I changed the chain and guides on my EP3 Type R (K20) at around 130k miles purely as a precaution as quite a few owners were experiencing stretched chains around this point. I needn't have bothered as the guides and chains had very little wear, but peace of mind I guess and not a particularly hard job. I change the oil and filter at 5k so that probably helped.
You’re giving Honda more credit than they deserve. The days of Honda being an engineer’s company are over. The K motors were the last of Honda’s engines that were built for long term reliability.
Honda D series look like overbuilt compare to New L15 turbo make more power than k24. Head gasket will fail no matter what you do about it. The old K20 with 5 speed can run forever.
@@prevost8686 even if you manage to get a K series now, it's gonna have a CVT and neutered economy cams (except type r). As far as I know, you can't get one in NA manual or auto form anymore(in the US). Maybe those that know more will correct me.
I bought my 2001 325ci brand new. It came with the "free maintenance" 3 year 36K mile package. I was young at the time and didnt think much of it. My car also came with the "famous" lifetime transmission oil claim. Smh I still own it. 127K miles and she runs great. I obviously dont drive it too much so i do yearly oil changes.
The guides were redesigned for 2015+. I have a 2016 328 x drive @ 100k. Oil changes @ 5k, bumped oil to 0W30 or 0W40. 0W20 is what manual calls for. I track my car, so I drive it like it was intended. I prefer turbo vs NA since I live at high altitude. All cars are complicated these days.
thanks for the vid sir - I just burns my butt that a company like BMW would make a string of decisions to put an owner in a situation like this. I work with a guy who has owned BMWs for 30 years and he's just fed up, never plans to buy another one, has a nice new Volvo now which he loves. And just FYI, I changed the oil in our two vehicles and dropped the used synthetic off at the recycler earlier today.
My 2013 328i has an N20 and a six speed manual. When I bought the car, it has 34k miles it. I am grateful my mechanic and FCP Euro told me to change my oil every 5K miles. Alas, even with that interval, my timing chain and guides had to be replaced at 159K miles. $2500 later, I have the updated chain and guides in my car, and I just passed 165K miles.
I've driven several times the F30 with the 4 banger at the Nordschleife. They are bone stock cars, but race prepared to run RCN (a showroom stock class). They are amazing with the 8HP gearbox.
Interestingly bmw engines got pretty good again with the B series and realistically the N series weren’t that terrible IF you ignored bmws service intervals and changed your oil every 5000 miles.
@@andydhillon1977 it can yes. Also using the correct oil is important. Using oil that meets factory specifications, in this case, BMW LL-01. Many cars get maintained in shity lube shops with normal oils that weren’t meant to be used in these cars. Look I’m not going to pretend the N20 is good engine, but there are plenty of high mileage examples that were properly maintained.
Any engine (especially with a turbocharger) you are better off doing oil changes every 5,000 miles, even some Ford dealers are now telling customers to ignore the owners manual or oil change clock in the dash and get the oil and filter changed every 5,000 miles on their ecoboosts because the turbo's coke up the oil and can harden in the oil passages and cause a turbo or engine failure.
That’s not because they want the engine to last longer, that’s because they want you in their shop more often so they can upsell you on filters and snake oil services. I used to work as a service tech at a dealer who would tell people to ignore the oil life indicator and come in every 5k. That is _exactly_ why they did it. Otherwise, it would make more sense for them to tell people to do the 15k oil changes because then their car would only last 60-80k before they would either be back for a customer pay engine replacement or a new vehicle.
@@ouch1011 I don't doubt that, but people still shouldn't go more than 5K on oil changes if they want to keep their engine off this channel. Just find a good local shop to do it if you don't know what is and isn't snake oil. Otherwise you'll end up on the Just Rolled In channel, "vehicle had no rear brake pads and the customer declined repairs because they thought they were being upsold".
@@ouch1011 WRONG ! It is not myth, it is fact that especially turbo charged engines coke up oil lines and passages inside the engine and turbo charger failures occur more frequently on those vehicles when you do not change your oil and filters more frequently than naturally asperated vehicle engines. Paying for oil changes is cheap compaired to an engine and or turbocharger and you can do your own oil change, you don't have to go to a dealership. Your excuses are pathetic !
@@Bowhunters6go8xz6x Most people with turbocharged engines don't let them cool down after they run them hard either. I used to fly Turbocharged piston powered airplanes. We gave it a 3 minute cooldown at 1000rpm after landing. I carried a similar habit to my Ecoboost mustang - nearing the end of a drive where i used boost I would either drive it gently for at least 2 minutes staying way out of boost or idled while parked for a couple minutes before shutting it off. Turbos are really hard on oil, and manufacturers selling in North America have been incentivized to increase service intervals to unreasonable amounts since consumer reviews made a significant deal out of "total cost of ownership" so cutting down number of oil and fluid changes was beneficial to the OEM. Add in most locations in North America I've ever visited lived in or visited put your car into the severe duty category for maintenance you end up rife with early failures if you follow the "normal" recommended mileage.
Nice score. That sludge at the bottom is likely the glass fibre and ball from the timing guide plastic, the little bits of damage you see around the bearings are likely where a little bit made it's way into the bearing and had a good time rotating around in the bearing. The DME will contain the VIN but that DME doesn't record mileage from memory only working hours, pretty much any ECU reading tool will at least identify it for you and perhaps you can estimate mileage out of that.
On that precise engine, there's a TSB to replace the whole valve cover as it get brittle and crack right over the exhaust manifold wiyh age. I did dozen of these and it sucks😐
Was very interested in this, as it's what I have in my BMW. First, it seems to be very maintenance dependent. Personally, I change my oil every 3-5k, with BMW full synthetic, and a BMW filter. The irony is that many BMW dealers offer loss leader oil changes for out of warranty cars. My dealer used to do it for 50$, and you still got the fancy snacks, and a new loaner. Supposedly, the next gen parts aren't suffering catastrophic failures like this. There was a lawsuit, and sadly, it wasn't generous. Your car needed a failed timing chain before they'd include you. Right now, I'm at 106,000at ten years old. Bought it as a CPO from the dealer who original delivered it as a lease car. Car had 30k at delivery. Only issue so far is a thrown belt. That, and other maintenance stuff- brakes, rear shocks, water pump and thermostat. Oh, it did have a short in the column harness that threw an air bag code. They wanted to replace everything in sight, until BMW got involved. Then, they found the short. Well, there was the 4,000$ alternator replacement. For a rebuilt made by Denso. At least I got it back in a day, with a complimentary 2025 in the meantime. Would have gone to to a private mechanic, but I got caught out of town.Otherwise, it's been an incredibly trouble free car. Not Mazda Miata trouble free, but late model BMW trouble free. So, I think a blanket condemnation isn't warranted. Mercedes and Audi have issues that are far worse. In operation, I find the N20 at least as smooth and powerful as the straight 6 128i that it replaced. For a tiny engine, it moves the big wagon pretty well. And, it's totally smooth and silent. It's the right size, and has good cargo capacity. It'd be perfect, were it not for the high cost of maintenance and repairs.
Have a 2016 BMW 228i with N26. From my research BMW upgraded the timing guides in 2015 but still I change oil every 5000mi. The engine pulls really hard for a 4 cyl and so far in 55kmi has had no mechanical issues. Only done spark plugs, filters, oil changes, tires, battery, rear wheel sensors and rear brakes. Not a Toyota but not that bad really. Hope that this is not an issue with regular oil changes…
I also have a 2016 228i, n20. 30k miles. It's basically new and even with such low mileage it's had its plugs changed twice already along with all filters and yearly oil services. It doesnt get driven much but when it does it performs really well. Im sure that if I just carry on being overzealous with my service schedule it should last a long time.
About terribly damaged oil pan,that's one of the most common problems in Brazil,because down here there are still a lot of people who like lowering their cars height and even more badly maintained roads...EVERYWHERE... so it's quite easy to find an engine with an smashed oil pan around here!😅
i had a 2015 with the N26 engine. not one single issue at all with mine. tuned it a bit, was smooth and super quiet. my ex wide had a 2012 of the same engine and she beat the snot out of it and it didnt have any issues either....poor maintanence etc.
Just a “gentle” tap to remove the front pulley using a sledgehammer!! Brilliant!! Gift that keeps on giving, but wait!! There’s MORE!! I drive a Mercedes Benz A180. It has a M270 engine. Turbocharged 1.6. According to the manufacturer, oil change intervals are every 10,000km, or 6250 miles. It has about 55,000 miles on it from new. I am the second owner of the car. It has great service history. Next service is in 5 1/2 months. I call BMW cars Bodgy Motor Works for good reason. In my working life, I fixed them as part of my job.
The counterpart of this "engine" is the Toyota 2.0 turbo found in the IS 200t, NX 200, etc... Which was made by real engineers with brains, and durability in mind, it uses direct and port injection.
When these came out in 2012, I drove a new 328i and couldn't believe how good it was. Fast, powerful and very good on fuel. I found it refined as well. Alas, BMW had learned nothing since 2001. Still those garbage plastic chain guides, still 15,000 mile oil changes. A pity as it could have been a brilliant engine.
🤣🤣🤣 31:40 "We're gonna put this right there and get all the pistons out." (obvious cut to the pistons in the opposite position) Holy crap, you actually got VALUE out of a BMW N20/N26 engine?!?!
Undoing the clamp and then cutting the hose, it’s the little things in life
So true.
His way of making us cringe it works every time too……
So, it's not just me...
Makes sure the buyer gets a clamp with the part, and then reuses the old hose.
the crapping cam cams is also a classic
I have a 2014 bmw 328 with N20. When dealer told me oil changes were every 15k miles i was like are you drunk? I did mine every 5k miles and still do. Current millage 60k. No issues.
as a former bmw tech, you wont have any. only ever saw issues on high service interval cars
@@hunterlacy2320 Same, 12k on N63s is also madness
Every issue I saw as a BMW tech was either long service intervals, components not having any at all or someone who owned the car who should be driving a civic.
@@maxtokmin9683
I enjoy Eric’s videos, but he’s either got a grudge for BMW, or doesn’t want to acknowledge that BMW engines, when properly maintained are excellent motors.
I’ve seen so much shoddy and half ass engineering out of Chevy & Dodge, that they fall into their own category of unreliable.
When they went to the 12-15k intervals, all of a sudden Transmissions had a life time fill. I asked what they did to the transmission fluid that it should not be changed at 30k inspection 2 services. FSE replied nothing… what did you do to the transmission? Nothing, was his reply. How long do you expect the Transmission to last? “Until its not our problem”
Figured out BMW did all if this because consumer reports tore them up on cost to maintain the car which was at the time a new metric they used to evaluate the cars.
Within 2 years of consumer reports beating up bmw, you got 13-15 k oil changes!
I own one of the predecessors. An M52 that hit 425,000 miles yesterday.
M52’s are so good. I have one with 238k myself
M-Series engines were really tanks!
My old E46 had an M54B30 with 250000+ miles on it. There was even a time when I got distracted during an oil change & drained the pan then lowered the car & started it up. It ran for maybe 40 seconds til i noticed the oil light flashing & realized I forgot the part of the oil change where you actually add the oil.
That engine went on to run another 25k miles with absolutely no problems. The only reason I got rid of the car was because of the burned out trans.
I also had an E39 M52B28TU with 460000+ miles. Ironically, that car too was retired due to the transmission.
The good ole days of BMW. Mechanical water pumps,
metal impellers, aluminum valve covers,
PFI, & of course…Dipsticks !!
That engine lasted too long, which is why this design was created to replace it. Selling something that fails shortly after warranty, and is not repairable, increases the likelihood of another sale. One less used car on the market is one more new car that will sell.
Few people who buy new cars keep them to the end of the warranty, so they don't care, but the 2nd owners do. I'm interested in how much the used price of BMW's has been affected by selling (soon-to-be) trash...
M60 4.0 308000km
M52 2.8 347000km
M52TU 2.8 288000km
All run great.
Responsible older owners of "boring" 5 series are the best to buy BMWs from.
How many gallons of oil do you put in it every month. As long as you pay attention to the oil level, BMWs and Mercedes pretty well, give them themselves an oil change every week or so. They just leave it all over the road, driveways, parking lots, etc
In Malaysia these engines are recommended to be oil changed at 6200miles by the dealers
In those country the automaker own the dealers. If the car fail, the automakers have to pay the repair under warranty. That's why Japanese CVT fluid change under 30k miles at dealers.
10k kms. Standard
My wife’s mini cooper did the same thing. Ate up all the guides and plastic everywhere in the engine. What a piece of shit of a car.
German heartache and pain.
@@James-vt2cb I’ve had good luck with Mercedes. Never had any engine problems out of any I’ve owned. I have two currently. They’ve been fairly flawless.
BMW engine, and have you ever seen a more complicated 4-banger? I haven't.
@@adotintheshark4848 That's what I was thinking, apart from motorcycle engines with include the whole transmission and stuff, what an insanely complex little engine
Man that just reminded me of the Adam Sandler song of the same name. Funny shit.
Bought my n20 with 26k miles, tuned it since week one, change i oil every 4k mi., and beat the snot out of it every time I drive it. Still runs strong with no issues 4 years later.
As an owner of a M52 engined BMW, I find this video very relaxing...
The oil pan was leaking on mine, and when I eventually let my mechanic replace it, he found the little bits of chain guides .. so that cost me quite a bit extra but we caught it in time. My F30 is still going strong :)
I haven't seen any recent owner's manual, but back in the day even when the book called for 6,000+ mile oil changes, if you read the fine print "severe use" was still recommended as 3,000 miles/3 months. "Severe use" is what you're doing driving in stop-and-go traffic 90% of the time in or near any medium-large American city. Modern cars and synthetic oils are probably fine every 5k but I wouldn't go any longer than that!!
You can look at it like this as well. You spend the 60 bucks or whatever it is to get your oil changed and get at least 300,000 mi out of your vehicle like I have with mine. Or you can get your oil changed every 10,000 MI as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer and then buy a new car every 2 years. I'm not a mathematician, but I feel like one of those requires far less money
@@michaelfrench3396 Manufacturer knows the longer intervals get 99% of vehicles out of warranty before failure. Then you scrap it, and buy a new one.
Some motors I still would not go much past 3k - as some use the oil pressure through very small holes to push the timing system... So any contamination = buildup
The 'severe use' category is unfortunately a gimmick. EU regulations mandate very long oil service intervals, and to comply with this, manufacturers include the 'severe use' note, which essentially applies to almost any kind of usage.
@@michakowalski3986because it's obviously better for the environment to scrap your five year old car than use a few extra litres of oil.
I've seen a couple of these get close to 200k miles with timely oil changes...
The wastegate likes to get loose every 40k-60k miles...and there is only so much threaded rod to take up the slack LOL!
That’s when you take your own blue and bend it for “adjustment” 🤣
Wifes 2015 328i with the n20 just passed 130k miles. I change the oil every 5k miles.. not the 9k that pops up on the dash. Did do the oil cooler gaskets and belt at 100k but still running great. :::knock on wood:::
the injector removal reference was hilarious
I find it easier to start getting it loose with my left, then a power-pull with my right hand to finish. Pulling injector, that is ;-)
Sometimes I let my wife pull the injectors 👊 Teamwork 💪
I need a GF after watching that
If your engine has a turbo charger, you’re a fool if you wait longer than 5k miles to do oil changes. I’ve owned MANY turbo charged cars since long before they were popular. Going back to a 1983 Buick Skyhawk & then 1986 Mustang SVO. The number one killer of a turbo charger is dirty oil.
My Skoda 1.2 turbo, had oil changes at the recommended 15000 km, and was still quiet and smooth after 140 000 km, when it was written off in a crash. The problem is people will save a few pounds, using cheap oil, you should only ever use the manufacturers specification oil.
nice place for a engine computer... they took a page from GM/Ford/Chrysler
So much plastic in so many hot areas.
Good ol' planned obsolescence!.
Some plastics are high heat resistant up to like 300 to 400 degrees, which is also higher than where the oil is cooked. If the plastic melted, pretty much guarantee the engine is toast.
@@ericnewton5720 Well of course, the 'high heat' plastics were the only way it was made possible in the first place. Sort of like Ford's wet timing belts?.. LOL! But I digress.
The heat, combined with the oil-based plastic components, of any kind, over time, is a factor. Catastrophic 300 to 400 degree failures are due to these deliberately poor designs.
@bliglum Yeah, the plastics thing is hit or miss.
In one sense these "engineering marvels" from over there are also littered with them, and technological progression in that regaird can't exactly be scoffed at.
On the other hand, plastic! Theres a reason most of us hate the stuff, amd thats because there are too many examples surrounding us of the pure junk that disintegrate the moment you look at it wrong 🤣
I guess the other side would be that using metals would "hurt muh weight savings" tho. Amd shoot the price up even harder honestly.
Ford and GM used to use basically plastic cam gears back in the 1960s and 1970s. Stop trying to pretend that only modern engines or import engines are junk.
Yet these car companies have sustainability all over their mission statements. They are feckin liars
BMW and plastics. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
I wish all manufacturers would realize that no wear surface in an engine should have plastic, especially on interference engines. In the case of chains, far better to have sprockets guiding it then sliding on plastic or metal.
@@hfxpro Better to have sprockets guiding it? Tell that to BMW M42 owners. The sprockets were known to fail and destroy the engine. The later model timing case has a guide and is considered more reliable.
@@yucannthahvitt I found just the opposite in American and Japanese motors including diesels. I will give guides one advantage in that they usually will generate some chain slap noise before you jump timing, where as if the bearing goes, its usually catastrophic. Add in ridiculous oil change intervals, and I could see why a guide would be better. The problem is, I had too many guides fail way early on both Japanese and American cars which had decent service records. Changing a timing chain + guides + tensioner every 50K miles along with cleaning every part I could get too without pulling the motor got old quick. I almost wonder if the dealers and the parts stores were getting their parts from the same crappy supplier, since they did often look identical. Of course, getting older, I pretty much now ignore any manufacturer service interval over 7-8K for oil (prefer 5K), 40K (prefer 30-35K) for diffs and transmissions, and 60-100K on coolant. Have had much better success.
"The next first thing..." is my favorite Eric-ism
Up until the early to mid 1980s, it was not unusual for hard ridden motorcycle engines to be worn out in 15.000 miles or less. Pistons, piston rings, cylinders, small and big end rod bearings, valve guides, clutch plates and gearbox pinions could all be well beyond their wear limits, or even failing completely. The strides metallurgy and oils have taken since then is remarkable.
My Saturday night is complete!
Saturday afternoon was spent watching a fella try to bring a Pantera home and now Eric find out why he wasn’t gonna make it
@@Gapines23 Same. I owned a Pantera many years ago. Always wanted one till I actually had one. Not a fun car to drive for a tall person. I find it crazy he actually tried to drive that home. Way too much rust and damage for that to be a 14,000 mile care. No way. He should have passed. I was told long ago that for every $1000 more you pay for a car you save $3000 in repair costs (or restoration costs).
My Sunday evening (I'm in New Zealand) dinner-time watching :)
Does the long oil change interval have anything to do with the timing guide failure? That seems more like a design/material issue.
IMHO yes - oil gets acidic as it absorbs moisture and gunk from the combustion process. I believe this pulls the plasticisers out of the plastic pieces, making them brittle. Going for super long OCIs means the oil spends more time in this "yuck" state.
@@compu85 I had the same theory but my problem with it was that if long oil change intervals was the only factor, we should see similar timing chain guide failures in all of the auto manufacturer's engines.
@@compu85 it’s my understanding that true synthetic oils, such as Mobile1, Amsoil, Schaefers, etc. don’t get acidic with time. Is that not true?
Oil change intervals do almost nothing to timing guide failure rates. Oil pH stays fairly stable as long as you change it in a reasonable time and gasoline dilution ends up the primary contaminant which can build up on repeated short trips. In the end it's just a design problem and not the owner's fault. That said if you changed your oil every 3 months you probably wouldn't suffer a guide failure. Not sure that's relevant though...
Your humor is what keeps me glued to your channel! Covering the fragmented chain guide was classic...I’d love to be the guy who picks up the parts you toss so cavalierly...but it;s a long commute from Phoenix to wherever you are! Keep it up!
“There’s no shaft play.” The story of my life.
I love your videos. I love the banter. I have and never will touch an engine. So, I get to do this through you. You provide a wonderful service to old guys like you. Blessings to you
It pisses me off that manufacturers use plastic for parts that are under constant stress, also constantly in contact with oil. The constant heat cycles and oil contamination cause these failures, especially if the service intervals aren't being met.
Do BMW engineers get paid A Bonus for how many parts they can put into a 4 cylinder engine?
prettymuch all of the corporations nolonger want to innovate - it's now about subscription programs and early replacement - all while they guilt trip you about climate change ;-) (it's your fault still right!?).
They for sure do to make it as unreliable as possible, at least JLR does.
@@hariranormal5584 Not the engineers, but the cost controlling department surely does ;) When the engineers are allowed to make some parts better, the engines would last even when complex 400k, but nowadays cheap is king and the manufacturers fight over fractions of cents with the companys that actually make the parts.
@@jensharbers6702
I wonder what goes behind their mind. If they don't care for it to even last long, why even care for it to last 5 days? The people clearly can just change engines and everything else every week, I mean, we don't care right? So it's weird
I say this and I've seen beautifully, shining new Range rover's that were being towed. So much for luxury, lol....
@@hariranormal5584 Well, they need to think that way so the shareholders are happy. Cars that last as long as E39 and so on aren't viable if the company needs to make more and more profit. Sadly that's the way the world runs now -.-
Usually my Sunday morning breakfast watch. Love the videos 👍👍
Insane to change oil at 15k miles. All my BMW's get changed between 5k - 7.5k miles.My E39 M5 with the S62 is over 190k miles and still going strong.
I don’t understand the connection between 15k oil change intervals and broken timing chain guides. Yes, there’s varnish and dirt but the timing guide would have broken with 3k oil changes.
EXACTLY, though the tensioner might get stuck.
The long oil change causes the chain to wear at the links and "stretch". Eventually it gets long enough the tensioner can't extend enough and it slaps the guides and breaks them. The issue is worse with direct injection because of the increased soot from DI which abraids the tight clearances in the chain links. The chain and some of the guides are shared with the n52 which does not have these issues. Part of the 2015 fix was a tensioner that appears to extend more. I am betting changes to the metalurgy of the chain. They dropped oil change invervals to 10k. The BMW LL01 oil spec after 2018 has a test specific for the n20 timing chain as well.
Soot can clog the fine tensioner oil port meaning it doesn’t extend or doesn’t extend when oil pressure is low at startup meaning it slaps and breaks guides. I’m at 82k miles on my pre update 2013 n20 on original chain. I did change the tensioner to the new one at 45k miles and do change oil every 4k miles.
The other weak point is thrust bearing wear causing crank end float which scores the bore. I never depress clutch and leave neutral until all light go out on startup and there is good oil pressure as this pushes the crank against the thrust bearing. I have disabled start stop and also depress clutch on start on my manual z4. This probably helps the chain also as good oil pressure builds up the tensioner extends before reving engine.
Im glad im blessed with the magical N52B25. Had only small problems with it. I mean the normal stuff like valvecovergasket and a coolinghose broke of. The most expensive thing i had to fix was an unhappy camgear.
Fascinating stuff. I owned a 2010 MINI Cooper S for about five years. Never had any real problems with it, but always changed the oil every 5,000 miles in spite of the factory spec. Even so, all the horror stories about failed timing chain guides, excessive carbon on the intake valves, etc., spooked me into trading it in on a 2015 Fiesta ST. So yeah, what you found here simply bears out what the MINI Forum was talking about back then. Disappointing…
Great call. I'm sure trouble was only right around the corner.
Well, the Fiesta is a turd too. Poor choice.
So I've heard, but So far, so good.
*mate please make a "most reliable engines from each last decades" video from all major brands please, i want to know your expertise point of view*
Yes this is a great idea
'15 328i here with an N26. Bought the car @40k miles. Do all the maintenance myself, oil every 5-6k. It's at 83k now and is in excellent mechanical shape. Sent in an oil sample for analysis and came back with great results. I inspect the chain every now and then because I'm still paranoid despite all the precautions I take, but I love it. It's a great entry level sport sedan IF you take care of it
I had an early version of your blue ended grabber tool. We called it the plum plucker. Saved the day on many occasions.
One owner, full BMW dealership service history. Well looked after 👌🏼
That's the definition of garbage. Serviced properly to manufacture spec, fails anyway
That timing chain guide can be fixed with some careful Araldite work and will be going for at least another 12 miles
Boy, my 328i with this motor sure ran good, glad I got rid of it before it became a problem!!!
Some years back I almost bought one of these when I toyed with picking up an X1. It was one of those where i was glad i walked away.
Even with the timing chain issues which occurred up to 2015, these actually produced closer to 270-275hp, not the rated 240hp. Typical BMC fashion.
Every time I watch one of these , l say to myself , how much more fucked up can they build stuff ? Let's see how difficult we can make this to work on ! Seems like all these engines and trans were made to fail because they have to complicate everything to the point where you can't fix it in the car ! Not just BMW !
They will continue engineering them to only last a set number of miles as long as people keep buying them, unfortunately. I guess the best thing we can do as mechanically-inclined individuals is educating others as to the games being played with their wallets.
I was exhausted just watching him getting the wiring harnesses off.
that is easily the most complicated 4-banger I have ever seen.
@@adotintheshark4848 Audi and Mercedes are worse I feel like, but it's definitely not a "teardown and rebuild in the driveway this weekend" type of project for me. 😆
@@ChessIsJustAGamethere's a joke about a male octopus and bagpipes that comes to mind.😂
The guides looked baked/brittle, and whose bright idea was it to eliminate a removeable timing cover? What a pain. 3k oci 4 me.
If you unbolt the large bolt in the front of the crank the timing chain and guides come out as a unit with the lower crank gear. Same for the oil pump chain and gear
@@billjackson4786Unless the guides are broken in many pieces 😢
@@Mike-ht1ou yea, correct. But it makes it easier to take the chains out and the big pieces
Hmm, aside from lots of oil varnish, all of the piston rings were still nice and not sticking. Likewise, almost everything else looked either fine or still sellable as a used part.
What causes the timing guides to shed pieces apart from plastics doing what plastics do when exposed to heat cycling and plain age?
As far as i can tell, this engine came out of a vehicle that was maintained per the official maintenance guide, and the owner took it in for a diagnosis the moment warnings showed up. The way that oil pickup was clogged, this engine was real close to having oil starvation under hard driving and trashing every moving part inside.
@jimmyaber5920
53 minutes ago (edited)
If you buy $5000 per quart virgin synthetic oil with nano particles and magic pixie dust and bluetooth remote viscosity regulation you still need to change it 5k or less unless it runs on cng or lp gas.
The gasoline combustion residue carried into oil is absorbed by the plastics and rubber gaskets and it hardens them.
The guides wear much more from chain slide if long oil drain is done.
In my near 50 years wrenching on stuff I have seen an engine from too fresh oil but I have made a fortune for myself and the parts makers from replaced stuff killed by old oil.
Walmart Supertech at 5k is a FAR better plan than Amsoil/Lubrimoly/Roylap Purple for 10k.
EXCEPTION: If you drive 400 miles per day you are safe with 10k
Bad oil. Cheap oil contains solvents that attack the plastic, turning it brittle WAY quicker than it should.
This past Spring I changed the Chains and cassettes on a 2013 328i... In my driveway! I am thankful that it was not all wheel drive! With the tools I had to buy it made the job a lot easier, But I am NOT impressed with this engine at all! Electric Water pump? Why? No Dipstick to check oil level! B.S. I also had to change the oil feed line to the Turbo because they updated it to include a Check Valve to stop Smoke when starting after sitting and prevent drain down " Dry Start". The Crank bolt Really put the locking tools to the test in which they passed! 100f lbs then 270 degrees which is 3/4 of a turn on a 18 mm bolt! Big fun but I would highly recommend you do it with the engine in the car or good luck doing it with the engine out. These parts were still intact when I did the job so no damage anywhere😋.
Interesting. How many miles are on the engine and why did you change those parts?
@@michaelskinner896 I don't remember exactly but it was well over 100k and it was more preventive than anything. It did have some chain rattle at idle and I do know about those noisy injectors. The cassette did fall apart when I took it out and the chain was stretched a little. There were a few oil leaks around the top end and I told him to change his oil more often. This was my first time ever working on one of these engines. I miss the old 4 and 6 cylinder cars because they seemed better built and more reliable. I did use updated parts from BMW too.
@@billchildress9756 Thanks for the reply and info. I have a 2014 428 with the N26 SULEV engine. I purchased it new and I used it as my DD when still working. I've since retired so I don't drive it that much now, but it does have 31,000 miles on it. So far, no issues and it's been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned. I'm aware of some of the issues related to this engine, but I've been very religious about making sure all of the fluids are changed regularly. I would never let engine oil go for 10k miles let alone the 15k interval. The only thing I think about for its future is carbon build-up on the intake valves. I run the best gas I can get, and regularly use Liqui-Moly fuel cleaners even though it won't clean the back of the valves. Too bad all modern engines don't use port and direct injection.
Grab the popcorn, it’s time!
When I bought my 328i 6 years ago, it had around 60k miles on it. It was running fine but I let the shop change the timing guides, chain and also the oil pump and chain. There is an improved chain and guide which is installed. I had it replaced as preventive maintenence. Now I'm 6 years and 50k miles further, without any issues. I'll let the oil change every 7,5 to 10k miles or every year at least. Glad I replaced it all before ran into trouble. Once updated and proper maintained I think it is a reliable engine.
My previous car was a 330i N52 btw. Those cars are nice, run smoother but also have there problems. Clogged piston rings and ticking cam rockers/lifters. Dont know how to call them in english😅
The oil pump pickup looks exactly like the pickup from my big block 396 chevy that spun a bearing way back when. GM had nylon coated timing chain gears, to reduce NOISE, that would break off and clog the pickup. Good to see the automakers have not learned anything in the last 30 years.
Worked on quite a few of these. Problems I saw was fuel pump problems, charge pipes disintegrating, oil cooler leaks turbos and chain issues due to DI and long oil change intervals.
4:20 You can normally power up the DME with clip leads and use the CAN bus wires to pull the mileage and vin numbers off, I set up a rig for working on BMW DMEs, I've used the ICOM interface, launch x431 and the Delphi diagnostics system to pull data off them.
Agreed. I could do that with $20 tool and a computer.
Watching a video like this makes me glad I got out of bmw and didn't buy a newer one. Plus going by a dealership on the way to work almost everyday and seeing so many going back on a flatbed didn't help either.
M276 Benz engine, 6,000 mile oil changes twice a year. 132k miles no issues. Changed secondary tensioners because of start up rattle along with oil check valves just for peace of mind. Fingers crossed.
Throwing empty brake kleen cans?I smell some rainman ray there-lol
another
You do realize the throwing empty brake clean cans & the music with holding the can at the camera before he sprays it was copied from Eric O at south main auto right?
I picked up a couple other Rainman Ray tidbits too. The way he said “got it” when pulling bits of timing cassette for example.
Hi Eric, thanks for your videos - it great to see the real technical details….even though it is frustrating for customers !
Just a comment to the newer german engines: here in Germany engine workshops complain about the crappy oil pumps with too low oil pressure in nearly all newer german cars - regardless if it is BMW, Mercedes or VW. There are some companies that use their own reinforced oil pumps with higher oil pressure when the engines are repaired.
In my opinion it’s a shame that something like this is necessary….
Much like Melling pump in Chebbys???
These recommended light oils in these like 5W 20. Unlike those 10W 50's and 60's in many other engines and that narrow range promotes oil life. Loss of viscosity in those wide viscosity ranges is rapid. 7500 might be OK in this case but really, why not at 5K. Less probably for that 10 W 50 stuff.
These videos are my feel good medicine for early Sunday mornings. Thank you, Eric.
I own an N63TU engine and I change the oil when it tells me to, quite reliably. I do not stretch intervals. Now, I drive the car so little, that I put roughly 2k miles on it per year and the oil still gets changed every year. Due to that, I have not experienced a single issue that the N63T demonstrates. I have never had to add oil between oil changes in the 9 years I have owned it since new. I give the car the maintenance it needs and I think it will continue to be a good engine for me.
That turbo was like a Diddy party at 12:30- lots of friction, but no shaft play yet 😅
That's probably because they used lots of baby oil from Costco. 😂😅😂😅😂
BRUH
Pee Dribbly
😂😂😂
So glad I found your channel, your videos are entertaining and educational.. I would bet most people who watch your channel already take good care of their cars and would never do 10k or an absurd 15k mile oil change interval… 5K miles with quality full synthetic oil (proper viscosity) and using good gas makes a significant difference in engine longevity!
Built to last the warranty period or 39mo lease term. Only bonus is the timing chain isn’t a horrible job to replace just costly. The oldest N20 are 12 years old now and if the chain goes nobody bothers to repair it.
I've worked on these since 2019. Some cars do have a 15k km / 1 year interval and those just last considerably longer. The ones with 30k km / 2 year intervals usually die somehow around the time for the 3rd oil change.
After watching Eric's teardowns I believe that the most proper tool for disconnecting rubber hoses is the hacksaw
I'm not sure I'm feeling ya as far as the oil changes go and their relationship to a plastic part breaking. I'm of the mindset that the part is underengineered and is prone to breaking. Changing the oil more often isn't going to fix that.
Man.. I sure let youtube keep running in the background and found myself actually listening to this BMW engine vid. Whelp, I am out. 4 mins in and not sure how I got here. LOL. Here's a comment and a like anyway for support for not being a political or news item ;) LOL. (needs a cat)
Outstanding video.
I like the yellow car and I'm not sure what it is.
But I'm glad you saved it and still drives it.
90s Lotus Esprit
Why do I get a feeling of deja-vu? Wonderfully efficient, but overly complex and fragile pieces of engineering. It’s like being back on the Eastern Front in ‘44.
Wow the ad that played ahead of this video was ... You guessed it an M series BMW car advertisement lol😅
Can you tear down a newer B57 3.0 Diesel?? I know they are new and all but that would be great. Very similar to a B58.
I'm sure the 15k mile OCI works perfectly... if you're driving 75 mph on the Autobahn in the spring.
Thanks for the Billy Mays reference! Wait wait did you just say "gravy cake"?
I just want to say, I am about to do a carbon cleanup on my N20 motor (328i wagon) and I couldn't find a single video showing where it is and how to get to it until I saw this video. I know it's generally in the same place on all these engines, but I wanted to see specifically. Thanks for this video
The one thing I never imagined my videos useful for is this, and now I’m thrilled to help people maintain their cars.
Anyone who looks at any of the N2X engines it's easy to get a look at the engine condition. Open the oil fill, shine a light down in there and see what it looks like. Also, take a mechanics pick and check the timing chain by pulling on it. If the chain is loose/sloppy, move on to the next one. That'll be a good start to not getting a nightmare. My N20/2014 has 180K miles. I installed new timing chain and components, zero issues.
I just finished doing a timing chain on my Honda K24 and said to myself "gee, it might have been cheaper if they used all plastic chain guides"...thankfully Honda is smarter than that.
I changed the chain and guides on my EP3 Type R (K20) at around 130k miles purely as a precaution as quite a few owners were experiencing stretched chains around this point. I needn't have bothered as the guides and chains had very little wear, but peace of mind I guess and not a particularly hard job. I change the oil and filter at 5k so that probably helped.
You’re giving Honda more credit than they deserve. The days of Honda being an engineer’s company are over. The K motors were the last of Honda’s engines that were built for long term reliability.
Honda D series look like overbuilt compare to New L15 turbo make more power than k24. Head gasket will fail no matter what you do about it. The old K20 with 5 speed can run forever.
@@prevost8686 even if you manage to get a K series now, it's gonna have a CVT and neutered economy cams (except type r). As far as I know, you can't get one in NA manual or auto form anymore(in the US). Maybe those that know more will correct me.
What do you think is in every new Honda?
I bought my 2001 325ci brand new. It came with the "free maintenance" 3 year 36K mile package. I was young at the time and didnt think much of it.
My car also came with the "famous" lifetime transmission oil claim. Smh
I still own it. 127K miles and she runs great. I obviously dont drive it too much so i do yearly oil changes.
The guides were redesigned for 2015+. I have a 2016 328 x drive @ 100k. Oil changes @ 5k, bumped oil to 0W30 or 0W40. 0W20 is what manual calls for. I track my car, so I drive it like it was intended. I prefer turbo vs NA since I live at high altitude. All cars are complicated these days.
thanks for the vid sir - I just burns my butt that a company like BMW would make a string of decisions to put an owner in a situation like this. I work with a guy who has owned BMWs for 30 years and he's just fed up, never plans to buy another one, has a nice new Volvo now which he loves. And just FYI, I changed the oil in our two vehicles and dropped the used synthetic off at the recycler earlier today.
Pretty rebuildable engine. Good find Eric.
My 2013 328i has an N20 and a six speed manual. When I bought the car, it has 34k miles it. I am grateful my mechanic and FCP Euro told me to change my oil every 5K miles. Alas, even with that interval, my timing chain and guides had to be replaced at 159K miles. $2500 later, I have the updated chain and guides in my car, and I just passed 165K miles.
Eric, by the look of those spark plugs i guess the previous owner was using coal for fuel 😁😁
Please, Eric, please don't throw out the water pump! PLEASE!
I've driven several times the F30 with the 4 banger at the Nordschleife. They are bone stock cars, but race prepared to run RCN (a showroom stock class). They are amazing with the 8HP gearbox.
Not like the BMWs of yesteryear
@@ragnarironspear1791 I miss my E30
Interestingly bmw engines got pretty good again with the B series and realistically the N series weren’t that terrible IF you ignored bmws service intervals and changed your oil every 5000 miles.
@@douglasm3310I'm a little confused with this claim. Would that prevent the timing chain guides to not fail prematurely?
@@andydhillon1977 Short answer, dirty oil contains crap that eats up plastic and rubber
Long answer is much mort complicated.....
@@andydhillon1977 it can yes. Also using the correct oil is important. Using oil that meets factory specifications, in this case, BMW LL-01. Many cars get maintained in shity lube shops with normal oils that weren’t meant to be used in these cars. Look I’m not going to pretend the N20 is good engine, but there are plenty of high mileage examples that were properly maintained.
Any engine (especially with a turbocharger) you are better off doing oil changes every 5,000 miles, even some Ford dealers are now telling customers to ignore the owners manual or oil change clock in the dash and get the oil and filter changed every 5,000 miles on their ecoboosts because the turbo's coke up the oil and can harden in the oil passages and cause a turbo or engine failure.
That’s not because they want the engine to last longer, that’s because they want you in their shop more often so they can upsell you on filters and snake oil services. I used to work as a service tech at a dealer who would tell people to ignore the oil life indicator and come in every 5k. That is _exactly_ why they did it. Otherwise, it would make more sense for them to tell people to do the 15k oil changes because then their car would only last 60-80k before they would either be back for a customer pay engine replacement or a new vehicle.
@@ouch1011 I don't doubt that, but people still shouldn't go more than 5K on oil changes if they want to keep their engine off this channel. Just find a good local shop to do it if you don't know what is and isn't snake oil. Otherwise you'll end up on the Just Rolled In channel, "vehicle had no rear brake pads and the customer declined repairs because they thought they were being upsold".
@@ouch1011 WRONG ! It is not myth, it is fact that especially turbo charged engines coke up oil lines and passages inside the engine and turbo charger failures occur more frequently on those vehicles when you do not change your oil and filters more frequently than naturally asperated vehicle engines. Paying for oil changes is cheap compaired to an engine and or turbocharger and you can do your own oil change, you don't have to go to a dealership. Your excuses are pathetic !
@@Bowhunters6go8xz6x Most people with turbocharged engines don't let them cool down after they run them hard either. I used to fly Turbocharged piston powered airplanes. We gave it a 3 minute cooldown at 1000rpm after landing. I carried a similar habit to my Ecoboost mustang - nearing the end of a drive where i used boost I would either drive it gently for at least 2 minutes staying way out of boost or idled while parked for a couple minutes before shutting it off.
Turbos are really hard on oil, and manufacturers selling in North America have been incentivized to increase service intervals to unreasonable amounts since consumer reviews made a significant deal out of "total cost of ownership" so cutting down number of oil and fluid changes was beneficial to the OEM. Add in most locations in North America I've ever visited lived in or visited put your car into the severe duty category for maintenance you end up rife with early failures if you follow the "normal" recommended mileage.
@@allancroskery1811 Very true !
Nice score. That sludge at the bottom is likely the glass fibre and ball from the timing guide plastic, the little bits of damage you see around the bearings are likely where a little bit made it's way into the bearing and had a good time rotating around in the bearing. The DME will contain the VIN but that DME doesn't record mileage from memory only working hours, pretty much any ECU reading tool will at least identify it for you and perhaps you can estimate mileage out of that.
He could take the VIN and run it through Carfax.
What an incredible amount of hardware to remove to get to the valve cover. I’m sure glad BMW valve cover gaskets never need replacing
On that precise engine, there's a TSB to replace the whole valve cover as it get brittle and crack right over the exhaust manifold wiyh age. I did dozen of these and it sucks😐
Was very interested in this, as it's what I have in my BMW. First, it seems to be very maintenance dependent. Personally, I change my oil every 3-5k, with BMW full synthetic, and a BMW filter. The irony is that many BMW dealers offer loss leader oil changes for out of warranty cars. My dealer used to do it for 50$, and you still got the fancy snacks, and a new loaner. Supposedly, the next gen parts aren't suffering catastrophic failures like this. There was a lawsuit, and sadly, it wasn't generous. Your car needed a failed timing chain before they'd include you. Right now, I'm at 106,000at ten years old. Bought it as a CPO from the dealer who original delivered it as a lease car. Car had 30k at delivery. Only issue so far is a thrown belt. That, and other maintenance stuff- brakes, rear shocks, water pump and thermostat. Oh, it did have a short in the column harness that threw an air bag code. They wanted to replace everything in sight, until BMW got involved. Then, they found the short. Well, there was the 4,000$ alternator replacement. For a rebuilt made by Denso. At least I got it back in a day, with a complimentary 2025 in the meantime. Would have gone to to a private mechanic, but I got caught out of town.Otherwise, it's been an incredibly trouble free car. Not Mazda Miata trouble free, but late model BMW trouble free.
So, I think a blanket condemnation isn't warranted. Mercedes and Audi have issues that are far worse. In operation, I find the N20 at least as smooth and powerful as the straight 6 128i that it replaced. For a tiny engine, it moves the big wagon pretty well. And, it's totally smooth and silent. It's the right size, and has good cargo capacity. It'd be perfect, were it not for the high cost of maintenance and repairs.
Have a 2016 BMW 228i with N26. From my research BMW upgraded the timing guides in 2015 but still I change oil every 5000mi. The engine pulls really hard for a 4 cyl and so far in 55kmi has had no mechanical issues. Only done spark plugs, filters, oil changes, tires, battery, rear wheel sensors and rear brakes. Not a Toyota but not that bad really. Hope that this is not an issue with regular oil changes…
I also have a 2016 228i, n20. 30k miles. It's basically new and even with such low mileage it's had its plugs changed twice already along with all filters and yearly oil services. It doesnt get driven much but when it does it performs really well. Im sure that if I just carry on being overzealous with my service schedule it should last a long time.
4-5k intervals for any engine sounds fair. Those extended oil change intervals are asking for trouble, imo.
Maybe for German crap Avion
About terribly damaged oil pan,that's one of the most common problems in Brazil,because down here there are still a lot of people who like lowering their cars height and even more badly maintained roads...EVERYWHERE... so it's quite easy to find an engine with an smashed oil pan around here!😅
Fun fact! SULEV N26 cars have a 15 year or 150,000 mile warrenty.
i had a 2015 with the N26 engine. not one single issue at all with mine. tuned it a bit, was smooth and super quiet. my ex wide had a 2012 of the same engine and she beat the snot out of it and it didnt have any issues either....poor maintanence etc.
Thanks for the Saturday night entertainment Eric. Have a good weekend.
Just a “gentle” tap to remove the front pulley using a sledgehammer!! Brilliant!! Gift that keeps on giving, but wait!! There’s MORE!! I drive a Mercedes Benz A180. It has a M270 engine. Turbocharged 1.6. According to the manufacturer, oil change intervals are every 10,000km, or 6250 miles. It has about 55,000 miles on it from new. I am the second owner of the car. It has great service history. Next service is in 5 1/2 months. I call BMW cars Bodgy Motor Works for good reason. In my working life, I fixed them as part of my job.
The counterpart of this "engine" is the Toyota 2.0 turbo found in the IS 200t, NX 200, etc... Which was made by real engineers with brains, and durability in mind, it uses direct and port injection.
In Poland in BMW oil interval is every 30.000 km = +/- 19.000 miles. Super way to kill a car.
12:08 in europe it was worse. recommended oil change interval 30k kms (18.6k mi).
As always, informative and entertaining video. I'm on a Miami Vice bender so I'd like to see one of those Ferrari Tipo boxer-12 motor torn down 😅
When these came out in 2012, I drove a new 328i and couldn't believe how good it was. Fast, powerful and very good on fuel. I found it refined as well.
Alas, BMW had learned nothing since 2001. Still those garbage plastic chain guides, still 15,000 mile oil changes. A pity as it could have been a brilliant engine.
I am so sad looking at this. I can't imagine why BMW didn't redesign it, it seems so unfair to the owner.
Excellent video as always, but you didn't mention that sweet yellow ride behind you, what car is that?
his 1990 something Lotus Espirit, she's a good looker!
@@chrissiebeneck3294 nice, she sure is!!!
🤣🤣🤣 31:40 "We're gonna put this right there and get all the pistons out." (obvious cut to the pistons in the opposite position)
Holy crap, you actually got VALUE out of a BMW N20/N26 engine?!?!
But what’s that Esprit doing there? 😮
Yay, An N20 engine complete with a free jigsaw puzzle of the timing cassette!