Dust has been bitten
02-01-2012, 04:11 PM
#1
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My Ride: Alpine White 2006 530Xi (SLD)
Today, I'm saying good bye to the old V The Russian, and ushering in a new era. I'm now a mature BMW owner with one notch for a blown engine on my belt. I'm not saying I'm giving up on Bimmers - they are still better than most other cars on the road - just saying I've learned the hard way that owning Bimmers is a BAAAAAAD idea. Well, not like no one told me before!
About a week and a half ago I was merging onto a highway, when my engine suddenly made a snapping sound, followed by a knocking. This time it did NOT go away easy. To give credit to the E60 where it is due, the car is still mobile under its own power. To take the credit from BMW where it is appropriate though, there are absolutely no warning lights of any kind - if you couldn't hear the sound from under the hood, you'd never even know there's anything wrong. But something is wrong - big time!
I've had the car diagnosed by three indies, and so far left it with the most trustworthy guy I've met (more on this subject in later threads). The first indie bluntly said he doesn't even want to deal with this type of problems, saying it "sounds like something with the valvetrain". Second was a little more open, saying he needed to leave the car at the shop, open up the engine and start looking. Yet I still went to the third one, who has looked into the VANOS so far and has found that most likely scenario is the valve punctured something at the top of the engine, causing the cylinder to physically rub against the engine walls. Or something...
who cares, when you're looking at an engine swap or a full rebuild?! 
So there's my "favorite" E60" for ya! I stood by it all this time, arguing how great and reliable it is. All these years of ownership and all these thousands of dollars down the drain - what do I get? And big fat FUCK YOU from BMW and friends
The car is a naturally-aspirated inline-6 - the trademark BMW engine. It's a 2006 530Xi with a manual transmission, to be exact. I'm evaluating several options as to what to do: one is to sell the piece of shit and take the hit (still owe some money for it), second option is to rebuild the N52 motor with new forged internals, turbos, etc etc; and third, to find a sponsor (or several) and do a crazy build, involving a drop of an S63 motor from the X6 M. I would love to do the last, but it will take much more money than I could possibly scramble at the moment - not to mention, I'd have to find a place to live, because my wife would throw my ass out. Well, BMW, will you let me live at your house, if I had no place to go?
About a week and a half ago I was merging onto a highway, when my engine suddenly made a snapping sound, followed by a knocking. This time it did NOT go away easy. To give credit to the E60 where it is due, the car is still mobile under its own power. To take the credit from BMW where it is appropriate though, there are absolutely no warning lights of any kind - if you couldn't hear the sound from under the hood, you'd never even know there's anything wrong. But something is wrong - big time!
I've had the car diagnosed by three indies, and so far left it with the most trustworthy guy I've met (more on this subject in later threads). The first indie bluntly said he doesn't even want to deal with this type of problems, saying it "sounds like something with the valvetrain". Second was a little more open, saying he needed to leave the car at the shop, open up the engine and start looking. Yet I still went to the third one, who has looked into the VANOS so far and has found that most likely scenario is the valve punctured something at the top of the engine, causing the cylinder to physically rub against the engine walls. Or something...
who cares, when you're looking at an engine swap or a full rebuild?! So there's my "favorite" E60" for ya! I stood by it all this time, arguing how great and reliable it is. All these years of ownership and all these thousands of dollars down the drain - what do I get? And big fat FUCK YOU from BMW and friends
The car is a naturally-aspirated inline-6 - the trademark BMW engine. It's a 2006 530Xi with a manual transmission, to be exact. I'm evaluating several options as to what to do: one is to sell the piece of shit and take the hit (still owe some money for it), second option is to rebuild the N52 motor with new forged internals, turbos, etc etc; and third, to find a sponsor (or several) and do a crazy build, involving a drop of an S63 motor from the X6 M. I would love to do the last, but it will take much more money than I could possibly scramble at the moment - not to mention, I'd have to find a place to live, because my wife would throw my ass out. Well, BMW, will you let me live at your house, if I had no place to go?
02-01-2012, 04:57 PM
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Definitely not the first time I've heard "time to cut losses" 
One of the options I'm considering is actually having the indie fix the engine without going crazy, and selling the car after that. Might require an investment on my side, but last thing I want to do is pass my problems onto the next guy. Of course, in a perfect world BMW could step in and acknowledge the fact that a critical engine failure at just under 100K miles is at least partially their responsibility - especially, since I have voiced concerns over this engine to BMW of Manhattan way back when the car was still covered under original warranty... yeah right
One of the options I'm considering is actually having the indie fix the engine without going crazy, and selling the car after that. Might require an investment on my side, but last thing I want to do is pass my problems onto the next guy. Of course, in a perfect world BMW could step in and acknowledge the fact that a critical engine failure at just under 100K miles is at least partially their responsibility - especially, since I have voiced concerns over this engine to BMW of Manhattan way back when the car was still covered under original warranty... yeah right
02-01-2012, 05:28 PM
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My Ride: 07' BMW 550i
Sorry to hear, but it does happen with any car, even most trusty brand like Lexus RX330, 115,000 miles tranny slipping and knocking noise in coming from the engine, couple good tech looked at this and said it's more likely a crankshaft bearings.
So I did sold before it got worse.
Well another story, my friend's 2006/07 MB C-class, the timing chain stretched, so kill both camshaft gears and cost around $3000.
Another ex: my friend has BMW E46 since 2000 and has like 170,000, oil replaced each 5,000-7,000 miles and car is perfect condition, no oil burning.
So it does happened once in while, so it's not might be your fault, just previous owner followed BMW recommended oil changes or didn't replaced oil at all or use wrong brand and type.
So I did sold before it got worse.
Well another story, my friend's 2006/07 MB C-class, the timing chain stretched, so kill both camshaft gears and cost around $3000.
Another ex: my friend has BMW E46 since 2000 and has like 170,000, oil replaced each 5,000-7,000 miles and car is perfect condition, no oil burning.
So it does happened once in while, so it's not might be your fault, just previous owner followed BMW recommended oil changes or didn't replaced oil at all or use wrong brand and type.
moral support.
02-01-2012, 06:22 PM
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My Ride: '04 545i, sport pkg, premium sound, sprint booster,
Bummerz Vlad. I've had some problems with mine, but not to that extent. Not an easy path to tread. Best of luck for
a happy solution.
a happy solution.
02-01-2012, 06:28 PM
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My Ride: 04' 545i, Sport Package, Black, Active Xenon, ARS, Aux Input
'10 Tahoe, Black on Black, leather, Nav/XM, 20" tires, full body kit, power 2nd row, loaded
'93 Jeep Wrangler, lifted 4.5", 33" meats, Rampage Recovery Bumper w/Tire Swing, etc
25' Aquasport Osprey, Center Console,2012 200 HO Etec
Wow that sucks! Good luck with finding a solution, and a new ride!
02-01-2012, 06:43 PM
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That really sux big time!!
I'd get an eval from a BMW Area Rep - preferably one who will take into consideration your care of the product and respect the opinion/diagnosis from a qualified BMW Indy.
I think we all have an expectation that these motors might show (some) wear at 100K - 200K miles but shouldn't break unless there is a product defect that might go undetected until disaster strikes.
Hope it all works out for you!
I'd get an eval from a BMW Area Rep - preferably one who will take into consideration your care of the product and respect the opinion/diagnosis from a qualified BMW Indy.
I think we all have an expectation that these motors might show (some) wear at 100K - 200K miles but shouldn't break unless there is a product defect that might go undetected until disaster strikes.
Hope it all works out for you!
Hopefully when you get inside it won?t be as bad as it sounds.