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      01-09-2021, 11:12 AM   #1
andrewsmith335i
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E46 M3 buyer help needed!

Hello all, I am currently looking at a few e46 m3s I would like to buy. I know that the post LCI cars are better in terms of rod bearings, but what about the subframe? Did BMW ever improve it over the course of M3 production?
Also if anyone has gone from E9x 335 to M3 how was the transition?
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      01-12-2021, 09:44 PM   #2
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Every S54 will need rod bearings eventually. It's a maintenance item, so count on it.
Subframe is hit or miss. Some cars have issues, some don't.

On top of that, VANOS will need to be serviced. These are the big three items. The rest is maintenance like any other car.

Is it worth it? 110%.
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      01-29-2021, 04:23 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewsmith335i View Post
Hello all, I am currently looking at a few e46 m3s I would like to buy. I know that the post LCI cars are better in terms of rod bearings, but what about the subframe? Did BMW ever improve it over the course of M3 production?
Also if anyone has gone from E9x 335 to M3 how was the transition?
I don't think pre or post LCI cars are exempt from rod bearing failure. It's been a problem that plagues the V10 M5's and M6's and plenty of other M production models.

Something important to note is that if/when you're doing a rod bearing replacement on a pre-facelift E46 S54, BMW doesn't sell the rod bolts (M11) separately because they're suppose to be paired with the con rod, and I'm assuming BMW wants you to shell out for new connecting rods if you were replacing the bolts, because they're meant to be together for life. I personally would re-use the rod bolts on pre-facelift M3s because they're paired to your rods, I've never heard of anyone blowing their motors because of bad rod bolts, have you?

If you're buying a facelift M3, they have the (M10) bolts and they are absolutely able to be replaced with OEM or aftermarket bolts. They're a tad bit more difficult in terms of the tightening sequence, so a lot more people go with the ARP bolts in this case. You'll definitely need a stretch gauge to do it accurately if you're going with that facelift S54 rebuild.
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      01-30-2021, 12:00 AM   #4
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On the rod bearings, case in point: my M3 is a 2005 with 64K miles, and just got the rod bearings done last week... check out the wear:
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      01-30-2021, 12:46 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by daxbox View Post
On the rod bearings, case in point: my M3 is a 2005 with 64K miles, and just got the rod bearings done last week... check out the wear:
Don't mean to hijack this thread, but prior to doing your RB's did you do consistent oil analysis to keep an eye on them? If so what were your results like leasing up to the rod bearing job

Thanks
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      01-30-2021, 09:49 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayR_e92 View Post
Don't mean to hijack this thread, but prior to doing your RB's did you do consistent oil analysis to keep an eye on them? If so what were your results like leasing up to the rod bearing job

Thanks
I just recently purchased my M3 from its first owner just last December, but previous owner did have the blackstone analysis done at every oil change; results were always normal. But, sooner or later, it'd need to be done so my thinking: As rod bearings are wear items @ every 100K, for peace of mind, I just pressed the reset button a bit earlier. And since I don't plan to add 100K on the car (at least during my ownership), I won't have to worry about it in the future, and track days will be more worry-free.
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      01-31-2021, 06:26 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by daxbox View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by JayR_e92 View Post
Don't mean to hijack this thread, but prior to doing your RB's did you do consistent oil analysis to keep an eye on them? If so what were your results like leasing up to the rod bearing job

Thanks
I just recently purchased my M3 from its first owner just last December, but previous owner did have the blackstone analysis done at every oil change; results were always normal. But, sooner or later, it'd need to be done so my thinking: As rod bearings are wear items @ every 100K, for peace of mind, I just pressed the reset button a bit earlier. And since I don't plan to add 100K on the car (at least during my ownership), I won't have to worry about it in the future, and track days will be more worry-free.
Nice - and there's nothin wrong with that we can never be TOO sure so it doesn't hurt to do them anyway like you did.

I was just curious if the results had started to show more contamination right before doing the rb's in the oil but it sounds like the results were clean and consistent and you decided to do them anyway just for peace of mind.

Not a bad idea 👌🏽
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