High Mileage 320d's

[Hellas]

2003 320d
Bought with 96 000km
Currently at 212 000km

Turbo @ 150 000km @ R8k in total for recon turbo, additional service kit, cleaning of intercooler, intake and coolant change.

Waterpump @ 211 000km @ R1700 total for new bilstein pump and thermostat and coolant overhaul.

General BMW expenses:
Lower control arms @ 120 000km @ R900
Service myself at prescribed mileage with BMW agent filters and Castrol 5W40 Full Synthetic Oil.
Brake pads: ATE from Midas @ R1100 for all 4.

I'm on 235000km now and did some calcs:

1. I've spent about than 26c/km on maintenance since I bought my 320d. This INCLUDES the busted turbo, tyres, LCABs, and all services with BMW filters.

2. Capital outlay decreases the more you drive, but currently I am on 86c/km for the capital cost of the car. The car is long paid off, but just for the sake of completeness...

3. Lately I have been getting constant consumptions of 14-16km/liter which equates to say 100c/km for fuel. (Diesel being R14-50/liter or so)

4. Insurance worked out to 22c/km over the last couple of years.

Thus my car ownership costs me 148c/km running + 86c/km capital = 234c/km. That's R330 000 over the last 5 years for the pleasure of owning and driving a (diesel) BMW. Totally worth it me thinks.

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

Don't see many if any of the N47 2.0L diesel engines featuring here, all seem to be M47 or older.

I have an Oct 2007 E90 320d Auto (with the much dreaded N47 engine - some say a ticking time bomb). I have 145000kms on the clock. No engine issues to date.

I have a jan 2007 E90 320d manuel sportpack with 180000kms on clock, never put a foot wrong to date, brakes, service, the normal wear n tear

I thought that the N47 is a "better" buy as its newer motor than the M47???

 

[S1NGH 911]

That depends how you define the word better........

 

[OppositeLockMT]

Sounds like the engine is more problematic than I first anticipated.

 

[kcmwinga]

2004 320d

Bought with 160 000 km
Currently 228 000 km

Turbo boosting issues @ 200 000km. Vacuum pipe problem
RHD window winder mechanism
Fuel Pump
Normal services

Currently issues with leaking coolant.

Thinking I should replace the turbo as preventative maintenance.

 

[wezza320d]

I had engine mounts and lower control arm bushes in December. This week (April) it's a waterpump

 

[wezza320d]

Howzit. For brakes try Texstars. Real OEM parts available at Autozone. Didn't trust them at first. Went on Internet and was happy to go back and buy them. Where do you buy your oil? Autozone was R69 per litre in December, best price from them now is R 140 per litre. So BMW now cheapest. But, is Magnatec good in high mileage engines? Sure it sticks to your parts but because of that everything else like soot sticks to your parts also. That is why an engine using this oil has a brownish red color to it. But what oil do you use instead and at what cost?

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

That depends how you define the word better........

Sounds like the engine is more problematic than I first anticipated.

Why do you say they are problematic? The N47D20 motors...

 

[Loom]

I got the same impression (that the M47 is more reliable than the newer N47) when I did some reading up about the 320d. It's something to do with the crankshaft sprocket design causing timing chain failure and with the sprocket at the back of the engine it's a costly repair. That said, for some reason the issue is more prevalent on the international forums than locally. I'm not sure if it has been fixed in the later N47 models.

 

[RAArmstrong]

Just buy an M57 powered Diesel and be done with it :inlove:

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

Just buy an M57 powered Diesel and be done with it :inlove:

Need to sell mine then :roflol:

 

[RAArmstrong]

Yes.

 

[Andy1GP]

2003 320d 6 Speed ....... 413,000km's

My Sisters car bought at 260,000km's as a non runner with faulty turbo - I had the original Garrett serviced and repaired and the injectors serviced. Since then it has needed only basic servicing. The only other thing of interest is that the car is driven fairly hard.

In my opinion, the biggest problem with these cars is cheap oil, town driving and drivers who don't "Put Voet" ...... I have seen several vvt turbos with the actuator and vanes seized solid because the owners think they are doing the car a favor by driving it gently

Also....stay away from those cheapy replacement turbos advertised on Gumtree

model: 2002 E46 320d
kilos: 352500km
only major breakdowns: oil heat exchanger that is currently being replaced( oil got into cooling system), EGR replaced when it burnt through, diesel return line leaking, turbo replacement at 60k( BMW recall)
vehicle get serviced with BMW parts and full synthetic oil.
Bought the vehicle as second owner from colleague on 180000km. use it daily and put on about 1000km/week.
Even though my car is at the mechie as I write this, still my most reliable car ever.

This gives me hope for the M47TUD20. As I'm a huge fan of the M57 range I think the M47 is inferior However I have an option on a fairly reasonable 2004 E46 320d 6spd with 200k km on the clock. It still has its original turbo on it but new clutch and flywheel at 100k km.

So I'm keen on getting it and immediately rebuilding the turbo for peace of mind. Obviously there will be other expenses also invloved.

LCAB's, prop coupler, engine mounts, centre bearing, thermostat, expansion tank vacuum lines and possibly other E46 related items like final stage resistor, window winder mech etc...

I reckon R10k should see the car do another 200k km.

Pending background checks and price I might get it. If so I'll start ad E46 320d DIY thread

 

[LPM320]

From the research that I have done when contemplating a e90 320d is that the m47tu2d20 found in the earlier 120kw 320d's (2005 - ?/2007) is actually more robust for the long term than the n47, mainly due to the timing chain system.

There are reports on other international forums about some n47 powered cars with compromised timing systems (broken guides, damaged sprockets, etc) from about 170 000km onwards. Some cases of total timing failure occured around the 225000+km mark.
The consequences of these faults are quite severe and usually results in a full rebuild or a new motor.

One option is to replace the timing system components as a sort of preventative maintenance, but one can only imagine the cost of the required components. From what I read it is quite a labour intensive job as well, requiring the removal of the gearbox and other items, dropping the motor abit to gain access to the required parts, etc.

It is said that this problem was rectified with ?/2010 n47 engines. I presume this to be the 135kw version, but could be wrong.

 

[anton-sa]

Yes.

2000 530d e39 manual = 283 000km. still on original turbo.

 

[DeanoBlado]

Has anyone or do you know of anyone locally who had timing chain failures on the N47? Seems like everyone is referring to international sites, how about local examples which actually counts?

 

[Silverbird_96kw]

Haven't heard of any, my car is on 150k and all is well

 

[Vicus]

Interesting thread. Since I have decided to drive my E90 to 150 000, this is very relevant to me. Sitting on 65 000 km. Nothing to report as yet. But I will post here if anything crops up.

 

[LPM320]

Has anyone or do you know of anyone locally who had timing chain failures on the N47? Seems like everyone is referring to international sites, how about local examples which actually counts?

You are going to have to speak to local N47 owners with 220000+km on the clock to get a definitive answer on that one...

 

[DeanoBlado]

That's my point, so its safe to say that this is not such a big problem here as we make it out to be. I almost didn't buy my 320D because of this.