She's back and torque-in like a train!

[cOlDFuSiOn]

So here it is: my beloved F30 has undergone a transplant... She has a new N47 straight from the motherland..

'12 F30 320d with a new engine? Alarm bells for some people reading this thread? Perhaps not...

On the 7th of Jan we had a cloudburst of epic proportions in the south of JHB and our wonderful local council being so well prepared for these mystical acts of nature are to blame..

Roads turned to rivers and I was caught in the worst of it, low down close a stream with hundreds of thousands of liters of water from the higher regions pummeling down the one road I decided to take... The force of water was so bad it completely stopped my car and overflowed straight over the bonnet forcing water into the intake.. :fencelook:

Engine immediately switched off, auto start/stop warning came on (weirdly) and that was the end on my diesel: she had bent a conrod, the engine was misfiring, revving to 2,000RPM and switching off, blowing blue and black smoke...

I had weeks of chaos sorting things out to get the car fixed, had to wait 3 weeks for the new engine from Germany and then another 2 for BMW to complete the work...

I was rather frustrated at this point, but yesterday when I got her back and spun away from the dealer with her ass swinging out like she loves to all was forgotten and I was back in my baby... :joy:

What an exhausting experience, but man what a car, still love her to bits.. Pulling like a train again is an understatement :thumbs:

 

[Fuzz@tinyNET]

:bravo: diesel power ftw!! :thumbs: glad you've got her back bro

 

[sash]

Thats great to hear. which insurance company is it that will right the car off as the damage is within its first year?

 

[Twinz]

Congrats...:thumbs:

 

[OppositeLockMT]

Glad she's back up and running, waiting for a car to be fixed is surprisingly depressing.

 

[Crash_Nemesis]

2 weeks to install an Engine?? Come now BMW... you can do better than that.

Awesome feeling getting your baby back. Believe me, I've been down that road. Not nice.

 

[zaleonardz]

This car should have been written off.

The residual damage to the electronics may bite you on the long run.

If you suspect, at any point, even the slightest indication that something is wrong, even something as stupid as a window not closing allt he way to the top, alarm bells should ring, and you need to prepare for battle stations.

Your insurance obviously footed the bill for this repair, but I had the discussion in depth with a Santam assessor the other day, and he is guided to write the car off, due to problems in the future.

Specially considering that this is 500k plus car. Just careful bud.

ANd if you have issues with the car, do not refer to motor plan, refer to the insurance claim.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Glad you have her back! Yep, hydro-locking is not a good thing for an engine! Ankle high water needs to be treated with respect in our cars! Have heard of a number of E90's suffer the same fate...

 

[Dippies]

DIESELS RULE PETROL DROOL :rollsmile:

 

[bmwforlife]

opcorn:

DIESELS RULE PETROL DROOL :rollsmile:

 

[Psymon69]

opcorn:

DIESELS RULE PETROL DROOL :rollsmile:

haha you have dabbled in the fuel of satan and know what hes on about dont you:rollsmile:

 

[OppositeLockMT]

DIESELS RULE PETROL DROOL :rollsmile:

:screwy: :fencelook:

 

[racing snake]

glad its sorted.

i cannot believe these guys cannot rebuild motors anymore. just swap it out...
what has happened to all the mechanics. all we get nowadays are parts fitters that cannot diagnose a fault without a laptop.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Thats great to hear. which insurance company is it that will right the car off as the damage is within its first year?

I'm with Indwe Risk Services, quite a good company - no real complaints. I think t's cause the damage was less than a 3rd of the market value? Dunno, the assessor said that if the water got into the inside of the car it would have been written off. All else was still fine, they even started it at the dealer, revved it, etc.. all else was fine except the stuffed engine.

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2 weeks to install an Engine?? Come now BMW... you can do better than that.

Awesome feeling getting your baby back. Believe me, I've been down that road. Not nice.

Indeed, they had to wait for technicians to get back from training and had others go on training while they started.. Was a bit frustrating, but once they got the engine out it was a 2 and a half day job before they took her our for a test drive..

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DIESELS RULE PETROL DROOL :rollsmile:

Hehe, it depends on what your car needs are I guess.. Coming from 2 e90 320i's I can say that the diesel is quite a lot better! Torque + economy = raise:

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glad its sorted.

i cannot believe these guys cannot rebuild motors anymore. just swap it out...
what has happened to all the mechanics. all we get nowadays are parts fitters that cannot diagnose a fault without a laptop.

Yup, I thought the same.. But the block has gone back to Germany now.. They apparently inspect them there. BMW said that to keep the 3 year warranty + maintenance plan it had to get a new short block fitted. If I removed the car from their dealer they would cancel the plan..

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Glad you have her back! Yep, hydro-locking is not a good thing for an engine! Ankle high water needs to be treated with respect in our cars! Have heard of a number of E90's suffer the same fate...

The one neighbor told me the exact same thing happened to his E90 330d on the same piece of road... His would not even turn over it was completely gone, was written off! I have a bit of a rain phobia now, overly cautious.. :fencelook:

---

This car should have been written off.

The residual damage to the electronics may bite you on the long run.

If you suspect, at any point, even the slightest indication that something is wrong, even something as stupid as a window not closing allt he way to the top, alarm bells should ring, and you need to prepare for battle stations.

Your insurance obviously footed the bill for this repair, but I had the discussion in depth with a Santam assessor the other day, and he is guided to write the car off, due to problems in the future.

Specially considering that this is 500k plus car. Just careful bud.

ANd if you have issues with the car, do not refer to motor plan, refer to the insurance claim.

Thanks for these recommendations, I thought the same - was worried what elecs could have been damaged. I mean my fogs were submerged, my headlights were submerged, water went over the grill level and about a 3rd of the way over the bonnet..

I must say that there was NO visible water on the topside inside the engine bay! I checked the lights, elec boxes, etc about 15 mins after we got her out and I was really impressed to not see them wet.

I think they didn't write it off because the damage was less than a 3rd of the market value? Not sure? They had 2 assessors sent out: 1 for electronics and a 2nd for the engine itself.

Thanks for the advice :ty:
I will indeed take it up with the correct channels should I suspect anything. At least the warranty + maintenance plan is all good considering I have had my fair share of little issues with her before all this happened..

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So I took her out on the open road yesterday to attend a friend of mine's traditional wedding (which was quite an experience I must say :thumbs

She pulls well, cruise control all good, shifting properly, DRLs bright as usual.. Nothing weird to make one suspect the car has had a transplant..

Went to SA Beemer day and all too. Covered about 400KMs on the new engine now. All is well! :inlove: