Z4 M Rod Bearing

saul0

New member
Hi Everyone 

I have a 2007 Z4 M Coupe with 170 000km. 

I would like to replace the rod bearings as I've read they can lead to a expensive engine overhaul. 

Where in Cape Town would you recommend taking the car to?

Should I use OEM or VAC motorsport coated bearings?

Thank you in advance 

Saul
 

CA_130

///Member
momo1 said:
@"Peter@AEW" is the forum expert with S54 bearings.

I speak under correction, but he's not in Cape Town.

Give the dealers a call and ask them for a quote, if its not too bad then maybe have them do, only you can decide what's reasonable for your pocket.

IMHO the OEM bearings should be fine, as they've last this long without issue (in your case hopefully?), proper warm up and regular oil changes are more important. But if you plan to keep the car for a long long time then maybe do the other bearings unless there's only a small price gap.

Don't own a M-car myself, so take this with a pinch of salt.
 

momo1

Well-known member
CA_130 said:
momo1 said:
@"Peter@AEW" is the forum expert with S54 bearings.

I speak under correction, but he's not in Cape Town.

Give the dealers a call and ask them for a quote, if its not too bad then maybe have them do, only you can decide what's reasonable for your pocket.

IMHO the OEM bearings should be fine, as they've last this long without issue (in your case hopefully?), proper warm up and regular oil changes are more important. But if you plan to keep the car for a long long time then maybe do the other bearings unless there's only a small price gap.

Don't own a M-car myself, so take this with a pinch of salt.
lol dealers would be the resort unless you have extremely deep pockets, almost guaranteed theyd quote a minimum of R100K or possibly quote you on a new engine altogether
 

individj

Well-known member
momo1 said:
CA_130 said:
momo1 said:
@"Peter@AEW" is the forum expert with S54 bearings.

I speak under correction, but he's not in Cape Town.

Give the dealers a call and ask them for a quote, if its not too bad then maybe have them do, only you can decide what's reasonable for your pocket.

IMHO the OEM bearings should be fine, as they've last this long without issue (in your case hopefully?), proper warm up and regular oil changes are more important. But if you plan to keep the car for a long long time then maybe do the other bearings unless there's only a small price gap.

Don't own a M-car myself, so take this with a pinch of salt.
lol dealers would be the resort unless you have extremely deep pockets, almost guaranteed theyd quote a minimum of R100K or possibly quote you on a new engine altogether
do they even still do mechanical work like that? haha
 

TBP88

Well-known member
Mike Bridge Auto does a lot of bearing work on S-engines. Worth giving him a call. He does my normal services, generally been happy.


*just to be clear, I haven't had the bearings done yet.
 

telegamer

Member
I've had my Z4M and E46 M3 both done at the dealers, Z4 at SMG century city and the M3 at Auto Atlantic, in both cases wasn't that expensive, the nice thing is you get a 2 year parts and labour guarantee and that's very important, used all OEM parts
 

AdiS

Well-known member
A year or so ago, I got a quote from Donford BMW and it was about R25k. I personally know one of the mechanics there (Barend) and although I have not had him do this job for me, I think he would be a good option. 

Also, OEM bearings are fine, no need to go with VAC (despite having done so myself in the past).
 

momo1

Well-known member
telegamer said:
I've had my Z4M and E46 M3 both done at the dealers, Z4 at SMG century city and the M3 at Auto Atlantic, in both cases wasn't that expensive, the nice thing is you get a 2 year parts and labour guarantee and that's very important, used all OEM parts
 How much is "wasn't that expensive"and how long ago was it?
 

telegamer

Member
I did the Z4 in 2016 and the E46 in 2018...wasn't cheap will have to look at the invoices to check, I did get a discount on the parts , your best bet is to go into the dealer, chat to the parts guys, for a list of parts required and pricing, then the service guys for a ball park on the labour, there will be additional things that'll pop up as they do the job
 

saul0

New member
telegamer said:
I did the Z4 in 2016 and the E46 in 2018...wasn't cheap will have to look at the invoices to check, I did get a discount on the parts , your best bet is to go into the dealer, chat to the parts guys, for a list of parts required and pricing, then the service guys for a ball park on the labour, there will be additional things that'll pop up as they do the job

Thank you, Telegamer. 

I ordered all the parts from BMW yesterday the total was R7000 excluding the Oil. 

Im still waiting for a quote from BMW for labour on the job, but I will probably take the car to a friend of mines work shop to do the job.
 

CA_130

///Member
momo1 said:
CA_130 said:
momo1 said:
@"Peter@AEW" is the forum expert with S54 bearings.

I speak under correction, but he's not in Cape Town.

Give the dealers a call and ask them for a quote, if its not too bad then maybe have them do, only you can decide what's reasonable for your pocket.

IMHO the OEM bearings should be fine, as they've last this long without issue (in your case hopefully?), proper warm up and regular oil changes are more important. But if you plan to keep the car for a long long time then maybe do the other bearings unless there's only a small price gap.

Don't own a M-car myself, so take this with a pinch of salt.
lol dealers would be the resort unless you have extremely deep pockets, almost guaranteed theyd quote a minimum of R100K or possibly quote you on a new engine altogether

They're actually not expensive for everything that they do, also all dealer fitted parts and labour generally carry a 2 year guarantee, its cheap insurance so why not do it?

A friend of mine did his low mile e92 m3 with the dealers about 4 years ago and the job cost only 11 grand.

Where you start racking up the builds is if you catch the issue too late and damage has occurred as everything the metal filings contaminate have to be replaced or serviced (Vanos/oil pump etc.)

TLDR - sometimes the dealer is both the best option and most economic option.


individj said:
momo1 said:
CA_130 said:
momo1 said:
@"Peter@AEW" is the forum expert with S54 bearings.

I speak under correction, but he's not in Cape Town.

Give the dealers a call and ask them for a quote, if its not too bad then maybe have them do, only you can decide what's reasonable for your pocket.

IMHO the OEM bearings should be fine, as they've last this long without issue (in your case hopefully?), proper warm up and regular oil changes are more important. But if you plan to keep the car for a long long time then maybe do the other bearings unless there's only a small price gap.

Don't own a M-car myself, so take this with a pinch of salt.
lol dealers would be the resort unless you have extremely deep pockets, almost guaranteed theyd quote a minimum of R100K or possibly quote you on a new engine altogether
do they even still do mechanical work like that? haha

Surprisingly they do.

Was in the dealership workshop on Saturday to buy some oil, and saw quite a few full drivetrain-out jobs that they had in progress on rwd and X-drive cars, as well as a few other big disassembly jobs, and a surprising large amount of e90's and e92's 

:fencelook:
I honestly thought those cars are past their "dealership FSH" days, but apparently not.

Look, I'll be the first guy to preach "do it yourself", and that the dealerships are expensive, but I think need to be fair and objective towards them, as they do a lot in terms of engagement, breakfast runs, service promotions, and big discounts for parts for us owners and enthusiasts.

For the most part the stereotype of the "stealerships" is correct, but not always, the least we can do is find out what the dealer would charge, for genuine parts and labour, and then decide if you're getting ripped off elsewhere.

I've worked on cars since my teens, and believe in keeping a good hand on it, but I still take my car in for service when they have good deals.

use it don't, don't use entirely up to you, just my 2c 


:ty:
 

saul0

New member
Decision made. 

Dropped the car off at BMW today to have the Bearings replaced. 

I will keep everyone updated on the job.
 

AdiS

Well-known member
saul0 said:
Decision made. 

Dropped the car off at BMW today to have the Bearings replaced. 

I will keep everyone updated on the job.


Which dealer and what was the quoted labor cost?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

saul0

New member
AdiS said:
saul0 said:
Decision made. 

Dropped the car off at BMW today to have the Bearings replaced. 

I will keep everyone updated on the job.

The car is at Auto Atlantic in Cape Town, the guys there are very friendly and happy to help.  

Parts Cost: R7900 with the Oil

Labour Cost:R9000

Better than a engine rebuild
 

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AdiS

Well-known member
saul0 said:
AdiS said:
saul0 said:
Decision made. 

Dropped the car off at BMW today to have the Bearings replaced. 

I will keep everyone updated on the job.

The car is at Auto Atlantic in Cape Town, the guys there are very friendly and happy to help.  

Parts Cost: R7900 with the Oil

Labour Cost:R9000

Better than a engine rebuild


What did they quote for labour?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

saul0

New member
AdiS said:
saul0 said:
AdiS said:
saul0 said:
Decision made. 

Dropped the car off at BMW today to have the Bearings replaced. 

I will keep everyone updated on the job.

The car is at Auto Atlantic in Cape Town, the guys there are very friendly and happy to help.  

Parts Cost: R7900 with the Oil

Labour Cost:R9000

Better than a engine rebuild


What did they quote for labour?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes +- R9000 for labour
 
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