That s because the s54 m3 engine is plagued by rod bearing wear issues so much so that there was a recall from bmw to replace the bearings on early 01 to mid 03 model year e46 m3s like ours.
S54 rod bearing kit.
The rod bearings had a few design flaws but bmw offered these under warranty and by 2020 most of these should have been replaced by now.
If a coated bearing is adding material to a rod bearing then obviously it must also be reducing the bearing clearance on the crankshaft journal.
Our s54 treated rod bearing upgrade kit for late model engines 02 03 is the ideal solution for one of the only drawbacks of the legendary s54 motor.
M20 m50 m52 m54 s50 s52 s54 engine bearings fast eu delivery since 2010 expert advice.
While our s54 rod bearing widening solution is a great way to save engines that have already spun a bearing we believe the s54 engine will run a long time on stock bearings if the proper maintenance is performed.
This situation is also what makes me a bit uneasy about the common suggestion that a coated rod bearing is a great solution on the s54.
This even includes s54 s produced after may 22 2003 which should not have been problematic.
Per usual on bmw s the s54 water pump fails every 100 000 miles or so.
Bmw s54 rod bearing service bulletin.
Unfortunately replacing rod bearings can cost well over.
The mighty and powerful bmw s54 has an achilles heel it s rod bearings.
This is a pretty cheap 200 diy but might run you.
One of the top jobs on our list was to inspect the rod bearings for wear and replace them if necessary.
This pretty much only affects 2000 2003 s54 engines.
Main bearings king racing for engines.
Some rod bearing treatments are designed to allow the bearing.
The xp series is a line of bearings with advanced metallurgical and geometric technologies that meet extreme performance loads.
Oil changes at low intervals along with replacing rod bearings pre preemptively will lead to a long living engine.
S54 engines after 02 2003 production and later use the m10 bolts.
As great and powerful as bmw made the s54 engine they left it lacking in a critical area it s rod bearing reliability.
Vac performance coated rod bearing kit late model m10.
Again most of the problematic rod bearing should have failed or been replaced by now.
Unfortunately the s54 used in e46 m3 and mz3 4 cars was released with a rod bearing problem in earlier 2001 2003 model years which often leads to failure.
King racing xp series big end connecting rod bearings for the bmw s54b32 engine.
Bmw s54 connecting rod bearing kit 11410395192kt m3 z3 4 reviews available ships in 2 business days.
However there are still reports of other rod bearing failures.