BMW E46 - Cadwell Park - Oil Pressure Failure - M54B30

BMW E46 M54 - 7200RPM Limit
Oil pump tensioner
Lock wired OEM Oil Pump shaft, following multiple failed VAC oil pump shafts.
Custom M54 -S50 Exhaust adaptor plates
S50B32 Exhaust manifold
ECU Master Black ECU
2.5” Custom Stainless Exhaust
Custom M54 - M50 inlet manifold
Schrick 272/256 Camshafts
Vac Motorsport Valve springs and retainers
CNC Ported head
Vac Motorsport M54 Oil Pump Kit
BMW Oil Pump Tensioner
ARP Head bolts
ARP Rod Bolts
S54 Oil Filter housing with AN10 oil take off for cooler
AN10 lines with 19 Row Oil Cooler

[@joseverdejo9010]

Valuable info here, never realized how low oil pressure gets during hard braking or cornering in this car

[@Just_A_330ci]

Even with a baffle it does drop here and there. Improving the baffle design would be a benefit. At least the ‘lower’ oil pressure is when the engine isn’t under load.

[@LiamMfive]

I have always had BMW E36 but in the process of dropping an M54B30 in place of my M54B22 in my track car (also meaning I need to keep the Getrag 250 for now!). The oil pump situation scares me a bit. I’m thinking loctite it and leave it. Regardless of what people do, even upgrade to VACmotorsport kit etc it seems to fail with one failure mode or the other. Madness.

[@ThatOneCatNyx]

You can get an M52B28TU and swap the rotating assembly into an M54 block and head. Keep the B30 cams and it'll be a slightly destroked M54B28. The B28 crank has less harmonics than the B30. Should install an oil pump chain tensioner (look up S54 tensioner on M54). There are also the upgraded harmonic balancers, but they're expensive as hell XD

[@LiamMfive]

@@ThatOneCatNyx I did see the chain tensioner seems to work. I’ll not be raising the Rev limit like I did on M52B28’s anyway 😂

[@igornullptr]

Hi Tom, what the rod\crank beraings gap was? Engine was almost new...

[@martinc8532]

These M54B30's really aren't working out for you Tom. Maybe a nice S54 instead?

[@Garf2O]

Do you have a super damper on the car? I heard that sorta solves the whole harmonics thing above 5000rpm, a bit pricey though.

[@Just_A_330ci]

Will be adding a damper this time around when the engine is rebuilt.

[@RatDog]

Oil pump nut? At least you caught it before it was serious damage 💪🏾

[@Just_A_330ci]

Snapped the oil pump shaft it’s self. Needs new bearings and a bottom end rebuild along with a few other damaged bits I’ve found so far.

[@joseverdejo9010]

@@Just_A_330cihave you tried the tensioner mod for m52/m54 with the pump nut mod or was the engine stock ?

[@Just_A_330ci]

@@joseverdejo9010 This engine has the oil pump tensioner fitted. I was hoping it was going to be the fix as it’s been reliable for a couple of years now.

[@joseverdejo9010]

@@Just_A_330ci I was hoping it would be the fix as well, with the tensioner taking slack out of the chain and the nut tied on I’m really curious why the shaft still snapped

[@RatDog]

@@Just_A_330ci oh yeah they snap shafts too, the facelift engines have an updated harmonic balancer which helps with vibrations