I Made This F25 X3 As Reliable As A New Car!

[@jnasty44444]

my f25 with the n20 motor has 189k miles. my timing chain was slapping last month but now i changed it again for the 2nd time and it’s running great!

[@Vinsanex.]

How many miles did you have when it snapped the first time?

[@Vinsanex.]

Also how much was the repair if you don’t mind me asking? Thinking of getting a 2014 f25 with 111k miles and want to know what I’m getting into.

[@urltom]

What a difference working with the engine out!

[@Nathan-gj8ch]

I love that you are saving these cars. I have been saving any BMW I6 with engine damage that I can find. Mostly N54 with spun rod bearings. IMO BMW messed up the design for the rods. Almost every other comparable engine I have worked on has crosshatching on the rod bearing mating surface (rod big end) that grabs the bearing but for some reason BMW left them smooth on all their engines I have seen. I had a personal n54 that spun bearings twice on test and tune night. I roughed up the rod bearing mating surface with some scuff pads set the clearance to .07mm by DIY polishing the crank run 50w and its been fine for years.

[@MrJFunk]

All your videos are great since I just bought a new X3 and new to BMW. Thanks for sharing!

[@billymania11]

Nice work. It's good to see these vehicles refitted and put back on the road. I'm sure it will be a nice purchase for someone.

[@HarrySingh-zg1pr]

I smiled when you said “I saved it.” Fantastic work. Keep it up.

[@rhiantaylor3446]

In Europe BMW also sold this chassis with 2 litre diesel engine and a manual trans. This makes for a very frugal and reliable combination.

[@leiflillandt1488]

Maybe that's why the prices for a car with 200,000 km on the clock i quite high!?

[@badoian]

Actually a 1.8l 2wd version as well.

[@bl300zxx]

love the timelapse video.if only the real world engine rebuild was that fast.great to see your again one step ahead of the game selling these cars before your even finished.keep up the great content.

[@georgerodriguez4809]

I have one just like this one and I love it, just did all fluids maintenance, trans, diff, transf case, new rotors pads in front , all control arms in the front. I will do a coolant flush and new hoses and lastly I have to change spark plugs and all coolant hoses. I might have to do a new turbo soon or reconstruct new turbo cartridge and orings

[@danmurphy5889]

I'm loving this channel more and more, keep the content coming!

[@Nico_335i_DCT]

Great job Musa! It's a great car again. Thanks for sharing. Dutch regards, Nico

[@VehicularDIY]

Thank you!

[@osagyefoghanaba]

This is awesome….please less of the time lapse so we can be properly educated in maintaining these vehicles. Great job 👏 guys! Blessings and greetings from the UK

[@igotaction]

Yes we are going to do hour long videos of complete engine assemblies of N20, M57 and Mercedes M157/278.

[@n55tourist32]

came to comment this

[@VehicularDIY]

Yes I have another N20 to assemble, thinking of going into detail and putting out a 1 hour video.

[@n55tourist32]

@@VehicularDIY awesome, do whatever works for you. personally I'd be interested

[@n55tourist32]

@@igotaction thanks!

[@IKhanNot]

These were actually pretty good. Timing chain is known to fail but it's a well documented issue and there is a clear fix for it. You want bad go get a BMW with an N63 motor.

[@igotaction]

I can pull trans and engine on most N63's in a couple hours. Much easier to work on engine out.

[@VehicularDIY]

Yeah if a cheap enough N63 basket case car comes up I'd be interested in tackling it.

[@IKhanNot]

@@VehicularDIY I was about to purchase a 550i M Sport which had a hydrolocked motor (failed injector) because the car itself was super clean and had a stack of maintenance/repair bills but someone else bought that thing quick. I do see, however, 550i GTs and 750i sedans going for a good price with the original iteration of the N63.

[@danielhoffmann3365]

I like your new shop, your projects and I like you. But I rather prefer seeing it doing you by yourselves and without time lapse, just like you did in Texas:)

[@zaidlaffta]

Nice work, worth it to save this car

[@joekaspar8004]

Very nice job man, the size of the engine looks like generator engine. no wonder gonna go bad, the size is so small for the weight !

[@paulprice107]

Great vid…..would have preferred to see the normal speed of the work done. Great job.

[@VehicularDIY]

That's coming up, have another N20 to assemble. Thinking of putting out a 1 hour long-form video.

[@DemonSlayer-df4ym]

imo the best version of the X3 is the E83 with a m54 . non turbo. bought my mom one. Well over 100k . With only normal maintenance .

[@spencermaiers8322]

I believe the worst aspect of the E83 X3 is the exterior door handle removal ;) Seems pathetically fiddly even doing it by the book. If anything goes wrong pull the door panel. Best pro tip for the little screw cover for the inner door handle is a small piece of adhesive tape/double sided tape/dumdum/etc to pull it off (even partially off to pick it out) vs digging it out and marring the surface on all BMWs that have tight door panel inner handle screw beauty covers.

[@DemonSlayer-df4ym]

@@spencermaiers8322 You need to get yourself some plastic BMW pry tools

[@VehicularDIY]

Yeah much less to fail.

[@DjDestinyChicago]

I had one for 2 years and had zero issues. I just changed the oil and brakes 👍

[@persistencewins]

Great video showing ur top notch job. Well done n congrats!

[@lancealbon46]

I have a 2011 BMW X3 xDrive28i F25 with almost 240,000km (150,000 miles) on it. I was told it has low oil pressure which could mean it will need a new timing chain and oil pump. I’m told the repairs will cost about what my X3 is worth. Mine is the older 3.0 liter straight six, no turbo. I don’t have the skills set to fix it.

[@arfetherussian]

Got my top side rebuilt on my 210k+ mile M57 off a E70.

[@rodrigomeca]

Nice to see , thank you

[@JGV_IX]

Fantastic job!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@n55tourist32]

can you go over the process for pulling an engine? what do you need to disconnect? tips and tricks? specifically interested in the n55, but any is fine really such as n54, b58, s55 or even the engine in this video would be interesting

[@VehicularDIY]

I'll try and cover the pull in more detail on the next one.

[@n55tourist32]

@@VehicularDIY thank you!

[@joinsouthwest]

Where are you in California? Do you have a shop here? Or is there one you would recommend? I’m looking for a decent place to do transmission fluid, while not costing as much as dealer

[@igotaction]

North County San Diego. I am a licensed repair shop and do mobile work.

[@ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow]

Great work!

[@BimmerHausPerformance]

I love it... "In this video I tell you why I think this could be one of the least reliable BMWs sold within the last few decades." and it can be yours for 14,999. LOL In all seriousness though, great videos and good luck with the new venture! I've learned a lot from you!

[@agilbert314]

So what was the main issue with the engine requiring the rebuild? And the cause? And how to avoid this? I own a 2013 328i n20 with 80k miles and doing regular maintenance.

[@diegonavyhotmail]

The main issue with the early 2010's BMW 4 cyl. engine N20, was the failure of the timing chain guide. As he explained, the timing chain guide broke/fail and remaining pieces were caught at the oil pick up starving the engine and spinning a rod. There is hundreds of websites where you can find all this BMW timing chain failure information, its all over the web. Your car should be fine, if your timing chain guide fails, believe me YOU WILL KNOW!

[@agilbert314]

@@diegonavyhotmail Sooner than later I hope, to avoid the motor rebuild.

[@chadriddle3517]

Thanks for the excellent Bmw content as always! I wonder why Bmw went with turbo 4cyl instead of staying with 6 cyl .

[@diegonavyhotmail]

At least for the F25 that I am aware of, its available in 4 cyl and 6 cyl. The timing chain problem is found on 4 cyl only. Lots of people sued BMW and now a day if someone has that problem, BMW covers certain % for the repairs

[@spencermaiers8322]

I don't think the F25 X3 is bad. Fix the chain and keep driving it.

[@VehicularDIY]

Now that it's on the road I'm really liking how it drives. Surprisingly stable at speed and has great turn in with such a small motor under the hood.

[@karacampbell6591]

@@VehicularDIYare you in San Diego? Need your expertise. I live in North County.

[@Zwilkins8]

Love our f25 x3. It’s N52 w oyster sport interior

[@kelvinnavarro4726]

Speaking of reliability, will you make a video following up on how the dynamic autowerks turbos have been holding up on your 335i? Id love yo know your thoughts and impressions after your extensive ownership with them

[@JSarmiento.]

Great video. Any chance on doing a ZF8 transmission rebuild video like you did with the Zf6.???

[@spencermaiers8322]

O'Reillys has flotool drip pans for 10 bucks a pop. Good for shit that keeps dripping.

[@Mike920]

Hey what’s up can you please make a video on how to unclogged ac drain for 2013 bmw x3 thanks

[@gtomalik]

Very nice! Great channel.

[@karacampbell6591]

How did it sound when you were done? I have same vehicle, on the second engine, lots of work and money 😢

[@bmwlane8834]

Nice! Wife has same car and color...2016 though. Absolutely fantastic car to drive. I drive a 430i GC with m package....so is very firm....I drive her car and I'm like wow. Lol

[@TheRobjc123]

😢I wish u were closer ! Got. 14 x3. Love it but man..

[@adventuresofhachem]

Nice Work.👍

[@powayimports4175]

M539_restoration viewers having a heart attack watching this I’m sure 😂😂 Nice work

[@TamNguyen-ng1kw]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@TomCogan]

you're definitely right about the diesel engine. it was the way to go on f25.

[@RogueCylon]

The N52 In-line V6 naturally aspirated engine was pretty good.

[@commops106]

this is obviously from negligence much to long on oil change intervals bmw wants you to buy a new car every 4 years, good video my 2011 had 85,000 trouble free miles till i got rid of it

[@GLIDERR]

Hello, do these same issues exist on the bmw x3 35d? I have a 2012 diesel, can I expect the same issues (turbo etc) thanks

[@MattyMattsBavarianBuilds]

@vehicularDIY Lol and I just bought a 2007 X3 MSport 3.0Si awd 6 Speed manual for 2k and it has 200k miles My rear diff is making whining noise... Any thought of what it could be?

[@igotaction]

Check play in the rear driveshaft (where the threaded part is) then check the three bushings, and then you would have to check the lash on the diff.

[@VehicularDIY]

Does it whine all the time or mostly on deceleration?

[@MattyMattsBavarianBuilds]

@@VehicularDIY acceleration and deceleration at the rear… both in gear or neutral

[@mecheng1977]

Just curious why you didn’t do the rings?

[@igotaction]

$100 each cylinder, we cleaned the pistons really well

[@Vash16xli]

I got a random question for you. I have a 2008 bmw 535i and I have to check to see if the pins on the transmission conductor module are bent. If the pins are bent and I have to replace that part, do I have to get it programmed or would I be fine just replacing it?

[@mikethefz07guy79]

I have a 2011 x3 aspirated inline 6 and a 2019 x3 inline 4 turbo. I still think the 2011 x3 pulls harder. Maybe because it’s all wheel drive? Only thing that has gone wrong with it, the transmission blew at 105k last year. We had it replaced with a used transmission, hopefully it’ll last another 105k.

[@diegonavyhotmail]

How did the transmission fail? I have a 2012 X3 x35i so, just curious

[@mikethefz07guy79]

@@diegonavyhotmail it was a block from my house when it flashed and said transmission failure and went in limp mode. It would only go forward but no reverse. It’s the wife’s, car and we’d owned it since it had 25k miles. The mechanic found no obvious damage to the outside of the transmission housing, but the inside was all chewed up. We still don’t know know the cause, but to be safe I’ll have the transmission service every 30k to be safe.

[@assasinofyouth1]

Just found your channel great work. I have been having this issue when you press gass around 800rpm and hold it there whole car vibrates. It has been driving me insane and can't find the issue. Any idea would help?

[@melborrego6370]

Have you ever worked on any BMW diesel engines?

[@igotaction]

We will be doing a complete M57 engine assembly

[@melborrego6370]

@@igotaction I have a 2014 328d has had regular maintenance it's been a great car. 51 mpg when I'm doing highway driving

[@VehicularDIY]

No but I'd like to, Joel has his M57 we can document

[@grein545]

B48 content in the future? Or maybe it’s so similar to the b58 that it’s not worth it…

[@bmwn5238]

what product did you use to seal the bed plate ?

[@igotaction]

Dirko

[@dizasterlive]

i wish iwas in usa, or you in canada or something lol. I have a bmw 323i 2010 canada edition. NON x drive and NON turbo, just the base model, Easiest version to work on with the least amount of issues, over al la pretty solid engine.( N52 engine im pretty sure) Its been burning a litre of oil every 150 km's , ( i know it sounds way to crazy to be true but it is!) and im not leaking it, it's being burnt in the engine and thrown out the tailpipe. It's getting crazy expensive to maintain oil but the car is solidly sound other then needing a clutch in near future. I would love to have this engine takin out tore apart and fixed / documented / looked at. Would bee GREAT content. love your vids man, i do my own work too but im lost at this issue i have and bmw and shops just want the price of a new bmw in labour to look at it and possible fix it / tear it apart, zz.

[@bsingh8048]

Great work, love your videos, question about my 2013 328i xdrive, It has been pretty reliable for me with 144000 KMs on it (From Canada), always worried about the timing chain to break on mine but has no signs for it to replace, do you think I should do preventative timing chain replacement or wait for any signs? I do oil changes around 7-8k KMs interval. Also haven't changed coolant or Diff fluid, can you make videos on them as well? Thanks a lot :)

[@leiflillandt1488]

144,000 km, then the car is regarded as new... My brother sold (traded in/got rid of/gave away!?) a Škoda Octavia 2003 with 490,000 km. If you have owned your BMW from new, and changed the oil (and looked for leaks!) every 8,000 km, the engine is supposed to last for a quite long period of time. 300,000 km should be no problem as an average. A timing chain, or in this case the chains, starts with making extra ordinary noise.

[@bsingh8048]

@@leiflillandt1488 i really hope you are right but N20 is known for early timing chain breakdowns that's why i am concerned

[@pugs1377]

But is it worse than an n63 or n63tu?

[@leiflillandt1488]

Have anyone seen a "pro" vblogger who suggests 30,000 km/18,000 miles between engine oil changes? Maybe there is one or even more reasons!?

[@qx44905]

good job

[@DuckMcDuckinson]

Hey friend! I have a 2015 BMW 428i with the N20 engine build date 9/2014 and I wanted to ask you how reliable is my car? I take very good care of it, AMSOIL Euro Formula oil changes every 5k miles and I changed the spark plugs and coils myself and changed air filter and do some preventive maintenance on it. Changed motor mounts and HPFP too. I’m worried about the timing chain and it’s still good so far but going into the mid 100ks makes me worried. I might change it after 3 years since the car has 80k on it now and I won’t probably get into the mid 100s after that time frame.

[@igotaction]

At least go buy the timing chain kit now while BMW is selling the whole kit for $150. Once the class action campaign is over it will go back up to $750-850.

[@DuckMcDuckinson]

@@igotaction aight

[@Cyrix2k]

Should probably do the chain, but my mom has a 2014 X3 28i with the N20 and it's been great. The only non-maintenance items I've ever replaced on it are the coils and the thermostat, the latter of which was under recall and would have been covered by BMW. It has a loud start up but has since we bought it years ago.

[@princeali316]

For the same price, you can buy a much more reliable, better looking and better-equipped older X5 with the 3.0L (2006+). Still these aren't terribly bad. It's the N20 that just had timing chain issues unfortunately.

[@NeoAndersonReloaded]

Nice

[@Hi-ri1td]

Big man ting

[@testhounsavath2356]

Questio….I have a 328xi with engine light/codeP0302-combustion miss-fire cylinder 2. I change coil/plug/fuel injector on cylinder 2. With good compression. The P0302 still still pop up. What am I missing. Can you help please. Thank you.

[@igotaction]

How did you test compression?? You may need a relative compression test. Pull plugs and the drive belt and spin the engine manually and see if it binds anywhere. Are you sure it is correct injector? Check our 535i weird misfire video to see the production dates for EU5 injectors.

[@testhounsavath2356]

Mine is 2008 328xi. I’ll check the compression again to double check. Thank you

[@nostickpeople]

Its a BMW what do you expect!

[@plannedobsolescence7798]

What’s the point in getting this far and putting used parts on? 🤦‍♂️

[@mikem6743]

AS SOON AS YOU PUT A TURBO ON ANY ENGINE IT SHORTENS THE LIFE OF THE ENGINE

[@mornestemmet99]

Nothing wrong with the x3 only a idiot buys the n20 version. It's known to be a bad motor. Diesel all the way!!!

[@VehicularDIY]

This chassis with the B58 would have been great .

[@777Poker]

Cringe