Why the BMW N54 Engine Was a Failure

[@ivantrump4022]

Anyone who thinks the N54 was a failure doesn’t know how to perform basic regular maintenance. Mine’s on 172k miles running 450hp and it’s rock solid.

[@speedkar99]

Awesome!

[@chriscee546]

Im pushing well over 500 on mine with 17ts,custom tuning etc with very few issues,just turned 133k miles

[@SiQuemaCuhh]

Bro that’s not regular maintenance. Just because you “replace” parts that shouldn’t fail as often as they do, doesn’t make them reliable. Your trippin. All N54 owners gotta stop lying to the public. These engines are not reliable for the everyday person. This is a an actual race engine and needs to be treated as such. Where the engine fails is the accessory surrounding the engine. But still the internals are still fragile

[@BryanChance]

I've got 187K on my 335i N54. Original engine, turbos and transmission. Everything has been replaced. LOL

[@SiQuemaCuhh]

@@BryanChance yes that’s not reliable. Still a badass car

[@janthom91]

You didn`t remove the crank snout. That is how you remove the chain from the crank. It is not necessary to take the engine completely apart just to replace the chain. And the chain usually lasts for a long time in these engines, unlike some other infamous BMW engines. The turbos aren`t too bad to work on. At least not in the 3 series. You need to drop the front subframe but that isn`t that hard and it shouldn`t take too long. the xi (all wheel drive) cars are usually a lot harder to work on though. The oil cooler lines are mounted to the oil filter housing, but this car didn`t have it. I believe the first year of production didn`t have the oil cooler. But it`s an easy upgrade to just change the oil filter housing. The housing would probably already be leaking anyways so it wouldn`t be that much more work to upgrade to a oil cooler when changing the gasket. Yes these engines like to leak oil, but other than that they are pretty solid engines today. That is after the high pressure fuel pump has been replaced and the injectors have been upgraded to the newest revision. This one was probably tuned by someone who really didn`t know what they were doing.

[@speedkar99]

Totally missed the crank snout...is there something else I have to take off or does it just slide out?

[@janthom91]

@@speedkar99 The hex head in the front of the crank is a bolt I believe. If you loosen that one the snout should just fall off or slide off. I've never taken one of these completely apart, only done basic maintenance so I can't tell for sure.

[@gabrielpuebla5930]

I've been waiting too long for this video. I'm N54 shopping right now. I think I need therapy.

[@greathey1234]

An older n52 is better

[@gabrielpuebla5930]

@@greathey1234 yeah I have one right now and it's just so slow for the gas I'm spending. My friends with n54s get much better mpg than I do

[@speedkar99]

Sorry. I shot this back in summer and I'm playing catch up

[@chrisbradley3224]

@@gabrielpuebla5930I agree. N54 is way better as long as you fix the issues.

[@markburkey6371]

​@@gabrielpuebla5930if an n54 is getting better gas mileage than an n52, something is wrong with your motor...

[@GleepGlop2]

It finally struck me why you point at everything with a toothbrush - so you can clear the crud off of what youre pointing at at the same time - brilliant!

[@rudolphguarnacci197]

It's also his brother's toothbrush.

[@speedkar99]

That's how it started ...when I cleaned a throttle body with my brother's toothbrush

[@mikeloveday4330]

​@@rudolphguarnacci197Èfghg⁷…7⁷67_⁴⁵ Can u make😘

[@miketdavies]

They might have been a failure for BMW's bottom line, with all the recalls for wastegate rattle, HPFP, injectors, but once you got that all sorted (which most did under warranty) to the revisions that worked, it was a great motor. Quite reliable, and surprisingly serviceable as long as you didn't need to touch the turbo side. Valve covers and oil filter housing gaskets weren't too bad, at least for a BMW :)

[@miketdavies]

@@actionmade right I forgot the water pump, fortunately a pretty easy fix too. My turbos were rock solid and didn't rattle after they were replaced, for 8 years. Might have been lucky! Also didn't need to do a valve cover gasket personally in 70k miles of ownership. Stock, no tuning, hard track driving. Lots of others have had to.

[@dr.k7111]

​@@miketdaviesXdrive car water pump jobs are absolutely deadly.

[@fry.master]

@@actionmade the gaskets do not fail in 30k miles. You need a metal upgraded pcv and catch can (under $150) they will make 500whp without blowing a valve cover gasket for over 100k miles. Sounds like you had some uncle bumblefuck working on yours, thats usually the real problem with them.

[@markburkey6371]

​@@fry.mastern54s will not last that long at that power level without at least a leaking valve cover...let alone a bunch of other things going bad...

[@fry.master]

@@markburkey6371 Stock plastic PCV's are the reason the VCG fails. The one way valve clogs shut and cannot properly vent crankcase pressure. Once you replace it with an aftermarket steel valve, you can vent tons of crankcase pressure without any issue. I have made over 700whp on a stock bottom end n54, and reliably 550hp on a 220k mile car. The 220k+ mile car NEVER blew a valve cover gasket after I replaced it and the pcv @roughly 160k miles. The car made that power for 60k miles before the engine was pulled and refreshed for another track car. He is currently making 750+hp on that same block + untouched liners.

[@elisrmathatic2814]

Am fixing an N52 (manufactured 08/2005), and I'm just finding blown gasket after blown gasket after blown hose. It's crazy how much oil and coolant the thing is just leaking. Also they ran the injection valve / spark plug harness connection behind the engine secured by a metal bracket with 2 screws which were genuinely impossible to get to. It was fun getting them out.

[@Autohunter06]

I have N54 with 300.000km its running smooth without any problems. Really happy with this beast

[@speedkar99]

Don't boost it

[@Autohunter06]

@@speedkar99 just stage 1 I have downpipe Upgraded intercooler Kn filters Muff delete If engine blows i throw car away

[@friguy4444]

@@speedkar99 I've been daily driving my N54 for years with over 500 hp and loving it! It has over 317,000.

[@jesuzuchiha]

⁠@@friguy4444how do you do it? Did you upgrade any certain parts?

[@szilveszterumfuhrer9667]

Oil consumption?

[@servandogarcia941]

I got mine from its original owner at 178k stock, now its at 199k and pushing 450hp. Its been problem free apart from water pump and a few gaskets.

[@TheFrenchPug]

If they are maintained and this is one of the best engines BMW ever made. You will have to replace turbos eventually if they haven't been done. But, the rest is all plastic crap breaking that's pretty easy to DIY.

[@N54htmare]

Miles or kilometers? Either way impressive

[@Dansk55]

My friend had a X5 with the N57. Car was great, low miles and drove really well. Maintained at the dealership. 80k miles in and turbo blew along with other crap. They ended selling at a lose. You will almost always loose a lot of money with these cars than most, whether the massive depreciation hit or high maintenance costs.

[@On2wheels94]

I had one of these engines. Phenomenal in power and smooth. Now I have the newer N55 which went back to the same cheap direct injectors all other brands use. The new B58's switched over to a closed deck design. Proving to be a very reliable engine... Will still likely need to do valve covers every 80k tho lol

[@speedkar99]

Yeah I hope the B58 holds up better than this

[@chrisbradley3224]

@@speedkar99 These have a lot of issues, but many dead N54s are bros trying to push 500+ whp tuned by their cousin who walks around in a cloud of vape juice. The turbos / wastegates are the big issue for normal people.

[@laurentiu.panait2536]

It's awesome hearing a real review on the ol N54. But why replace the valve cover every 80k?

[@On2wheels94]

Gasket leaks on the passenger side, plastic cover can warp, and the built in crankcase valve should be replaced anyways to keep oil out of the intake.

[@alexig1840]

Have a b58 at 90k, so far so good. 500hp 550 tourqe

[@chrisbradley3224]

These are great engines when they run. Make a lot of power under the curve and feel stronger than their rated output. Those rod bearings don't look that bad actually for a BMW N54/N55. The rod bearings in these engines are an early application of Glyco G-488 (rod side) and G-444 (cap side) bearing materials. Glyco calls these "intelligent" bearing materials and they have a softer surface that is meant to wear away and then reveal a progressively harder surface over time. So, that wear you see might have been there for quite a long time. It's some kind of tin/nickel alloy and usually looks a bit dark after they have worn in.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

👍 never heard of that, thanks for the comment info. I'm still not sure if that is a good or bad design 😂 Apparently it's meant to be a better longer lasting bearing surface design. 🤔 maybe soft spots wear away in the areas of high harder metal spots below, revealing the high spots of the harder surface below. So the crank is rolling on a nice smooth even bearing surface. 🤷‍♂️

[@chrisbradley3224]

​@@michaelbrinks8089I honestly don't know how they work in practice. A lot of N55s have rod bearing failure but it seems secondary to starvation issues. BMW has since switched to IROX sputter coated bearings and those seem to be great.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

@@chrisbradley3224 Your comments got me curious and make me wanna start reading/learning about these bearings parts I never heard about.

[@speedkar99]

That's an interesting material! Thanks for that information

[@chrisbradley3224]

@@speedkar99 No problem. I have to say I don’t know how good this material is in practice because everyone seems to have switched to the sputter coated bearings now.

[@garbellostaruzykko2799]

10:42 Him putting back the oil pump cover perfectly timed with this background thud

[@friguy4444]

15:57 Two inches from his hand there is the MAP sensor on the intake Manifold as he's saying "I'm surprised there aren't any sensors on top of here". Unfortunately he's talking to us as someone that doesn't know these engine very well. I do know that the supporting parts for the engine have been troublesome in the past (Most anyone that has any experience with them knows about these parts such as the water pump and what once was a problem but is now very rarely, the HPFP) and if you don't keep up with the maintenance. However to call this engine "A Failure" is very Naive. It's extremely popular and used massively in high power situations due to it's robustness and that the internals are mostly forged giving it much more ability to stand high boost and high power. He does know this yet is calling it a failure? I think this is due to some bitterness he has with it or those that have used it or BMW itself. He over states some of the problems and generalizes in explaining some of the things as well (Such as oil leaks and head gasket) which leads me to believe he's not just a neutral mechanic in this tear down and in calling this incredibly successful engine "A Failure". He's not saying "Why did this engine fail?" He's calling the whole engine in general a failure which is the farthest thing from the truth.

[@zachmayock4987]

I'm surprised there are so few comments relating to the rarity of this kind of internal failure under 550whp. Yes, it can and does happen from time to time at lower power. However, this engine was probably running 25-30+psi and 600+whp. Even with leaking injectors wiping oil off cylinder walls or whatever other issue you can imagine. They're still reliable internally. I realize I am a biased N54 owner. However, I'm running ~575whp on upgraded turbos and I've had one single engine problem in the last 5 years, which was a faulty crank position sensor. Not even a common issue, but anything is fair game on a 15+ year old engine. That said, about 5 years ago, I did spend $4-5k and a lot of time and effort replacing almost everything I possibly could that's external to the engine. Ultimately, the N54 is an absolute blast and it can be reliable with proper maintenance and some effort. I really have 0 concerns about longevity at 575whp. Quality tuning, be cautious with boost down low, stay on top of maintenance, etc. and all is good.

[@Vgk36]

100% its the people what can't afford the maintenance that ruin it. Guy locally trying to sell a n54 and he listed 6 things the bmw service dept listed as needing service for like 15k he did literally ZERO preventative maintenance

[@adey88splace]

I always wanted to know how those oil pumps worked, thank you very much! Great video.

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@chriswallace9113]

Looks like a lot of folks in the comments got their butts handed to them by N54s. The only reason for N54 hate because it’s a phenomenal engine and has been recognized as such by everyone that matters.

[@chrisbradley3224]

If you ever happen on an S54 I would love to see you tear it down. To me, it’s the best engine they have built.

[@bikingmoments]

Look forward to seeing a tear down of B58 in another 10 years!!

[@rcstringers]

Oil pump internals are incredible! what an epic design for a part

[@whoguy4231]

BMW love their plastic ... Cheap and breaks exactly on time right after the warranty period.

[@speedkar99]

Valve covers 🤦‍♂️

[@NorthernChev]

It's a very sad story, the route of unreliability BMW has gone down since my days, the 70s and 80s, when a BMW would EASILY run for 320,000+ miles before even needing to consider a rebuild.

[@speedkar99]

Now it's about performance at any cost...

[@jamesmedina2062]

to be fair it was tuning that likely killed this one. People could not tune in double the power in previous eras

[@stephenlemieux4822]

Very informative video; thank you. They can be troublesome engines but they are not so bad when given proper maintenance. Stay away from any tuned N54 engines - that is just asking for trouble.

[@speedkar99]

Yep! The thing is it adds up so fast on these BMW.

[@TheFrenchPug]

Mine is tuned with methanol injection. But I hardly ever run it with the tune on. At 150k. Just replaced my own turbos with Vargas upgraded ones. I'm 57 and the car hauls butt still.

[@lieutenantdan8170]

If you get an N54 car stick to 2009-2010 model year because they have the updated MSD81 ECU where as the 2007-2008 years have the very problematic MSD80 ECU.

[@Meatpipeify]

Great video. Not to be confused with the M54 which is a fantastic engine.

[@speedkar99]

Agreed ...the older ones were more reliable

[@geeniusatwrok]

M54 is the BMW equivalent of the Volvo red block. Stout, strong, nearly bulletproof. The one in my E53 X5 has almost 200K miles and starts instantly with no smoke, no leaks, no tickies and has never been opened. @@speedkar99

[@zxggwrt]

This is fantastic! I suffer from BMW but I also enjoy working on them so this is one engine I e never worked on.

[@speedkar99]

Nice! Which one(s) do you have?

[@zxggwrt]

@@speedkar99 I have a 2010 528i. I’ve had to replace the valve cover and do a transmission service where I replaced the ATF pan with a metal model from O’Reilly’s that has a replaceable filter and a drain plug. Next on the list is the oil pan gasket but it’s not bad enough to mess with now. 264k miles and a really nice car.

[@johnw3379]

You are right about the diaper boxes, very handy for sure. I love how you tell it like it is lol. How is your neighbors house going. Thanks for another fantastic and informative video!

[@speedkar99]

Me neighbor's house stalled. Probably an economic thing. It's framed, roofed and windows. That's it.

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome. I like the diaper boxes, they're Stronger than the Amazon box.

[@chriswallace9113]

My only real gripe with the N54 is the plastics. I’ve got a 2007 335i that I’ve had for 11 years or so. It just keeps taking more mods and running like a scalded dog. It’s at 135k right now and I see no reason I can’t make it to 200k.

[@Sagina1999]

Still waiting for a Honda A20A3 I like what you do!

[@trundlepufpendants]

The world still waiting for a stock one to blow up 😂

[@Sagina1999]

@@trundlepufpendants I've seen them in the junk yards. The A20A3 and A4 were the pinnacle of the series. Many are going to scrap as they are so old now. I hope he will find one!

[@speedkar99]

Didn't know an A series existed..

[@Sagina1999]

@@speedkar99 I hope you get one, and show us! I really like your videos!

[@texasblaze1016]

If bmw could make the exhaust manifold from plastic, they would.

[@speedkar99]

Coming soon!

[@mikekokomomike]

Made me laugh out loud

[@LweendoHamwendaHibeene]

Man i love this guy and his videos i love all of them. Though my is an e46 3.0 and I had the same problem on piston number 4 on m54 engine

[@speedkar99]

Did it burn the ring lands?

[@LweendoHamwendaHibeene]

Yes they were gone and the cylinder wall was in a bad shape

[@bumster33]

Old post, quite common on an m54 cars. Car running lean with cracked PVC tubing. Not catching it in time is the results you are experiencing.

[@greathey1234]

I hate all turbo direct injected engines. The n52 was good because it has neither

[@speedkar99]

Yeah. I have an n52 teardown video discussing this, linked in the description

[@fry.master]

i have owned 3 n54’s. One of them made 500whp on the original turbos at 220k miles. its all about proper maintenance + education. they will make you a better mechanic or you will fail and give up.

[@speedkar99]

I like how you put it...it'll make you a better mechanic 🤣

[@jamesmedina2062]

500 is not stock...🫠🫠🫠happy melting pistons

[@jamesmedina2062]

@@actionmade well when all the stars line up I'm sure it will be okay but today's supposed gearhead is no gearhead. They don't usually bust open their engine, build it up, and get their hands dirty. Maybe its an age thing but power today is about using a factory engine to push the limits. So not only do they gamble with fate but they also accelerate wear and tear. Age of the engine has an impact too so think ticking time bomb for those loose and wild versus what maybe you and other responsible owners will manage with their cars, taking utmost care of oil and other items like sensors.

[@fry.master]

@@jamesmedina2062 650whp is totally safe if you have a proper tune. I have a customer who has been making that on a 100k-180k motor over the last 4 years. unopened n54 with a metal pcv, catch can, index 12s and a single turbo + port fuel injection. My tune.

[@fry.master]

@@speedkar99 keep driving a camry, Ill keep driving 600+hp bmws.

[@ppatel8774]

I have a 2008 535i with the n54 no issues what so ever no oil leaks no weird noises I’m at 149k my daily driver

[@speedkar99]

Nice! Keep it maintained and don't think about tuning the boost.

[@phillipthebigj8971]

Great tear down vid thanks for sharing

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@YS_35]

N54 felt great in actual driving. In comparison N55 single turbo feels lumpy in power delivery (despite having better numbers). My N54 did fail on the camshaft (VANOS control) - massively expensive fix if it wasn't under warranty.

[@speedkar99]

Agreed. N54 is pure unreliable performance!

[@jamesmedina2062]

it did not feel all that zippy to me on acceleration but at highway speeds and higher speeds it does well

[@exiteternium]

Vanos has reduced in cost, you can find the VANOS solenoids around the 70-120 USD mark per solenoid for reliable ones.

[@grovsey3656]

​@speedkar99 had mine 7 years. Been running 565bhp now for 3 years. Regular oil changes and proper maintenance done..it's a beast. Just idiots give it a bad name.

[@exiteternium]

@@speedkar99 he's talking about the clam shell steel seals eating the clamshells, you can get an entire kit from FCP euro with lifetime warranty for around 1500, new clamshells, new seals, etc. and if it's pure unreliable performance, why does mine have 183K miles?

[@GroovesAndLands]

The only thing I saw that I liked was that beefy bedplate incorporating the main caps. I'll be that last cylinder failed because the ring ends butted together.

[@n54glo]

if you kept oil in it and did regular maintenance they are reliable and fun.

[@moneyshifters]

Reliable is a stretch.

[@AlexCapi]

This engine must have been running atleast 600hp to have a melted piston…

[@speedkar99]

Probably!

[@somerandomusernamenobodyhas]

They can actually melt pistons on OTS tunes too, provided there isn't adequate cooling from the intercooler. It's quite common to see in tuned N54s, despite how careful their ECUs are.

[@fry.master]

@@somerandomusernamenobodyhas I have been tuning n54s for the better part of a decade and NEVER seen an engine failure on an ots map. Unless the engine was already damaged, or MAYBE seen a forum post about one of the trash cobb tunes everyone knows are bad. I have seen ots maps expose bad plugs, valve cover gasket leaks, push injectors harder and expose one of those failing, overspin turbos (usually stock inlets causes this, too restrictive, its like a putting a sock in a vacuum cleaner), but never damage the internals. Truly believe the stock turbos do not make enough wind / generate enough cylinder pressure to do this damage. This engine was making easily double stock power when it failed, probably lean on a bad tune aswell. On either a single turbo or (most likely) chinese upgraded twins.

[@markburkey6371]

​@@fry.mastersay #6 injector failed, it'd be really easy for a hole to burn through a piston even on a stock tune if the O²/knock sensors don't catch it in time...using poor fuel quality could hurt as well but only mixed with the other common n54 issues...

[@fry.master]

@@markburkey6371 False. A lean condition on a cylinder will almost always cause a misfire + disabling of the cylinder altogether on n54's or any modern bmw. M54's even will use the coil pack ionization sensing to determine if an indirect injector is clogged...

[@joshuaquilliam2887]

Failure? Pretty sure the N54 won best engine of the year several years. Mine has been one of the most reliable cars I have owned. If you can't turn a wrench, and have zero mechanical skills, yah probably not the car for you. If you enjoy wrenching, and tuner type vehicles the N54 cannot be beat in it's price range. Buy a good one for 8k, put 5k in maintenance in it and it will eat most cars on the road, and do it in style. If you want Toyota type reliability then enjoy the 120hp and plastic bud light can feel.

[@speedkar99]

5K in maintenance is where many people draw the line though.

[@darklegion7780]

It's not the engine the problem. It's the owner

[@speedkar99]

Some extent

[@mostlyuselessgarage]

Thanks SpeedKar99 for confirming the BMW timed obsolescence bias. The timing chain captive on the crank is a clear indication that they expect the consumer to replace the car before the timing chain. Also the plastic oil pickup tube and $$ injectors 😅

[@markburkey6371]

As mentioned in another comment, you can remove the snout of the crank in order to get to the chain without removing said crankshaft

[@jannehokkanen8175]

Great video as always. Hope you do a volvo hybrid rear end and other volvo issues some day.

[@michaelbezoski3096]

Amazed at how hung up we in the US are about the air pollution yet recycle all the oil fumes back into the combustion, then out the tail pipe. We see the results of that in loss of efficiency, carbon build up, cat problems, O2 sensor failure. I guess that's all part of the give or take. Its a pity it takes recalls to sort out engineering problems. How efficient is that? I know nothing of these engines but they do look well built & as the commentators have said, once sorted out, run like fine German engineering. Leaks though like a Harley. 😉 That robin (bird) sounded POed in the first part of the video. Thanks Sdk99!

[@jamesmedina2062]

dude we are hung up with air pollution? How do you figure? There are only smog tests in a handful of cities and in the other 98% of counties there are none. You can ask the EPA yourself and they will tell you that SEMA bought them out. Pro-industry and EPA does not mind all the cars going catless because they will do nothing about it. Why do you think hundreds of catless downpipes are sold??? But back to your point you make a good one. My answer is that they really don't care about you. They work for industry. Port injection is way better for the atmosphere. It is cleaner and 15 times less soot. What DI does is use maybe 5% less fuel and allow sightly higher compression. But it's dirty as hell. Remember Ford, VW, and Toyota went back to port injection in mixed use.

[@IB-hn5ce]

Sorry, my mistake. The bearing shells are still on the bearing.🙃

[@kappinv2115]

"if the wastegates are working" hurt my soul haha me rn

[@speedkar99]

It's so true.

[@blakeelliott9238]

Don’t buy a n54 if you’re not prepared to get your hands dirty the car is fun tho make it worth it.

[@josephkelly4893]

Great video bro, love the N54

[@ExcaliburTTP]

sweet!!!! thank you for posting this!!

[@cXrMedia]

i didn’t know these had problems like that! i’m not a bmw guy though but the way dudes talk about them, i expected them to be a bit more reliable but

[@IB-hn5ce]

Does big end #5 on the crankshaft look bad? The damaged piston was #6 and big end #6 looks OK.

[@lawrenceK90s]

There is sensor on the manifold bro, you just looked at it 😂

[@adassk0]

10:20 The bug in the background chillind and minding his own bugs busnesses. 10:22 WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?

[@Henry_Jones]

Cant wait for a fca hurricane i6 teardown. Twin turbo chrysler product says it all

[@speedkar99]

That would be cool. I'm just looking for a Hemi engine to teardown

[@MyzteryMedia]

Ah yes after my first nightmare of a N54 I’m buying another one 🤣

[@don.timeless4993]

i still respect it because it have timing chain

[@tdmap2241]

03:56 "..absolutely coated in oil which is a typical BMW...." I came here for your dry sense of humor. Edit: 4:35 I knew that sooner or later you were going to get into trouble with your brother and your wife for using their clothes as oil spills cleaning rags..

[@speedkar99]

🤐🤐🤐

[@wrektem240]

Love my n54 ❤

[@sample3279]

My man, 80 years ago Germany and Austria were actually one thing... Nobody cared

[@speedkar99]

I thought WW2 broke out because of Austria

[@Arnys1000]

do M57 next

[@speedkar99]

Send me one !

[@Iowa599]

Suzuki Verona, 2000-2006 Factory mid-sized sedan with a FWD inline 6.

[@speedkar99]

Good to know. Very uncommon though.

[@Iowa599]

@@speedkar99 yeah! I was a Suzuki tech for the last few years & only saw a couple. They were rebadged Daewoo cars, also sold by GM & Isuzu (iirc). Decent build quality, I think, I didn't see many, and none for warranty work.

[@ladalout245]

Here in the UK we had lots of people complaining about premature N47 failures on fully serviced cars leading to horrendous repair bills and BMW just didn't want to know. Long story short, the BBC investigated it on a program called "watchdog" and commissioned a respected engineer to strip one down on air and provide an opinion. He concluded the timing chain wasn't designed to be changed and should last the life of the car so the design was defective. Many failed after less than 60,000 miles. The outcome created so much bad publicity BMW changed their stance and set up a free phone line and started paying for repairs on fully serviced vehicles. Reputation suffered but it seems they didn't learn. Here's a short clip of the program: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foLTgnyfbMx8lbcsi=052uN6Cy8IAsuFCn

[@I6N54]

N54 is a great engine, one of the best

[@speedkar99]

It sure is. After a whole long list of things are taken care of.

[@michaelbrinks8089]

🤔 might try adding permatex black tar like non hardening gasket sealer to the stock rubber gaskets anytime you take it apart.

[@speedkar99]

Okay good to know

[@LN997-i8x]

Auto Manufacturers will wax poetic about how green they are, and then put plastic covers on engines that guarantee they'll eventually leak toxic oil and fluids out into the environment.

[@greebj]

And last half as long as they could. They decided decades ago that their owners don't own their cars long enough to care how long they last beyond warranty. And I'm sure they're happy with the side effect of selling more cars more often While preaching about fuel economy and environmental responsibility and the transition to electric, yada yada

[@speedkar99]

And what happens to all that plastic at the end of its life? Can't be recycled..

[@AnthonyZbierajewski]

Has anyone ever told you that you sound like Bear from Bear In The Big Blue House?

[@speedkar99]

No, they say I sound like full house

[@AnthonyZbierajewski]

@@speedkar99 Which character?

[@olarubogdan46]

Idk. If maintained right and not modified it will last.

[@speedkar99]

After taking care of a whole bunch of stuff yeah

[@hanmingyong2904]

It ain’t a BMW if it ain’t leaking oil.

[@RedFoxwithTubeSocks-hi7jj]

Nothing says "German Luxury" like a plastic intake manifold and valve cover. Lol.

[@On2wheels94]

You could say that about any brand these days. Look under a modern Toyota lately?

[@TheYORK21]

​@@On2wheels94luckily he did dissect a Toyota now did he?

[@speedkar99]

Yeah

[@RedFoxwithTubeSocks-hi7jj]

@@On2wheels94 I didn't know Toyotas branded themselves as luxury vehicles.

[@lawrenceralph7481]

Every time I watch one of these videos I get scared of that motor.

[@ArgonFire-n3x]

Carbon build up is notorious with any direct injection engine which is most these days, this fella has no idea, he is not a mechanic by any means, he is a backyard mechanic that spins B.S

[@speedkar99]

Some engines are more prone to it than others.

[@flyonbyya]

I’d suggest slowing down the tear down just a bit…like the earlier videos

[@speedkar99]

Alright.

[@brynyard]

Not a problem, there's so much else that needs to be replaced on a regular basis on a BMW (Bring Mir Werkzeug) engine that the cumbersome chain setup is just a minor nuisance :P

[@speedkar99]

So much sympathy

[@mossab8209]

I have a worn valve seals on my Hyundai engine, can I replace them without removing the head?

[@speedkar99]

No

[@mossab8209]

@@speedkar99 thanks.

[@preetsadhal9108]

I have 2004 toyota prius . I replaced its engine 4months ago from then there is an issue while it is running on freeway hybrid battery is not being charged but when i apply break and keep it stop park car it is charging. Then , i also replaced its inverter and hybrid battery but the problem is same there. Can u plz suggest me what’s the problem with it and what should i do.

[@Ukrainian_Matchstick]

Is it your Outback BP at 0:43 or some of your clients?

[@speedkar99]

My Outback. Haven't posted much on it except the cooling issue it had. I tore it down....more videos to come.

[@sonicnofadz]

n54 wasn't a failure, n55 was a failure

[@speedkar99]

They all have their week points

[@RE4L72]

im at 110,000 miles and mine is run great, 2009 lci

[@speedkar99]

Don't over boost it

[@rawcus918]

For my money the bmw is hands down better than some broke ass Honda. Living in Orange County myself i can’t believe I even see them outside off Santa Ana

[@ChadFreeman757]

That motor is a fuckin’ beast!!😊

[@speedkar99]

When tuned right, yes.

[@Nadi-Ger]

Some other yter said "If you can't afford a new BMW, you can't afford a used one either" Nice cars though, but not very premium in some regards (plastic sht)..

[@speedkar99]

Agreed....these are very over rated cars under the hood

[@cimbomlovr1]

You need to review a Ford Barra engine. Those were built like tanks.

[@speedkar99]

What time was that built ?

[@nonamealx]

Anyways, toothbrush guy knows some shit! Thumbs up!

[@speedkar99]

Glad you appreciate it

[@nineteen76]

They're so "unreliable" the cam shafts even disappears.

[@michaelbabakhanian516]

i have 120,000 miles N54 with zero issues. it all depends on the previous owners and oil change intervals

[@nineteen76]

@@michaelbabakhanian516 Agree. Mine is at 198,000km so similar to yours. Well maintained and any worn parts replaced. Zero code, no misfire, nothing. The joke was regarding 1:12

[@EnergySeeker]

you are a engin doctor man , you shoul;d change the channel name to be the Engine doctor

[@speedkar99]

Nah. Speedkar was an 2D old racing game I used to play as a kid back on windows 98

[@jameswarren3020]

Nice video 👌

[@kclefthanded427]

Does BMW use the same black plastic as my Under Armor sports bottle?

[@duncanbarrie7397]

Specifically you say this one was boosted and failed..... ok. they're reliable if you keep them maintained and look after them.

[@Greasedagod]

Ngl I just did my valve cover gasket on my 2010 bmw 535i and the engine ceased right after that, cylinder 4 & 6 gave up idk 🤷🏾‍♂️ how that happened remind you a keep fresh oil at all time

[@speedkar99]

So what happened? They have you without oil in it?

[@Greasedagod]

@ it’ just simply gave up .. the oil was fresh.

[@garygrenier]

You shouldn't make a video on the N54 if you don't understand how the front hub and timing chain assembly works! Not blasting you just do your research first. Front Hub is removable as are both the timing gear and oil pump gear. You don't need to take the crank out to change the timing chain.

[@murk1352]

Why is it a failure, everyone including me runs 600-800W.H.P. through them & they last a long time as long as you’re not a total knob & beat the shit out it without maintaining it! I think the N54 is one of BMW’s BEST engines & you can make 1000H.P. with them with rods, pistons & a one piece spline! Can’t be to much of a failure, everyone’s still building them & looking for low hour cars with the mighty N54 in them! My single turbo 700 wheel H.P. 135 has only 42 thousand original miles, is 15 yrs old & still doesn’t leak anything & it’s all original❗️❗️❗️

[@zachmayock4987]

Amen. I have an 07 335i on RB Twos Plus around 575whp and an 08 135i on a PT6266 around 700whp. They've both been reliable cars. Sure, they require a little extra TLC compared to your average engine. The title of this guys video is nothing more than clickbait.

[@murk1352]

@@zachmayock4987 I hear ya brother, good luck with your cars & don’t part with them! In the future everyone will be looking for them like 2J’s! People don’t maintain their stuff or beat the shit out of them, 2 stepping them every 5 minutes showing off to people & wonder why their turbos are failing, then they blame manufacturers….? BMW made the B58 & S58 off of all the feed back from all the numbers the N54 created across the world! No better sounding straight six single turbo than the N54 in my opinion. Be good and have fun in those beauty’s….💪🏻💯🏁

[@flyonbyya]

This guy rocks !!!!

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@Cleanish_n54]

Isn’t that an n55 the intake manifold at least is from a n55 because it has a hole to cool the ecu. N54 have ecu by firewall n55 below intake manifold

[@crisprtalk6963]

twin turbos what could go wrong?

[@johnroehsler6440]

It’s hard to believe how much plastic BMW put in their cars

[@bimmerfab]

Change the title to : "why I'm a failure of a n54 owner" 😘

[@Techcensorshipbot]

13:10 Bring your kid to work day

[@rudolphguarnacci197]

Why did you sacrifice YOUR old woek pants and not your brother's?

[@speedkar99]

Notice no oil drippage 😎 Confidence

[@blauwebanaan4756]

Plastic pick up tube in a very expensive car 😮

[@o0-0o693]

Plastic, plastic and more plastic

[@chrisbradley3224]

Pretty much the same amount of plastic as any other modern engine, if not less. Mustangs have plastic oil pans now.

[@speedkar99]

And how does it get recycled end of life?

[@jamesmedina2062]

@@chrisbradley3224i have a ten year old newer car and it has less plastic because plastic is an insulator. Aluminum acts as a heatsink and gives you more rigidity. Ford recalled some of their trucks to install aluminum pans in them. They are now doing what they should have before which is use aluminum pans. Intake manifold is perfect use of plastic though.

[@chrisbradley3224]

@@speedkar99 It doesn’t, but it might actually take less carbon overall to make the plastic parts. It’s a tricky tradeoff. I’m good with plastics that last. Ideally BMW would leave that valve cover metal though.

[@crpgap9595]

That system is meh. I'd rather pull the whole front of the car off to fix the timing like the E39 and E46s. That gives you a chance to do all the other "While I'm here's."

[@speedkar99]

Agreed