Supercharged BMW E39 M5: Found METAL flakes in the OIL FILTER

[@royroebeck1399]

Sheeeeesh tough week for the ZeroTo60 rigs.

[@MrCybergladiator]

Good luck with it. I had a similar issue once. I'd just put a second hand engine in my, ran some high detergent oil and first change was full of metal as was the filter, some of the chunks were huge. Luckily I was on very good terms with the shop and so they said being it back, if it's done we'll give you another one. I took the engine back and they pulled the sump had a look and let me have a look as well. Turns out it was all just from the initial break in. The previous owner of the engine hadn't done the changes on schedule and the chips etc had collected in the sump. When I used the high detergent oil it had freed it all up. Bit of a scare but it was all good in the end. I ended up putting good ACL bearings in while it was open anyway. Fingers crossed it's something similar for you. Keep up the good work!

[@nathanwarren2582]

Hi, it's me again. I had the exact same amount and size of metal debree in my oil and filter on my S62. I can safely say it's definitely your rod bearings that are on their way out, I bet cylinder 1 and 7 upper bearings. I took my engine apart anyway because I wanted to forge it anyway. I'm here if you need advice

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Thanks mate! I wish i could forge this engine haha. Maybe one day. In the mean time i'll get the new rod bearings in as soon as they arrive

[@michaelvanzoggel2673]

Agree with everyone. Shit situation, don't drive it and get them swapped out. No knock is fantastic, crank should be good. Please don't keep starting it though - could be the difference between a very big rebuild and a relatively simple bearing replacement.

[@DERxTECHNIKER]

Damn 2020 is a wicked year! I did tune my n54 too and got metal particles in the oil filter as well. The funny part is, that I even looked after my rod bearings when I changed my oil pan gasket, and they were in perfect condition. So I have no idea where the glitter is originated from.

[@jgripen969]

Remember that some metal is normal. Obviously by the look of the old oil he drained, that is way too much metal. But a couple of particles in the filter wouldn’t worry me.

[@hpniemi]

Rod bearings for sure

[@christopherjefferson3561]

Replace bearings and rod bolts with ARP bolts.

[@HassanEido1]

Sorry to see that Dave. Like others have said, don't drive it or start it unless necessary. I'd just do the bearings before the panel beater. Bearings can flake off, and even show a lot of copper without spinning. If it's not spun yet, chances are your crank will be perfect still. It doesn't have a death rattle, I'd say you're OK. Even a car with a rattle(knock) can be fixed but it's a bigger job. Let's hope it's just a quick bearing job. I also hope it's not the main bearings. Tougher to change those without the engine out. I'm glad we had that 2.5k rev limiter map on there after all!

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Yaeh good point, I hadn't thought about the mains. Do you know if they're common to fail on the S engines?

[@HassanEido1]

@@ZeroTo60Tube not common

[@CASHMONEY961]

Hey Hassan. My car has the rattle(knock) plus metal glitter in the oil filter housing. You mentioned it would be a bigger job. Would you mind explaining more? Or texting me directly? I would greatly appreciate it

[@HassanEido1]

@@CASHMONEY961 you'd need to replace your crank shaft, or have it machined back to spec 👍

[@PowerslideSWE]

W/o being an expert on these but that looks like copper flakes, and that usually means rod bearings, best not to drive or even start it unless its absolutely necessary to save the crank. "While you're in there" items while doing the bearings would be the oil pump chain and tensioner and possibly the timing chains and tensioners aswell concidering the milage. Possibly more stuff aswell but thats what I could come up with. I wish you the best of luck.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Bearings were already definitely on the list of things to do. I think we’re gonna push it forward

[@seanissomething]

RIP. Prayers for the Zero-to-60 BMWs this week! 😔🙏🏻

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

haha.... we will get them back up and running, better than ever. Joys of buying old second hand stuff, isn't it.

[@motodigitalvideo]

Here I was, still coming to grips with the disappointment that is TeamN54 and even before I could dump Andrew like an old clutch and change allegiances to TeamS62.... this video!!! 😉 All good Dave, seems this job was a bit overdue and you're the lucky guy left holding the baby 😂😂😂 #BMWLife

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

haha as another person commented - its the price you pay when you choose to drive a BMW

[@seayountea4057]

Can also be metal shavings from the circlips and washers holding in the radial oil pump assy on the back of the vanos units. I think there was a post on m5board also where an aftermarket oil coolers tapped fitting circulated drill shavings through the engine. At those kms and the fact that it’s seen some added stress from the ESS kit makes me lean towards rod bearings also. Are metal flakes able to be picked up by a magnet?

[@NoP-um9dh]

Don't freak out, you don't hear any noise so Your fine, and even if you did hear noise, the bearings are made of a much softer material to prevent damage to the crankshaft, you might have some material transfer but you can wet sand with oil AKA "Polish it away" with 2000 grit and higher sand paper. I also would recommend going with a larger oil gap, king will allow you to order 0.005 of an inch over per surface watch will end up being .001 over. The Boost will place more stress on the bearings and that larger gap will create the cushion that you need, it is possible that you will have the same problem in the future if you are going with a standard oil gap. One other recommendation is to go with a high performance bearing like King bearings, they are cheaper than OEM and are designed for what you are doing Also look into getting your oil tested. In the US we have company's that will analyze you oil for $30 or $40, that will tell you exactly what the material is and it is a step in the right direction. I wish you well.

[@Wheelsanstuff]

Let’s see the bottom end, praying it’s repairable. This channel is getting depressing quick. Glad to see you both seem optimistic. At least N54 motors are everywhere. Fingers crossed for you, that v8 sounds amazing and it deserves to be driven.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Yeah it’s been a pretty horrible week in the land of old boosted BMWs. But hey, everything is fixable just got to work through it. Going to expedite the rod bearings on the s62 to before it goes to the panel shop. Can’t really understand where this metal has all come from. But who knows how the guys at the auction and the tow company treated it....

[@auszman]

I feel for you Dave - not knocking yet so you should be OK mate.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Yeah thats what im thinking/hoping/praying lol

[@blandpepper2755]

There's a couple things you could do. Safe thing to do would be stop driving and just replace the rod bearings, it is possible to do without removing the engine if the crank doesn't have too much wear, if it does have a lot of wear I would suggest completely pulling the motor remove the crank getting that professionally polished and most importantly cleaning the engine and replacing anything where those specs could be, eg. Vanos solenoids oil coilers and the oil pan if it has any baffles and you can't be certain it's 100 % clean. Just doing the rod bearings by themselves is fine but if the engine isn't fully cleaned of all the contaminants it could just go straight back into the rod bearings and you'd be right back where you started. I've only done the rod bearings on an s65 at BMW but I don't think it's much different to a s62 not super complicated if the crank is in good condition. Once u replace the bearings make sure you flush the system out with oil every couple of 100kms for a thousand Kms to make sure engine is clean. Other option is just keep flushing the oil and seeing if the sparkly stuff keeps coming out. Sucks you guys are both having problems but working at BMW I've come to realise if you wanna own a beamer u gotta pay the price :(

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

And we both realise thats the price you pay. Theyre an incredible piece of engineering but engines do wear overtime so yeah, it is what it is.

[@ben7020]

Bummer Dave, I hope the fix goes well for you. I noticed the GQ in the yard, maybe you could start a chanel on that - but nothing would happen to it 😆. Patrol wins the long race 🐢 😆

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

haha we thought about doing a video on the patrol but its just been picked up. Was actually a mates car and was just parked here for a while

[@christopherjefferson3561]

Damn y’all are having some BAD luck!

[@Pr0Lapz3r]

Get an oil analysis if at all possible. It will pinpoint where the metal is likely to come from.

[@rotorshed4115]

Park it up until rod bearings are checked.

[@TheMultiDouche]

After years of dealing with M engines, the lack of a knock suggests the bearing shell is still in place. The flakes look to be a mix of the inner copper and the outer layer of the shells. Drop the sump on it over the weekend and pull the rods bearings. I’d still be reasonably confident your crank is ok, but a visual is really needed. It’s a push cart until you have a look though.

[@brandonjohnson7825]

The black specks in the filter are timing chain guide failure I found the same in my oil filter and did a timing chain kit replacement

[@brandonjohnson7825]

I was also at 200k miles when i changed my timing chain kit and also did complete coolant system restore

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Did you do it yourself / was it a very big job?

[@crazygamer889]

Hey totally off topic but, when you installed your 17t turbos, did you drive them for a break in period? Or were able to send it right away?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

started with a run in tune and went up from there

[@pugs1377]

Is there a detergent in the liqumolly? It may have loosened gunk up that has accumulated in the oil pan over the years. Either way it looks like bearing material so good call on the bearings. I didn't hear any knock so you should be ok

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Well it turns out the previous owner always run it on the liquimolly so it shouldnt have dislodged anything new. When I did the oil change it was his oil I was removing and thats when we found the glitter so i'm not really sure

[@pugs1377]

@@ZeroTo60Tube dam

[@bstew4841]

It sounds awesome, what exhaust setup are you running?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Its the supersprint headers to highflow cats to stock resonator to straight pipes

[@ays3454]

There was a sound coming from the engine and it said ‘low oil pressure’ and stopped. Bmw guy said there is metal in the oil but they do not know where the metal is coming from. Can it be fixed or should i change the engine?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Anything can be fixed, however what is actually damaged, may cost a lot to find and replace. It depends on what the repair is worth, vs another motor.

[@maddog5814]

Just found 3 metal flakes similar to yours in my filter. Sending my oil to get it analyzed. Did you ever find out where those flakes come from?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

We never got to the bottom of it. Rod bearings were worn, but not badly. Didnt check mains, but the flakes were so big if it was bearings it would have died by now. Wondering if its timing chain related.

[@maddog5814]

@@ZeroTo60Tube I read guides can break and cause timing chain to hit the block and chip away at it. But if that is the cause you'd find timing chain pieces in the oil pan. I also read cam ledge can be the culprit especially on n54's that have steel seal instead of Teflon.

[@docgramps1]

Oil analysis, shame you don't have the old oil still. You could drop the oil / filter you have in now and have a look. If you see flakes, then definitely get that oil checked, not sure how accurate it is on new oil though. At least you'd know not to run her until you can get inside and have a look.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Well thats the thing the new oil won't show anything unusual unless i put some decent run time on the engine... which i don't want to do. Just sucks because the oil is so expensive and it'll be getting thrown away haha

[@docgramps1]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Yep, I feel you on that. The cost almost makes me want to use supermarket value oil, or get a sieve and reuse the old stuff haha. I wouldn't want to run it either until I knew what that glitter was. I mean, it's likely bearings. But the engine runs lovely, so I'd guess that you've caught it in time. Better to find out this way than with a game of, what's that new noise coming from the engine...

[@TheHeretic435]

What do I need to talk to my E39 with a laptop? Even to just check for codes. Any tips on a or the program? And an OBDII to usb cable?

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

For the monitoring in the last video you’ll need a K+DCAN cable and the program testO. If you just want to read and clear codes even a generic foxwell scanner from eBay will do the job

[@blindsheep5097]

It's a loose timing chain that is slapping on the housing. It's $1500 for the parts and 40 to 50 hours labor. I'm going through the same thing now.

[@jmsterdam]

nathaniel cox 50 (!) hours for a timing chain replacement?

[@blindsheep5097]

@@jmsterdam its a massive job if it's done properly.

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Wouldn't you hear chain slap if there was some play in the chain?

[@brandonjohnson7825]

Yes u would and no its not 40 to 50 hours its a 16 hour process by the book and i had someone quote me for $8500 bucks here in Tennessee but I ordered the timing kit which was around 400 from fcp euro and me and my buddy tackled it on a saturday morning and was done by 9 at night.

[@brandonjohnson7825]

@@ZeroTo60Tube yes u would hear chain slap and your supposed to change the timing chain tensioners every so often because they are ran off the oil pressure and they tend to go bad that or the guides have failed like mine did

[@StefanphGames]

Both cars out of the race 😥 that means more videos

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

Just a speed bump.... however, this being such an expensive motor is a bit worrying. Going to get straight on to the rod bearings. I was going to wait until after paint, but i think sooner rather than later is the better option.

[@StefanphGames]

@@ZeroTo60Tube Yeah fix the engine first before you get bigger problem please don't drive with it now until its fix i already missing video about the n54 335i already 😥

[@colorado_m5453]

Yep am dealing with this now fml

[@josephnappo]

Hey bud. Been 2 years but did you ever fix or find out what was the cause of the metal shavings in your oil? I just did an oil change yesterday and having the same issue.

[@motoringfan]

@@josephnappo Flakes/small metal bits are apparently pretty common with BMW engines. A bit more concerning on S85/S65 motors due to their rod bearing issues but otherwise not too bad of a sign.

[@MichaelRoninTV]

Do another oil change and see what the oil looks like now. With a bit of luck it could have been shavings in older oil from a previously damaged part that may have been repaired in the meantime. Wishful thinking, I know haha

[@ZeroTo60Tube]

haha no i like the wishful thinking. The rod bearings have just arrived so I will pull it apart and get these in and doing that will see what the inside looks like

[@MichaelRoninTV]

@@ZeroTo60Tube awesome, keen to hear the results and hope it's a good outcome

[@TML34]

Sounds like it’s time for an LS swap. 😁