hegie

M3 Engine failure how common is it

zoog

depends what you mean by failure but the VANOS thingy does have problems if my friend's expoerience is anything to go by.

hegie

have heard the engines r failing

dhorwich

http://members.roadfly.com/jason/m3engines.htm

Dan

roee

It's not for E46 in general, but E46 M3s only. And yea, there were dozens documented in a web site, if you keep in mind that this number is mostly made from members of several forums (such as Roadfly), it gets scary.

Brilliant car nevertheless


[Edited by roee - 12/14/2002 10:13:30 AM]

dhorwich

Surly they have a rev limiter that takes care of this..!!

Dan

Skittles

There was about 1% failure rate on M3 engines, BMW changed a part (I think it was a bearing) in June production. However this part is faulty, and lots of M3s made in this period have engine failures (about 10%).

I believe the part has been corrected.

BMW do however change the engine no questions asked.

sc00by57

bmw engine problems check here!



[Edited by sc00by57 - 12/14/2002 2:48:56 PM]

DazV

VANOS went on my E36 M3 EVO recently.

£2500 to repair, 4 days in the dealer, all covered by warranty.

scoobysnacks

That damn VANOS problem... putting me off getting an M3 (E36) which I was considering. Is it because of the bolts on the variable cams failing? Have BMW said there is a permanent fix for this design fault (which it surely is from the number of cases I've read about) so it won't happen to you again?

POC

From what I gather with regard to the VANOS failures on E36 M3's, the vanous unit itself can slightly work loose from its original position thus twisting a bit, mucking up its alignment and exploding etc, the shrapnel can then run about the engine and take the whole lot apart.

BMW warrenty covers this, have heard stories of them mending it FOC even when the car has been out of warrenty.

I had a 95 3.0 M3 for a while last summer, the noise of the engine and exhaust note alone made it a quality purchase. Love em, will have another soon.

ajm

Usually vanos failures on E36 M3's are due to oil pissing out of them (had one on mine). They can't be repaired and the whole unit has to be replaced. The oil is at an extremely high pressure inside the unit.

DazV

Yes, my VANOS unit was found to have a an oil leakage and they replaced the whole unit.

TopBanana

Know a guy with an E46. His blew up. The end