E92 328ic ENGINE BLOWN???!!!

[giodude1]

here it goes:

I switched to 07 328ic manual transmission from 06 E90 325i automatic. I found a big difference between those to cars( even tho they're almost the same model) and totally loved my new car.

But unfortunately while i was driving down on freeway with the speed 77mph, in 6, i tried to shift it in 4th and all of a sudden rpm went up to 8000. I immediately put it in neutral and pulled over. The car couldnt start after that. After they diagnosed it and checked everything in the computer they told me i mis-shifted it in 2nd. Now they are asking 19000 for the replacement of the engine.

My question is could it be possible that engine had some kind of previous problem and dealership is just messing with me so they dont take the responsibility for the damage( because im almost positive i shifted it into gear 4 instead of 2, however cant remember for sure) also when i asked for the print out of what was EXACTLY wrong with the engine they cant provide me with the information.

Im really confused on what step to take next and really would appreciate your help. The car is also out of warranty and it has 73000 miles on it.

[mryakan]

There is absolutely no way the engine would rev at 8K in 4th at 77mph. You made a money shift (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=money%20shift).
Mistakes happen, and some are costly. Anyway, if the car is out of warranty, why would the dealer lie to you!

[giodude1]

There is absolutely no way the engine would rev at 8K in 4th at 77mph. Mistakes happen, and some are costly. Anyway, if the car is out of warranty, why would the dealer lie to you!

Because i purchased the car 10 days ago and i still have 30 day warranty on engine and suspension.

do you have any idea where i can buy new/used engine at a cheaper price?

[amdspitfire]

engine has to get replaced or rebuilt depending on how bad the dammage is, 19k however is pretty damn expensive for an engine swap.

[giodude1]

engine has to get replaced or rebuilt depending on how bad the dammage is, 19k however is pretty damn expensive for an engine swap.

since you live in norcal... any place you know where i can get it done for a cheaper price?

[E92Vancouver]

here it goes:

I switched to 07 328ic manual transmission from 06 E90 325i automatic. I found a big difference between those to cars( even tho they're almost the same model) and totally loved my new car.

But unfortunately while i was driving down on freeway with the speed 77mph, in 6, i tried to shift it in 4th and all of a sudden rpm went up to 8000. I immediately put it in neutral and pulled over. The car couldnt start after that. After they diagnosed it and checked everything in the computer they told me i mis-shifted it in 2nd. Now they are asking 19000 for the replacement of the engine.

My question is could it be possible that engine had some kind of previous problem and dealership is just messing with me so they dont take the responsibility for the damage( because im almost positive i shifted it into gear 4 instead of 2, however cant remember for sure) also when i asked for the print out of what was EXACTLY wrong with the engine they cant provide me with the information.

Im really confused on what step to take next and really would appreciate your help. The car is also out of warranty and it has 73000 miles on it.

This happened to me once on my 323. But the revs only went up to 6,000 rpm from about 2,000 rpm. I think I shifted from 5th to 2nd.

Anyway, you need to get a hold of a written off BMW from a wrecker. One that has had extensive rear end damage, but the engine is fine. Buy one here:

http://www.avtofrom.us/auto/salvage-for-sale/BMW/328

I would guess you could get a wreck for $5,000. It would be about 4 hours to pull the motor out of the wreck and 4 hours to put the new motor into your car. So labour would be $1,200 and the engine would be $5,000 for a total of $6,200 plus shop materials.

[aquila163]

Yes there is a design defect in your engine, it was not built to go 8000 rpm's EVER. There is no print out for the mechanical damage you did by putting it in 2nd gear. There is no sensor that tells if your valves are bent or have bounced off the pistons so the diagnostic computer can't make a 'print out'. Suggesting the dealer is trying to 'rip you off' by not giving a print out is desparate. 8000 rpm's in 4th gear I think works out to about 157 mph, so give up on that idea. Really sorry for your loss but there is wisdom in this post. You can definitely do better than $19000 for a replacement engine. Check with your insurance company and tell them a dear ran out in front of you. They may consider that fraud but saying you went into 4th gear to get a free engine isn't really any different than saying a dear ran out and you tried to panic stop by downshifting. Good luck.

[amdspitfire]

since you live in norcal... any place you know where i can get it done for a cheaper price?

I do all my work myself so I don't know any good shops, theres plenty of references on this forum. Do a search and start calling the shops up to get a price from them.

[floydr]

I would guess you could get a wreck for $5,000. It would be about 4 hours to pull the motor out of the wreck and 4 hours to put the new motor into your car. So labour would be $1,200 and the engine would be $5,000 for a total of $6,200 plus shop materials.

+ Good advice.

[mihalis]

Let me tell you a similar story with a different outcome...

I was driving my 330ci...I was in fifth going about 65-70, I tried to put it in forth, before I knew, b/c I was talking to my gf at that time, I put it in 2nd instead, as I released the clutch, I realized the rpms climbed well past the redline, the rear wheels locked up and the traction control light started to flash. I quickly pressed the clutch again, and put it in 4th, and continued to drive without any problems whatsoever. And I owned the car for many months after that, and took it to autoX and DE's, without any problems...

My opinion is that you cannot blow the engine that easily. I really think you should get a second opinion. Computers in cars are much smarter these days, so it sounds unlikely you blew the engine. I would get a second opinion about this. Unless you drove at 8k rmp for a minute or so, I cannot see how you blew the engine. Also, do yourself a favor, I forget what they are called, but there is something you can buy that prevents mis-shifts in a manual. It could be that the ECU read such a high rpm and shut down the car to prevent damage.

Have you tried dis-connenting the battery for a good minute plus, re-connect it, and tried to re-start it? Anything is worth a try, and if the engine is really blown, you have nothing to lose. I can share with you another similar story of mine where this worked, and again, no problems.

[sfhondapilot]

Ask for a copy of the DME printout. It should show the engine rpm and the date/time of the overrev. I am not positive that all this info is available but some of it should be as this is a common problem and DME stored info was the way of proving the moneyshift.

[bhess16]

I too think it's unlikely you blew the motor...the rev limiter should have kicked in and prevented you from reving your motor to 8K. There's a reason they build in that sort of protection. Do a compression test and see if you have good compression across all cylinders just to be safe. If you have good compression and your injection system and fuel system is working properly, your car should start

[Razor2010]

Sorry to hear - hope that some how your engine is OK. Good luck ! :redspot

[amdspitfire]

I too think it's unlikely you blew the motor...the rev limiter should have kicked in and prevented you from reving your motor to 8K. There's a reason they build in that sort of protection. Do a compression test and see if you have good compression across all cylinders just to be safe. If you have good compression and your injection system and fuel system is working properly, your car should start

rev limit will not prevent this, its a miss shift and no software intervention can react fast enough. The valves probably kissed the pistons bending them.

[mryakan]

rev limit will not prevent this, its a miss shift and no software intervention can react fast enough. The valves probably kissed the pistons bending them.
+1, even if the DME figured out you money shifted, what is it going to do? It cannot disengage the clutch for you, so you engine is still connected to your transmission, which are connected to your wheels, which are connected to the road. According to the laws of physics, something has got to give. Cutting off gas from the engine isn't going to help here.
As for 8K not doing damage to the engine, consider that the redline is at 6.5-7K. Overreving the engine by 1000rpm is surely not good, even for the shortest of times. I'd actually be shocked if no damage happened.

[Jed]

rev limit will not prevent this, its a miss shift and no software intervention can react fast enough. The valves probably kissed the pistons bending them.


+1, even if the DME figured out you money shifted, what is it going to do? It cannot disengage the clutch for you, so you engine is still connected to your transmission, which are connected to your wheels, which are connected to the road. According to the laws of physics, something has got to give. Cutting off gas from the engine isn't going to help here.
As for 8K not doing damage to the engine, consider that the redline is at 6.5-7K. Overreving the engine by 1000rpm is surely not good, even for the shortest of times. I'd actually be shocked if no damage happened.

+2

It's not even an issue of software intervention. At that point, it's a mechanical over-rev, you're forcing the gears in past the rev limiter. Nothing the rev limiter can do.

I've done it in my E36 325is, as soon as the revs shot up to redline, I pushed the clutch in immediately and took it out of gear.

[fun2drive]

Geodude1:
This is a hard mistake and the only good news is that you can most likely get a good used engine a lot cheaper than what BMW quoted you. I would check with the local BMWCCA web site and ask them too if you were going to get the engine rebuilt or had to pop for a used engine where would you do it.

There is no telling what happened to your engine if over sped like what happened to you. It might be a good idea to get the head pulled and see how bad it really is. Piston to valve interference is likely. However if the crank is good new pistons, connecting rods and the head replaced or redone might be all that is needed.

Over simplification yes but realistically until it is cracked open you just don't know. I would also suggest based on a suggest from the BMWCCA guys to get a wrench that can use a camera scope through the spark plugs to investigate what happened. Not as good as cracking it open but you can see damage that way too.

Post what is found and what you decide to do.
Feel for you man this is something we all have done or will do with a manual tranny. I would be lying if I said I never did but I was lucky I never blew it up....

[Majikthese42]

There is a N52 with 26841 miles with a "buy it now" price of $2999 on fleabay right now.

Fortunately (for you) people tend to wreck cars more often than the motors need replacement.

I'd guess $3-$4k for a low mileage motor, maybe a little more, and a couple of day's labor plus a few hundred bucks worth of misc. parts. Not that you would want that particular motor, but the price probably reflects the cost of this incident more accurately than the BMW dealer's $19000 estimate.

Find a tame indy BMW garage! You do NOT want to take an out-of-warranty Eurocar to the dealer for repairs!

[CleanBaldy]

In Buffalo, NY, we would say "you skunked it." A few years ago on our local forum, one of the members named SkunkApe, with a nice and shiny rare colored M3 did a 5-2 shift and blew his motor. He had a ton of work done to it and it was caught on video.

From that day forward, that maneuver has been deemed "skunking it"

Sorry to hear about the mistake man :( I can't believe they're trying to say $19,000... that's nuts.

What really sucks is that you told them how you did it. If you went it and said "it just died and wouldn't restart" and didn't tell them about the shifting, you'd probably be getting a new engine under their warranty. I'm sure that after you came right out and told them what you did, they decided to see if you're an idiot too by quoting you an astronomical number. Go somewhere else... that $19,000 is crazy talk.

[Razor2010]

Great advice for this guy.....I am feeling a little better for him knowing he will only need to spend $4.5k to $7.5K to get back on the road enjoying his ride as compared to the $19k he was originally quoted :eek::mad