Blown motor.. Meatal shavings and copper shavings in the oil filter

**chancewalsh** · 08-23-2004, 04:04 PM

Friday my 2003 smg m3 with 41,000 miles started to make a knocking noise.. Before I could get to the dealership it shut off in the road seized up and would not crank. It smelled horrible. I went up there today to look at the shavings in the oil filter, there were little gold flakes everywhere.They have not opened anything yet and have not dropped the pan or anything yet... They are waiting on a FActory service rep to look at it. And they want to check my DME and look at the revs.. I have the smg transmission so it was not over reved or anything... Anyway anyone else have probs like this...

**Kevlar** · 08-23-2004, 04:16 PM

Yeah... you and about two hundred other people. It sounds like the common engine problem that has plagued the E46 M3 ... hence your engine warranty extension to 100k miles that you received. You should've gotten a letter in the mail explaining the issue.

You're getting a new engine...

**chancewalsh** · 08-23-2004, 04:21 PM

Never received a letter, any chance I may get @#$^% on the deal, like them saying that they will not replace the motor...

**m3ltw98** · 08-23-2004, 04:22 PM

When you say it smells bad, does it smell like sulfur (aka, rotten eggs?) If so, your motor is toast. The smell is the oil burned up

**chancewalsh** · 08-23-2004, 04:24 PM

I dont know it was just a strong smell ...the motor will not turn they even tried to turn it and it is seized up .......with metal and copper in the oil filter..

**Kevlar** · 08-23-2004, 04:31 PM

If everything you say is to the letter... (ie. you weren't doing anything dumb... ) and you followed all the service as specified. You'll be fine. E46 M3s have a very highly tuned engine... and sometimes production tolerances are within spec but on the 'bad end' of the tolerance spectrum and the engine will run great for a while until the oil gets dirty eventually clogged a vital oil passage... and then boom.

You aren't the only person to have this problem... however, this problem normally shows up much earlier in the engine life span... I think yours is the first I've heard happen at 41k miles.

You have SMG so it's impossible for you to overrev it (unless your SMG was the cause of the problem ... which has happened due to malfuctioning SMG solenoids).

Either way... you should be fine. You'll just be without your car for about a week or two. BMW has engines readily available for this kinda thing. Last I checked, when a car comes in with this fault, they are not supposed to touch it until a field rep gets there... then they yank the engine and replace the long block.

**chancewalsh** · 08-23-2004, 04:39 PM

but when he looks at my car will that be a problem the car is gutted and only has two race seats and a cage inside. I have Dinan mods, And the rev limiter has been raised slightly. And Im sure the dme will reveal that the car has been taken there many times... I just dont wont any problems and I am trying to prepare for the worst... thanks

**Kevlar** · 08-23-2004, 04:52 PM

Ah... that's going to make things more interesting, but none of those items are related to the engine issue you are having. Reference this URL:

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

The DME only records time spent over redline... you could spend all day at 8000rpm without a problem, recording only starts at 8100 I believe.

**m3j0n** · 08-23-2004, 07:25 PM

do the 04s have this warranty too kevin?

**Kevlar** · 08-23-2004, 08:01 PM

'01 - '03 come with an extended 6yr/100k engine warranty. I do not believe the '04 comes with the extended warranty.

However, in this case, he is still covered by his 4yr/50k mile original warranty.

**JAlfredPrufrock** · 08-23-2004, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by Kevlar

Ah... that's going to make things more interesting, but none of those items are related to the engine issue you are having.

It's definitely arguable that aftermarket engine software was related to his issues.

IMO it most likely had nothing to do with it, but that's most likely not the stance BMW's field rep will take when he gets there and sees how the car has been modified.

**Kevlar** · 08-23-2004, 08:52 PM

Engine software will make his battle a little more difficult, but I doubt is the source of the problem as it sounds like a lack of lubrication issue instead of combustion problem.

**natureboyyy** · 08-23-2004, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by chancewalsh

but when he looks at my car will that be a problem the car is gutted and only has two race seats and a cage inside. I have Dinan mods, And the rev limiter has been raised slightly. And Im sure the dme will reveal that the car has been taken there many times... I just dont wont any problems and I am trying to prepare for the worst... thanks

wow. do you just have Dinan mods? please keep us posted on what happens. we'll be able to see how Dinans warranty holds up.

**chancewalsh** · 08-23-2004, 10:15 PM

Thursday I should know something

**ATL04M3** · 08-23-2004, 10:31 PM

Yes, please keep us in the loop. I have dinan myself and I drive my car pretty hard from time to time. Mine is an 04 and I thought that these issues had been resolved. Yours is the first 03 that I have heard of with the problem (41K that's alot of miles in less than 2 years). How often did you change the oil? I change my every 4K

Good luck - I hope the cards play in your favor.

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 07:49 PM

I get a new motor, no problem. It will be here next week... Thank God

**Kevlar** · 08-24-2004, 07:52 PM

That's what I thought

... your engine is the first I've ever heard of letting go with that much mileage.

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 07:54 PM

I threw a bearing but did not crack block or anything.. What kind of mileage were the other cars

**Kevlar** · 08-24-2004, 07:56 PM

Many of the other issues occured before 10k miles. A few let go after 10k, but not many. Yours is the first I've heard of letting go at 41k miles. What was the production date of your M3?

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 07:58 PM

Not sure of production date It is a 2003, but I never got a letter about a recall and besides my smg going out at 800 miles I have never had any problems and I run the car very hard.

**Kevlar** · 08-24-2004, 08:05 PM

If it's a 2003, then it's outside of the "prone to failure" production window. You probably just got an unlucky engine. You may want to call the BMW customer service number and give them your VIN number to see if you got the 6yr/100k extended engine warranty just to be sure.

My car is a early '03 and I received a letter about the engine recall not affecting me, but extended my engine warranty to 6yr/100k as a good faith gesture so I wouldn't be worried.

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 08:53 PM

Yes they told me I had the 6 yr warranty

**natureboyyy** · 08-24-2004, 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by chancewalsh

I get a new motor, no problem. It will be here next week... Thank God

thats awesome man. please, tell us some more details. what did the rep or anyone else say about your mods? did it matter that the mods were dinan? did you have any other mods? did the software issue come up at all?
i've been waiting to mod this car in fear of this very problem. and you might be able to clear some of it up.
thanks

by the way check this out. the engine problem might be a little more wide spread than first thought and alot more recalls might be happening.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=40389

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 09:01 PM

They said nothing about my mods... They were really nice

**chancewalsh** · 08-24-2004, 09:03 PM

Also besides the dinan stuff i have uuc sway bars, i forged wheels gutted interior, fk coilovers, sparco seats and 4 point roll cage.

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