[natesi]

Howdy all,

I just purchased a 2011 N52 528i – and have some mechanical questions about things I’m seeing – if they are worrisome, or not.

Questions:

1. When I back the car up, I get a whirring sound – see video. Is this OK? The transmission seems to be shifting fine. The sound occurs while backing up (using a little throttle) AND slowing down (braking)
2. When starting the car (especially cold) it feels like the engine is bouncing around in the engine bay for about 30 seconds to maybe a minute – BUT when I put the car in drive and brake torque it, the engine hardly moves. So I don’t think it’s motor mounts. Is this normal?
3. A new battery was purchased earlier this year and a new alternator installed, as well -- but the car wasn’t driven much by the previous owner. So as I was fiddling with the car I put the CTEK charger on it – it went 4 to 5 hours and never got to stage 4. When I drive the car at a steady state, my OBD2 reader states the voltage is 13.1. At idle 13.3, and off throttle and braking it can get as high as 14.7 to 14.9 – but this occurs VERY briefly as I do mostly freeway driving. How in the world will a huge AGM battery ever get charged on 13.1 volts? I thought maybe something was wrong, but clearly the car can charge at a higher rate. So, does this sound OK?
4. After driving a long while, I got home and was idling in the driveway (in park) and I felt a sudden “thud” – as if I ran something over – but of course I wasn’t moving. I cycled the AC on and off, but couldn’t reproduce it. I just happen to look down at the OBD2 scanner and I noticed the alternator was now pumping out 14.4 volts – at idle – for the first time all day. So, I don’t know if maybe the alternator suddenly kicked in or what? Anyone have any “thuds” while idling in park?
5. I’m seeing some oil on the air filter box, next to the NEW alternator – see video. At first I thought it was oil being flung up by the accessory belt, but there’s no signs of oil on the belt – it looks brand new and bone dry. There’s some oil on the engine, but it looks like prior leaks to me. I don’t think the OFHG is currently causing a problem (see pic of underside of OFHG). The oil appears to match up with the bearing / pully area of the new alternator. Is it OK for a new alternator to leak some bearing oil? It was installed 800 miles ago.
6. Looking under the car with the belly pan off: It appears the oil pan is seeping, which I understand is expected on the N52. However, I noticed the steering rack motor coated in oil. Will this cause the motor in the steering rack to prematurely fail? What about the oil on the bushing? Are these concerns? There’s also some oil seeping at the back of the engine where it meets the transmission. It looks like some sort of electronic module is wet. See video.
7. There are some plastic liners cracked or missing, leading into the front wheel well. See pics. Are these critical to fix?
8. The previous owner had the oil changed 800 miles ago at a BMW specialty shop. When I checked the oil level it is reporting as half full. My understanding is that N52s burn oil – is this amount in 800 miles OK? Of course, I’m ASSUMING the BMW shop filled the oil COMPLETELY – although I don’t really know. I’m questioning their thoroughness because I also noticed, while under the car, that they didn’t even use a crush washer – and the oil plug is dripping oil. Seems crazy, but trust me, the crush washer isn’t there.

Thanks for the help, all!

YOUTUBE videos below - and then pictures below that.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by natesi

Howdy all,

I just purchased a 2011 N52 528i – and have some mechanical questions about things I’m seeing – if they are worrisome, or not.

Questions:[LIST=1][*]When I back the car up, I get a whirring sound – see video. Is this OK? The transmission seems to be shifting fine. The sound occurs while backing up (using a little throttle) AND slowing down (braking)...

I'm pretty sure that's normal. I can remember every car I've owned did this; my manual cars were worse. Reverse uses 1st gear, so that may be the explanation.

[natesi]

Thanks. I've never had an automatic sound quite this pronounced, that I can recall. It sounds like a manual transmission, I agree. I had an F30 with the same transmission and I don't think it sounded like this though.

Is it possible this is a differential noise? I can't tell where the sound is coming from, but if I had to guess I'd say the transmission area.

[natesi]

Surprised no one is really responding.

Item #3 - The charging seems fine now.

[Surly73]

1/ sounds "normal" on video, but whether it is identical-but-louder than others will never come through on video.

3/ If the vehicle thinks the battery is above 80% state of charge (SOC) it will only actively charge an AGM at 14.8V when you are coasting. You'll see the fuel economy bar swing to the blue when it will be doing this. If the vehicle thinks the SOC is <80% then it will be at 14.8VDC all the time.

It's important to make sure that your vehicle's guess at SOC as as accurate as possible. To help with this:
1/ if you're hooking up a charger, connect under the hood not at the battery
2/ ensure the battery capacity is accurately coded in the DME
3/ trigger battery registration when you install a new battery

Periodically charging with a CTEK in AGM mode from the under hood terminals is an excellent idea.

4 and 2 sound like you might be getting misfires. Use a BMW specific scan tool or app to scan for codes regularly while you figure this out.

5/ clean it and see if it comes back. No idea how old that is

8/ N52s can't be generalized as "burning oil". When I had an N52 there was no measurable oil consumption between oil changes (done around 5k-8k depending on conditions).

You bought a new-to-you car - just change all the fluids. The copper washer for the drain plug comes with the new filter. Get Mann HU816x (or worst case Mahle or Hengst - do NOT look at any other brands). Be prepared to find goofy crap with your drain plug (stripped, epoxied in). There will also be an O-ring to change on your oil filter cap that comes with the filter. Make sure that your oil filter cap is genuine or OE and has the cage that goes inside the filter intact or replace the cap with genuine before driving any further.

Once you have verified all of that critical stuff and have the oil level (and type) correctly set, you can rest easy about all of that stuff and carry on.

[natesi]

Originally Posted by Surly73

1/ sounds "normal" on video, but whether it is identical-but-louder than others will never come through on video.

3/ If the vehicle thinks the battery is above 80% state of charge (SOC) it will only actively charge an AGM at 14.8V when you are coasting. You'll see the fuel economy bar swing to the blue when it will be doing this. If the vehicle thinks the SOC is <80% then it will be at 14.8VDC all the time.

It's important to make sure that your vehicle's guess at SOC as as accurate as possible. To help with this:
1/ if you're hooking up a charger, connect under the hood not at the battery
2/ ensure the battery capacity is accurately coded in the DME
3/ trigger battery registration when you install a new battery

Periodically charging with a CTEK in AGM mode from the under hood terminals is an excellent idea.

4 and 2 sound like you might be getting misfires. Use a BMW specific scan tool or app to scan for codes regularly while you figure this out.

5/ clean it and see if it comes back. No idea how old that is

8/ N52s can't be generalized as "burning oil". When I had an N52 there was no measurable oil consumption between oil changes (done around 5k-8k depending on conditions).

You bought a new-to-you car - just change all the fluids. The copper washer for the drain plug comes with the new filter. Get Mann HU816x (or worst case Mahle or Hengst - do NOT look at any other brands). Be prepared to find goofy crap with your drain plug (stripped, epoxied in). There will also be an O-ring to change on your oil filter cap that comes with the filter. Make sure that your oil filter cap is genuine or OE and has the cage that goes inside the filter intact or replace the cap with genuine before driving any further.

Once you have verified all of that critical stuff and have the oil level (and type) correctly set, you can rest easy about all of that stuff and carry on.

Thanks for the response and all the tips.

Regarding the alternator bearing flinging oil onto the airbox: It comes back every time I wipe it away and go for a drive. So, definitely still leaking. I find this very strange.

The previous owner got the alternator installed less than a month ago and it comes with a 3 year warranty from the repair shop - transferable to the next owner. So I guess I can just see how it goes, but it's a bit disturbing.

How critical do you think it is to replace those plastic liners - especially the passenger side? I do a lot of freeway driving and I'm guessing water might get make its way through the underside of the bumper.

Thanks,

[StradaRedlands]

We have an '11 specifically for the N52. Great motor. Rest of the car has been a bit of a money pit. But running great now! How many miles are on your car BTW?

It looks like you 100% have an OFHG leak here:



It's not terrible, but it's there. Do that super easy job (surprised you don't have a cooler there) along with the Mickey Mouse flange, and probably the tensioner and belt at the same time. Belt looks like it might be just starting to walk off the front of the tensioner?

Ignore the oil level until it says add quart. Then add and see how long it lasts. Lots of ways for oil to leak out of a BMW engine! Clean off the engine as best you can and start from scratch to track down the source(s)

Change the transmission fluid and filter right away... it's past due. 100,000 km/62,000 mile interval on those. Presuming your car is at or past that mileage.

Change the coolant (BMW branded is well priced), brake fluid, and rear diff oil (I like Redline). Doing all of the above gives a great starting point for monitoring the car!

Confirm the battery type matches what is coded for the car (Bimmergeeks Protool is my rec) and also that the new battery was registered when installed (it'll list in kilometers).

Get a Blackstone oil analysis when you change the oil, just to see if there is any excessive wear to be concerned about. Probalby will be fine, but $35 well spent. I go with 10k mile oil changes, even though the CBS system says it's not due for another 4k/four months.

Post some pics and write stuff here... we tend to like that!

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by natesi

Thanks for the response and all the tips.

Regarding the alternator bearing flinging oil onto the airbox: It comes back every time I wipe it away and go for a drive. So, definitely still leaking. I find this very strange.

I wouldn't be 100% sure that the source of the oil is the bearing just yet. If it is returning, something is actively leaking, but it could be valve cover or OFHG oil being flung by the belt, for instance. In which case that's critical to fix.

I assume you're sure that it's oil and not coolant (should dry white if it was coolant, not stay wet forever, but just asking). From the dust stuck to the airbox fore and aft of where you can see that it's wet, something could have been leaking for a while. Oil leaking from above into the alternator could have killed the old one in the first place.

The previous owner got the alternator installed less than a month ago and it comes with a 3 year warranty from the repair shop - transferable to the next owner. So I guess I can just see how it goes, but it's a bit disturbing.

See above - the original alternator could have been killed by whatever is leaking.

How critical do you think it is to replace those plastic liners - especially the passenger side? I do a lot of freeway driving and I'm guessing water might get make its way through the underside of the bumper.

Thanks,

I wouldn't leave my car like that on the passenger side, but I don't think water is the concern. I think everything in that area is designed to get wet in normal operation. You will have some strange air pressures, could could get tearing, flapping, or progressively increasing damage at higher speeds because air pressure is building up somewhere it should not.

[natesi]

Yeah, there is some seepage starting at the OFHG – but so far it is super minor.

There’s no sign of oil on the belt or the pullies - and the ONLY place any oil is flung, as far as I can tell, is right by the alternator. That’s why I think it’s coming from the alternator. Plus, it doesn’t really line up with the belt – lines up more with the bearing or the “shaft” coming out of the alternator. It doesn’t look like the belt is walking off to me – everything looks dead-on. I haven’t pulled the cover off to look at the top side of the valve cover though – need to do that and peek around some more. Aside from the minor seepage starting at the OFHG, I can’t find any active oil leaks other than the crank case though.

Yes – I want to revise the cooling system soon, as well – and do some other maintenance items. At that point I’ll probably clean up the engine and get rid of all the old oil, as well. It’s shameful the repair shop didn’t clean any of the old oil off after they did the last OFHG.

Yeah, need to post some pics - cleaning the crap out of the car now.

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

We have an '11 specifically for the N52. Great motor. Rest of the car has been a bit of a money pit. But running great now! How many miles are on your car BTW?

I’m at 117K What kind of problems have you had with your 2011? I’m very curious.

Originally Posted by Surly73

I assume you're sure that it's oil and not coolant (should dry white if it was coolant, not stay wet forever, but just asking). From the dust stuck to the airbox fore and aft of where you can see that it's wet, something could have been leaking for a while. Oil leaking from above into the alternator could have killed the old one in the first place.

See above - the original alternator could have been killed by whatever is leaking.

I wouldn't leave my car like that on the passenger side, but I don't think water is the concern. I think everything in that area is designed to get wet in normal operation. You will have some strange air pressures, could could get tearing, flapping, or progressively increasing damage at higher speeds because air pressure is building up somewhere it should not.

Thanks.

Yeah, definitely oil; not coolant. Good to know the BMW coolant dries white - will keep an eye out for that.

When I looked at another F10 I did see oil all over the alternator – I can see how oil would kill these things.

[ezaircon4jc]

If you're leaking oil on the serpentine belt... FIX THE LEAK IMMEDIATLY!!! Oil on the belt will cause it to break and there's an excellent chance the broken belt will be "sucked" into the oil pan through the front seal.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by natesi

I’m at 117K What kind of problems have you had with your 2011? I’m very curious.

We're at 135k miles and have had to do just about everything after purchasing it at 95k: CCV/valvecover, alternator, starter, DISA valves, water pump/'stat, oil level sensor, radiator. Due to where/how the problems developed, the work was mostly done at a shop, either indy or dealer, so it added up. In hindsight, most of the problem was caused by the alternator. PO had a crap aftermarket one that wasn't communicating properly with the BSD bus, so gave what were probably false codes for oil sensor and water pump.

Only problem now is the VANOS recall. Everything else is running great! Rear subframe, guibo, diff bushings are all cracking and need replacing. Waiting nervously for when shocks go out, as they are stupid-expensive to purchase. Hoping to nurse it to 150k miles without any additional problems and get our $$$ out of it!!!

[natesi]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

We've at 135k miles and have had to do just about everything after purchasing it at 95k: CCV/valvecover, alternator, starter, DISA valves, water pump/'stat, oil level sensor, radiator. Due to where/how the problems developed, the work was mostly done at a shop, either indy or dealer, so it added up. In hindsight, most of the problem was caused by the alternator. PO had a crap aftermarket one that wasn't communicating properly with the BSD bus, so gave what were probably false codes for oil sensor and water pump.

Only problem now is the VANOS recall. Everything else is running great! Rear subframe, guibo, diff bushings are all cracking and need replacing. Waiting nervously for when shocks go out, as they are stupid-expensive to purchase. Hoping to nurse it to 150k miles without any additional problems and get our $$$ out of it!!!

Yes, it DOES add up fast - especially when paying someone. I priced out refreshing the cooling system: Radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, new expansion tank, replace plastic thing coming out of the block, coolant, etc. The PARTS, at RockAuto, was just shy of $1K - before shipping, taxes, etc.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by natesi

Yes, it DOES add up fast - especially when paying someone. I priced out refreshing the cooling system: Radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, new expansion tank, replace plastic thing coming out of the block, coolant, etc. The PARTS, at RockAuto, was just shy of $1K - before shipping, taxes, etc.

The F10 and N52 is very user friendly... a lot more room in the engine bay than in an E90. Definitely do as much as possible at home!!!