[Nickco43]

In January I found out that my engine was sludged up by the original owner. After driving approximately 1500 miles I ran LM engine flush before doing another oil change and adding cera tec to help prolong the life of my abused engine.

I found this bad boy in the oil filter:





The engine runs perfect and everything else is dialed in on the car but I am worried I might be stuck holding the bag when the engine goes bad. Should I part out the car and dump it or am I overreacting and I can still get a few more years out of my neglected engine?

[M_Bimmer]

Hey Nickco43, I thought you were getting rid of your F10 anyways....

After ALL the work you put into your car, you should drive it around until the engine gives you a serious problem, then part it out...I might even be interested in some of your parts at that time....:-)


Your exterior color with my interior....hmmm....

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Hey Nickco43, I thought you were getting rid of your F10 anyways....

After ALL the work you put into your car, you should drive it around until the engine gives you a serious problem, then part it out...I might even be interested in some of your parts at that time....:-)


Your exterior color with my interior....hmmm....

I am leaning towards driving the car around until the engine grenades but I want at least a few years out of it before it does. Even if I wanted to get rid of it I would feel bad dumping the car onto someone else knowing the condition of the engine.

[M_Bimmer]

Good to hear....

Maybe an engine rebuild is in the future?

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Good to hear....

Maybe an engine rebuild is in the future?

I drove the car after the oil change + cera tec and it runs better than ever. I have no idea how a sludged engine with metal shavings runs perfect.

What I am telling myself to make me feel better is that all of those metal shavings were stuck in the engine sludge and the engine cleaner flushed them all out.

Unless GME goes to $10k a share I am going to drive the car until it blows up.

Such a shame this engine is shot since I spent so much time and money on it. At least this was a lesson learned young.

[Nickco43]

I put stock spark plugs in the car and removed MHD. The car would not go past 15 MPH before it started bucking and leaning out.

I flashed Map 0 and the car runs and drives now but there is some air intake code and a CEL.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Hey Nickco43, I thought you were getting rid of your F10 anyways....

After ALL the work you put into your car, you should drive it around until the engine gives you a serious problem, then part it out...I might even be interested in some of your parts at that time....:-)


Your exterior color with my interior....hmmm....

I am removing all of my retrofits and I am selling the car. I am done with this car and the fourth owner can deal with this shit.

[M_Bimmer]

Sorry Nick...good thing you didn't go through with the merino leather dashboard and door cards…

You might as well sell ALL your retrofits with the car....next owner might need them to feel "good" about their purchase.....

If you're pissed now, don't calculate your ROI....just be happy with your Gamestop stock returns....

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by M_Bimmer

Sorry Nick...good thing you didn't go through with the merino leather dashboard and door cards…

You might as well sell ALL your retrofits with the car....next owner might need them to feel "good" about their purchase.....

If you're pissed now, don't calculate your ROI....just be happy with your Gamestop stock returns....

I plan on removing the wheels and tires, front bumper, 6wb, nbt evo, m sport steering wheel and airbag, soft close doors and possibly the power trunk.

I want to remove my ACC parts but I can not convince myself to remove that DSC pump again.

I am super happy I will be able to buy back my blue e90 that was super dialed in and sorted. It will be cheap reliable transport while I get my life started.

[Wanwansuii]

If I were you, I would keep the car and drive it as is. You put a lot of work and money into adding all of those nice features, only to undo?

[AnotherM]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

In January I found out that my engine was sludged up by the original owner. After driving approximately 1500 miles I ran LM engine flush before doing another oil change and adding cera tec to help prolong the life of my abused engine.

I found this bad boy in the oil filter:





The engine runs perfect and everything else is dialed in on the car but I am worried I might be stuck holding the bag when the engine goes bad. Should I part out the car and dump it or am I overreacting and I can still get a few more years out of my neglected engine?

What exactly is the cera tech treatment you mention?

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by F10c550i

What exactly is the cera tech treatment you mention?

Liqui Moly ceratec

https://products.liqui-moly.com/cera-tec-2.html

Some say it's snake oil, some say it works, use your own judgement

[Nickco43]

I talked to my SA today and he said they might be able to help me out putting in a new remanufactured engine. A customer recently was there for a reman engine in their X3 and it was $10,000 out the door. I wonder if BMW NA might help me out since I feel at around $8,000 it would be worth it to swap in a brand new engine.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

I talked to my SA today and he said they might be able to help me out putting in a new remanufactured engine. A customer recently was there for a reman engine in their X3 and it was $10,000 out the door. I wonder if BMW NA might help me out since I feel at around $8,000 it would be worth it to swap in a brand new engine.

You may want to double think that. Why replace something that's not even broken yet. Keep the funds on the side IF it does blow up

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by OnlyGerman

You may want to double think that. Why replace something that's not even broken yet. Keep the funds on the side IF it does blow up

I will see what my SA says but I am not keeping the car without a known good engine. I am starting my life in a few months and the last thing I need is the engine to blow up when moving or on my first day of work. Now is the time to either buy back my old E90 or have the engine replaced by a dealer I 100% trust. I don't need to deal with more issues when I live in an apartment building and have no where to work on the F10.

[Gjohnson7]

You may want to do a Blackstone Oil Analysis to see the extent of damage. Your engine could still have lots of life left.

[95blkmax]

Originally Posted by Gjohnson7

You may want to do a Blackstone Oil Analysis to see the extent of damage. Your engine could still have lots of life left.

I second this. Clearly the engine was neglected but now having done a flush and oil change, the oil that's in there right now would be a better determinator of the engine's life. Your air mass and pressure faults have nothing to do with the mechanical engine internals, so worth the $30/$40 to test the oil.

[OnlyGerman]

Originally Posted by 95blkmax

I second this. Clearly the engine was neglected but now having done a flush and oil change, the oil that's in there right now would be a better determinator of the engine's life. Your air mass and pressure faults have nothing to do with the mechanical engine internals, so worth the $30/$40 to test the oil.

Agreed. I think it would have blown up already. No reason to freak out and change the engine prematurely, which is a horrible financial decision especially with a 100k, 10 year old car.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by OnlyGerman

Agreed. I think it would have blown up already. No reason to freak out and change the engine prematurely, which is a horrible financial decision especially with a 100k, 10 year old car.

I talked to the dealership master tech and it could be a camshaft wear causing the fault codes. I am not sold that is just some sensor but I am also not sold on putting in a new engine yet.

In terms of financials I am 20k into the car. I suspect the value of the car as it sits is about $10k with all of my retrofits taken off. I can take out my 6wb, nbt evo, wheels and all of the other bits I put on the car and sell them for 4-5k which would mean I am taking a $5,000 loss.

If the engine does pop the car is only worth about $3-4k leaving me with about a $12,000 loss.

2011 N55 cars have rod bearing issues even when they are taken care of. Mine has been abused. Let's say that the car lasts another two years as it sits. Every single day I would worry if today is this pos engine's last day and leaves me stranded somewhere. Not to mention I am a bit picky and would be rushed to find a replacement vehicle and who knows if this used car crisis would be over by then.

The opportunity to buy back my old E90 which is a known good car for the same $4,000 price that I sold it to the guy is hard to pass up. At the same time with the help of the FCP euro lifetime warranty, GME, $100 an hour labor rate at my rural PA dealership, my 25-30% discount with the dealership parts manager and *maybe* BMW NA's blessing me by helping me out on the engine replacement costs I can get the engine replacement cost down enough so it would be worth having a brand new remanufactured engine that will last me for many years to come so I can enjoy all of the hard work I put into my F10 without worry.

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

I talked to the dealership master tech and it could be a camshaft wear causing the fault codes. I am not sold that is just some sensor but I am also not sold on putting in a new engine yet.

In terms of financials I am 20k into the car. I suspect the value of the car as it sits is about $10k with all of my retrofits taken off. I can take out my 6wb, nbt evo, wheels and all of the other bits I put on the car and sell them for 4-5k which would mean I am taking a $5,000 loss.

If the engine does pop the car is only worth about $3-4k leaving me with about a $12,000 loss.

2011 N55 cars have rod bearing issues even when they are taken care of. Mine has been abused. Let's say that the car lasts another two years as it sits. Every single day I would worry if today is this pos engine's last day and leaves me stranded somewhere. Not to mention I am a bit picky and would be rushed to find a replacement vehicle and who knows if this used car crisis would be over by then.

The opportunity to buy back my old E90 which is a known good car for the same $4,000 price that I sold it to the guy is hard to pass up. At the same time with the help of the FCP euro lifetime warranty, GME, $100 an hour labor rate at my rural PA dealership, my 25-30% discount with the dealership parts manager and *maybe* BMW NA's blessing me by helping me out on the engine replacement costs I can get the engine replacement cost down enough so it would be worth having a brand new remanufactured engine that will last me for many years to come so I can enjoy all of the hard work I put into my F10 without worry.

What about a used engine from a later MY?

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by Unspec

What about a used engine from a later MY?

4.5-$5k for the engine and $2500 for labor.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

2011 N55 cars have rod bearing issues even when they are taken care of.

Just IMO - I'd modify this statement. 2010-2011 N55s have a higher incidence of rod bearing issues but it's far from being certain death to all 2011s. BUT! How many of those are people with older cars who decided to DIY/Indy the OFHG job and didn't do the prescribed oil system priming procedure? Further, the priming procedure was only prescribed after failures happened, which would largely have happened first on the older cars.

The Internet amplifies everything bad, and failure threads get copied everywhere in circles with "ANOTHER 2011!!!!".

A long time ago I used to regularly do Blackstone analysis. I've started up again, and informed them exactly what material is found in the rod bearings. No signs of any issues, including rod bearings, on my 2011 so far. TBH, I am probably more concerned to watch for fuel, coolant and shearing out of grade than bearing material but obviously if any metals show up I need to know. Coolant and oil can mix in my OFH design, fuel injector failures and short COVID trips can cause a lot of fuel dilution etc...