'01 530i engine knock - BMW Forum

lotsacars · 11-07-2005, 03:34 PM

A co-worker of mine purchased an '01 530i with 33K at an auction, sight unseen, with an unknown history. When it arrived at his house he discovered it had an engine knock coming from the rear by the oil pan.

He's done the following in an attempt to diag the problem:
- Disconnected the torque converter and ran engine - no change in knock
- Pulled plug wires one at a time with engine running - did not differ/cyl
- Pulled all plugs and cranked - no knock
- Pulled engine and checked main/rod bearings - nothing obvious

At this point he's thinking a wrist pin or perhaps a cracked piston skirt. Are there any common failures for this particular engine? Anything else he should check?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Luc

lotsacars · 11-08-2005, 10:24 AM

Found a bent rod last night. Any good places to buy engine internals? Thanks.

dyami · 11-08-2005, 06:20 PM

you can try the junkyard or a pick-a-part place if your budget is low. i dont know where else you could buy internals. but a bent rod on a BMW? those engines are like tanks, it amazes me that it could happen. Especially for 33,000 miles.

lotsacars · 11-09-2005, 06:31 AM

Pretty hard to find BMW's in junk yards around here, nevermind one that new. Probably just buy new but was trying to avoid going to the dealer.

As for the bent rod, it's a salvage vehicle at this point so who knows what happened. The only thing we can figure is that it sucked in some water at some point. It certainly wasn't flooded because the interior is immaculate and he's had enough of it apart at this point that he would have found some silt, etc. somewhere and he hasn't.

I know a guy who knows a guy

who used to work at Bavarian Auto Works (I think that's their name) in MA. Maybe they'll have a 530 they're parting out. Worth a shot. Any other ideas for conrod/piston purchases, folks? Thanks.

dyami · 11-09-2005, 01:25 PM

no more ideas from me. im surprised nobody else has posted here. good luck and let us know how it goes!! =)

///Matt · 11-09-2005, 04:43 PM

Only thing I can recommend would be to contact BMW directly. It'll be expensive, but it will be of high quaity.

lotsacars · 11-09-2005, 05:09 PM

I got ahold of bavauto and they can get the parts, but they will be coming from the dealer anyway. He gave me some prices which I will compare to my local dealer tomorrow - they're closed for the eve. It looks like they're only available from BMW at this point which is going to hurt the wallet a bit

:

Thanks for the advice, folks.

dyami · 11-14-2005, 01:16 AM

tell us the price when you get them.

antose9 · 11-14-2005, 02:40 AM

I would check eBay first

antose9 · 11-14-2005, 05:18 AM

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...10&hg=11&fg=05

lotsacars · 11-16-2005, 09:40 PM

Thanks for the link. Prices there are a little north of list price at the dealer. Working on another parts contact for cheaper pricing. I'll report back what he ends up paying.

On another note, does anyone have the Bentley Service Manual for this car? What I'm wondering is if it lists torque specs and such for reassembling the engine. He's willing to buy it if it contains such info. Are there any other options for service info? Does BMW offer an FSM? Thanks.

dyami · 11-17-2005, 03:14 AM

www.bavauto.com and www.turnermotorsports.com both have the Bentley manual. I buy from them often. im sure the manual would have the torque specs.

lotsacars · 11-17-2005, 06:15 AM

I just read on Amazon.com (I think it was amazon...) that the engine wasn't covered very well. Seeing as that's the only section he's after at this point, it would be kind of silly to buy it without that info being in there.

Maybe I'll give one of them a call.