[GearHead335i]

So I had posted this over on the x5/x6 side of the forums but to make a long story short, I replaced the oil filter housing gasket, did not prime the system (some people say you need to some don’t-did OFHG on my N54 and never primed the system, car has been running fine for 4+ years after that). Took the car for a drive for literally 1.1 miles and it shut off on me and wouldn’t restart after that. Thought it was the starter, then the ground wire, then I attempted to turn the motor over by hand with a breaker bar (no cheater) and it didn’t move.

Came to the conclusion that the motor was seized and parked the car but before parking it I took the plugs out and put some PB blaster in the cylinders in bank one only. Car has been sitting for six months and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it and went out to the other day and figured I would just try to turn it over again by hand this time with a cheater bar and it turned over with ease.

After turning it over by hand I changed the oil and didn’t see any big metal pieces at all, maybe some normal “glittery” look but nothing horrible. With the spark plugs out I re-hook the battery and tried to turn it over using the ignition start stop button and it turned over what seem like fine.

So my questions are 1.) could the motor never have been seized and it just needed more leverage in order to turn the motor over by hand? Also whenever I tried to turn the motor over six months ago I did keep the spark plugs in so maybe just some pressure needed to be relieved from the engine? Or was the motor seized and the penetrating liquid unlocked it?

2.) where would you guys go from here? Put the plugs and coils back in and try and start it?

Any and all advice would be appreciated, thanks! Also here’s the original thread on the x5/x6 side of the forums.

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1648676

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7

So I had posted this over on the x5/x6 side of the forums but to make a long story short, I replaced the oil filter housing gasket, did not prime the system (some people say you need to some don’t-did OFHG on my N54 and never primed the system, car has been running fine for 4+ years after that). Took the car for a drive for literally 1.1 miles and it shut off on me and wouldn’t restart after that. Thought it was the starter, then the ground wire, then I attempted to turn the motor over by hand with a breaker bar (no cheater) and it didn’t move.

Came to the conclusion that the motor was seized and parked the car but before parking it I took the plugs out and put some PB blaster in the cylinders in bank one only. Car has been sitting for six months and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it and went out to the other day and figured I would just try to turn it over again by hand this time with a cheater bar and it turned over with ease.

After turning it over by hand I changed the oil and didn’t see any big metal pieces at all, maybe some normal “glittery” look but nothing horrible. With the spark plugs out I re-hook the battery and tried to turn it over using the ignition start stop button and it turned over what seem like fine.

So my questions are 1.) could the motor never have been seized and it just needed more leverage in order to turn the motor over by hand? Also whenever I tried to turn the motor over six months ago I did keep the spark plugs in so maybe just some pressure needed to be relieved from the engine? Or was the motor seized and the penetrating liquid unlocked it?

2.) where would you guys go from here? Put the plugs and coils back in and try and start it?

Any and all advice would be appreciated, thanks! Also here’s the original thread on the x5/x6 side of the forums.

https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1648676

So some more strange news-Car turns over fine with spark plugs out both by hand and by using ignition. Put plugs back in to try and start the car and the same click thump noise and no crank. Tried to turn the motor by hand with plugs in, wouldn’t budge, took bank 1 plugs out tried again wouldn’t budge. Took bank 2 plugs out as well and motor turned over fine by hand. Anyone know what’s going on?

I was doing some research on the valvetronic motor these n55’s have that control the valves, could that be it? Idk what to do at this point

[nsjames]

a seized motor will sometimes unstick itself when it cools, but that doesn't mean the bearings aren't wrecked.

bad bearings become apparent when you have compression forces upon them. when you take the plugs out it doesn't matter because you're not pushing on anything with the rotating assembly.

glitter in the filter is never normal.
that's probably bearing material.

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by nsjames

a seized motor will sometimes unstick itself when it cools, but that doesn't mean the bearings aren't wrecked.

bad bearings become apparent when you have compression forces upon them. when you take the plugs out it doesn't matter because you're not pushing on anything with the rotating assembly.

glitter in the filter is never normal.
that's probably bearing material.

So would the engine need new bearings and not a whole rebuild? Is it a good sign that atleast the engine will still turn over?

[Bimmer_Engineer]

If the metal from the bearings is in the oil filter it's probably everywhere else inside the engine too...

It'd be a real shame to go through the work of replacing the bearings and then finding out there's further damage...

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

If the metal from the bearings is in the oil filter it's probably everywhere else inside the engine too...

It'd be a real shame to go through the work of replacing the bearings and then finding out there's further damage...

Crazy story. I've been monitoring these N55 post-OFHG engine seizure threads and there is no denying that is an issue.

Some who deny it add nothing to finding a solution. At the moment I'm telling N55 people to not DIY this or have a shop that offers insurance do your oil gasket. The oil priming thing is still up for debate but it seems to be possible solution.

BMW Dealerships want $1000+ for the OFHG and I've yet to see a single thread where it was done there with seizure issues.


Sorry i have no solution at this time.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7

So would the engine need new bearings and not a whole rebuild? Is it a good sign that atleast the engine will still turn over?

if it's bad enough that it own't turn over with compression, the crank is probably wasted.

swap a good used motor.

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

If the metal from the bearings is in the oil filter it's probably everywhere else inside the engine too...

It'd be a real shame to go through the work of replacing the bearings and then finding out there's further damage...

No metal in the filter, just some “Glittery” like material in the oil. My oil drain plug bolt was also a little stripped so it might have been from that but doubtful lol.

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by nsjames

if it's bad enough that it own't turn over with compression, the crank is probably wasted.

swap a good used motor.

When you say “with compression” you mean when I try and crank it with the plugs in? Would it be better to have the bottom end rebuilt instead of a used engine? Removal of the engine doesn’t look horrible, you take off the entire front of the vehicle and kind of just pull it out.

Anyone know if I can use an n55 from a 3 series for my x5? I’d just be using the motor with no accessories etc bc everything I have is fine.

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Crazy story. I've been monitoring these N55 post-OFHG engine seizure threads and there is no denying that is an issue.

Some who deny it add nothing to finding a solution. At the moment I'm telling N55 people to not DIY this or have a shop that offers insurance do your oil gasket. The oil priming thing is still up for debate but it seems to be possible solution.

BMW Dealerships want $1000+ for the OFHG and I've yet to see a single thread where it was done there with seizure issues.


Sorry i have no solution at this time.

Yeah man, Like I said I did the OFHG on my N54, didn’t prime the system and the car is still fine to this day. Deff sucks. I own the car outright which makes it a little better but I want the car back and don’t want to have to sell it for $5k. It’s one of the cleanest cars I’ve ever purchased inside and out other than this issue obv.

[antonmn]

I've looked but can't quite find the procedure to prime the oiling system. What does it entail?

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by antonmn

I've looked but can't quite find the procedure to prime the oiling system. What does it entail?

Straight from the bulletin- SIB 11 09 15

"After replacing the engine or making engine repairs that require the replacement or removal of the engine bearings, VANOS gears, camshafts, bed plate resealing, engine oil pump, engine oil filter housing, cylinder head, engine oil cooler or anything that interrupts the engine oil supply circuit of the engine requires a short oil pump and oil supply circuit priming procedure."

This procedure is used when the high pressure fuel system pressure is not depleted after minor engine repairs and the fuel injection system needs to be disabled by removing the fuel injector electrical connectors.

1- If the engine has been drained prior to the repair remove the engine oil drain plug again to remove any residual oil that may have settled in the engine oil pan during the repair if the engine oil pan was not removed entirely.

2- Reinstall and torque the engine oil drain plug (with a new seal ring) per the applicable repair instruction.

3- Remove the oil filter housing cover and verify the oil filter is present. Reinstall the oil filter housing cover and torque it to the proper specification noted in the applicable repair instruction.

4- Fill the engine with the proper type and amount of engine oil, as specified in the applicable repair instruction.

5- Connect a battery charger to the vehicle.

6- Remove all fuel injector electrical connectors to disable fuel injection.

7- Crank the engine for 10 seconds.

8- After 10 seconds have elapsed, stop the starter, and allow the starter to cool for 20 seconds.

9- Repeat steps 7 and 8 two additional times.

10- Reinstall the fuel injector electrical connectors, reassemble the vehicle and verify proper engine operation.

11- After the engine has reached operating temperature, check the engine oil electronically or with the dipstick, and top up the engine oil as needed.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Crazy story. I've been monitoring these N55 post-OFHG engine seizure threads and there is no denying that is an issue.

Some who deny it add nothing to finding a solution. At the moment I'm telling N55 people to not DIY this or have a shop that offers insurance do your oil gasket. The oil priming thing is still up for debate but it seems to be possible solution.

BMW Dealerships want $1000+ for the OFHG and I've yet to see a single thread where it was done there with seizure issues.


Sorry i have no solution at this time.

I am diying it on my F10 and I did an oil change right after the job was done, then primed the system by cranking the car with the injectors pulled. The car ran fine until I saw that my coolant hose was leaking. Then I found out FCP Euro sold me the kit for the different oil cooler but said it would fit my car. The kit came with longer oil cooler bolts which poked a hole in my OFH. My car is disabled in the middle of my driveway and I am supper pissed at FCP. $400 later a new OFH is being overnighted to me from ECS.

Anyway I think the two main issues are dirt getting into the oil passage and the priming process. All dealers know about the SIB but indy shops are hit or miss. I would not be scared of the DIY if you take your time. I spent a long time cleaning up everything.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Quinnhogue7

When you say “with compression” you mean when I try and crank it with the plugs in? Would it be better to have the bottom end rebuilt instead of a used engine? Removal of the engine doesn’t look horrible, you take off the entire front of the vehicle and kind of just pull it out.

Anyone know if I can use an n55 from a 3 series for my x5? I’d just be using the motor with no accessories etc bc everything I have is fine.

yes.

when you pull the plugs there's no load on the bearings.

bear in mind that if you had oil starvation issues there's more than just main/rod bearings that will be damaged. The whole top end of the motor is probably unhappy. There's two cams that also need oil to live.

the only way you'll know what's damaged is to pull the pan
it's not a DIY job for most people.

[GearHead335i]

Originally Posted by nsjames

yes.

when you pull the plugs there's no load on the bearings.

bear in mind that if you had oil starvation issues there's more than just main/rod bearings that will be damaged. The whole top end of the motor is probably unhappy. There's two cams that also need oil to live.

the only way you'll know what's damaged is to pull the pan
it's not a DIY job for most people.

Might as well just pull the motor. I’ve done the oil pan gasket on my 335i xDrive and removed the pan so I could do the job if I needed to. I’m fairly mechanically inclined and have performed any and all maintenance items to many Mercedes, BMW, VW, Audi’s, etc. The one thing I’ve never done tho is rebuild a motor so if I did tackle this, I would just pull the motor for a direct replacement vs digging into the engine myself. Thanks for your help man, I really appreciate it.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

I am diying it on my F10 and I did an oil change right after the job was done, then primed the system by cranking the car with the injectors pulled. The car ran fine until I saw that my coolant hose was leaking. Then I found out FCP Euro sold me the kit for the different oil cooler but said it would fit my car. The kit came with longer oil cooler bolts which poked a hole in my OFH. My car is disabled in the middle of my driveway and I am supper pissed at FCP. $400 later a new OFH is being overnighted to me from ECS.

Anyway I think the two main issues are dirt getting into the oil passage and the priming process. All dealers know about the SIB but indy shops are hit or miss. I would not be scared of the DIY if you take your time. I spent a long time cleaning up everything.

Sorry by how you didn’t notice the difference in bolt lengths?

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by feuer

Sorry by how you didn’t notice the difference in bolt lengths?

The difference is not that much and I didn't have the old bolts near me to compare. I pay a good premium over buying parts from rockauto or elsewhere so I don't need to be looking up a bunch of part numbers and for FCP's customer service and they royally messed up. I got a new OFH from my local dealer to the tune of $500. At least the car is running again.