2009 E90 DCT - 96K Miles - Original Rod Bearings changed today.

Replaced with BE bearings and BE-ARP bolts. How was my timing? One thing of note... car is WAY calmer at idle and low RPM. Only one drive so far, will post updates tonight.

wfdeacon88 wrote

Replaced with BE bearings and BE-ARP bolts. How was my timing? One thing of note... car is WAY calmer at idle and low RPM. Only one drive so far, will post updates tonight.

Yikes. Re: idle, did they swap the engine mounts too? I know some places do that at the same time often when they do the RB swap.

fatalelement wrote

wfdeacon88 wrote

Replaced with BE bearings and BE-ARP bolts. How was my timing? One thing of note... car is WAY calmer at idle and low RPM. Only one drive so far, will post updates tonight.

Yikes. Re: idle, did they swap the engine mounts too? I know some places do that at the same time often when they do the RB swap.

Yep, forgot to say that as well. But the change is so significant in idle, driving, shifting.. I mean literally every single abnormal clicking, clinking and wizzing noise that I was experiencing during normal driving has vanished. I never had the "knocking" noise, but since I've owned it, there's been some engine chatter and such at slow speeds and acceleration, that I assumed was normal.. I guess it wasn't, because it's all gone.. I can really tell in my garage, it's like a silent idle now in the engine. Definitely helped by the engine mounts, but I have to assume I had something about to go with these, right? Not a placebo effect on the noise..

wfdeacon88 wrote

Yep, forgot to say that as well. But the change is so significant in idle, driving, shifting.. I mean literally every single abnormal clicking, clinking and wizzing noise that I was experiencing during normal driving has vanished. I never had the "knocking" noise, but since I've owned it, there's been some engine chatter and such at slow speeds and acceleration, that I assumed was normal.. I guess it wasn't, because it's all gone.. I can really tell in my garage, it's like a silent idle now in the engine. Definitely helped by the engine mounts, but I have to assume I had something about to go with these, right? Not a placebo effect on the noise..

Sure, less than the sound, I know that a rough shuddering at idle (especially on startup) is commonly fixed by engine mounts being replaced if your mileage is high. I don't think most of the sound is due to the mounts, but who knows.

I have a tiny bit of chatter under load that I only hear when I'm near walls, etc. that can reflect it up through my open window, but now I'm tempted to do the bearings right before my warranty runs out and see what happens.

Glad you're happy!

fatalelement wrote

wfdeacon88 wrote

Yep, forgot to say that as well. But the change is so significant in idle, driving, shifting.. I mean literally every single abnormal clicking, clinking and wizzing noise that I was experiencing during normal driving has vanished. I never had the "knocking" noise, but since I've owned it, there's been some engine chatter and such at slow speeds and acceleration, that I assumed was normal.. I guess it wasn't, because it's all gone.. I can really tell in my garage, it's like a silent idle now in the engine. Definitely helped by the engine mounts, but I have to assume I had something about to go with these, right? Not a placebo effect on the noise..

Sure, less than the sound, I know that a rough shuddering at idle (especially on startup) is commonly fixed by engine mounts being replaced if your mileage is high. I don't think most of the sound is due to the mounts, but who knows.

I have a tiny bit of chatter under load that I only hear when I'm near walls, etc. that can reflect it up through my open window, but now I'm tempted to do the bearings right before my warranty runs out and see what happens.

Glad you're happy!

True the mounts definitely helped the shudder at idle.. big improvement. Mine was worse when warm and at stoplights in Drive, not sure if that's significant... but the rpms didn't move much, just dipped above and below 500 and when below, the shaking in the seat terrified me. I'm just happy I bit the bullet, unfortunately it was an expensive one to do..

Well aged engine mounts can leave the oil pan resting against the steering rack.

I doubt that the bearing change made a significant difference there. (But you obviously really needed to do it!)

nrubenstein wrote

Well aged engine mounts can leave the oil pan resting against the steering rack.

I doubt that the bearing change made a significant difference there. (But you obviously really needed to do it!)

That makes a lot of sense then. thanks!

Those who know more about the wear patterns, How do these compare to others in the same mileage range?

Some additional close ups.

Looks like they were good for another 96K miles.. That much change after replacing? Most of them your brain created trust me on that

TrAcK TRaP wrote

Looks like they were good for another 96K miles.. That much change after replacing? Most of them your brain created trust me on that

No, not in my brain, deadly serious. I can't even describe how I tracked the noises and driving feel in my head, but I did. it's night and day. now, whether or not it's mounts or RB, I don't know, but I do know it's a different car in terms of driveability.. I am extremely OCD about the little things, so I know when they change.

Those look pretty ratty. It was a good idea to change them. Changing the bearings did not change any noises. That was from changing the mounts.

wfdeacon88 wrote

No, not in my brain, deadly serious. I can't even describe how I tracked the noises and driving feel in my head, but I did. it's night and day. now, whether or not it's mounts or RB, I don't know, but I do know it's a different car in terms of driveability.. I am extremely OCD about the little things, so I know when they change.

Replacing the worn mounts would make a difference for sure but not rod bearings..

I was told to drive it easy for 500 miles... I've read both sides of that on here, but curious if anyone can convince me it's ok to at least go to 6K a few times

Mine were about the same as yours back in October when I had them done; 08 w/ 76k miles on them. The car was rarely driven hard. I didn't notice any difference in idle or other sounds.

A break in period is not required. Drive it!!

That's they way I drove it after I did my own rod bearings a couple of years ago.

wfdeacon88 wrote

I was told to drive it easy for 500 miles... I've read both sides of that on here, but curious if anyone can convince me it's ok to at least go to 6K a few times

bvrider1 wrote

A break in period is not required. Drive it!!

That's they way I drove it after I did my own rod bearings a couple of years ago.

Agreed; drive it. Ideally, RB's are not a "moving" part. You just replace the old ones to ensure that haha. I drove my car home from the shop, made sure there were no odd noises or anything out of the ordinary, and continued to drive it "normally" the following day.

This one looks and feels like it has a surface crack. Finger nail catches easily. Not sure if this is significant enough to be a failure.. but looks bad.

wfdeacon88 wrote

This one looks and feels like it has a surface crack. Finger nail catches easily. Not sure if this is significant enough to be a failure.. but looks bad.

yea, that's like something was in there and got smashed into it causing that groove. Did BPC do the work for you? They did mine, great guys, super happy w/ their work.

94jedi wrote

wfdeacon88 wrote

This one looks and feels like it has a surface crack. Finger nail catches easily. Not sure if this is significant enough to be a failure.. but looks bad.

yea, that's like something was in there and got smashed into it causing that groove. Did BPC do the work for you? They did mine, great guys, super happy w/ their work.

At least two are cracked from what I see. Yikes. I used Motorsport Connections in NC. They are phenomenal. Where is BPC.

wfdeacon88 wrote

At least two are cracked from what I see. Yikes. I used Motorsport Connections in NC. They are phenomenal. Where is BPC.

BPC is Bimmer Performance Center in N. Raleigh. Prob a bit far for you living in the triad though.

94jedi wrote

wfdeacon88 wrote

At least two are cracked from what I see. Yikes. I used Motorsport Connections in NC. They are phenomenal. Where is BPC.

BPC is Bimmer Performance Center in N. Raleigh. Prob a bit far for you living in the triad though.

ah yes, read about it. too far of a journey given my schedule, but I've heard the best