X5 4.6is - Engine Died.. NOW WHAT?
 

Hi,
My X5 is almost dead, was driving it home the other day with what sounded like a tappet noise, got progressively worse, checked oil and it was on the middle levels so figured it was ok, and carefully drove it home.. within minutes it sounded like a toolbox with spanners inside, nowhere safe to pull over so was forced to drive a short distance and then engine management lights, oil pressure and everything else came on.. my own in car disco :(

I guess from the sounds of it and what the AA man said its the timing chain and the engine has completely gone and nothing could have been done.

What are my options? Can I repair, anyone recommend someone that wont completely rip me off in rebuilding my engine??

Your plastic timing chain guides finally failed. Common problem.

If you are lucky you didn't cause any serious engine damage. You'll have to pull the heads off to find out.

You really shouldn't have kept driving with those symptoms. It's possible you worsened the damage. Worst case you need a new motor, or need to rebuild yours.

New motor options: source a motor from BMW, find a used 4.6 motor (rare), or swap in a 4.4 block.

I concur. Timing chain guides failure. There are few people across the pond that have a few indy's they have posted. Do a search on INDY UK or London or the like.I recall a good one it Herfordshire??? If I am spelling it or remembering it right?

Hi, thanks for replying.. am going nuts googling to see if anyone can help me rebuild my engine.

Assuming the engine is completely done, any idea how much I might be looking at?

sorry.. whats an indy?.. a google search returned media activists (didnt even know they existed)

To rebuild the motor, depending on damage can be anywhere from $3K to $14K, and that is not Euro. Depending on how bad the damage is, the costs can skyrocket quickly. 4.6is motors are very hard to come by. Even if you found one, you would still need to have the guides replaced.

And indy is an Independent mechanic. Anyone who specializes in german motors besides the dealer.

ohh.. thanks, will look into some places in the morning, at least i know what and where to start a conversation on what i suspect is broke.

Thanks :)

I always wanted a 4.6 and I would love to buy that car off you...

But don't sweat it, I bought a 4.4 X5 where all the valves were bent because they kept driving it until the chain chewed through the front cover. I fixed it in my garage over a few weekends. If you can do the work yourself you will have a fun little project.

I will post pics soon...

hmm.. I wish I knew where to start with that, always wanted to fix things myself (probably save a fortune in the process)
Of all the cars I have driven, this by far is the most fun car I have ever had, really dont wanna let it go - I know I'll never find anything like it again, considering its 10 years old already, the car was way ahead of its time I think when for it was made.

On a scale of 1-10.. 1 being for someone that can change a tyre and 10 being someone that can pull an engine apart and rebuild it, I consider myself a modest 2 or 3, not sure if its within my capability of fixing it myself cos from what I have been reading past few hours looks like i have to take the engine out .. wouldnt even know where to start with that.

Pity you live out in BC, would have been interested in selling it to someone that would love it as much as I have rather than break it up into tiny pieces to sell the parts.

Let me know if you know of a DIY process on how to do it and I might even think about giving it a go myself

I rebuilt my , I had the same problem,but I did,nt drive the car, I shut it down right away, I have pics page, [i can,nt load the file is too big] I had the engine out the whole 9 yards.........................
what I would do in retrospect if it,s in great sharpe is find a honest and good INDY, and rebuild it.
it cost me $14k but the guy was a a jerk and I had to have some else re-do his work.....so if You can do it, I have my 4.6 with 7k miles on her and the engine is doing great................ be careful.

Sorry to hear of your engine problems, that is exactly what happened to me, lights included. I think that as the tensioner blade comes apart the hydraulic tensioner comes out of its location and loses all the oil pressure but thats water under the bridge. I had mine done by an Indy in Tyneside, but he shouldnt even work on a push bike so he is no use to you. I ended up stripping the engine myself. (My V8 Engine Rebuild)
As you are in the South of the UK, this UK based website might also help you with a local garage, plenty of members are from down there. There are a lot of threads on Xoutpost about the same problem as it is common with this engine.

I doubt you will find a good engine in the UK, as they are very rare, I tried when mine blew. Unlike the US, I couldnt find any stockists of pattern parts for this engine so had to use BMW spares. Cost 3 grand for the original 'repair', and another 3 grand when I did it properly. You will need a large garage if you want to take the engine out, but the camchains are possible in the street. If you need any info about what you need, PM me

wow Ian.nice job.......
 

Wow that was a great job their Ian, so to hear that some try to steal her..............I was only robbed by my Indy repair shop..............:rofl:

I could not believe that, crooks are getting a bit too brave.

Hello Mate,

Sorry to hear! This site will be great for advice but you could also try Xdrivers which is the UK sister site... Im sure someone will be able to help on a more local front there.

In regards to an Indy and where to start...
Jason at BWChiptune is based in Hayes. Now he specialises mainly in Chipping cars but they also have a garage there which is highly acclaimed. Jason is a top guy and we had an X5 meet there last month!

He and his team know the ins and outs of all BMW's.

In terms of getting it fixed... the damage will have to be assessed but it could be not so bad to terrible. There are a few 4.6is that are being broken on ebay so parts may not be too difficult to come by, but you would perhaps be looking at replacing cylinder heads, belts, water pump, valves the list could go on.

to give you a rough idea, i had a v6 alfa where the belt snapped. it cost me £1500 as a cash deal to get it repaird. so for a v8 you would be looking at a fair bit more.

good luck with the repair and head over to Xdrivers...

Yeah, I was done over twice. Engine was ready to go in when car was stolen so it wasnt going without a fight, :kungfu:Was nice to catch the pikies in the act.

What's the service on the chain guides, I'm not sure mine have ever been changed..... 146K

Can all of you head on over to Place-your-info-your-signature-please.html please.

[QUOTE=Jeffatpm;904487]What's the service on the chain guides, I'm not sure mine have ever been changed..... 146K[/QUOTE

They shouldnt be a service item, but if I knew at 80000 miles what I know now, I would have changed them and saved a lot of money and grief.
When you see them they are made from what appears to be brittle plastic, so I suppose the heat and oil make them even more so