Ugh. Siezed engine(4.8)! Options?
 

Small oil leak turned into catastrophic failure on highway.
Not definitive yet (indy is looking at it), but likely motor is toast.

This is a 2007 X5 4.8 Sport.

Will a 650i or 750i 4.8 N62B48 short block work?

Sad to hear that.The engines are pretty much the same,but there may be some slight differencies.Not on the block or head though.

There is a thread where someone did perform an engine swap into an X5 4.8is with a 4.8 motor from a different BMW. I believe the headers were different (among some other items) and new holes were required to be drilled. So it may not be a direct drop in replacement as you hope it will.

The thread is here:
4.8is to n62tu swap question
But that is for E53.E70 may be easier.When E53 was designed N62 didnt exist,so they probably dis some mods to fit it in.

Thanks for the info guys.
Looks like a 650/750 is an option (which is good - they are much more plentiful and thousands cheaper).

You will need the oil sump which is different due to the front axle.

Although I never bought an engine from them, these guys are reputable and do offer warranty: BMW Parts used and rebuilt bmw auto parts

And one last thing: it appears the power rating on the N62B48 of the X5 is different than the one used in the 750i. I'm unsure if it is different mechanical specs or is simply a different tune.

Make sure the cam shafts are the same. Sometimes trucks get a cam that is better for torque.

What failed on your engine? It is always good to know what to keep an eye on.

BMW is using VANOS for more than 20 years now,which in it's modern iteration may emulate almost any camshaft timing and duration with just a change in the pulse width ;) Plus N62 has valvetronic and variable intake length,which makes it PITA,but the most versatile engine of it's time.

Good thinking.

I cross referenced the p/n for the cams and all (meaning X5 and 650/750) have the same cams both intake and exhaust.

The head, however has a different p/n: the head on the 650/750 have the same number while the X5 has it's own p/n.

Could be irrelevant, but it also may explain the difference in power rating. :dunno:

Ahem, check the headers.

So you ran it dry?
um it's possible it may not be fully game over yet for the engine...
You can try putting some ATF and cranking it by hand.. hopefuly it will loosen it up (assuming there's no physical damage)

I am curious as to how the engine seized? Was it a small leak at first and developed into a large one? Did you run it with little oil while on the highway to cause it to seize? Reason why I asked is my old X5 4.8i had a small leak for a week and all the sudden started leaking a massive amount while driving on the highway (you could see oil leaking when looking under the car). I was so fed up I just traded it in with the leak and accepted the small amount the dealer offered so I unfortunately do not have any answers as to what broke.

Yup, exactly the same. Small leak (was adding 1qt every two weeks) turned into a massive failure on highway which went unnoticed until the truck died.

Shop was able to restart but it's running badly. Smoke test shows leakage in the right bank. I'm hoping it isn't a total engine write-off (truck is perfect otherwise), but bracing for the worst.

That is how everything starts,for me too.Modern BMWs work at coolant temperatures up to 230F,and to keep the coolant from boiling the pressure is up to 20 lbs.There is no small leak in a system with a 20 lbs of pressure.Every small leak turns into disaster sooner than later.Once a leak starts,the system starts to loose pressure,causing the coolant to start boiling,which in turn raises the pressure even more,which in turn is pushing more coolant thru the small leak and so on.
My first '99 528i had a pinhole in the expansion tank and i was checking it every day and everything was under control until it was not anymore.

I think we are talking oil here, not coolant :stickpoke

No kidding,ehhh :rofl:
But I am curious how a small oil leak turned into this huge leak without mechanical damage to the engine.Maybe there is a crankcase pressure related somehow.

Let us know when your mechanic finds out where it is leaking exactly on the right side as most of us are curious. And if you need to replace the engine, consider looking for a used one on ebay. I've seen some low mileage ones for decent prices, some companies even offer a limited warranty. Best of luck to you.

I'll take a guess knowing BMWs: alternator bracket.

Gain just a wild ass guess, but it's on of those things that are part of the trademark like the kidney grill, the roundel, inability to design cup holders, thermostats, waterpumps, and so forth...

Could oil be leaking that much from the alternator bracket? I remember reading up on it and that it's only a small leak, not to the point where oil would literally be dripping out.

And the cupholders in the new F80's are great at least :thumbup:

After posting that I went to the other board and someone posted about the oring on the vacuum pump...

You are right: I've replaced the gasket of the alternator bracket/oil filter bracket in all my BMWs for them the M44 in the first Z3 to all the M52s and M54s cars... In all of them was never catastrophic just an annoying seepage.

Btw, I'm entirely unfamiliar with the V8, I just got interested since you hardly read of a BMW engine seizing...

Funny, I know a lot about the BMW V8's and pretty much nothing about the straight 6's (I know, please don't burn me at the stake). I'm planning to learn soon though as my M4 is an I6 and I plan to take it apart for fun when I take a vacation next month :thumbup:.

And OP I was thinking, have you looked to make sure your drain plugs are good? Could be overanalyzing like I did with my 4.8i where I changed 2 expensive parts before figuring out it just needed a $20 harness....

What is going on at BMW, these V8s have been nothing but problems. Is it poor parts suppliers? Bad design? A combination? Someone fill me in on the issues...it's embarrassing to see these threads.

Sorry for your issues RPG...

Chris

Will keep you guys updated. So far indy says it's serious (no shit).

I'm trying to source a new motor - damn the X5 4.8 is f-ing expensive(~5K).
The 650/750 motors are in the 2-3K range.

My concern is that if I use a 650/750 motor I'd be reusing parts (oil pan/pump etc) that may not be salvageable from my X5.

Could be a garden variety valve cover/gasket/whatever oil leak.

And an unrelated massive failure punching a hole in something