[Milo95]

You may have to zoom in to photos as they are high res **

325i N53 - Rod Bearings telling me they love me (I think)

Owning the illusive N53B30 (the NA version of an N54 essentially) I set off on a road trip across Europe and currently in Montenegro.

I have changed oil and filter every 5k-6k miles and always inspected the oil filter, never once has there been metal particles or flakes noticed.

Today at 123k miles I changed the oil and filter (my parts (Mann filter and Liquimoly oil). I looked at the filter and noticed mostly small metal specks in the filters ribs, a couple of noticeable specs as well.

I have done 5.5k miles since last oil change, driven motorway and plenty of mountain roads with uphill ascent (engine oil has briefly gone over 120C (maybe to 125/130 max) when winding it through the gears - essentially there was some hard driving in the equation but by no means in any excessive amounts of time).

There are no good shops here that I would entrust to preventatively change the rod bearings as I suspect that they are the likely culprit.

I have another 2k miles to go until I’m back home where I will of course take it to my trusted mechanic who knows the car inside out. This will be a good post and case study where we will collectively learn if from this point on the rod bearings (or whatever it is can hold on until it is back in the UK.

Engine runs like a charm, pulls like a train and makes me smile every time it goes vroom. In the meantime will refrain from going hard on the engine (3-4k revs max).

Curious if anyone has experience with metal particles in their oil filter - I have attached pictures of the entire filter on the side with particles, zoom in if you want and let me know your thoughts.

aka I know I am screwed (whether it will last to be an ordinary RB replacement or something major remains to be seen till the 4th of September).

[Phil325i]

Not sure those type of flecks are indicative of rod bearing failure Milo. I'm on 145,000 miles with the same oil and filter change regime as you (MANN and Mobil 1). No issues so far. And as you'll know if you've been on this forum a while, rod bearing failure in the N53 is virtually unknown. Good luck in finding the cause and with getting home safely!

Keep us updated...

[Milo95]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Not sure those type of flecks are indicative of rod bearing failure Milo. I'm on 145,000 miles with the same oil and filter change regime as you (MANN and Mobil 1). No issues so far. And as you'll know if you've been on this forum a while, rod bearing failure in the N53 is virtually unknown. Good luck in finding the cause and with getting home safely!

Keep us updated...

Hi Phil,

Exactly! N53 is hardly ever used in conjuction with rod bearings, I hope for the best but have to prepare for the worst.

The fact that this accumulated over 6k miles I am seeing as a soothing fact because wherever it is coming from is not at an alarming rate.

I inspected the new filter today after 50 miles since last change, no glitter in the oil within the oil filter housing, but 2 more specs of metal shavings were picked up (new oil I guess cleaning out what is there).

Until back in London I can only use my oil filter as a health check to see if more shavings appear.

This will be an interesting story for N53 owners indeed!