XSeries-forum

A work colleague came up to me at work today and was concerned that I had spent my money on the 4.6 E53,
He told me that if it was in I working order get rid of it now before it breaks. He informed me that The lincoln branch of BMW had told him that they wouldn't entertain a 4.6 it he workshops as they are all doomed to death as there is something wrong with them and the manufacturing process of these ultimate driving machines.

I have had this car about three weeks now, and he's knocked my confidence regarding my car.
my vehicle is a 2003/53 4.6IS with 60k on the clock.

What worries me is this chap is an E53 3.0 petrol owner, if he drove a focus I would have outright ignored him,
What's the general feeling regarding this information I have been fed.

Tell him to politely piss off sounds like a total dick.

He is obviously jealous as he only has the 3.0 and not the wonderful 4.6

That's what I was thinking[quote="gmc15"]
He is obviously jealous as he only has the 3.0 and not the wonderful 4.6
[/quote]

Thanks for the sound advice [quote="Reusch"]
Tell him to politely piss off sounds like a total dick.
[/quote]

tbh I have a 3.0 and I am jealous I dont have a 4.6is!

If YOU are happy with it..

Then sod everyone else.....



(well not everyone else as there are Many Many Many who will help  but you know what i mean......)

Burn it!  )

Too many paint with the same brush over tiny issues that get voiced on a public forum.

Politely tell him to foxtrot oscar and continue to enjoy your new car! Any problems and you have great bunch of people on this forum that will be willing to help.

[quote="gmc15"]
He is obviously jealous as he only has the 3.0 and not the wonderful 4.6
[/quote]

Took the words right out of my mouth.

looks mint & low mileage , I always go to the dealers for service as you can get a good discount if you ask !

Agree with the other posts, he's just jealous or a total prat!  The 4.6 is a fine machine with a topnotch Alpina engineered engine. Tell him to get lost. Have been to Soper Lincoln and I don't believe a word he says, they are a reasonable dealership. My 4.8 is still maintained by main dealer, no issues at all about it.

I think they have different cam chain tensioners then the other V8's that are worth getting checked out. Can't remember who it was that had trouble with them. ( this is not a negative post, just trying to be pass on information, before anyone takes offence ) 
Shouldn't be a problem on an engine with only 60k, only on high milers I think

There are horror stories for all makes and marques if you look for them that is the nature of Forums after all it is where we look for information and help. Before I got the 4.6 I researched the engines and the only commonish comment/fault if it can be called that was the chain tensioner. I have changed mine as a precaution (£47) it took 45mins with tea. The new tensioner has a longer stronger spring, to compensate for cold start situations I guess. My personal experience over the last 30 odd months of X5 ownership 4.4 and 4.6 is great cars that are no different to any other make (and there have been a few) I have owned. Remember good preventative maintenance brings rewards.
As for you "work colleague" just smile every time you start that V8 and remember it's a dog with teeth.

Hello again grey dog, so the chain tensioner is a simple fix? I saw a 4.6 advertised cheaply with a "noisy chain" and assumed it was a major pull apart and rebuild type job, is it that simple?

The timing chain in the 4.6 (this may apply to other BMW V8's) has no lower idler sprocket the whole chain runs in plastic/nylon guides. On the left bank the guide is pivoted at the bottom and has a spring assisted hydraulic tensioner at the top.
This tensioner is common to all the V8's and as long as there have been regular oil changes using the correct oil then they have a great service life. From what I have read on mainly the US sites (those boys do know their V8's) they were changing the tensioner's as a precaution above 80k. I got my tensioner from JD Motor Sport when I changed it the one I removed was almost collapsed with only a short amount of spring movement (82k) the new tensioner was 25mm longer resting with much more spring assistance, as I said changing it is more fiddly than hard as it's tucked under the front of the cylinder head above the aircon compressor. Remove airbox and ducting 19mm socket and T bar job done. Drink tea put it back together, when starting I turned it over half a dozen times but didn't let it fire just to make sure oil pressure was in the tensioner.

Let me say my car was not making noises I did this as a preventative maintenance, I would think that if a car has a noisy timing chain the probability is damage has been done so I wouldn't expect a tensioner to fix it but cant say it wouldn't.
The American sites say the first symptom is a rattle on start up then going quiet if its more than that the guides will need to be changed, again they say not difficult but very time consuming and time costs money.
So unless you know your way around a tool box walk away.

Great info thanks