Well smurf is going to be in the shop because the turbo no shaft broke after 56,000 miles. My SA said he has not seen this in many cars! it will be there for over a week due to them ordering a new turbo. I love extended warranty's! I would just love to know what caused the problem. Wife was driving home when the car lost power and died. She restarted it and limped it home. I have no major Mods as you can see from my sig. Any ideas ppl?

 

yep, not very common, guess you got "lucky"

 

Have 'em put a JCW turbo on it and pay the difference in price from the S turbo!

Dave

 

yup i'm real "lucky" This poor car never even knew what hit her!

 

nice idea!

 

Not a good idea with the compression of the non-jcw. I wish i could though!

 

People put the JCW and the Alta billet turbo on S cars all the time, the small differnce in compression ratio could be compensated for, with the proper custom tune.

Dave

 

The compression isn't the issue....


They are the same price

 

you are right compression ratio is not the problem..its the internals. and if i can take out a turbo with no tune and very little mods... what do you think will be the next thing in this engine to go....pistons! think i'm done modding a car that should not be modded. I should have bought a JCW if i wanted more power and the chance to mod the engine. I just want to know what caused my turbo to fail!

 

Spoken like Papa Smurf........

 

got a call from my SA today. I asked him for the photos of the Turbo.
He said he will shoot them over to me. The mechanic said it smelled like "death" Funny part is i noticed an oil smeel 3 days earlier but thought it was the OCC. Can't wait to see the photos. I will post them when he send them!

 

There's a TSB about this. The supply line gets plugged up. There's a shield they will also install on the supply line. May I also suggest 5k oil changes instead of the 15-20k.

 

I've never really liked the way heat can freely radiate from the turbine housing to the turbo oil line. Very soon after I got the car back in 07, I wrapped this line with thermo-tec radiant heat barrier. This stuff is rated for 2000 deg F. Check out what the insulation looks like after 4 years on the car and just under 30k miles.

JL

 

I think I'm going to hop on some of that thermal tape for the R56.

 

Per the last several posts, Mini now has a head shield cover for the oil line fitted to current cars. Got one for mine and it took <10 seconds to install. Simple and secure clip on, and of course factory look and w/out warranty questions for a newer car.

See part #20: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...44&hg=11&fg=50

 

Well got Smurf back today! Clogged oil port causing no oil flow to the turbo hence bearings no longer rotate and the shaft snapped! good times! didn't see a heat shield on the line. might have to ask my SA why it is not on there. I read the TBS and everything that is on it has happened to my car! guess i am "lucky". Bad luck is still luck!

 

Glad to hear a "good" ending to a "bad" luck scenario. Did your SA give you any advice on how to prevent the clogging or is it more the dealer just checking it over on a regular basis?

 

IMHO the problem here is the high mileage interval oil change. At 5k on a mini turbo the oil is the blackest black. Looks like the oil on a diesel. I suggest changing the oil every 5k max. I doubt the turbo oil supply line will ever plug up if this is done. Heat shield or not.

Ray

 

Looks has nothing to do with oil performance. Oil analysis says 7500 miles with approved synthetic oil is fine, and very conservative. But I agrree, 17-18K miles is just way way too much.

 

Did they change the oil lines too?

IMO the heat shield doesn't look too helpful as it is thin metal just clipped onto the oil line.

 

yup oil lines were replaced. i normally change the oil 5-6k. i just dont like all the heat that sits in the turbo not being removed when the engine is off.

 

do you know there is a cooling system for the turbo after you shutdown?

 

So much for everyone's theory that frequent oil changes help with this issue........

 

Kindly. I know. I sent my oil out for analysis after 5k and everything came back normal. But...I still change it at 5k or less.

 

Correct, but that's the water-jacket being cycled through; that's not the oil being circulated.

leomulhollandiii, did you ever hot-rod the car (applying moderate boost or higher) right before parking it and letting it sit?
Or did you mainly coast to your destination for several minutes before parking?

- Erik