2016 F55 S (B46)



Looking for advice on what all should be done for preventative maintenance around the 100k miles mark.



I purchased the car used with around 70k miles. It’s in excellent condition and the previous owners seemed to have cared for it mechanically as well.
Now I’m approaching 100k mi and would like to keep it going strong. I do pretty much everything myself. I am planning to do a stage 1 tune on this, so I would like to be safe than sorry with maintenance.



Things I have done:

• 5k oil changes
• 5k tire rotations
• 15k air filters
• ATF drain & fill (~30k)
• Coolant drain & fill (~5 years)
• Brake pads, rotors, fluid (~2 years)
• Upper motor Mount + powerflex inserts
• Lower motor Mount powerflex bushing
• Shocks & strut replacement
• tires + alignment

Things I plan to do at 100k:

• Spark plugs (I think they were last changed at 70k)
• Metal Oil filter housing (seems like these are a ticking time bomb)
• Serpentine belt
• Belt tensioner
• Idler pulley
• Metal impeller water pump
• Thermostat
• Inspect crank pulley balancer

Please let me know what you think is necessary and or unnecessary. Thanks.

 

Your list seems complete to me. The PcV system is still in the valve cover on these engines. Not sure if it’s worth it to change the cover out or not at 100k miles… only because of what’s involved with the R&R.

 

If you have not already done so, suggest you consult the list of items that a dealer tech would address for a 100k service

My own operating assumption is that around 5 ish years, most (if not all) of the rubber factory bushings are significantly degraded and are due for replacement.

Consider adding:
1) Front control arm bushings
2) Transmission mount
3) Strip brake calipers and replace seal and boot. (In high salt areas (i.e. New England) the lube around the boot is washed out, leading to the boot sticking to the caliper piston).

That's all for the moment - will add as time permits

 

I'm at 138K on my 2017 F56 S. You're doing a solid job with yours and the other commenters above have offered good insights. Here's some more.

- Serpentine belt is probably in strangely good shape (mine was at 100K) but when you have a 4-banger it's one of those things you probably want to do "while you're in there." Getting the belt out and back in is a horrible experience (barely any clearance due to having a longer engine block than a 3-banger), so just do it when you plan to do all the other things that would require pulling it out (as you have mapped out already).

- Your crank pulley has probably got play in it. You don't need to remove the belt to grab it with both hands and see if it has wobble between the internal metal hub and its exterior metal ring (rubber bonds those together). If it has play/wobble, just plan to replace it. The standing recommend is an ATI Super Damper. I picked one up from Way Motor Works -- Way is local and he knows his stuff big time -- he stands by it, so I have no problem having it on my car and standing by it.

- For the S model, spark plug replacement interval is every 60K miles (every 6th oil change interval using BMW's oil change interval spec of 10K miles). If the set you have has been at it for more than 60K, it's overdue/good call to replace. If not, they're fine. Intervals may differ for the 3-banger and for the JCW/GP3.

- Tensioner, idler pulley, water pump, thermostat. I upgraded my water pump to a Meyle HD (it has a metal impeller) a while ago. I have not replaced the tensioner and idler pulley, but have been wondering when I should. Be warned: Coolant flows through a channel in the alternator bracket (the thermostat and water pump are bolted to the bracket). BMW does not sell the alternator bracket standalone; the only way to get the bracket from them is to buy the combined bracket+new thermostat+new thermostat housing+their plastic-impeller water pump as a single part (I did so, and sold off the included plastic-impeller water pump on eBay). The seals between the alternator bracket and the other parts are Loctite 5970; you will need to remove the existing bead and re-seal to avoid leaks, if you are not replacing the bracket (which obviously comes with a fresh bead). Get ready to deal with this.

- Metal oil filter housing. Yes, the factory ones are ticking time bombs. However, they don't tend to just blow out, they fail gradually, and if during your 5K oil changes you are removing the underbody panel you will have plenty of warning (if you know what to look for) before catastrophic failure. That said, outright prevention is a solid strategy so I don't knock it. I changed mine out for a Bremmen Parts plastic one, as there were no metal ones available at the time. It's too soon to know whether it will fail in the same way, but I don't specifically expect it to anytime soon.

- Shocks/struts: the factory dust boots are made of a crap rubber that degrades and ends up splitting/etc. If you end up with the same material as factory in your possession, put plastic/more hardy dust boots on instead. My RF dust boot is literally full of splits and holes despite the car being maybe 70% highway/ 30% city use.

- Coil packs: you didn't mention these, but I'm thinking I'm going to replace mine at next plug change (in my case that will be around 143K miles). Nobody has been able to give me a good methodology for determining an interval on these (yet).

In another thread there is some discussion of upper engine mount failure being driven by weakening of the lower engine mount. With that in mind I have added to my "to do" list to swap out the bushings on the lower mount "eventually" and I will likely get to the transmission mount sooner or later. Not something I would stress about at 100K, but if one is in prevent mode, certainly toss eyeballing that at some point into the list.

Hope this helps.

 

Definitely something to keep a close eye on. I'm at 105k and my shop told me it's fine (inspected and vacuum tested) but will have them check it again in 20-30k next time it's in for auto trans service.

 

Before you mess with the thermostat and/or water pump, you're probably going to want to read this thread. Hope it's useful.