2012 BMW 650i Convertible - Engine Replacement

A champagne colored 2012 BMW 650i convertible was towed into the shop. We knew the engine was blown. We discovered there was coolant filling the right-hand side of the throttle body. When we drained the oil, coolant came pouring from the oil pan, then oil followed. We dropped the oil pan and saw bits and chunks of metal in the pan. 

BMW engine looks to be intact...but we'll discover that it isn't

To remove the engine, we had to remove the front bumper and radiator support.

We know there is a catastrophic internal problem because the engine would not turn - it was locked. We had to remove the transmission to get to all the torque convertor bolts. 

This is what a 650i looks like with no front bumper, engine, and transmission. The design of this car is even more interesting when taken apart. 

Coming up, Part 2 - read just how catastrophic the engine failure is and see the new BMW engine!

2007 BMW 328i - Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

Customer towed his 2007 BMW 328i to AAS and informed us that smoke was coming from the hood while the engine was running. We ran the engine to operating temperature (about 180 degrees) to replicate the issue. Upon inspection, we found oil spilling onto the exhaust manifold because of a leaky valve cover gasket. We also noticed a secondary leak on the oil filter housing gasket. When we started to remove the valve cover gasket, we noticed 3 of the 6 spark plug ports were filled with oil. Once we removed the valve cover gasket, we saw the gasket was broken in several places. We also noticed there was sludge on the valve cover gasket and inside the head. When you have sludge like this it means that the owner (or past owner) hadn't kept up with the engine maintenance. The sludge and infrequent engine maintenance lead to a brittle valve cover gasket which then led to the gasket break and valve cover leak. 

Don't get sludged. Change your oil. 

Top: Brittle and broken valve cover gasket

Bottom Left: Spark plug ports filled with oil.

Bottom Right: Sludge in the valve cover.