Category: BMW Repair & Service

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BMW 535 GT Repair | BMW 535 GT Maintenance

BMW repair many occasions requires an inside knowledge and decades of experience. Knowing what are the weak spots  of the BMW, comes whit knowledge and experience, hence we can prevent an expensive breakdown in the near future.

BMW 535-GT Front Propeller Shaft Failure

Here is a perfect example of a 535-GT front propeller shaft failure which is a typical issue on most BMW with accumulated kilometers on it.

This particular vehicle is maintained by its owner, we only see this vehicle when it’s broken. In this case not performing a preventative maintenance, cost almost an engine replacement, as the seized propeller shaft finally let go and punched a gigantic hole into the oil pan.

When We Service BMW 535 We Remove This Shafts

When we service BMW 535s we remove this shafts on the regular basis to check the U joint condition. In fact we even have replacement universal joint in house to repair this shafts as some of them cost some silly money from the manufacturer.

On this BMW we had a hard time to source a proper exact replacement oil pan and ditto for the front propeller shaft.

The owner got lucky, he managed to shut the engine down in a hurry, which saved his N55 engine. He said when the shaft broke he killed the engine instantly.

Either way we would not know if there is or has been any internal engine damage to the crankshaft or the bottom end bearings.

We had to come up with some clever solutions to test the engine, to be able to confirm the engine did survive the ordeal. Therefore we cleaned the broken oil pan with a de-greaser.  Let it dry and remove any oily residue, applied windshield glue to the open area around the hole and glued a heavy plastic sheet over on it, and let it cure overnight .

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BMW N55  Engine Repair

Next day we removed the oil filter and filled up the channel with fresh motor oil quickly. When the engine had proper amount of oil in, we started her up instantly.

The engine run properly without any noise or sign of excessive wear. At this point we knew we can proceed with the proper repair and resurrect this vehicle to it’s former glory.

BMW N55 Engine Connecting Rod Bearings Replacement

Needless to say we will remove and replace the bottom end connecting rod bearings with new performance bearings,  just in case. Additionally the new performance bearings are superior design made with improved materials compared to the genuine bearings design.

It just makes perfect sense to replace them while we have the bottom end open. It’s a simple procedure at this occasion.

Any questions, how may we help? Call us with your question.
Telephone: 905.795.0419

Related:

Why does my engine burn oil?

BMW or Mercedes Maintenance During COVID.  

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BMW repair at home. Should you do it yourself?

The ultimate question is, should you attempt to repair your own BMW? BMW is particularly popular with the young owners modifying them actively.

With the help of YouTube, people think they can tackle literally anything on their beloved car. So why bother taking it to a professional mechanic, right?

Repair your BMW at home. Should you try?

We had recently two actually 3 BMW when their respective owners tried to repair, fix with terrible results.

Owner #1: Young gentleman replaced his BMW’s suspension with fashionable lowering kit. While doing so he decided to replace the corroded steel brake lines and the old flex-lines with braided “race” ready version.

The suspension replacement went relatively well, only the suspension angles and alignment was messed up.  But YouTube brake line replacement went absolutely terrible, in fact more like terrifying.

BMW Brake Calipers Mounted to the Wrong Side.

Routing it thru control arms and moving components deleting the flex lines permanently to top it off he managed to mount the rear calipers upside down so they will never bleed the air from the system.

BMW Brake calipers are mounted to the wrong side, upside down, so they will never allow to bleed off the air within the hydraulic system. Brake lines are criss crossing and dangling against the fuel filter on the same BMW.

The question is what will leak first fuel or brake fluid? Flexible brake hose cut off and remnants are left in the mounting secure bracket on the same BMW.

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I’m not here to judge anyone’s job or competence, except this car came in with non existent rear brakes, brake fluid was dripping constantly on the floor.  It begs the question:  Why would you endanger your life and the life of others getting into a repair which is way beyond your knowledge and or qualifications?!

Oil Change on a Late Model BMW at Home. Was it Worth it?

The second owner performed an oil change on his own late model BMW.  Doing the process he removed the top of the air box, while doing so he accidentally left the paper rag in the lower part of the air box.

After the restart the engine lost power.  He had it towed to us and we did all the regular system test and kept having low boost and no boost faults from the computer. Naturally we checked wastegate operation and every aspect of related components.  Finally we decided on to see the turbocharger impeller face, with our fiber optic camera system .

Long behold we found a paper rag being sucked in by the turbocharger blocking the impeller entirely. Than we had the job to trying to extract the wrapped up paper rag and try to not to damage the fragile turbocharger impeller in the process.

Suffice to say, we managed to do it, but while the rag has been extracted we still had some paper pieces stuck between the impeller and the casing of the same. Finally we managed to remove all the bits and pieces and all is well at the end.

Culprit found, our labor on oil change is $20.00*, to resolve this issue costed him $240.00. You do the math, was it worth?

BMW Turbocharger in Action

BMW Drive-train Malfunction Message on the Dashboard.

The 3rd owner had a drive-train malfunction message on his BMW dashboard when the vehicle was driven in a spirited manner.  Owner diagnosed it with his hand held OBD 2 scanner.  After the scanning, he decided to replace the low pressure pump, but the problem still reoccurred. Than he decided to replace the high pressure fuel pump as well.

Needless to say the problem still persisted and the amount of money he spent is ludicrous to say at least . All was really required is a proper factory level diagnostics to pin the problem down.  Which actually was only a faulty high pressure sensor, reporting wrong data to the engine computer.

While the owner was busy replacing the high pressure fuel pump, he managed to crack the fuel line to the pump,  therefore it had to be replaced to.  The repair took additional hours, and considerable effort, as it was the low pressure line feeding the high pressure pump, and pretty much wrapped around the engine.

Please note, on BMW, the high pressure pump’s fuel lines must be torqued to the manufacturers specifications or may cause a split flare or a fuel leak onto the hot exhaust system.

Clients try to repair their own BMW.

This is ultimately world wide problem, created by YouTube. Clients try to repair their own BMW without the necessary knowledge base. Doing so at the end they  risk their own life and the life of others, which is wrong in so many ways, is a understatement.

Would you allow someone to perform “brain surgery” without any qualifications, on yourself or your loved ones? You wouldn’t.  Right?

So why is that people think they can just go in tackle anything on their own without any training or knowledge and see how it will turn out to be only by watching YouTube? This is just wrong so many ways .

Any questions how may we help?

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Oil change on BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Mini.  Oil, Lube & Filter Service

Proper Maintenance of European Cars

Ester Core full synthetic motor oils from Motul.

* Our labor on a simple oil change presently on a BMW is $20.00, plus materials (oil, oil filter,  air filter cabin filter and what ever else needed to be replaced). This price is a subject to change at anytime with out any given notice!

 

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Changes to Modern Car Engines. Motor Oils Standard

This is going to be clear as “mud”. I have been a licensed automotive mechanic since 1976 and still at it and the changes to engines and motor oils is incredible. This could get very long indeed, let’s say there are 2 major standards API and ACEA, the former is the American the later is the European lubricant standards. The Europeans started to create their own standards mainly driven by their car manufacturers as they found the API standards were not to their liking.

Please take a look at them by clicking on the links down below. (Your browser will open and load the page content in a new tab. To return to this page you should close that tab).

Fuchs Synthetic Motor Oil

Motor Oil Specifications

https://www.api.org/products-and-services/engine-oil/eolcs-categories-and- classifications/oil-categories

https://www.acea.be/uploads/news_documents/ACEA_European_oil_sequences_2016.pdf

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.71_en.html
https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_223_2.pdf
https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/bevo-sheets-sort1.html

https://360.lubrizol.com/Specifications/BMW/BMW-Longlife-17-FE
https://360.lubrizol.com/Specifications/BMW/BMW-Longlife-12-FE
https://360.lubrizol.com/Specifications/BMW/BMW-Longlife-04
https://360.lubrizol.com/Specifications/BMW/BMW-Longlife-01

https://products.liqui-moly.com/top-tec-6200-0w-20-7.html

If money is no object and you want the best keeping the oil specification grade in mind by the respective manufacturers than this is the best money can buy , group 5 ester based synthetic motor oils. Not recommended for diesels with DPF filter equipped vehicles! Take a look at it at here.

I have a small car repair facility in Mississauga, Ontario where we work on 3 brands: BMW, Mercedes and Porsche cars. There is a great push for efficiency from the manufacturers side especially since they pay penalty to the EPA, so they will try any trick in the book to reduce the internal friction and the pumping losses within the ICE as much as possibly can.

BMW

We have variable oil pump on say BMW since 2006 , every part, oil notwithstanding has been crucified to the finest details, hence we have 0-20 W oil for awhile now to reduce pumping losses. There used to be an intensive push from the regulatory side (EPA) to reduce fuel consumption which Europe used to trail behind,  not anymore.

Europe wanted to get more aggressive on regulating emission and fuel consumption ultimately driving forward to electrification.

Most manufacturers have their own “secret” recipe for their own proprietary motor oils which gets more and more complicated by the day.

For instance BMW has LL01 (older cars) then LL04 which is low SAPS which succeeds LL01 and were intended for diesels with DPF in mind but it is not recommended in NA for gas engines due to our Sulphur content in our gasoline per say. Then later we had an LL14+ and even later the LL17+.

Mercedes

Mercedes has 229.31, 229.51, 229.61, 229.71 (Diesel low SAPS) then 229.3,  229.5, 229.52, 229.6, 229.72. Does it look complicated enough?

This whole thing is in my opinion is completely out of hand and everyone will try to toot their own horn to their liking and you as the consumer it’s your responsibility to know what belongs in your lovely high tech state of the art engine.

For instance you get the oil level warning, with this little jewels and you need to top up your oil, most of them will have no dipstick to discourage you to put anything wrong in there. So good luck to you to find the appropriate lubricant at your gas station or department store lately.

Having put the wrong oil for instance 229.5 (the most common) oil into a DPF equipped diesel engine (229.51) will ruin the DPF by contaminating it with zinc which will render it defective and will void the warranty on your emission system in a hurry.

This whole silly stuff is all out on the window in my opinion in particularly in NA as people thumb their nose up on light efficient cars. Instead they want monster SUV  trucks or massive pick up trucks with gigantic gas guzzling engines. There is this huge tug of war between governments, car  manufacturers and the public.

The governments want electric cars, the public wants 800+ horsepower trucks, the car manufacturers are on the hook for making gas guzzlers.

We are also caught in between to provide the appropriate slur(oil) for the application,  you get the picture.

My only question is: Where is the common sense in all of this may I ask?

The problem with all this high tech stuff is, the general public has no idea as we often find wrong oils and filters has been installed elsewhere, in a lot of places they are not aware of this fancy specifications.

I hope this helps.  All the best, cheers.

Any questions, how may we help? Call us for more details: 905.795.0419

Related:

European import cars motor oil specifications.

What could be done wrong possibly with a simple oil change

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BMW or Mercedes Maintenance During COVID.  

The importance of your BMW maintenance, in fact not only your BMW, but any other car, Mercedes, Porsche, Mini, etc. preventative maintenance is very important.

Most clients do not realize the amount of damage being created by parking and literally abandoning their cars.  Your BMW or Mercedes proper maintenance more important then ever been before. Please allow me to explain.

We have seen two major areas being problematic for cars, during COVID. The number one is the amount of brake jobs increased exponentially during the shut down and we have also seen more engine breakdown for the same reason.

Corroded BMW – Mercedes Brakes

The brakes get corroded as the vehicle sits for extended periods of time. The open iron surface will turn into a surface like rough sandpaper which will destroy the brakes in short order. Furthermore the thick rust build up also will cause severe brake vibration as well. The only cure is a complete brake rotor and pad replacement. To prevent this problem the owner must exercise the brakes vigorously on their vehicle at minimum 2 to 3 times a week.

Clients Driving Their BMW, Mercedes Ultra Short Distances

The second issue we have seen: Clients driving their cars ultra short distances to buy groceries and supplies only. Which will not allow the engine to warm up to the point where it can get a proper circulation by boiling off excessive fuel and water being vaporized off from the motor oil.

Random cold start without proper warm up cycle will destroy internal components like bottom end bearings and might damage other vital internal components too. The rule if thumb is, once the engine is started it should run for 30 to 40 minutes and should be also exercised vigorously to elevate internal engine and oil temperature as part of a regular engine maintenance.

MINI Repairs

On the photo down bellow is a  Mini’s cylinder head and valves with severe carbon build up on .

Using  overly light weight, and / or poor quality oil  will accelerate the carbon build up. Notwithstanding poor fuel quality as oil vapor blow by, will burn onto the hot valves and the cylinder head. Visit our Facebook page for more photo.

BMW maintenance MINI repair

Coolant and oil leak problem on Porsche Macan S.  Check out our Facebook for photos and details.

Any questions how may we help? Contact us via on-line contact form or give as a call to 905.795.0419.

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BMW & Mercedes Benz Preventative Maintenance

Fall Vehicle Maintenance

Brake Service – Brake Repairs.  Brake sets for German Import Cars.

We at Techmax offering original  import, aftermarket import and domestic brake parts to European import cars.  Products include quality brake pads, brake shoes, master cylinders, disc brake calipers, drums & rotors, cross drilled performance rotors, power brake boosters, wheel cylinders, brake hoses and hardware, brake cables and brake fluids. We have brake parts for any European import car.

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Damaged injector replacement on BMW X5.

In case you own a BMW X5 with a 6 cylinder N55, or Diesel engine you may want to check your vehicles firewall partition so you don’t end up with seized damaged injectors, due to acid rain and washer fluid leaking into the top engine cavity, underneath the decorative engine cover.

BMW X5 with a 6 cylinder N55, or Diesel engine

Here is a perfect example of not replacing those essential firewall partitions in time and dealing with serious engine repairs later.

BMW X5 injector

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This X5’s #6 injector has been ripped apart by someone, trying to extract it from being fused to the cylinder head. Additionally, he also damaged #5 in the process. I had to make a special tool for this occasion, so I can extract the remaining piece out of the cylinder head, without the removal of the entire head which would be $$$$$.

This whole predicament could be prevented if the partition walls were replaced earlier.

This is a perfect example why you should take your luxury vehicle to a specialist, as we all know this is a common issue on these vehicles.

I appreciate the knowledge of a general practitioner or doctor, but you can get brain or heart surgery only from a specialist.  Correct ? (I didn’t intend to offend any doctors in here, this is only meant to highlight each has their own fields of specialty for obvious reasons.)

Folks you have bought a luxury automobile, so please give it a proper care or you will spend way more trying to resurrect it. We care, do you?

Any questions, how may we help? Give us a call to: 905.795.0419!

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BMW N20 timing chain and oil pump chain issues

Why does early timing  chain stretching happen?

There are multiple factors contributing to this problem, not withstanding the 8 speed automatic transmission is one of the factors in my opinion. North American drivers prefer their cars to be automatic, in this case, the automatic is more economical, than the standard version which is preferred by the Europeans.

You may ask; Why is there a problem with the 8 speed automatic? The problem occurs with our driving habits and the programming of the automatic transmission. In normal ECO mode (the default mode) it will shift up quickly and efficiently to the highest possible gear to keep the fuel consumption at minimum, hence called the ECO mode.

N20 4 cylinder BMW engine 4 Cylinder BMW  N20 Engine

The quick up-shifting in daily driving will keep the engine’s rpm very low, which will cause the 4 cylinder engine to oscillate a lot more than would have been, if it driven on the autobahn at high rpm, where there are no oscillations are really present.

Naturally the chains, the guides are fairly weak design to make them light as possible. Our stop and go driving at low engine loads paired with an efficient automatic exacerbates the problem. Furthermore the extended oil changes also does not help to keep the whole thing properly lubricated for long life.

Needless to say the newer engines and their timing chains has been extensively redesigned to counter this common and often fatal problem.

In any case, if the chain makes noise it must be addressed immediately. All the components has to be replaced. For replacement, only an improved version available from the manufacturer. The replacement components must include the oil pump drive assembly as well, according to BMW repair instructions, also a revised, improved component.

There are multiple special tools required and attention to detail is essential to complete this rather delicate repair procedure properly and permanently.

BMW timing chain guard
You can see on the above photo a broken timing chain guard and a clogged oil pump pick up, which could be fatal to the engine.

In case you have any additional questions please don’t hesitate to ask. We are here to help. Thank you for your time and all the best.

Telephone: (1) 905.795.0419

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Our services: Our preventative service program offers three key features.  Read more…

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4 Cylinder Late Model BMW Engine Makes a Whining Noise

Why does my 4 cylinder late model (2011 to 2016) BMW makes a whining noise?

Please note there is a technical service bulletin issued by BMW for this particular issue, which states: There is an issue with the oil pump chain which must be replaced to prevent fatal engine failure.

To get access to the oil pump chain drive the timing chain and related components has to be removed and must be renewed at the same time. There is an actual laundry list of parts which must be replaced at the same time, many of the specific bolts are stretch lock type meaning they are meant for single use only.

This is a major repair which requires considerable mechanical knowledge with numerous special tools to be done completed precisely as per BMW repair instructions.

We highly recommend to have it done by a professional only, with considerable BMW experience, who knows how and naturally having the essential special tools is a must.

We can assure you and in turn can show you all the relevant tools and documentation upon request as we do this particular and essential repair daily.

If you have any further questions please see us in person. We wish you all the best from Techmax

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Manufacturer Endorsed Tires

The season for tire change is fast approaching as spring comes closing up.  The winter tires will need to be removed and summer or alternatively all season tires needs to be installed.

This may mean for some of us new tires needs to be purchased and fitted for the season.

BMW run fllat tire

Run Flat Tire

Choosing the right tire for the car is one of the most important purchase you will ever make. There is a new phenomenon which is manufacturer endorsed tires, this is a relatively new thing and mostly European manufacturers started doing it.

The question remains, could you or should you use manufacturer endorsed tires only on your BMW or Mercedes? The short answer is no, the manufacturer endorsed tires are a safe bet if you want to follow their guide lines but logic says it is physically impossible to test every single tire on every model on every make, so for the very reason I recommend to consult a licensed experienced technician with decades of tire know how to select the best tire for your fine automobile.

You should never base your tire purchase on price or impulse only.  Be cautious with large chains whom only have a wasted interest to move their stock tires and operate at volume sales at very thin margins.

The rule of thumb as always, you get what you pay for.  Same goes for advice, online information also should be treated with caution since most people rating tires are by no means experts on the field of tire evaluation.

We hope this will help to have a more informed choice.  Please visit  or call us for further details. Telephone: 905.795.0419.

We wish you all the best at Techmax Auto.

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The right brake components for your BMW, Mercedes Benz or Porsche

The importance of choosing the right brake pads and rotors for your BMW, Mercedes Benz or Porsche. This is one of the most important purchase other than tires you will ever make on your fine car.

The average consumer knows little about brake pad materials or friction coefficient of the brake pads and perhaps even less about the brake rotors, brake discs. The safest bet is original brake components, but are there better choices?

Yes there are in most cases, made by very respected brake component manufacturers whom has decades of know how and engineering expertise in this field.

For instance Brembo is one of them when the big well known luxury or performance car manufacturers need a high end braking system they approach Brembo.

Brembo brake for MiniBrembo is number one they also equip over 90 percent of the F1 cars and cars involved in most Motorsports.

The only other competitor to Brembo is Akebono, whom is the sole braking system supplier to McLaren F1 and McLaren road cars. Naturally we use both respective manufacturers on our clients cars, if they are looking to improve their cars braking performance.

Both braking system manufacturer has a vehicle specific friction coefficient application which has a more ceramic composition and produce 80 percent less brake dust, so you don’t have to clean your pretty alloy wheels so often.

Please be advised! There some inferior braking products sold  over the Internet which has been imported from dubious sources and may cause permanent damage to your and others health by having asbestos in them, which is a well known fact it is a carcinogen.

Asbestos poisoning is a serious issue, which could effect your or your loved ones health, since when you apply the brakes, the brake pad material will wear off the brake pad and will float in the air which could cause lung cancer. Asbestos is a carcinogen and has been banned in the west except in third world countries.

This is a serious matter, please protect your and others health by using reputable friction materials from known accredited manufacturers.

We highly encourage everyone to choose the best available components for their fine automobile, your and others life depends on it.

We wish you all the best and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you and have a safe trip.

Brembo Brake SystemIf you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our phone number is: 905.795.0419.

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