"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
06/29/2014 at 16:25 • Filed to: BMW, 335d, diesel, biturbo
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"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
06/29/2014 at 16:25 • Filed to: BMW, 335d, diesel, biturbo | 1
| 13 |
Putting in work on a German car for the first time this morning. I have a lot of experience working on Japanese cars in my driveway doing turbo swaps along with other mods and maintenance items, but I've never owned a German car. The car is a 2011 335d. It's got a 3.0L straight six biturbo diesel under the hood with a 265hp and 425lb-ft of torque. All that torque is put to the wheels via a 6 speed automatic transmission (the only one offered on the 335d in the US).
It's our family hauler, and is a lot of fun to drive. All that torque matched to great gas mileage is very gratifying. I changed the oil last night, which was just like any other car. The difference was it takes 7.5L of oil, and the oil has to meet BMW specs. Normally I'd say screw it, but the car is a CPO and has a diesel particulate filter, so I didn't want non spec oil to screw anything up. Lucky for me the local dealership sells the factory oil for only $8.99 a quart. I usually fill my turbo engines with Motul which costs over $10/L so I was fine with this price. Here is a pic of the two turbos, which I have nicknamed Hansel and Gretel.
The oil change went swimmingly last night, and I was able to successfully complete the work I was doing this morning. Overall this morning's task was very easy with no real weirdness as to how the engine was set up. You do need lots of different torx bits in order to work on the car, but as long as you have those you're good to go. The biggest pain in the ass was removing the top air dam and the engine cover. As with any job well done, it must be capped off with a good beer. In this case a German one. Prost!
JGrabowMSt
> DipodomysDeserti
06/29/2014 at 16:31 |
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Id leave the engine cover off, that thing looks pretty nice.
I 100% approve of your turbo names, absolutely spot on.
PS9
> DipodomysDeserti
06/29/2014 at 16:33 |
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You spelled wörk wrong.
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DipodomysDeserti
> JGrabowMSt
06/29/2014 at 16:33 |
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I will definitely leave the cover off once it's out of warranty. Now that I think of it, I'll have to take the cover off to undo what I just did if I need any warranty work done. Off to take the cover back off...
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DipodomysDeserti
> PS9
06/29/2014 at 16:40 |
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Good catch. Fixed*
Roberto G.
> DipodomysDeserti
06/29/2014 at 16:53 |
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Changing the oil yourself, doesn't affect the warranty. Not on this planet, at least.
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DipodomysDeserti
> Roberto G.
06/29/2014 at 17:00 |
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I know. The oil was last night. This morning was a little more involved, hence the removed air intake.
AM3R
> DipodomysDeserti
06/29/2014 at 17:04 |
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I work on my E90 328i and I gotta say it was easy to get used to it. I helped a friend swap a single turbo into his 335i and even that wasn't TOO bad. Good to hear the D isn't bad to work on either.
AMGtech - now with more recalls!
> DipodomysDeserti
06/29/2014 at 17:36 |
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I'm a bit jealous. If I could have a beer for every job I finish, there would be days where I was drunk by noon. I suspect that would be frowned upon.
Seriously though, keep your receipts for the oil and filter just in case you need to prove service at some point.
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DipodomysDeserti
> AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/29/2014 at 19:05 |
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I definitely will keep my receipts, but this was a between service oil change. My car is still under the factory warranty for a year so I get free service from BMW. I don't like only changing the oil every 13k miles on a biturbo diesel so I do it myself every 6k. I hate letting other people, including dealer techs, touch my cars, so I have a folder of oil receipts for my cars that are still under warranty.
jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
> DipodomysDeserti
01/04/2015 at 19:47 |
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I've gotten the bug to do some car shopping, and the 335d is currently the front runner on my list of cars to own. I already found and test drove one, and may have ended up buying it if it had the sport package. I found its acceleration to be acceptable, and effortless, to 80mph, and I discovered that I may be getting old and not too worried about getting faster than that in a hurry.
I was wondering how you've enjoyed your 335d. How's the transmission when you want to have fun? How good has it been on maintenance? How is it as a commuter? Basically, it seems that this car hits an uncommon sweet spot, exactly where I'm looking for, as a daily economical car that is still fun on the weekends. What are your feelings on it?
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DipodomysDeserti
> jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
01/04/2015 at 23:11 |
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Funny you ask this, because I just got rid of it yesterday. As you know, the car drives great. The transmission was alright, but definitely outdated, and the interior isn't as well put together as the newer cars. The biggest problem was reliability and maintenance. The thing was a nightmare. It spent three weeks in the shop the first month I owned it. They replaced the intake manifold, egr, egr cooler, MAF, swirl flaps, and walnut blasted the cylinder head. These cars have a major problem with carbon build up. Mine only had 32k miles on it and the whole head and intake were clogged. It was enough build up that it broke the swirl flap acuator. It's a very well known and common problem. There were three other 335d's in service for the same thing as mine at the same time. These cars are also plagued by DMM and injector failures. The DEF system also may experience problems. The car did have great driving feel and fuel economy once it was sorted, but then last week the oil supply line to the small turbo started leaking. That was the last straw. Luckily mine was under warranty so I didn't have to pay for anything, but it's my wife's DD, and it was a huge hassle for her every time the SES light came on. My advice would be to get the 335i. If you really want the diesel then make sure you get a warranty for as long as you own it. Sometimes the carbon build up shows up early and sometimes late. My car showed no signs of problems until the light came on, so it's hard to tell if the car has problems. I ended up picking up an X1 for my wife. Not the greatest looking car, but the ZF 8 speed matched to the turbo four makes the car a blast to drive. I'm not an auto fan (my other three cars are manuals, and I would have got the 335d and the X1 in a manual if they were offered) but the ZF 8 is really a fantastic transmission. Very fast and smooth shifts, and it adapts very well to different driving situations. Iat makes up for the drop in torque (which I wouldn't have believed myself before trying one out for a while).
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jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
> DipodomysDeserti
01/05/2015 at 03:12 |
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Holy cow, that is way more of a horror story than I was expecting. You didn't have it for very long! What year was it? If it was a '09 with 32k miles, I could rationalize that it was probably driven too infrequently and / or gently, which would add to the build up. And I think I read the injectors got better as the years went on. And I've gotten myself set on a '11 M-sport. Here I go, sounding like I'm trying to rationalize a bad decision...
It seems like carbon buildup can be a hit-or-miss problem. And the N54 in the 335i is no better in that regard. I would rather have the entertainment of the torque and the fuel economy that accompanies the diesel. My GTO does everything the 335i can do, and has been dead reliable for me, so I don't want to jump ship for the i.
The lack of a manual is a big letdown for me, too. I hope the X1 is a much better experience for you than the 335d was, and I see no reason to believe it won't be! Thanks for responding.
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DipodomysDeserti
> jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
01/05/2015 at 06:45 |
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Mine was a 2011. It was previously owned by a real estate agent in a small mountain town, so lack of proper revs is most likely why it developed it so early. The problem is diesel in the US is crappy, so even if you do stretch its legs you're still prone to build up. Yes, the 335i (or any other direct injected car) is prone to carbon build up. The difference is there is much more support for the i. There are places who have started offering intake cleanings for the d, but they're rare and expensive. If you want it, I would suggest doing an egr block (it's two little plates that are easy to install) and a catch can in the crank case breather valve. That will pretty much eliminate the risk of CBU. You'll want to have the intake cleaned beforehand. It was a very fun car to drive, and unique by US standards. If you're looking for a nice highway cruiser and you're fine dealing with potential issues I would get it. If it was just my car and I didn't have kids I would have kept it. Download the Bimmerpost app and sign up to the 335d forum if you haven't already. There is a really knowledgable group of guys on there who have been working on and modding the cars. A couple guys have some 10 or 11 second cars which is pretty cool for a diesel.