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Ever since BMW debuted their N54 engine at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the love for turbo straight-6's has exploded! Unfortunately, this newfound love was quickly followed by headaches after enthusiasts began to experience numerous issues (Turbo failure, Fuel injector issues, faulty sensors, serpentine belts getting sucked into the engine, crank bolt/hubs coming loose, etc.). BMW was quick to issue recalls and fixes, but the impact had been made and the fixes offered often felt like a temporary band-aid.
This trend continued, although to a lesser extent, throughout the life of BMW's?N55 and S55 engines. Though reliability had been improved, BMW drivers continued to run into issues with?the serpentine belts splitting and wrapping around the rear of the harmonic balancer, eventually?being pulled into the engine through the front main seal. This?can cause?chunks of rubber serpentine belt to be littered into the oil pan, clogging the oil pickup tube and distributing debris all throughout your engine. If not addressed in time, this can lead to oil pressure loss, engine failure, and thousands of dollars in repair bills. Equally problematic are?the crank bolts and hubs that?continued to come loose on all three engines! Because these hubs aren't keyed, the crank hubs end up spinning on the crankshaft, causing engine-crippling piston-to-valve contact.?
It quickly became clear that BMW was never going to fully resolve these problems, no matter how many times this happened, and that this would be left to the aftermarket scene. Luckily for all of us,?the BMW N54/N55/S55 popularity was so great that in just a few short years, multiple well-known?BMW tuning companies began offering their own solutions!
The first big game-changer was the Crank Bolt Capture kit. These kits contain a locking plate and hardware that is placed over your crankshaft bolt hex-head and harmonic balancer, then?fastened to the crank hub directly using the supplied hardware, locking your crank hub bolt in place preventing it from backing out no matter what.
The next upgrade to bring N5X/S55?reliability?up to par is the Crank Seal Plate.?Crank Seal Plates are placed behind the harmonic balancer/damper, sealing off the opening between your crank hub and the front?main seal. In cases of serpentine belt failure, this helps prevent?the serpentine belt from being pushed into the oil pan and sucked into the oil pick-up tube. A cheap fix for an expensive flaw!
The final major component?of this kit is the Oil Filter Housing Gasket service, which should?be changed every 40-60,000 miles. These housing gaskets?become dry and brittle over time allowing oil to leak down the right and front side of your engine and into your engine compartment. This can also lead to oil and coolant contamination by allowing both fluids to mix, negatively affecting the lubrication of your oil and the coolant's ability to transfer heat.
Also included in this kit is?everything else required to perform this upgraded service! See the kit contents tab to view a full list of all included parts.
Kit Features and Contents:
Looking to go even further and upgrade your Crank Hub as well? Check out?ES3621960!
