I see, service centers are not a good choice. Noted.

Haha you are right dude, i can go with an E90 325 Lci with the funds i have. It very very very tempting and to hold tje money 😂😂


True E92 330i is already at the 50k and below mark. 325i is 55 above 😄. As much as i want the E92, i would never go for the 320i, knowing how problematic the engine can be.

The situation now is either i come actoss a well maintained E90 325i Lci, or i am thinking of accumulating a little bit more of cash for the E92 325i. It wont be LCI either and no i~drive !

Ha ha. I am so happy someone understands my dilemma and the debate i am having within my self. 😁😁😁

You had a beauty man. No wonder you miss her. !!

Thanks for tip on the engine oil consumption, will take note of it. Also its nice to personally hear the experience of an ex-owner who still misses the car.

Oh it was an accumulated sum of expense. Ok. Yes i was hoping to get reviews from guys who have experienced the N52 and its good to hear that the engine is reliable.

Really appreciate you giving the breakdown of the costs you incurred, its very helpful. Not to mention the tip about looking up the spareparts price list.
Tnanks for the good wishes man 👍

I really did not know that the engine consumes oil. Thanks for clearly pointing it out. The best tip of yours is the cat being stuck, which can lead to higher fuel consumption. 8-9 km/L is high alright, its like an Rx-8 !!o

For valve cover gasket and the oil filter housing gasket, the parts are quite cheap and can easily DIY provided you have the right torx sockets

But for oil sump gasket, need to bring to workshop as you need to lower the subframe to access the oil sump. Part for this is cheap but labor charge is killer

N52 has double vanos, 1 for intake and another for exhaust. These things are not bullet proof ya, there has been cases of the vanos cam gear having bolt failures. When this happens your engine will run very rough and you get the cam stuck error. Supposedly this has been rectified with black top N52's but you'll never know

For this, both parts and labor are killer

Ok thanks i will note that. Ive not read about this issue. You mean both fails ? Or bolt ? Worth noting this anyway, its a risk alright.
I just checked a review, seems to say that the silver top is better, than the latter black top. That though BMW claims that the black top is a better engine, actually the silver top having the magnesium cover is better. Need to find oit more on this in our Ckd models. Do you know anything about this? Thanks.

Edit: just read your earlier post again. Ok you’ve mentioned that both have cons and pros. Need to read about the lifter in the silver top, which you mentioned. I have no clue what it is 😂

This post has been edited by LORD SK: Jul 29 2022, 12:35 AM

Both can fail, but whether they fail together or not depends on luck The cam gear unit is held together with 4 small bolts. Those 4 bolts can break off and cause problems with advancing and retarding the timing. Also the broken bolt head can potentially fall onto other critical components in the engine

Silver top
+ magnesium valve cover, modular oil separator
- older revision of hardware like lifters, vanos cam gear

Black top
+ new lifters which supposedly solved ticking noise, new cam gear part which supposedly solved the bolt failure
- plastic valve cover, oil separator is non-modular and built into valve cover. You can replace the plastic valve cover with aftermarket aluminium valve cover though

Other issues like oil leaks from front pulley seal, OFH, valve cover, oil sump or flywheel seal can happen to both given the age

Ok, both can fail and you did mean the ‘bolts’ 😄😄
Bolt head falling off. ok that does pose a threat. Thanks for highlighting this.

Appreciate the + and -.
So to the black top claims to have solved it, but its as good as bmw’s claims 😅. Good one Bmw !

Oh, they have an aluminium aftermarket, thats nice to know.
Anyway i came across a video, where the guy fitted the plastic valve cover to a silver top, because his magnesium valve cover was broken. But he says it caused him problems, he ended up getting another magnesium valve cover.
So there may be risks iin getting an aftermarket aluminum cover. I am just guessing.

Just one more thing if i may ask, changing the aluminum cover gives the option of getting a modular Ccv or its just an aluminum cover that prevents cracking ?

Thankyou so much.

The aluminium one has removable cover to replace the broken pcv valve (a cheap rubber membrane). On the original plastic valve cover, the pcv valve is laser sealed. So you have to change the whole valve cover if it breaks (RM1600 item) You can cut your way through the laser seals, but when you try to install back (using glue or whatever) there will likely be leaks and your engine will continue to idle rough

Oh i see, thats the convenience of the aluminum. Thank you for the detailed explanation. Your input has given much information, it will help all future newbies who happen to read this. 👍👍👍

not sure if you have found a car yet, but here are my experiences. Note: always wanted a 6cyl bmw since the days of my folks owning a e36 325i in Msia.
below is a snippet of my N52B30 silvertop ( and n46b20, n46Nb20, m52b22 and M44B19) journey. Note: I have done all the work on the cars myself as labour is outrageously expensive here. Source all my oem/genuine parts from local suppliers here in aus. wont bore you with every detail but just the relevant ones to your search. I am not a BMW mechanic. Just a bloke who enjoys wrenching on cars and chases driving perfection from something affordable. I try to keep the cars OEM or OEM+ as much as I can and this is mostly reflected below.

Had e36 318is with m44 5sp manual. Great engine, but needs to be revved out all the time. Lack of torque down low much more apparent on the track where the SOHC m43 excelled. Sold car after an awesome 3 years owning it.

auctioned a e87 130i with a n52b30 silvertop and 6sp zf auto for cheap for the missus and to double up as my weekender. Fell in love with the characteristics of the engine. needed some maintenance work done as after some poking around the engine bay, I noticed whoever that worked on the engine last had 0 clue on how to work on a bmw. Occasionally has lifter ticking on this car. Only ran with Castrol Edge 5w-30 BMW LL01 approved.
to date I have replaced these on this car
rocker cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, water pump, CCV, spark plugs, coilpacks, full zf transmission service including new genuine zf solenoids, tube seals, mechatronic bridge and plug seal, oil pan with filter and filled with ravenol 6hp fluid (already did an oil and pan filter change with zf lifeguard 6 before), bilstein b4 shocks,

Bought a e87 6sp manual with a supposedly cooked n46 engine. Top radiator outlet cracked so engine was overheated. Cooling system was cream cheese. changed rad, engine ran fine (?). dailied, tracked the car and sold it for a profit after a year owning it. I have noticed bmw rushed out the n42 which became the n43, n45, n46 and ultimately the n46N. This engine solved the low down lack of torque of the m44 with all the valve trickery.

Finally found a e87 130i with a zf 6sp manual and the silvertop n52b30. Currently my daily/weekender/tracktoy/lepas stress/therapist. Have replaced, clutch kit, bilstein b14 pss coilovers, e92 335i brakes, and the usual engine bits mentioned above.

Over the years, I have obviously done repairs to fair few bmw's (when your uncle and mates get to know you are a bmw enthusiast and a occasional track kaki....)

N42/n46's: 90% of n42/n46 equipped cars I have come across has either needed new timing chain guides or had timing chain guides replaced. Btch of a job. Not difficult just needs alot of patience and specialty tools. Valve stem seals are another problem point of this engine ontop of the other seals, vanos and valvetronic issues. But the shortcomings of this engine is made up when it is running fine and put up to its paces on a handling perspective. Coupled with Msport dampers and springs, this thing is slightly more balanced on a twisty track or small track as you can trail brake and use more momentum to steer it out of a turn. On the road the its got a very useable powerband but its not a powerhouse.

n52 silvertop: I'm sold on this engine family. sure it has it fair share of seals shenanigans but these are all light repairs when compared to n54's and n55's (bmw turbo 6 fans will stone me to death saying this lol). N52 port injected, n54/n55 direct injected so carbon buildup is another thing to consider ontop of turbo, fuel pump, injector and vacuum hoses issues. N55's also has crank issues like the S engines with the rod bearings. The instantaneous torque down low with the n52 is much more useable than to let boost buildup on a n54 and n55 and then get that hit. I have worked and driven (nearly bought too) a piggyback tuned manual f20 m135i with a n55. on stock base map comparing the 130i to the m135i, the 130i takes off more lively with less effort.

other points to note on e8x and e9x chassis.
sunroof: (if equipped) just needs the water channels blasted with air to clear gunk and crap very often to prevent water leaking
power window mechanism fails: Rebuild kits or the whole mechanism can be bought for cheap. not hard to replace. Make sure the vapour seals/door linings are intact as that is another point of water ingress.
FRM (footwell module): known to fail if car has not been jumpstarted properly or when changing batteries. Ensure replacement is the exact part number otherwise you will find functions not working or missing after replacement
diff bushes: more so on n52 equipped cars that cop a fair bit of hiding. Will tear causing a harsh downshift on both manual and auto.
dash and interior fitment creaks: YMMV. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe sh*t.
interior plastics: rubbery coatings should have already melted off by now,
infotainment: not sure if official Malaysian CBU or CKD cars could be option with the HiFi sound system or the harman kardon. Very nice stock system. Has built in amp and a stronger underseat sub with a component setup on the front doors. Avoid units with the CCC/CIC aka idrive unless you know a good electronics installer that can do retrofits.

Obviously Sreten from M539restorations is my hero followed by VehicularDIY and Shoplifetv

how every one of these cars that ive owned drove: absolutely beautiful. Even with worn shocks I had a more fulfilling drive around twisty roads as compared to my other hot hatch at home (a45). RWD over AWD/FWD I suppose. I am not bagging out FWD as I have driven a very well sorted third gen prelude with a h22a on the track and that car still gives me a very fuzzy feeling thinking about it. But the owner of the prelude has dumped a fair bit of $ to get it to how it drives now. But if I had known what I knew back in 2016 I would not have even bothered with the a45.

edit: oh yes forgot to mention, n52 silvertop has slightly more power than n52 blacktop. also n52 blacktop cars may have electric power steer vs hydraulic. this may or may not be applicable for official malaysian delivered models.

This post has been edited by mototo: Aug 8 2022, 09:28 AM

My father own 2010 model of LCI 320d, the issue already solved since the LCI model. Until today i never heard of timing chain snap from my mechanic side, during my major fix of oil leak last 2 years back when my mechanic bring down the engine & gearbox to fix those seals, he also help inspect the timing chain condition at 150k @ 10 years it is still in good condition. The most he tell me just to change the timing chain guides & pre-tensioner and good to go for another 5 to 10 years and recommend me to come back to check at around 250k.

He only advice me that for all timing chain vehicles using good quality fully synthetic oil is a must and also dont drag too long for oil change. If you look at Europe why a lot of chain issue, just look at their oil change intervals almost double of what we do locally. In Europe they only change the engine oil at 10,000miles or 16000km...

This post has been edited by littlefire: Aug 8 2022, 09:46 AM

Hi, are you an Aussie who is posting from below under or you are living in Malaysia ? Either way its good to hear your experiences.

No i have yet to, i am looking for an E92 323i or 325i possibly a CKD. A sliver top ! I know its not easy to come by!

Oh, the Silvertops have a slight more power is it. Totally dis not know about the electric and hydraulic variations, thanks.

This post has been edited by LORD SK: Aug 11 2022, 04:18 PM

Not sure why, but silvertop got the worse engine recommendation from my mechanic. This generation engine want to go for lightweight/fuel saving route but when doing overhauling most of the screw, bolts & nuts need to be replaced and drill out as it is aluminum base. Yes, aluminum bolts! Just imagine how many pcs in the engine and broke into half when try to dissemble? Most mechanic after took out, propose to replace with either steel or stainless steel type bolts. Just imagine those broken bolts sent to machining house to pick out one by one..

There's reason why they use aluminium bolts in the first place. Magnesium/Aluminium dont play well with steel. You'll get corrosion

I read that Bmw it self makes it known that it was a single use. Maybe the local mechanics did not know.

Didnt the blacktop too use aluminum bolts ? The VC was plastic.


You are right about the bolts getting twisted off, it is a pain. Maybe some apprentice did know that it was aluminum and attempted with full force thinking that it was a normal steel bolt.

Any other specific reason why your mechanic says that black tops have more issues ?

Edit: ok, i checked, the blacktop does not use aluminum bolts, so yeah they dont have the breaking off issue.

This post has been edited by LORD SK: Aug 11 2022, 09:52 PM

You are absolutely right. Its due to the possible corrosion.

Actually proper workshop rarely have this sort of issue with broken bolts. It rarely breaks if you torque it to spec.

Most "bmw specialist" simply bolt it down without using torque wrench. Even if they have it, they rarely follow because different bolts have different torque spec

Ic, i can understand the part where our local mechanics just bolt it down with their instinct like they would with any other bolt.

I learnt something here from your post : i did not know that the bolts had different torque spec. Appreciate the post.

Noob really leaning a lot 😁