B58 Reliability

[stickshifter]

Any thoughts on B58 reliability?

Based on a little online reading, it seems that there are a handful of known issues, but that overall, the engine is considered reliable. Thoughts from the crowd? Here are a few of links FYI:

Winner of Ward's Top Ten Engines in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020. For example:

https://www.bmwblog.com/2020/01/18/bmw-b58-six-cylinder-engine-wins-second-10-best-engines-award-from-wardsauto/

The 4 Most Common B58 Engine Problems:

https://bmwtuning.co/the-4-most-common-bmw-b58-engine-problems/

This seemed like a good run-down of known problems from a mechanic who - overall - likes the engine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbc4Hs-G9Rc

 

[Tazzieman]

Forums will be full of "issues"! In reality these are a tiny % of the number of engines out there.And usually someone has abused it or skipped a service.I expect the engine to be very reliable and well suited to the vehicle.At least as good as any Defender engine! 

 

[Spjnr]

Yeah I agree with Tazzieman completely. It's always the minority of people with issues that shout the loudest. That being said, there are a lot of bad engines out there! Zd30, land rover TDv6, a few of the Ford diesels... yet still you see some of them with 100s of thousands on the ODO. 

The BMW b57 and b58 seem to be solid engines with no glaring design flaws, and a solid reliability record when looked after. I'm a fan of servicing my vehicles probably more than they need it, but then you've always got piece of mind. The Grenadier will be no different. Probably the most troublesome components these days are the emissions equipment, and there's always ways to deal with that.

 

[Stu_Barnes]

Agree with you both there Tazzieman/Spjnr. Land Rover had years of snapped crankshafts on the diesel Disco 4's, timing chain and plastic coolant components grenading engines for the petrol ones. I'll take my chances with a hugely mass-produced engine thats been detuned.

I just hope that the Gren installation leaves space around the engine so we can 'conveniently' repair and replace components when the time comes. That leads me onto the other concern I have. Access to the technical literature to repair/maintain the engine itself. INEOS have been very open so far about their intention to provide online tech info for the 'vehicle' but will that extend to the engine? I'm hoping so but it very much goes against the grain for BMW for that info to be out there in the public domain for free.

 

[stickshifter]

Forums will be full of "issues"! In reality these are a tiny % of the number of engines out there.And usually someone has abused it or skipped a service.I expect the engine to be very reliable and well suited to the vehicle.At least as good as any Defender engine! 

Hi Tazzieman,

Thanks for your reply - but I'm not sure I really follow your post. I didn't cite any forums. I agree with your assessment of forums: they are typically full of "loud" and extreme views - "its the greatest" / "its the worst". I provided links to three sources, all of which seem pretty legit:

The first source I listed was an article praising the B58 for making it to Wards top ten engine four times in the last five years. 

The second source I listed is from a BMW tuning site; they start the article with the following: "the B58 is working up to be a reliable engine in its young career." They then go on to describe the four most common problems with the engine, based on their experience servicing BMWs.

The third source was a different BMW mechanic, who (1) described the same problems as listed in the second source (that's a degree of confirmation), (2) explained how to minimize their likelihood and or mitigate their negative impact, and (3) at the end of the video, clearly voiced his positive overall impression of the engine.

That's actually three positive reviews of the B58! I have the impression that you felt the need to defend the B58, but maybe you didn't read what I posted? No harm, no foul, I just wanted to clear the air in case you thought I was trolling.

All the best!

 

[Tazzieman]

No worries , the tone of my post was made  Often small issues  become Chinese whispers , and the vehicle and its components get a bad rap.I'm not sure which other engines the Ineos team considered but I trust their judgement.Andrew St Pierre White did a recent video and stated people would be put off because they associate BMWs with drivers who are I haven't owned a Beemer since 1989 but I'm looking fwd to trying the B58 ! I do love a straight 6.

 

[stickshifter]

Yeah - a straight six is a beautiful thing. I had the 4.2 I6 in both my 1975 Landcruiser (FJ40) and my 1978 Jeep CJ-7. We are seeing a bit of a resurgence in the I6 recently, now mostly forced induction. Ram/Jeep had plans to come out with a turbo powered I6 to replace the 5.7 Hemi, but nothing seems to have come from that. https://www.autoblog.com/2019/11/12/fiat-chrysler-patent-turbo-inline-six-engine/

 

[Tazzieman]

Inline 6s are well known in Australia. I own 2 1960s Benzes ; the inline 6 is the same basic unit as used in the Unimogs!Tough as nails and likes to rev.

 

[Spjnr]

Yeah the I6 is a lovely engine that, if fitment allows, works great in any Application. I've got a 1986 merc 300sl that runs like a sowing machine 

 

[superdoc]

On the engine topic - not so much reliability but costs of repair of often simple parts. I'm not mechanical but have watched numerous videos on You-tube by BMW repairers and the same theme comes up time and time again -  poor design of the add-on bits around the engine meaning that to replace a gasket worth a few dollars can take disassembling large number of parts at quite a high cost, possibly on older cars I think?. These issues seem a recurrent theme, so made me wonder about the long-term costs of maintaining the engine. ?Any accuracy in this?

 

[Triple Seven]

My '86 CJ-7 had the Inline 6, 258 cu. in. (4.2 l)...My '06 TJ has the 4.0 l ...The CJ-7 was naturally asperated, (carbureted)  and had some sensitivity there, but my 4.0 l is fuel injected and has been rock solid!

 

[Tazzieman]

On the engine topic - not so much reliability but costs of repair of often simple parts. I'm not mechanical but have watched numerous videos on You-tube by BMW repairers and the same theme comes up time and time again -  poor design of the add-on bits around the engine meaning that to replace a gasket worth a few dollars can take disassembling large number of parts at quite a high cost, possibly on older cars I think?. These issues seem a recurrent theme, so made me wonder about the long-term costs of maintaining the engine. ?Any accuracy in this?

That could be said for many modern engines. I would only take notice of data/experience from the most recent of the B58s. From my understanding it is a fine engine.Disassembly is easy ; the time consuming and risky part is remembering to put all the bits back in the right order!Main costs of maintenance will be consumables such as tyres and brakes. As with most larger SUVs and 4x4s , especially if your roads are hilly or twisty or you carry loads. 

 

[stickshifter]

 That could be said for many modern engines. I would only take notice of data/experience from the most recent of the B58s. From my understanding it is a fine engine.Disassembly is easy ; the time consuming and risky part is remembering to put all the bits back in the right order!Main costs of maintenance will be consumables such as tyres and brakes. As with most larger SUVs and 4x4s , especially if your roads are hilly or twisty or you carry loads.

In the original post at the start of this thread I put up a couple of links to what I think are pretty fair assessments of the reliability of the B58. Both posts run through the main known issues with the engine. It is not problem-free, but in the end, both mechanics argue that it is - overall - a reliable engine.

 

[stickshifter]

Yeah - a straight six is a beautiful thing. I had the 4.2 I6 in both my 1975 Landcruiser (FJ40) and my 1978 Jeep CJ-7. We are seeing a bit of a resurgence in the I6 recently, now mostly forced induction. Ram/Jeep had plans to come out with a turbo powered I6 to replace the 5.7 Hemi, but nothing seems to have come from that. https://www.autoblog.com/2019/11/12/fiat-chrysler-patent-turbo-inline-six-engine/

Ha - I'm quoting myself, how pretentious! I just wanted to update what I wrote in this previous post. The I6 from Stellantis (Ram/Jeep) is now in production in Mexico:
https://moparinsiders.com/stellantis-states-turbocharged-inline-six-engine-is-in-production/

 

[Triple Seven]

That'd be a great engine to replace the mediocre V6 in the Jeep JL...Granted, the Pentestar is better than the older V6 that was in the earlier JKs, but this would be much better...Especially for those that can't afford the 392! 

 

[stickshifter]

[QUOTE username=Triple Seven userid=8864359 postid=1331739771]That'd be a great engine to replace the mediocre V6 in the Jeep JL...Granted, the Pentestar is better than the older V6 that was in the earlier JKs, but this would be much better...Especially for those that can't afford the 392! [/QUOTE]

Exactly!

 

[Red pepper]

Some tuning info..

BMW B58 Engine Tuning | What will change? | BimmerTech

Do you want to get more excitement out of your B58-powered BMW? Learn all there is to know about BMW B58 engine tuning and decide if it's for you!

www.bimmer-tech.net

 

[Tazzieman]

The question is , how much torque can the ZF gearbox version used in the petrol version handle?
I have heard there isn't much room to move.

 

[Red pepper]

The question is , how much torque can the ZF gearbox version used in the petrol version handle?
I have heard there isn't much room to move.

Yes, I know, it's really upsetting that petrol version not getting same gearbox as the diesel one.....

 

[Tazzieman]

Yes, I know, it's really upsetting that petrol version not getting same gearbox as the diesel one.....

It's plenty enough for me though. Are you towing stuff?