The Most Common BMW M54B22 Engine Problems

This M54B22 engine was produced from 2001 to 2006 and managed to please many motorists. The cylinder block in it is made of aluminum.

A proven injector is also used as a power system. The in-line type allows the device to perform its work more efficiently. There are 6 cylinders, and each of them has 4 valves.

The piston stroke pleased the drivers, because it was only 72 millimeters. But the diameter of the cylinder in this case was about 80 millimeters.

The compression ratio of this model reaches a considerable 10.8. The volume of such an engine will be almost 2.2 liters. Its power at 6100 rpm is 170 horsepower. And the maximum torque at 3500 rpm will be 210 N * m. Here you also need to use at least 95th gasoline. But for environmental standards there is a Euro 3-4 system. The engine weighs approximately 130 kilograms.

In urban areas, gas consumption here reaches as much as 13 liters per 100 kilometers, on the highway the car will go much calmer and take about 6.8 liters per 100 kilometers. And at a mixed distance, the average consumption is 9 liters per 100 kilometers.

Oil also leaves almost 1000 grams per 1000 kilometers. 5W-40 and 5W-30 oils are suitable for the engine. There is more oil in the engine than in previous versions, here it is 6.5 liters. Replacement is recommended every 10 thousand kilometers.

The operating temperature of the engine is approximately 95 degrees, and the resource in practical conditions will be about 300 thousand kilometers. Potentially tuning can give over 250 horsepower.

This engine is installed on the following models:

• BMW 3 Series (E46)
• BMW 5 Series (E60)
• BMW 5 Series (E39)

M54B22 engine specifications

M54B22 engine Advantages

This engine is the youngest in its series, but not the worst. It has evolved from previous models. In order to bring all the parameters back to normal, the developers replaced the crankshaft here with a modern one, which was made of cast iron.

The stroke was now 72 millimeters. Small pistons, modified forged connecting rods and a size of 145 millimeters helped to cope with the loads. The cylinder block has not changed, it is made of aluminum and has cast iron liners.

The head of the cylinder block was similar to similar versions in other models. The intake manifold has been completely replaced, it has become shorter and has received huge channels. The control system from Siemens received an updated version with improved functions. The throttle valve has a diameter of 62 millimeters and was first used in such models.

BMWs with 20i indices were most suitable for such a motor. In 2006, the developers discontinued the engine and replaced it with a new one with four cylinders. Inline-sixes replaced units with a small volume, but later gave way to the next class in the market.

Most Common M54B22 engine Problems

• There is still a lot of oil consumption. The culprit for this problem is the piston rings, which have the ability to tilt to the side. Only buying new rings will help here, even parts from other similar models will do;
• Drivers often check crankcase breather valves. It often annoys car owners and it may also need to be changed periodically;
• The engine overheats, often due to a clogged radiator. High-quality cleaning and blowing air in the cooling system helps a lot to solve the problem. You also need to check the pumps, the cap on the radiator or the thermostat;
• The ignition sometimes works intermittently. This problem is present on several car models. Hydraulic compensators in this case receive too much coke and cannot cope with the load. Buying new parts very often solves the problem;
• The red oil can sometimes catch fire. This happens either in the oil cup or the oil pump. And camshaft position sensors can also often fail;
• The bolt threads in the cylinder block and cylinder head are not very reliable and require careful handling. The thermostat cannot last for a long time, there are huge requirements and recommendations for engine oil;
• The uninterrupted resource of the engine is not very good, but almost all indicators here are an order of magnitude higher than those of the previous model.

The device received good reliability, its power captivates, and for a swap, you simply cannot find a better choice. Experts give the engine very good marks, and drivers say that they like the parts.

Chip tuning

In order to improve this engine, you can increase the amount of work. It is necessary to buy a crankshaft and connecting rods from more powerful models, and leave the pistons unchanged.

The cylinder head gasket must be thick, and the control system must be fully tuned for increased resource consumption. All this will add about 20 horsepower to the total power, which can be felt quite well on the track.

This motor can also be turbocharged, and you can often find whale compressors that will greatly help with this operation. This part will produce over 250 horsepower per piston standard. True, the price of such an undertaking is quite high and not available to all users. Therefore, a modern engine will be a much better solution for car owners, because its cost will be less than improving the current one.