BMW M60
Encyclopedia
The M60 is the internal code for the V8 engine
manufactured by BMW
from April 1992 to 1995. It replaced the BMW M30
inline six - with the exception of the BMW E32
, in which the M30B30 continued to be available.
Design made extensive use of CAD
to minimize size and weight. It had a closed-deck cylinder block
for maximum rigidity, and used aluminum alloy
for both block and cylinder head
. The valve covers were magnesium
, and the intake manifold
was nylon. Nikasil
plating was used rather than iron for the cylinder liners
(although this proved problematic, as described below). The sintered
connecting rod
s were made as a single piece and then fractured in order to ensure a closer fit. The block weighed 25 kg (55 lb), and the heads 30 kg (66 lb) each. Total dry weight was 203 kg (448 lb).
The M60 engine had four valves
per cylinder, with duplex-chain-driven dual overhead camshafts. Valves had hydraulic lash adjustment to reduce maintenance, and the camshaft chain drive was self-adjusting. There was no distributor
, each cylinder having its own ignition coil
. Fuel injection
and ignition
were managed by a DME (Digital Motor Electronics) from Bosch
the MOTRONIC 3.3 computer system.
The M60 was offered in two sizes: the 3.0 L M60B30 and the 4.0 L M60B40. The two had very similar design, but neither block, heads, nor crankshaft
were interchangeable.
was 10.5:1, giving an output of 160 kW at 5800 rpm and 290 newton metre at 4500 rpm.
Cars with this engine:
crankshaft rather than the M60B30's cast piece.
Cars with this engine:
The M60 was the #1 engine worldwide on the Ward's 10 Best Engines
list for a broken period of 6 Years.
In 1996 the M60 was replaced with the M62 series engines
.
, an aluminium
, nickel
, and silicon
alloy, to line the cylinders of the M60 engines. The cross-hatched Nikasil linings react with the high sulfur
content found in lower-quality gasoline
, such as that used in parts of the United States
all gasoline used in Brazil
and also in the UK. This reaction causes damage to the very top of the cylinder bore, where there is the most contact of the burning mixture and the cylinder lining. The damage prevents a good seal from forming between the piston
and the cylinder wall, causing a loss of compression in the combustion chamber. This "leak down" will cause M60s with worn linings to exhibit a rough idle, and if the problem continues unchecked, the engine will not start.
The only permanent fix for this problem is the replacement of the short block with the equivalent block composed of Alusil
, which do not exhibit this corrosion problem. After the problem was found, BMW issued an extended six-year, 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty
to cover these engines at no cost to the owner. In the USA and UK sulfur rich fuel is being phased out. There's also theory that if car has survived to date (almost 20 years) then it's not endangered anymore because engine was since replaced, or it wasn't affected.
The composition of the engine can be found by checking the serial number stamped into the engine block:
M60B30:
M60B40:
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
manufactured by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
from April 1992 to 1995. It replaced the BMW M30
BMW M30
The BMW M30 is an inline-6 cylinder engine built by BMW and was used in many different models since 1968. It was originally developed in the late 1960s as an extended 2.5-liter version of the robust inline four-cylinder BMW M10 first used in the 'Neue Klasse' BMW 1500, with which it shares a...
inline six - with the exception of the BMW E32
BMW E32
After almost 7 years in development since September 1979, in July 1986, BMW introduced the second generation of the 7 series, known internally as the E32. Aimed at the high end of the luxury market, the car offered some of the latest innovations in automotive technology, and a new, top-of-the-line...
, in which the M30B30 continued to be available.
| Engine | Displacement | Power | Torque | Redline | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M60B30 | 3.0 L (2997 cc) | 160 kW @ 5800 | 290 newton metre) @ 4500 | 6500 | 1992 |
| M60B40 | 4.0 L (3982 cc) | 210 kW @ 5800 | 400 newton metre) @ 4500 | 6500 | 1992 |
Development
Development of the V8 engine began in 1984, and the engine was committed to production in 1986. Some 560 test engines were built throughout the development program.Design made extensive use of CAD
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
to minimize size and weight. It had a closed-deck cylinder block
Cylinder block
A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...
for maximum rigidity, and used aluminum alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
for both block and cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
. The valve covers were magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, and the intake manifold
Inlet manifold
In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders...
was nylon. Nikasil
Nikasil
Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. It was introduced by Mahle in 1967, initially developed to allow rotary engine apex seals to work directly against the aluminum housing...
plating was used rather than iron for the cylinder liners
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
(although this proved problematic, as described below). The sintered
Sintering
Sintering is a method used to create objects from powders. It is based on atomic diffusion. Diffusion occurs in any material above absolute zero, but it occurs much faster at higher temperatures. In most sintering processes, the powdered material is held in a mold and then heated to a temperature...
connecting rod
Connecting rod
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or conrod connects the piston to the crank or crankshaft. Together with the crank, they form a simple mechanism that converts linear motion into rotating motion....
s were made as a single piece and then fractured in order to ensure a closer fit. The block weighed 25 kg (55 lb), and the heads 30 kg (66 lb) each. Total dry weight was 203 kg (448 lb).
The M60 engine had four valves
Poppet valve
A poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
per cylinder, with duplex-chain-driven dual overhead camshafts. Valves had hydraulic lash adjustment to reduce maintenance, and the camshaft chain drive was self-adjusting. There was no distributor
Distributor
A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...
, each cylinder having its own ignition coil
Ignition coil
An ignition coil is an induction coil in an automobile's ignition system which transforms the battery's 12 volts to the thousands of volts needed to create an electric spark in the spark plugs to ignite the fuel...
. Fuel injection
Fuel injection
Fuel injection is a system for admitting fuel into an internal combustion engine. It has become the primary fuel delivery system used in automotive petrol engines, having almost completely replaced carburetors in the late 1980s....
and ignition
Ignition system
An ignition system is a system for igniting a fuel-air mixture. Ignition systems are well known in the field of internal combustion engines such as those used in petrol engines used to power the majority of motor vehicles, but they are also used in many other applications such as in oil-fired and...
were managed by a DME (Digital Motor Electronics) from Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
the MOTRONIC 3.3 computer system.
The M60 was offered in two sizes: the 3.0 L M60B30 and the 4.0 L M60B40. The two had very similar design, but neither block, heads, nor crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
were interchangeable.
M60B30
The M60B30 had a bore of 84 mm (3.31 in) and a stroke of 67.6 mm (2.66 in), for a displacement of 2997 cc. Compression ratioCompression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
was 10.5:1, giving an output of 160 kW at 5800 rpm and 290 newton metre at 4500 rpm.
Cars with this engine:
- 1992-1995 E34BMW E34The BMW E34 is the version of the BMW 5 Series automobile built from February 1988 to 1995 with the Touring model ending June 1996. It replaced the BMW E28 in 1988 and was replaced by the E39 in 1996....
530i - 1992-1994 E32BMW E32After almost 7 years in development since September 1979, in July 1986, BMW introduced the second generation of the 7 series, known internally as the E32. Aimed at the high end of the luxury market, the car offered some of the latest innovations in automotive technology, and a new, top-of-the-line...
730i - 1994-1996 E38BMW E38The BMW E38 model was the basis for the 1995 through 2001 BMW 7 Series automobiles. Developed from early 1988 to 1994, it was unveiled in the summer of 1994, replacing the BMW E32 that September and itself was replaced by the BMW E65/E66 for the 2002 model year.The E38 models were offered with...
730i
M60B40
The M60B40 had a bore of 89 mm (3.50 in) and a stroke of 80 mm (3.15 in), for a total displacement of 3982 cc. Compression was 10.0:1, giving 210 kW at 5800 rpm and 400 newton metre at 4500 rpm. It had a forgedForging
Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: '"cold," "warm," or "hot" forging. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to 580 metric tons...
crankshaft rather than the M60B30's cast piece.
Cars with this engine:
- 1993-1995 E34BMW E34The BMW E34 is the version of the BMW 5 Series automobile built from February 1988 to 1995 with the Touring model ending June 1996. It replaced the BMW E28 in 1988 and was replaced by the E39 in 1996....
540i - 1992-1994 E32BMW E32After almost 7 years in development since September 1979, in July 1986, BMW introduced the second generation of the 7 series, known internally as the E32. Aimed at the high end of the luxury market, the car offered some of the latest innovations in automotive technology, and a new, top-of-the-line...
740i - 1994-1996 E38BMW E38The BMW E38 model was the basis for the 1995 through 2001 BMW 7 Series automobiles. Developed from early 1988 to 1994, it was unveiled in the summer of 1994, replacing the BMW E32 that September and itself was replaced by the BMW E65/E66 for the 2002 model year.The E38 models were offered with...
740i - 1992-1996 E31 840i
- 1993-1998 De TomasoDe TomasoDe Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
GuaràDe Tomaso GuaràThe De Tomaso Guarà is a sports car and the last project of the founder and owner Alejandro de Tomaso put into the market. Presented at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show, the Guarà was available as a coupe and open barchetta...
The M60 was the #1 engine worldwide on the Ward's 10 Best Engines
Ward's 10 Best Engines
Ward's 10 Best Engines is an annual list of the ten "best" automobile engines available in the U.S. market, that are selected by Ward's AutoWorld magazine. The list was started in 1994, and has been drawn every year since then....
list for a broken period of 6 Years.
In 1996 the M60 was replaced with the M62 series engines
BMW M62
The BMW M62 is a V8 piston engine, built in Munich, Germany. It has an aluminum block with 98 mm bore centers and two aluminum DOHC cylinder heads.-M62:...
.
The Nikasil problem
BMW used NikasilNikasil
Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. It was introduced by Mahle in 1967, initially developed to allow rotary engine apex seals to work directly against the aluminum housing...
, an aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
, nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, and silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
alloy, to line the cylinders of the M60 engines. The cross-hatched Nikasil linings react with the high sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
content found in lower-quality gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, such as that used in parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
all gasoline used in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and also in the UK. This reaction causes damage to the very top of the cylinder bore, where there is the most contact of the burning mixture and the cylinder lining. The damage prevents a good seal from forming between the piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
and the cylinder wall, causing a loss of compression in the combustion chamber. This "leak down" will cause M60s with worn linings to exhibit a rough idle, and if the problem continues unchecked, the engine will not start.
The only permanent fix for this problem is the replacement of the short block with the equivalent block composed of Alusil
Alusil
Alusil as a hypereutectic aluminium-silicon alloy contains approximately 78% aluminium and 17% silicon. This alloy was created in 1927 by Schweizer & Fehrenbach of Baden-Baden Germany and further developed by Kolbenschmidt....
, which do not exhibit this corrosion problem. After the problem was found, BMW issued an extended six-year, 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty
Warranty
In business and legal transactions, a warranty is an assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen; the other party is permitted to rely on that assurance and seek some type of remedy if it is not true or followed.In real estate transactions, a...
to cover these engines at no cost to the owner. In the USA and UK sulfur rich fuel is being phased out. There's also theory that if car has survived to date (almost 20 years) then it's not endangered anymore because engine was since replaced, or it wasn't affected.
The composition of the engine can be found by checking the serial number stamped into the engine block:
M60B30:
- 1 725 970 - Nikasil
- 1 741 212 - Nikasil
- 1 745 871 - Alusil
M60B40:
- 1 725 963 - Nikasil
- 1 742 998 - Nikasil
- 1 745 872 - Alusil