Good Service Appreciation Corner

[animal1162]

Your head could be "warped", which means you'd need a new head. Wouldn't recommend mating your block to another head as that has its own problems too. If that proves to be the case then replace the engine as a unit.

If the shop you've used earlier knows their stuff, they should subject the engine to a leak down test and find out the tolerances. But I've only heard of one other shop besides ours that actually has the tester here.

P.S: When the head was removed, were the piston rings checked for clearance?

i dont really know if they did checked the piston rings for clearance.

i just know that there were some loose bolt that they replaced and they even swapped the vanos cause i had a camshaft sensor message that refused to go that had fixed the problem for some times but know its leaking again.

i will check again but may be i'll have to replace the whole engine unit as you say because the engine has allready 210k on the odo.
But that the only problem i do have with the car.

:cry:

[animal1162]

hi i did asked about the warped cylender head and i heard that they can be milled if ever they are warped, i thiink its kind of an engine rebuilt.

[animal1162]

hello its me again,

sorry i know is kinda off topic i mean big time off topic but i need to ask you guys.

i still didn't get the time to go to the garage to check my engine regarding the leak because im to busy with work, but i found in internet that the cylinder block (engine block) can be coated to be restored or just coated for better performance same like the nascar racing car in the us (the DART company in the us does it).

so my question is, is there any place in uae to do this? i guess that could save me a lot of dirham as im running short money this days and i really don't want to sell the car so im looking for a cheap but good alternative in order to keep the car for a long run.

so what would you suggest. and im definitely gonna pass by to see Ayham in the garage.

[Ayham]

I'd imagine the coating would be an expensive route, unless you'd be able to provide us with pricing from said company. You have to remove the engine, take it apart, coat it, put it back together and time it then install it in the car (in addition to gaskets and the 100% chance of plastic hoses and O-rings that WILL break while doing the job). I wouldn't take any BMW engine block to local machinists here as I have observed many performing and the mistakes/working conditions/machining equipment conditions/inaccurate tolerances were of secondary concern. That's my $0.2 ofcourse there might be some good places I haven't heard of.

I seriously believe that replacing the engine as a unit would be your best alternative money wise.

[animal1162]

how long do you guys need to check the car and how much it will cost aproximativly (just for the check) i think i'll pass by tomorow as i have a day off. see you there.

[Vanne]

Hi guys, need an inspection done on my car, oils changed (gearbox, diff and engine)i know they are supposed to be lifetime fluids, but my car is getting up there in kms))and filters. also need valves (shim) adjustment/checked. Also need spark plugs replaced. Coolant flushed/replaced as well as general grease and check. I know both places are recommended, DAS and X service, but which is cheaper? Are both places comparable in price?

It's not my daily driver, so time is not really an issue.

Thanks guys

[TRSpitfire]

I only go with Das. They are both cheaper and you get more personal service than X. Had a bad experience with X replacing the vanos on the Z3m all because no one who actually knew what they were doing was checking on the technician's work!

[Vanne]

thats good enough for me, Ayham, expect a call for me in the next 2 weeks. :D

[Callahan]

Hi guys, need an inspection done on my car, oils changed (gearbox, diff and engine)i know they are supposed to be lifetime fluids, but my car is getting up there in kms))and filters. also need valves (shim) adjustment/checked. Also need spark plugs replaced. Coolant flushed/replaced as well as general grease and check. I know both places are recommended, DAS and X service, but which is cheaper? Are both places comparable in price?

It's not my daily driver, so time is not really an issue.

Thanks guys

which is cheaper???.....this is the most interesting question in that part of the world.....isnīt it interesting to ask if the quality of the works is good or even if the works paid for are really done? Both questions are more important because I doubt both of them in a lot of cases...See, when I bought my M3 the car has always been serviced at recommended workshops and at the main dealership here in Dubai.....when I did my engine rebuild ( no workshop please---did it on my own ) I found out that the valve clearance was so much out of specifications that this car has not seen a valve clearance job since a couple of years though it was to the regular "service"....I rebuilt the Vanos and found out that all O-rings have been old and hard--but at the end glad no one touched it so it was mechanical wise ok. Every single hose from water, fuel supply and AC have been replaced....some of the fuel hoses did not look nice...I changed the AC dryer which has been the original one out of the factory from 1997...Who calls that service? A friend of mine went to a recommended workshop where he asked for a valve clearance job around his M3---they told him that the car has got hydraulic tappets---no problem, sir....LOL
I doubt that in that region most of the workshops know what service means and have a clue about what to do around some cars.
I have seen cars where one strut or one wheel bearing or even one steering gaiter has been changed-----where I come from no reputable workshop would do that.
Sometimes I understand the workshops---itīs not easy to deal with a lot of customers here in that area. But on the other hand all in all this is the reason why most of the older cars are in a bad mechanical condition, not to mention that some of the drivers just do not have enough money to care for the car when it comes to repairs.

[Vanne]

Thanks for the contribution. There indeed are questionable service shops in Dubai, but through this thread it was my understanding that the quality of work was best at DAS and X service. I have heard quite a few horror stories of good parts being swapped out for crappy parts and services that were said to have been done not even having been started, let alone completed. I hope this is not the case at DAS or X. As it stands I have booked my Beemer in with Shack at X-Service, and I will ofcourse report of the quality and expertise that my service will be completed with. I have heard good reports for X-service and even though I would ave liked to do the valve adjustment and tune myself, my job won't let me spend that amount of time spannering myself anymore, though I am much more than capable myself.

At any rate I will be paying very close attention to the service and adjustment as my car is my hobby. ; ) also I have heard good reports of quality work by Shak, so hopefully he will look after my ride.

[Vanne]

Well it's gotta be coming close to pickup time... :D

[Callahan]

Well it's gotta be coming close to pickup time... :D

I wish you good luck.....

[Vanne]

Thanks mate, but you sound sceptic, have you had any first hand dealings with either DAS or x-service? Please share.

Looks like its going to be after my Sydney trip.. That's okay, as I'd rather have the job done properly than rushed. ; ) I just went there to drop off a few *couff* extra parts... ;D

[Vanne]

Just got back from Sydney, picking her up this morning.. :D

[Vanne]

a couple of days later....

very, very impressed with the service to my car, and can recommend X-service without hesitation. (depending on what your used to:read more later)

first of all, my car is going great and am extremely happy with the services provided by X-service. Shak looked after me during the whole experience, and i must say, he is a good guy. Initially only went there to get the first services done to my car after purchasing said car a few months earlier, but due work commitments, i was unable to sort all the stuff out previously. The car was overdue for its service (inspection 2 and 1) by 30000Kms. The PO told me that there had been an oil chance in there, but the shop was unable to reset the service counter. rather lucky for me as i now knew that i needed to do quite a lot of things after buying the car, so that gave me some more bargaining power.

anyways back to the service... (since this isn't our DD, time wasn't really of the essence, and i left the car with X-service for 9 days)

while there organising the service with Shak and seeing what would be required for the inspection/service. i saw a baking booth in the rear of the place and thus enquired if they also do wheel repaints/dent removals. The answer to this was a yes.. and then met the paint guy and discussed some concerns i had in regards to getting a few things fixed. Lol the paint guy (his name escapes me) but he was a top notch guy. I organised with him to repaint one of the fenders and also paint-less dent removal on some dings in the door and a few others.. (never seen the paint-less dent removal stuff before , i was rather sceptic..) just wow.. the paint guy came through for me and the result was just awesome. just absolutely awesome... the paint match is 100% and the car now looks beautiful again.

the service:

As my car has a lot of miles i decided as i only purchased it a few months earlier, to get everything done and thus find out the condition of the whole car. This included of course a valve adjust and new fluids throughout. (still a little wow'ed at the cost of the rear diff fluid ;) new belts and new exhaust and tune, and ofcourse all outstanding items on inspection 1 and 2.

i am happy to report that i am extremely pleased with how Shak, (or one of his lackey's :) did the work. everything was done as requested and after a detailed report on the car and valve clearances later and how it was all spot on within spec, i went out the door. I love my car, and now knowing that its in good nick, makes my smile even bigger.

now the price... cost of painting/ding removal was 4500 (after a bit of bargaining with the paint chef) and i didnt really know how much the service was going to be. (i did supply my own belts and exhaust) but i ended up paying roughly what i expected, and was very happy with that.)

the other nice thing was actually being able to talk to Shak in fluent english about the issues/requirements of the car. (i know that probably doesn't mean much, but my arabic is very limited, and its nice to know exactly what your in for)

i would recommend Shak without hesitation and he will be looking after my car from now on.

(that said, i am not sure how things would go if you took a car in there and just dropped it off, saying fix/service it and call me when its done. I took quite a bit of time talking to Shak, and i knew most of the issues already before taking the car in from my OBD2 and from various other forums on the internet, so it definitely pays to do your research and have a clue what your talking about.)

Yeah, good on you X-service (Shak) you get my thumbs up mate!! ;D