Volkswagen BME engine
Content
Motor builders of the Volkswagen concern presented a new model of a small-capacity power unit.
Description
The release of the new internal combustion engine of the Volkswagen auto concern was carried out from 2004 to 2007. This motor model received the BME code.
The engine is a 1,2-liter gasoline in-line three-cylinder aspirated engine with a capacity of 64 hp. with and a torque of 112 Nm.
Installed on cars:
- Volkswagen Polo 4 (2004-2007);
- Seat Cordoba II (2004_2006);
- Ibiza III (2004-2006);
- Skoda Fabia I (2004-2007);
- Roomster I (2006-2007).
It should be noted that BME is practically an updated and improved copy of the previously released AZQ.
The cylinder block is left unchanged - aluminum, consisting of two parts. Cylinder liners are cast iron, thin-walled. Filled in at the top.
The lower part of the block is designed to accommodate the main crankshaft mounting pads and the balancing (balancing) mechanism. A feature of the block is the impossibility of replacing the crankshaft main bearings.
The crankshaft is located on four supports, has six counterweights. It is connected through gears to a balance shaft designed to dampen second-order inertial forces (prevents engine vibration).
KShM with balancer shaft
Connecting rods steel, forged.
Aluminum pistons, with three rings, two upper compression, lower oil scraper. The bottom has a deep recess, but it does not save from meeting with valves.
The cylinder head is aluminum, with two camshafts and 12 valves. The thermal clearance of the valves is automatically adjusted by hydraulic compensators.
Timing chain drive. When the chain jumps, the piston meets the valves, as a result of which they get a bend. Car owners note a relatively low chain life. By 70-80 thousand km, it begins to stretch and needs to be replaced.
Combined type lubrication system. The oil pump is gerotoric (gears with internal gearing), driven by an individual chain.
Closed-type cooling system with a transverse direction of coolant passage.
Fuel system - injector. The peculiarity lies in the absence of a reverse fuel drain system, i.e. the system itself is a dead end. An air release valve is provided to relieve pressure.
Unit control system - Simos 3PE (manufacturer Siemens). BB ignition coils are individual for each cylinder.
Despite the shortcomings (which will be discussed below), BME can be called a successful engine. External characteristics clearly confirm this.
Technical specifications
| Manufacturer | VAG car concern |
| Release year | 2004 |
| Volume, cm³ | 1198 |
| Power, hp from | 64 |
| Torque, Nm | 112 |
| Compression ratio | 10.5 |
| Cylinder block | aluminum |
| Number of cylinders | 3 |
| Cylinder head | aluminum |
| Fuel injection order | 1-2-3 |
| Cylinder diameter, mm | 76.5 |
| The piston stroke, mm | 86.9 |
| Timing drive | chain |
| Number of valves per cylinder | 4 (DOHC) |
| Turbocharging | no |
| Hydraulic compensators | Yes |
| Camshaft adjuster | no |
| Lubrication system capacity, l | 2.8 |
| Applied oil | 5W-30 |
| Oil consumption (calculated), l / 1000 km | 1 |
| Fuel system | injector |
| Fuel | gasoline AI-95 |
| Environmental standards | Euro 4 |
| Resource, outside. km | 200 |
| Location | transverse |
| Tuning (potential), l. With | 85 |
Reliability, weaknesses, maintainability
Reliability
The BME engine, according to car owners, is considered a completely reliable unit, subject to a number of conditions.
Firstly, during operation it is necessary to use only high-quality fuels and lubricants.
Secondly, timely carry out the next engine maintenance.
Thirdly, when servicing and repairing, original consumables and spare parts must be used. Only in this case, the engine falls into the category of reliable.
In their reviews and discussions, car owners speak about the engine in two ways. For example, foxx from Gomel writes: “... the 3-cylinder motor (BME) turned out to be nimble, economical, but capricious».
Emil H. fully agrees with him: “… the motor is excellent, there is enough traction in the city, of course it was harder on the highway…". You can draw a line to the statements with a phrase from the freelance review: “… Volkswagen naturally aspirated engines are generally reliable…».
The basis of the reliability of any engine is its resource and safety margin. There is data on the passage of the engine about 500 thousand km before overhaul.
On the forum, a car enthusiast from Kherson E. expresses his opinion about BME: “… Gasoline consumption is very small, (what is called sniffing it). And the resource of this engine is hardly small, consider 3/4 of 1,6, and they go for a long time, my father once left on his Fabia 150000 without any complaints at all ...».
A three-cylinder engine does not have a large margin of safety. It is not intended for deep tuning. But flashing the ECU can give an additional 15-20 hp. forces. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the degree of exhaust purification will noticeably decrease (up to Euro 2). And the additional load on the engine components does not bring any benefit.
Weak spots
BME, despite its reliability, has many weaknesses.
The most significant are noted by motorists such as chain jumping, valve burnout, problematic ignition coils and delicate nozzles.
Chain jump occurs due to a design flaw in the hydraulic tensioner. It does not have an anti-rotation stopper.
You can minimize the negative consequences in one way - do not leave the car in the parking lot with the gear engaged, especially on a backward slope. In this case, the risk of chain sagging is maximum.
Another way to extend the life of the chain is to change the oil frequently (after 6-8 thousand km). The fact is that the volume of the lubrication system is not large, so some of the properties of the oil are lost quite quickly.
Burning valves in most cases are caused by the use of low-quality gasoline. Combustion products quickly clog the catalyst, as a result of which conditions are created for the valves to burn out.
High voltage ignition coils are not very reliable. Their incorrect operation contributes to the formation of deposits on the electrodes of the candles. As a result, misfires are observed. Such unstable operation contributes to the creation of conditions for the failure of explosive coils.
Fuel injectors are very sensitive to the quality of gasoline. If at least one of them is clogged, the motor trips. Cleaning the nozzles eliminates the defect.
Carrying out timely maintenance, refueling with high-quality fuels and lubricants, the influence of engine weaknesses on its performance is significantly reduced.
Maintainability
Despite the fact that the BME is simple in design, it does not have good maintainability. The whole problem lies in the strict observance of technical specifications for repairs, which is extremely difficult to do.
Not unimportant is the high cost of restoration. On this occasion, Dobry Molodets (Moscow) speaks as follows: “... the cost of repairs + spare parts is approaching the cost of a contract engine ...».
When performing work, a very large assortment of special devices and tools is needed. In the garage of a simple motorist, their presence is unlikely. For quality repairs it is necessary to use only original spare parts.
Some components and parts are generally impossible to find for sale. For example, crankshaft bearings. They are installed at the factory and cannot be replaced.
Maxim (Orenburg) spoke intelligibly on this topic: “… Fabia 2006, 1.2, 64 l/s, engine type BME. The problem is this: the chain jumped and bent the valves. The repairmen have written a list of parts that need to be ordered, but 2 items are not ordered, namely valve guide bushings and piston rings (supplied only as a kit ... well, very expensive). With the bushings, the problem is solved, but the piston rings are like a lump in the throat. Does anyone know if there are analogues, what size they are and whether they will fit from any other car ???? Repair turns out to be tin like gold ...».
You can see the repair process in the video
The best solution to the issue of restoring the motor may be the option of purchasing a contract engine. The cost depends on the completeness of attachments and the mileage of the internal combustion engine. The price varies widely - from 22 to 98 thousand rubles.
With proper care and quality service, the BME engine is a reliable and durable unit.
