Re: E-30 engine woes

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Mark,
It's next to impossible to diagnose your engine problem remotely, but it
sounds like you may have dropped a valve or two or overheated and warped
the head.
The important thing to remember is there is no such thing as a four figure
repair bill on a M20B25 engine. Used sub-100K engines are going for around
$600-700 and dropping one into an engine bay should not cost more than a
few hundred $.
Don't even think about rebuilding an M20B25 - replace it!
If you want to go exotic you could transplant an M50 in there, though that
would require new electronics, cooling system and harness splicing raising
the bill closer to $2K and lots more labor.

alex f



|---------+--------------------------->
|         |           mark pedersen   |
|         |           <markografx@eart|
|         |           hlink.net>      |
|         |           Sent by:        |
|         |           owner-bmw@digest|
|         |           .net            |
|         |                           |
|         |                           |
|         |           01/09/02 09:11  |
|         |           AM              |
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  |        To:      bmw-digest@domain.elided                                                                         |
  |        cc:                                                                                                    |
  |        Subject: E-30 engine woes                                                                              |
  >---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|




Hey all-

My '90 325 street/track car with 114K miles has a sick engine. Cylinders
4 & 5 have extensive oily gunk buildup on the
spark plugs, and #5 isn't firing at all, even with a new plug.  I don't
know the extent of the  damage as I haven't yet torn it
down. It still runs, albeit with a nasty miss.  I am going to consider
repowering the beast because it has to serve me for
another couple of years before I can afford an E36 monster. My budget is
limited, so what are your opinions (Heh, Heh,
I asked for it now! ; ) ) on options for a new power plant? Rebuild the
existing? Metric Mechanic? I am an instructor that
attends around 4 events per year, and the car sees pretty spirited
driving on a daily basis.
Thanks in advance.
- --
Mark Pedersen
BMW CCA 131680
BMW MOA 68639
90 325 street/track
85 318 beater/heater
74 R90 therapy

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