Constant wet plugs so can' t start M54 engine.

[Bluebottle]

Thanks very much Bigwinn, that is useful.

For peace of mind, I have had a look on Pistonheads.com, Autotrader and ebay for 525/530/520 saloon in excellent condition, no rust, no respray, no customisation, in nice dark colours with sand interior and MANUAL gearbox:

Nothing at all, all the good ones have disappeared.

I have had E39s for 17 years and this for eleven and agree, with the exception of MY engine, they are reliable and easy to get parts and repair. The biggest issue will be rust now.

I see you service BMWs, please could you tell me the logistics involved in buying, transporting and getting a used engine installed, as I have no such experience. :!: What happens if there's an issue?

You also mentioned a 3.0; did you realise mine is 2.5 or are you suggesting it is straightforward to upgrade ECU and ancillaries for the larger engine?

Cheers

 

[enuff_zed]

That looks far too good to bin!
A 2.5 M54 should be fairly easy to source I would think?

 

[bigwinn]

Sorry bud assumed yours was a 3.0

A 2.5 would be cheaper…

I’ll give you an example of what we did on a good friends z3 2.8

Admittedly we got lucky on a couple of things. However: the car had overheating issues and was too far gone.

We got the car to mine and he managed to source an e36 2.8 m52 single vanos engine

Over a few weeks we got it stripped, cleaned and refitted with ancillaries, married it the the manual box and refitted to the car

I think he paid about 550 and the guy dropped it off (he was up the road in spalding)

It was a very enjoyable project and I love seeing that car being driven- same for yours you clearly love it and it deserves saving.

Where are you based?

 

[bigwinn]

Ah

Plymouth

That’s a bit of a distance away from me otherwise I’d have offered to take on a new winter project….

 

[Bluebottle]

Ah

Plymouth

That’s a bit of a distance away from me otherwise I’d have offered to take on a new winter project….

Yes, 300 miles away.

Thanks so much for your kind words and offer,Bigwinn; I really wish that I could take you up on it. You are the sort of mechanic I need to find that I would trust my car and money with.

 

[Bluebottle]

That looks far too good to bin!

I think that’s the most interesting compliment my car and I have had :lol:

 

[Mike6]

Why buy a new engine if it's worn valve stems or something cylinder head related. If it's worn bore or similar then that may be an option. Also your garage may be able to source an engine but what cost to fit it and dispose of old one.
Get that head off before doing anything else.

 

[Bluebottle]

Thanks Mike6, I will certainly pay to have some diagnostics before committing to another engine.

 

[Mike6]

Good luck with diagnosis. A reputable garage should be able to tell ie if oil pored into bores increases cold compression it's likely to be cylinder head related. Keep us informed.