My Alpina is dead :(((

PerryGunn for sure m8, I don't really like pestering anyone. £400!! that's insane!!! I will get intouch with synter and find out what they can do for me, thought there were better upgraded options readily available. Guess I was wrong

Cheers
 
BMW synter at Nottingham have just turned complete wank, they telling me to go to my local dealer to get quotes... that's a joke! Twice before i've been to my local dealer to get parts and each time they ordered the incorrect parts which i had to end up paying for anyway for some STUPID reason because they wouldn't take them back, they are completely useless. I did however get a price from synter just now over the phone for only the head gasket..................................... £568.70 Inc vat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!! are they insane?
 
SkiNNeR said:
BMW synter at Nottingham have just turned complete w**k, they telling me to go to my local dealer to get quotes... that's a joke!
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It's not unusual for them to ask you to quote/order through your local dealer but they should be able to provide the correct BMW/Alpina part number to order - that avoids the mix-ups where the local dealers don't have the necessary Alpina knowledge
 
yea fair play, They didn't try brush me off like this before tho. I already had the part number :/ Anyway doesn't matter i'll have to find another option, there's no way im paying £568.70 for a gasket alone thats ridiculous. I could prolly find a V8 engine complete for that kinda money and drop it in there for the time being :D
 
That compression figure on cyl 6 is low but if something is smashing into the plug I think the first thing I would be doing is getting an iphone / android endoscope camera through the spark plug hole and into the cylinder for a look around.

If it is a piece of broken valve well that could certainly be the cause of your low compression - it's a little unfortunate that you will still have to take the head off to change the valve/s :(

Endoscope cameras are no money relatively speaking..... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inspection-Pancellent-Endoscope-Borescope-Smartphone/dp/B0721M9VML/ref=pd_vtph_107_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VV9XSPA006ZP0W1A6Z86
 
Have you tried pm'ing AlpinaRoadsterS on here? Manfred's a pretty helpful guy and might be able to help with a quote from a German dealership; might be cheaper?
 
markeg said:
Have you tried pm'ing AlpinaRoadsterS on here? Manfred's a pretty helpful guy and might be able to help with a quote from a German dealership; might be cheaper?
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Excellent suggestion Mark - we've always suspected that there's a quite hefty Alpina/BMW UK markup on these parts... :thumbsup:
 
SkiNNeR said:
BMW synter at Nottingham have just turned complete w**k, they telling me to go to my local dealer to get quotes... that's a joke! Twice before i've been to my local dealer to get parts and each time they ordered the incorrect parts which i had to end up paying for anyway for some STUPID reason because they wouldn't take them back, they are completely useless. I did however get a price from synter just now over the phone for only the head gasket..................................... £568.70 Inc vat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!! are they insane?
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That's just insane for the head gasket, you could buy a second hand M54 lump on fleabay for that!
At this point Id be doing as suggested and having a look into the combustion chamber with a camera to see exactly whats going on in there. Either yourself or get a garage/engine specialist to do it. It the only way your going to know (other than head off obviously). You may have bigger issues than a valve, such as piston damage or even a damaged cylinder/block. What you find is obviously going to have a huge bearing on how to proceed at this point.
If you need a piston for example maybe a good engine builder can match the existing part to a new one off manufacturer markings etc. As i said earlier I'm not well up on Alpina but I'm willing to bet the bespoke parts are being made for them by the mainstream suppliers rather than in house.
I had this situation years ago with a melted piston. The bespoke engine builder who originally built the engine wanted a fortune for the piston but a local engine builder used markings on the piston and measurements etc to work out what piston it was and got me one a lot cheaper direct from the actual manufacturer.
If you've damaged the block beyond repair you may have to start getting creative and think about trying to find a B3S engine from somewhere, god know where though. Alternative you may be able to source an E36 M3 engine and have it bored out, just like Alpina did in the first place.
Hopefully its something relatively painless like the valve and you get it sorted soon
 
MACK said:
...
If you need a piston for example maybe a good engine builder can match the existing part to a new one off manufacturer markings etc. As i said earlier I'm not well up on Alpina but I'm willing to bet the bespoke parts are being made for them by the mainstream suppliers rather than in house
...
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Manufacturer information for a lot of the parts is available, e.g. the pistons in the B3S are lightweight forged items made by Mahle, the tuned stainless exhaust was made to Alpina specs by Boyssen... other parts came from the BMW parts bin and were re-purposed for the RS sometimes with a bit of in-house work to modify them, sometimes not...

The problem with the headgasket is that Alpina had it made specifically to their pattern for the bored-out 3.4L engine and they hold the only stock of them. As there are relatively few B3S engines around, it seems that it's not economically viable for anyone to make a pattern part.
 
PerryGunn said:
MACK said:
...
If you need a piston for example maybe a good engine builder can match the existing part to a new one off manufacturer markings etc. As i said earlier I'm not well up on Alpina but I'm willing to bet the bespoke parts are being made for them by the mainstream suppliers rather than in house
...
Click to expand...
Manufacturer information for a lot of the parts is available, e.g. the pistons in the B3S are lightweight forged items made by Mahle, the tuned stainless exhaust was made to Alpina specs by Boyssen... other parts came from the BMW parts bin and were re-purposed for the RS sometimes with a bit of in-house work to modify them, sometimes not...

The problem with the headgasket is that Alpina had it made specifically to their pattern for the bored-out 3.4L engine and they hold the only stock of them. As there are relatively few B3S engines around, it seems that it's not economically viable for anyone to make a pattern part.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Some good/useful info there Perry. You learn something everyday. Do you have links etc to the Alpina parts info? Might be useful to the OP and other Alpina owners going forward.
 
MACK said:
PerryGunn said:
MACK said:
...
If you need a piston for example maybe a good engine builder can match the existing part to a new one off manufacturer markings etc. As i said earlier I'm not well up on Alpina but I'm willing to bet the bespoke parts are being made for them by the mainstream suppliers rather than in house
...
Click to expand...
Manufacturer information for a lot of the parts is available, e.g. the pistons in the B3S are lightweight forged items made by Mahle, the tuned stainless exhaust was made to Alpina specs by Boyssen... other parts came from the BMW parts bin and were re-purposed for the RS sometimes with a bit of in-house work to modify them, sometimes not...

The problem with the headgasket is that Alpina had it made specifically to their pattern for the bored-out 3.4L engine and they hold the only stock of them. As there are relatively few B3S engines around, it seems that it's not economically viable for anyone to make a pattern part.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Some good/useful info there Perry. You learn something everyday. Do you have links etc to the Alpina parts info? Might be useful to the OP and other Alpina owners going forward.
Click to expand...
There are threads in the Alpina-specific section that give details of replacement parts & part numbers
 
ok ive ordered an endescope which should arrive tomorow. Thats definitely a great idea, I don't want to end up ordering these parts if my engine is completely goosed. With a bit of luck its just the gasket. But i do think theres maybe a bit of valve in there, somethings definitely not right. I will get my new creepy camera down there tomorrow and post up some pics :D
 
I ordered one as well - just thought it would be a really handy little tool to have for £20. If your plug electrode really is getting physically damaged when you run the engine, there has to be more to it than just a head gasket problem.
 
 
:-? ...tricky to see but is that part of the piston ring that is broken? If so it will probably have scored the bore as well so a bit of cash to get it right again. Looks like you are into a head rework unfortunately.

You might get a clearer video if you hand crank the engine while looking in there.
 
That's completely stuffed, something has been bouncing up and down in there :(

There will be damage to the head, piston, valves, bore...
 
ph001 said:
:-? ...tricky to see but is that part of the piston ring that is broken? If so it will probably have scored the bore as well so a bit of cash to get it right again. Looks like you are into a head rework unfortunately.

You might get a clearer video if you hand crank the engine while looking in there.
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looks like one of the rings to me as well.
I guess the next step is head and sump etc off then for a proper look.
 
markeg said:
Have you tried pm'ing AlpinaRoadsterS on here? Manfred's a pretty helpful guy and might be able to help with a quote from a German dealership; might be cheaper?
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Thanks markeg :)

The price in Germany for the Roadster S cylinder head gasket ( # 11 12 123 ) ist about 350 EURO + shipping.
350 EUR = 300,50 GBP (todays google exchange rate).
You need also the gasket intake system ( # 11 61 132 ) - but this one is not expansive.

350 EURO ist today's price - I know because my Roadster S #203 is this month in the workshop for changing the cylinder head gasket (precautionary) - I have 93.500 miles on the odometer. Fortunately I tackled this, because the head gasket was already slightly damaged in one place. I'm having the complete cylinder head overhauled now - he's down anyway.

Alpina is the only supplier of the cylinder head gasket. You could order a handmade one from other suppliers - but this will cost the same or more.

You can order the cylinder head gasket only with a Alpina Roadster S VIN.

Good luck for the TE - unfortunately looks like an expensive repair.
 
Hey there AlpinaRoadsterS! Thats great news about the headgasket, least that saves me a bit of money as it will no doubt be an expensive repair. I still haven't got the head off it yet but I will definitely need to replace it at some point in the near future. Do I just get in contact with Alpina Germany to order these parts then? I might need to replace a piston aswell, i hope they can supply one piston also because i don't really want to have to buy a whole set :)

I am more than likely going to remove the engine, strip it down and do a full rebuild if it needs it. I might drop another engine in for the time being but it could be more hassle than its worth with engine management and gearbox/diff ratios being different. There's a lot to do which will definitely keep me busy anyway ;)

I'm concerned about the bore also if its damaged. Does anyone know if Alpina use sleeves in the cylinders? Because if it is damaged I could possibly get re sleeved. It is a big worry because it might even be beyond repair in which case i will need to find another engine block :((

Had my Alpenis for 5 years now and has been a mega money pit, but I will never sell or get rid of it, shes my baby! so whatever needs to get done will get done. When i die an old man they can bury it with me :D haha

QiC9nzK.jpg
 
SkiNNeR said:
... Do I just get in contact with Alpina Germany to order these parts then? ...
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This is not possible as Alpina only delivers to an Alpina dealer in UK.
My workshop can order the gasket and send to UK. He need the Alpina VIN of the car to do this.

If you change the head gasket - you should also change the conrod bearing "german: Pleuellager".
I have done this a week ago also on my Roadster S.

SkiNNeR said:
... I might need to replace a piston aswell, i hope they can supply one piston also because i don't really want to have to buy a whole set :) ...
Click to expand...

Please ask you Alpina dealer in UK. If this parts also cheaper in germany, we could send this parts to you.

My # 203 inside:

lenkrad.jpg

navi.jpg
 
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