E30 325i Engine - repair/replace?

Anan1 · 16-07-2010 12:44PM #1

A friend is having engine problems - compression is well down on one cylinder. Assuming it's nothing simple involving the valvetrain, what are her options? The car is a 1988 325i 4dr auto, in generally good condition. She really likes the car, but given its age she's not keen on the idea of spending a fortune on it. Would a rebuild be prohibitively expensive?

Bigus · 16-07-2010 12:50PM

If i was spending serious money on that car i'd prefer to replace it with a more modern BMW unit even considering the hassles with ecu's etc.

Anyway for her the solution would be a warranted miles secondhand unit from somebody like traynors or uk specialist bmw breakers

ep71 · 16-07-2010 01:55PM

have you checked the head gasket, very common on e30s

8~) · 19-07-2010 11:02AM

If she really likes the car and the rest of it is in good order then I suppose it's worth a rebuild.

If the engine's history and (low?) mileage is known I'd rather rebuild than fit an unknown engine.

Last year I was in a similar situation with an E28 BMW suffering head gasket failure... I opted to have it repaired because I really like the car even though it's relatively worthless.

I'd be guessing 500-700 for head gasket repair on a 325 if you include pudent other stuff like a water pump, fan, etc.

Anan1 · 19-07-2010 05:02PM

Thanks all for the replies. After a lot of messing, it now turns out that it's a broken rocker arm. Am I right in assuming that this would mean that the valve wasn't opening fully as opposed to not closing - ie that the valve is unlikely to have been bent?

Bigus · 19-07-2010 05:16PM

Anan1 wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies. After a lot of messing, it now turns out that it's a broken rocker arm. Am I right in assuming that this would mean that the valve wasn't opening fully as opposed to not closing - ie that the valve is unlikely to have been bent?

Yes & cheap fix

Anan1 · 19-07-2010 06:39PM

Can it be done without removing the head? I've been doing some googling and i'm getting contradictory results. The one i'd like to believe is that it's just a matter of unbolting the tube the rocker arms are mounted to, sliding off the arms, replacing the broken one, retorquing the bolts and that's it. Am I being naive?

Bigus · 19-07-2010 06:53PM

Sounds like that should definitely do it. no need to remove head even in the unlikely event you have to loosen the cam. this is slightly different than a pushrod engine but sure take off the rocker cover and have a look.

Bigus · 19-07-2010 06:57PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiOsqIr1f9w

He's using that lever to compress the spring but you could get the same result loosening everything

Anan1 · 20-07-2010 01:34PM

What i'm hearing now is that the tubes the rocker arms are mounted on run through the cylinder head, so apparently the only way to do this is either to lift the engine or to remove the head. Not such good news after all.

E30 325i Engine - repair/replace?

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