M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: Brian318is on September 28, 2011, 07:48:27 PM
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So I need to replace my valve springs in my m42, and I couldn't find a good DIY or any truly useful info before I started gathering parts.. honestly, I have been considering just getting a low-mileage used m42 and just doing a direct swap and just swapping all my nice m42 parts over to it..
So what do you guys think? Should I take the time to do the valve springs, or just find a cheap m42 and swap it over. My engine is pretty good.. getting higher into the mileage (probably near 170k) and have a mysterious coolant leak that I have not yet been to fix..
What do you guys think?
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I'd be tempted by a motor swap. There are a fair number of M42's that get swapped...you can get a low mileage unit in the $250 range if you look.
It's unlikey, but some mysterious coolant leaks end up being a cracked head or block. I'd get a coolant sniffer, compression and/or leakdown test to be positive it's a solid motor before doing more work.
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Yeah that's what I was worried about.. unfortunately, not many m42's for sale here in SW Florida.. I'll see what I can do.
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If you need new valve springs, why not just take the head to a machine shop & hand them new valve stem seals & springs & have them do a valve job ?
I started to pull all the valves on one I bought 2 years ago that had bent valves. I had to make an extension tool for the valve spring tool & it was still a PITA. Search & you will find there are not any good valve spring compressors for this head design. Not at least for less than $100. The better tool a machine shop uses involves a bar longer than the head that is mounted on a work bench & has a sliding lever with handle on the bar. That is much easier & quicker method to remove valves. Figure $250 to $500 for the machine shop bill.
If you find a good valve spring compressor for this type head, please post a link.