Taking the 318i off the road. Timing chain, etc.

[Zoso]

I think she's out of commission for a while!

I noticed on my way home a bunch of new, strange noises.  When I got off the highway and stopped a light, the car stalled out on me.  It restarted, squealed, and stalled again.  Restarted and stayed running with my foot on the gas.  After this, it never stalled again at any other stop light.  I got it home, opened the hood and listened to what sounds like "two dogs fighting for a chicken nugget in my engine".  It runs rough and it doesn't start as nicely as it used to.  It used to start in the cold on the first turn of the key every time.  Now it starts and stalls and I have to start it again.  The oil light also stays on longer when it first starts than it used to.

The engine was never that quiet but it is much louder now.  I think the timing chain, timing chain rails, and sprockets need to be changed.  I'll of course check my oil pan bolts at the same time.

This type of work is new to me and I need to car to get to work... so I think I may take it off the road for a few months.  I can bring it up to Vermont where I have a nice, warm, dry garage to work in and I can fix it slowly.  I'll have to get by driving a 2003 Jetta Wolfsburg that's been sitting idle in my driveway for the last 10 months.


From what I've described, does this sound like timing chain/rails/sprockets to you M42 experts?

How tough of a job is this for the newbie engine mechanic?

How much will all the parts run me?





Keeping an E30 looking and running nice is a lot of work.  The poor little car needs a lot of rust care too.  Unfortunately I have a lot of other stuff to put my money toward than getting it fixed by an auto body professional.

[sheepdog]

From what I've described, does this sound like timing chain/rails/sprockets to you M42 experts?

How tough of a job is this for the newbie engine mechanic?

How much will all the parts run me?

Sounds like the timing chain  and such.
Anything else making noise like that, usually results in a completely dead engine.

Get part numbers from Realoem and check your favorite parts source.  
Hold onto something though, the parts get expensive VERY fast. Especially rails. You can EASILY top $500 in parts, especially if you need a timing case.

Can it be done by someone new, yes and no. It is a 2 person job in places and there is a lot to do.

You have a choice of going top down, or bottom up.
Top down means nearly the same amount of work, but also pulling the head. It may save you from lifting the engine though and makes doing the  profile gasket easier.  Bmwman91 and  myself both went bottom up, lift the engine, and put the profile  in the hard way, by wedging it into place. Worked for us.

Either method means pulling A LOT of components off the engine. Basically the block  and its internal parts, head, intake and exhaust are all that is left in place.  Everything attached to the motor other than these  are  pretty much  removed. It is even wise to pull the radiator (may be necessary).

To pay a shop would cost almost what the car is probably worth. Find someone with some auto knowledge and go at it. Study realoem, and pick an  angle of attack.

It is nothing incredibly difficult mechanically, but m idea of difficult may be different than yours, study up before you start.

[Zoso]

Thanks for the good info.  I'll start pricing the parts.

This sounds somewhat daunting...

I think the best thing to do is take it off the road for about a 1/2 year.  That'll give me a lot of time to tear it apart, fix the engine and everything else that needs a-fixin', and save up some $ to have a professional fix the body rust.

[sheepdog]

Thanks for the good info.  I'll start pricing the parts.

This sounds somewhat daunting...

I think the best thing to do is take it off the road for about a 1/2 year.  That'll give me a lot of time to tear it apart, fix the engine and everything else that needs a-fixin', and save up some $ to have a professional fix the body rust.

One good thing about it or bad is that it is probably the single most intense work you can do on an e30. Good because this is about as bad as it gets. Bad because you have to do the worst job possible for your car.

To be honest if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.

I would buy a used motor to swap in or buy another motor, rebuild it, then put it in. I will not be doing another oil pump/timing chain repair. Too labor intensive to repair a high mileage motor.

[RED IS 91]

I think I would also buy a used motor to stick in but if the car is full of rust then I'd be thinking  about replacement car . "Rust never sleeps "
But that is me and I dump enough money into my own car .
My 2 cents

[twinpop171]

How many miles are on the m42 now?

Just curious because I'm at 135k right now on mine and taking it on a trip to Myrtle Beach next week.
Dan.

[Alpine003]

I would buy a used motor to swap in or buy another motor, rebuild it, then put it in. I will not be doing another oil pump/timing chain repair. Too labor intensive to repair a high mileage motor.

I did buy a used motor and it ran like a top for awhile but now I'm faced with having to do the timing chain. You just can't escape it. In my case, the timing components on the used motor were done less than 50k miles ago. But with the combination of loose bolts and lack of oil flow in my situation, I feel this may have attributed to some accelerated timing component wear or damage. My car still runs good but I think I will just hunker down and redo the timing components for piece of mind(and total silence like before, haha).

[scottiesharpe]

I think you should strip it and shelve the good parts. Then just buy another car. What's the point of fixing a rusty e30 with a toasted motor?

Although the M42-powered cars are a bit harder to find, they are still pretty cheap on the west coast. I got my car for $1500 on craigslist.

[sheepdog]

I did buy a used motor and it ran like a top for awhile but now I'm faced with having to do the timing chain. You just can't escape it. In my case, the timing components on the used motor were done less than 50k miles ago. But with the combination of loose bolts and lack of oil flow in my situation, I feel this may have attributed to some accelerated timing component wear or damage. My car still runs good but I think I will just hunker down and redo the timing components for piece of mind(and total silence like before, haha).

I agree it is not a very good long term solution.
Seems most of these motors start having issues around 140-160k. So a used one with less is only a matter of time.

The real fix is breaking a motor down and doing a rebuild with some tweaks to fix problematic areas.

[Zoso]

I agree that getting a new motor isn't going to solve my problems... it'll just delay it.  I need to take the motor apart and replace the items that need replacement.  I don't feel like the M42 is a piece of crap because it needs a new timing chain at 210K miles.

My goal is to replace other parts at the same time I'm in there.  I'll replace the timing chain, timing rails, and sprockets.  I'll also do the water pump and thermostat.  While I'm there I'll also check the oil pan bolts.

Anything else you can suggest that I do at the same time?  Anything else I can do to freshen it up or increase oil flow?

The only reason I'd replace this motor is if the compression sucks.  Even then I may try to take it apart and replace worn rings or whatever.



Also - my E30 isn't a rust bucket.  It has a few places where the paint has chipped off and the metal is rusty looking.  These places need to be taken care of before the rust gets out of control.  I just feel that it is beyond my control at this point and a professional needs to take care of it so the end result doesn't look like crap.  Hopefully I can get it all taken care of and maybe some of the spare parts in my basement (like the iS sideskirts, iS front lip, and M-Tech 1 rear spoiler) painted and installed at the same time.

[sheepdog]

I would look into a new pump and timing housing (since it is part of the pump). That is pretty much the only sure way to get enough oil, and is standard on any rebuild. Besides, could not hurt at 200k miles. I would also get some rods or long brushes, run them up through the oil passages to make sure they are not blocked at all.  Basically do a re-manufactured engine. Probably last another 200k.