M20 Gurus unite! I need advice with my project E34!

[bimmerd00d]

Long time no see! So i've picked up a '90 525iM to play with in the garage. This will be my first time tearing this deep into a car. I picked it up for $400 from a buddy who didn't have the desire to work on the car anymore. It had a failing head gasket when i brought it home, seemed to drive alright, just smoked a lot, and had the usual milkshake that brings all the boys to the yard in the coolant tank and oil pan. It started and moved under its own power without issue until the day i pulled the top end apart. It currently sits in my garage with the head removed, and all the usuals that need to come off. My question is, what now? The local mechanic here said i should rip the whole motor out and spend a shitload of cash to build it up. I just want this thing to run and get decent mileage, as my 540 gets like 16 around here, and i'm putting WAY too many miles on it. What all should i do while i'm in here? I'm not looking to spend a whole lot of money on it, just want it to be reliable for now. Everything surprisingly looked pretty good in there, no sludge buildup or anything from what i could tell. The leaks in the head gasket look to be right at the front and back of the head. If anyone wants to donate anything to my project (seat covers!) that would help me make it up to the meet in Chicago this year, i'd LOVE to take this instead of the E39! We can cover this thing in bimmer.info logos if anyone so has the desire for that :)

http://www.bimmerd00d.com/images/525i/

[632 Regal]

I would just replace the gasket, have the head checked for straightness and cracks and call it a day. If it knocks after then you could pull the oil pan and swap out the bearings if needed.

now thats cheap.

[bimmerd00d]

I would just replace the gasket, have the head checked for straightness and cracks and call it a day. If it knocks after then you could pull the oil pan and swap out the bearings if needed.

now thats cheap.

If the bearings were shot, wouldn't it have made all sorts of noise before? It ran fine aside from teh smoke before.

[E34-520iSE]

Before Christmas my car car was smoky & running really poor. I rebuilt then fitted a spare head and the difference was unreal. Runs like new, no smoke, no soot on the rear bumper or rattles from the top end. Just I seem to blow rocker cover gaskets for fun LOL!

HTH,
Shaun M

[Dave M]

If the bearings were shot, wouldn't it have made all sorts of noise before? It ran fine aside from teh smoke before.

I think jeff is getting at the fact that you've got water in the oil, thus a chance of chewing your bearings if left too long. If the previous owner didn't drive the milkshake machine very long, I wouldn't give it another thought................until you do hear noises ;)

It should be fine. Sounds like you bought an e34 with a bad head gasket for $400. Thats 1/10 market value, good job.

Now just drive it and keep the 540 off the road.

Dave

[gmannino]

Make sure you have that head tested for leaks, cracks and straightness at a reputable machine shop. Overheating M20= cracked cylinder head.

[bimmerd00d]

Make sure you have that head tested for leaks, cracks and straightness at a reputable machine shop. Overheating M20= cracked cylinder head.

What's really odd, is that it never overheated. It was running fine, and then it started billowing white smoke. The temp gauge never rose above 1 tick right of middle. So hopefully it never got hot enough. Well, i never let it get hot enough to warp, lets put it that way.