pb was cylinder head WTB M50 non vanos head.

[Bruno]

Well the 525it overheating problem was the cylinder head, it took me 2.5 hours to take the head off the car and realizing that the problem was a cracked from the intake valve to the cooling passage.

I will see if my machine shop can fix it, else I will need a new head.

I like the M50 non vanos engine with the aggressive cams and no vanos rattle noise so I do not really want to start a swap. And a turbo M50 will be good down the road.

Anyone has a cheap M50 head non vanos kicking around???

[winfred]

if you can't find a cheap one i can probably dig one up but i get $600+ for a good complete head, a potentially better flowing maybe longer lasting head would be a vanos head, dress it with your cams and it's good ta go, maybe even better would be a m52 (not tu, only single vanos) it would have fresher less worn lifters and cool beehive looking springs but you'd need to drill and tap the hole for the 2nd coolant sensor (some had a plug screwed into the hole) vanos m50 and m52 heads have smaller valve stems and much longer lasting guides, a NV m50 can suck oil past the guides like it's a design feature and amazingly not emit one poof of smoke

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Going through the same thing for an e36...Looked around for a head...But gotta deal on a whole M50 for $300, so I'll be lazy and swap it out.

[Bruno]

Going through the same thing for an e36...Looked around for a head...But gotta deal on a whole M50 for $300, so I'll be lazy and swap it out.

Even if I find another engine, I will have to pull the head and redo it and knowing myself I am going to rebuild the engine and start fresh. I just want to get that touring on the road and sell my Jeep.

Soooo, I will try to get a cheap head somewhere or get mine repaired if that is possible.

[Bruno]

if you can't find a cheap one i can probably dig one up but i get $600+ for a good complete head, a potentially better flowing maybe longer lasting head would be a vanos head, dress it with your cams and it's good ta go, maybe even better would be a m52 (not tu, only single vanos) it would have fresher less worn lifters and cool beehive looking springs but you'd need to drill and tap the hole for the 2nd coolant sensor (some had a plug screwed into the hole) vanos m50 and m52 heads have smaller valve stems and much longer lasting guides, a NV m50 can suck oil past the guides like it's a design feature and amazingly not emit one poof of smoke

Thanks, but I read that some coolant or oil passage holes were different on the two cylinder heads...

[attack eagle]

Keep it pure Bruno... if i ever swap engines I'm keeping my simple and higher revving NV head. Vanos head swap means harness rewire, ecu swap, etc.

[Bruno]

Keep it pure Bruno... if i ever swap engines I'm keeping my simple and higher revving NV head. Vanos head swap means harness rewire, ecu swap, etc.

I have done it on the race car when I swapped my 2.8l 270hp engine instead of my failed M50 NV.

But I like the M50 NV engine, so I want to try to find a head to fix it. (and the AC is super cold so I don't want to touch it hehehe.

[winfred]

i never said to convert it to vanos just use the vanos head without the vanos cams and servo, i've done it many times back and forth, use the NV cams and cover plate and as a bonus the smaller diameter valve stems may flow better besides being less wear prone

just another option for a head so you aren't stuck looking for a two year only head, heads up to 98 bolt right up with the same gasket

[Bruno]

i never said to convert it to vanos just use the vanos head without the vanos cams and servo, i've done it many times back and forth, use the NV cams and cover plate and as a bonus the smaller diameter valve stems may flow better besides being less wear prone

just another option for a head so you aren't stuck looking for a two year only head, heads up to 98 bolt right up with the same gasket

I didn't know that the non vanos head could be installed also... that is definitively an option. So I do use the M50 NV gasket right?

Thanks.

[Ferret]

I didn't know that the non vanos head could be installed also... that is definitively an option. So I do use the M50 NV gasket right?

Thanks.

Hah, if you want manic compression you could always use the M50B20 head on the M50B25 block, though you have to use the oversized head gasket and make sure your big ends are in good condition!

[Bruno]

Hah, if you want manic compression you could always use the M50B20 head on the M50B25 block, though you have to use the oversized head gasket and make sure your big ends are in good condition!

I actually have one of these on my bench... but I would rather prefer a B25 head if I can find one before putting the B20 head on...

[Interceptor]

I didn't know that the non vanos head could be installed also... that is definitively an option. So I do use the M50 NV gasket right?

I have a VANOS head made 09/93 on my M50 NV engine and everything runs fine. I just swapped EVERYTHING from my "old" head since it was completely redone only 5000 km ago. Take out the old 6 mm valve guides and press in new 7 mm guides, put new valve seals, take it to the machine shop and you're done. The only difference is the hole for the camshaft sensor. Let the machine shop adapt it to accomodate the NV camshaft sensor or else it can lose oil since it's too big on the VANOS head. Use the NV head gasket.

This would also be a good time to paint your valve cover black. Here's how mine looks like now:
http://www.slichke.com/images/viu1217619942c.JPG

[winfred]

NV gasket kit, i leave the valves guides and springs alone (unless they need attention) the easiest way to deal with the potential different cam sensor is get the cam sensor from the car the head came from, sometimes you can just run a thinner o-ring depending on the sensor design you have (there were several) and depth of the hole (couple different depths) or if you don't mind using rtv slather it with ultra gray and bolt the NV sensor in, the difference is pretty much just the o-ring space but some sensors have a shoulder that goes into that space a little

[Bruno]

NV gasket kit, i leave the valves guides and springs alone (unless they need attention) the easiest way to deal with the potential different cam sensor is get the cam sensor from the car the head came from, sometimes you can just run a thinner o-ring depending on the sensor design you have (there were several) and depth of the hole (couple different depths) or if you don't mind using rtv slather it with ultra gray and bolt the NV sensor in, the difference is pretty much just the o-ring space but some sensors have a shoulder that goes into that space a little

What about the coolant tube that is located at the front of the head, I remember having to install an insert on my M52 engine, is that going to be a problem?

I think that it is a problem with a M52/S52 heads only..

I have located a M50 vanos head, I might just use that with my stock cams.

[winfred]

part of the timing cover or block if i remember right, been just long enough since i've done a M5X it's a little foggy, i don't remember having any issues with the tube on a head job