im going to swapping this into a E34 525. Since the motor is out, is it worth doing a head gasket change? The engine hasnt overheated, and its always been maintained. Am i better off buying a lower mileage motor? I can possibly get one with 100k which is about $700 less.
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S52 w/200K miles Dilema
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Originally posted by dunkman23 View PostI can possibly get one with 100k which is about $700 less.
Definitely do that.
But it sounds like you already have the 200k motor. I guess it depends on your mechanical skill and how much you want to dive into it.
I would spend the $700 more. Less wear on all the bearings that are hard to replace, like the crankshaft bearings, cylinders will have less wear, etc. You're saving a lot more than $700 on parts that might need to replaced or fail soon.
That being said, get the one with 100k miles. Then do these:
Valve cover gasket
Oil filter housing gasket
Water pump
New thermostat
New thermostat housing
Rear main seal
Pilot bearing (done with rear mail seal)E30: '91 318is - M52/ZF320 | Azev A 16X7.5 | H&R Race/Bilstein | Completely refreshed suspension/brakes/drivetrain
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Well, it all depends on how the motors were taken care of. Which one looks better inside? The one with 100k might only have had 10 oil changes, while the one with 200k miles had about 30 oil changes. Lower mileage doesn't always mean its better (although that sometimes is the case).
Also, head gaskets on these motors don't typically just go out. If the engine has compression and the head isn't cracked, then the gasket doesn't need replacing. If at any point it had an overheating problem, then yes, the head will need repairing and the gasket changed.
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Agreed. The gaskets are usually fine, it's the heads that CRACK. I just went through this whole thing. If it has an original head and gasket, I wouldn't mess with it until it has to be done. With that said, there will be more wear on the bearings and timing components on the higher mileage motor. Does that matter? Probably not as these are 300K motors a lot of the time.
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