Opinion on this S52 please

[rkettner]

if an actual wrecking yard from back east quoted you $2200 for this s52 would you consider it? 78,000 kilometers. computer and wiring harness for 450 more dollars. shipping 175. this would be an all in s52 shipped to my door for $2825

would the snow all around the motor and the state of the wiring harness scare most buyers away? yes. has it scared me away right now? not yet.....

[BigD]

I'd want to see some compression figures. For that much money it's not too much to ask to have him bolt a tranny/starter, hook up a 12V battery to the starter and solenoid and check what the compression is. As long as it's reasonable and even, it's fine. FWIW it looks like it spent its life up to now infront of a slushbox so it hasn't been moneyshifted. You can't use the wiring harness anyway so who gives a shit (well you could try to keep it OBDII like some of the masochists here...).

[vr4boy]

that'll be a good price!
i'd skip the ecu/harness as you'll prob be best converting it to obd1 for your swap(that'll save you the $450)
looks clean and on the plus side- i guess it's off an auto m3 so,chances are it hardly saw redline...just my 2cents...
if you don't buy-i will :-)
just pm me their contact info....

[Jason89i]

first, are you doing obd2 or obd1? that ditermines if you even want the harness / ecu.

i got a motor that sat outside for a few days. it got rained on. NOT GOOD. because these motors sit on an angle when sitting on the ground, rain water can pool up on the butterfly. then the water seeps in through the little hole on the butterfly, follows the manifold runners down, and now pools on the valve stem / guide. if corrosion occures, you could get a stuck valve, premature guide failure. our motor had a slight tick (stickey valve) for about an hour until the valve decided not to close, bang. full rebuild.

just a thought. cheers, jason

[rkettner]

i will ask for compression results. that was a good idea. i am going to go with obd1 after reading about it this morning. seems like it will produce more power but it makes me wonder about our tough emissions out here in BC.

would an obd1 s52 have similar emissions numbers as an m20? i don't want to tell our smog people that i have changed the engine.

is a carfax report going to tell me the mileage accurately? i'd like to find some way of confirming the kilometers.

[turboeta]

i will ask for compression results. that was a good idea. i am going to go with obd1 after reading about it this morning. seems like it will produce more power but it makes me wonder about our tough emissions out here in BC.

would an obd1 s52 have similar emissions numbers as an m20? i don't want to tell our smog people that i have changed the engine.

is a carfax report going to tell me the mileage accurately? i'd like to find some way of confirming the kilometers.

Yeah CarFax will tell you the last time the engine was in the car, and you can find out the history of the M3

[etxxz]

the harness looks fine. There's a big plastic piece that encloses that section of the harness and bolts to the e36's firewall. i have it on my e30, but if you get the covers for the e30 firewall then all of that hides behind.

if you want to go obdII read a thread i started not too long ago on this section it'll tell you everything you need. Otherwise, go the classical OBDI conversion way for which you do NOT need the harness or computer, key, ews etc etc etc. That's a hell of a good price though. I say do it.

[BigD]

I know people with this setup has passed California emissions, so don't worry about BC. Don't tell them the engine's changed, they'll peek under with their mirror to see that the cats are there. With the O2 sensor in and working, your emissions will probably be way better than your M20 ever was.

[FredK]

if corrosion occures, you could get a stuck valve, premature guide failure. our motor had a slight tick (stickey valve) for about an hour until the valve decided not to close, bang. full rebuild.

Wow, what a horror story!

[Jason89i]

Wow, what a horror story!

yea, not fun. this was the cars second motor and had 56k documented miles. an hour after the install, .....bam. knock, knock, knock, knock.

check the t-body for ring marks that would indicate that water has pooled up. even better, pull the manifold and check the intake valve stems or any signs of residue / corrosion. upon closer inspection of our motor, we found rings in the t-body AND intake ports of cyl 1-3. the wrecker (a reputable one at that) refused to admit it sat outside. we forwarded the pics, he did what was right. cheers, jason

[rkettner]

my email to him:

i am looking for the vin number so that i can do two things.

1. is to check with bmw on maintenence and recalls.

2. do a car-fax report to check mileage.

last question would be about warranty. what do you offer on an engine as far as warranty is concerned?

his reply:

one it was inside a 328 modified 2 i wouldn't give a vin unless im selling the car... its good tested and ready to install 90 days part only standard but from what i know ur not putting it in an original m so .. u would have to specify and no credit card u send money order or certified cheque first

[CorvallisBMW]

hmmmmm sounds kind of shady. Any reputable shop/yard should at least be able to spell 'you' correctly, not to mention all the other incorrect stuff.

[rkettner]

i wrote him an email telling him that i wasn't interested. so if anyone does want it i'll forward the contact. don't hate me if you get screwed.

[etxxz]

makes sense...you have to remember that maybe that same retard removed the engine. good call.

[e30s52]

i would touch that with a 20 foot pole