Engine internal pics, what do you think?

[Driftin]

So I am doing a head gasket on my m20 in my '88 325ix. Car smoked out the tailpipe and seemed like it was burning coolant, hence the headgasket job. This is the first time i have gotten in this deep on an engine, and disassembly really wasn't too bad. I did notice however that there was an abnormal amount of carbon buildup on the cylinders and valves. When I pulled the plugs, there did seem to be oil on the plugs, so valve seals I assume as well. So taking a look at the following pictures, do you think it is worth it to clean the carbon off these pistons, clean the valves, and take the head in to have the valve seals changed, and the mating surface skimmed? Or should I bag this engine and star looking for a replacement?
Engine started easily, ran smoothly and pulled well when driven prior to pulling head. One cylinder was down on compression at like 115 where others were like 130-145. Engine has 145k on it.
Any pointers on cleaning this mess up? I was thinking seafoam and a brass brush with the shop vac running to suck all the crap up.

anywhere, here are the pics....

[7pilot]

Imo, The block needs to be removed from the car, disassembled cleaned and rebuilt.
Otherwise it will still smoke.
The piston rings are shot.
If there is coolant in the combustion chambers it usually cleans the carbon off the valve faces and the combustion chamber.
Yours looks like oil wash/burn.

m

[payney8]

^^ the man speaks the truth

[jlevie]

I agree with 7pilot, it looks like the engine has been burning oil and the compression numbers would tend to support wear on at least one cylinder. At 145k there shouldn't be much wear on the cylinder bores and new rings & honing may be all that's needed. But you won't know for certain until the block is out and the bores gaged.

[nando]

time to build a 3 liter? ;)

[Driftin]

FWIW, it didn't smoke when driving after it warmed up for a while. Anyway, another question, what are the engine differences beyond the oil pan on a 325ix and an is? Does the oil pump bolt up differently?

[SpecM]

FWIW, it didn't smoke when driving after it warmed up for a while. Anyway, another question, what are the engine differences beyond the oil pan on a 325ix and an is? Does the oil pump bolt up differently?

the blocks are different, so the oil pump prob is too

[nando]

you need to find an ix engine or rebuild that one.

[Driftin]

just picked up an engine stand. Gonna pull the block out tomorrow.
What should I expect to pay for a clean, 1st overbore, and hone, what else do I need to get the machine shop to do? This will be my first time, so I don't want to get reamed to bad. haha.

[Ryann]

^As jlevie said you're probably not going to need a bore. You should need:

block and head cleaned, new soft plugs installed.
cylinder honing
crankshaft journals polished
pistons mic'd
block should be checked for line bore trueness and a flat deck surface
valve stems, seats, and guides checked for wear, new stem seals installed
head should be checked for trueness

I'd also suggest that you bag up your bearing shells and drop them off with the other stuff because they can help the shop make a quick assessment as to the health of your bottom end. Also, make a mental note of any dowel pins and plugs that the shop might lose, remove and forget to reinstall, or give back (hopefully this doesn't happen to you but it happens). The last time I had a shop do the above to a BMW engine it was to an m10, and it cost me around $550.