HORRIFYING Repair Bill Moment of Truth Stories- WTF should I do?

[kronus]

http://www.blunttech.com/

[MaksV]

sell this thing for like 500 bucks to a junk yard and call it a day. With a cracked head, an eta engine, and being an 84 - you are better of just cutting bait and getting into a good clean e30.

[DaButt]

sell this thing for like 500 bucks to a junk yard and call it a day. With a cracked head, an eta engine, and being an 84 - you are better of just cutting bait and getting into a good clean e30.

I don't disagree. but trust me, everything on it is clean... except for this potentially cracked head... which I'm still not sure is the case.

How do I know for sure?

Anyway, I'm exploring "e to i" options... thus relinquishing myself from the wheezy clutches of the Eta.

[Bretts85E30]

I have an eta and honestly just dropping the I head and intake makes all the difference then all thats left is the birch wiring part that is to put the i harness

[SkiFree]

OEM HG Sets?

From that dealer, which would be pretty funny.

[ForcedFirebird]

I have an eta and honestly just dropping the I head and intake makes all the difference then all thats left is the birch wiring part that is to put the i harness

Takes less than an hour to change the harness, and that's with an assembled engine. Being an 84, there just needs to have an adapter made, or solder the wires to match the square connector.

OP, you can pick up a used m20 for a few hundred bucks and spend a day getting it fitted.

[SpecM]

What kind of half-ass shadetree hack did you take your car to the first time? He didn't want to remove the head because he would have to remove the radiator?

Sheesh

Sent from my Vortex

[DaButt]

Jeep fanatic. sheesh is right.

[Bretts85E30]

There really isn't any special tools needed I did my head with an 82 pc socket set a torque wrenched breaker bar and 32 mm bicycle wrench for the fan clutch didn't need to take out radiator but wanted more space to work with Lol

[DaButt]

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I'm gonna take it up to Atlanta this weekend. Some much better pricing, even if it's a hassle to get it up there.

mods- i'm good, you can delete.

[ChefSkinny]

you could buy a much nicer e30 in better shape for that money most likely.

[Vivek]

I'd just go for it OP. I just did my entire mess under the intake on my m42. Took apart the entire intake and TONS of hoses knowing basically nothing. It turned out to be so easy, and it's by very far the biggest job i've ever done. Since you do regular maintenance, you can probably do this. Hopefully you have another car to use, because it's always best not to rush when you don't know what you're doing. Just a few friendly words of encouragement :)

[DaButt]

I'd just go for it OP. I just did my entire mess under the intake on my m42. Took apart the entire intake and TONS of hoses knowing basically nothing. It turned out to be so easy, and it's by very far the biggest job i've ever done. Since you do regular maintenance, you can probably do this. Hopefully you have another car to use, because it's always best not to rush when you don't know what you're doing. Just a few friendly words of encouragement :)

Thanks for the encouragement, but time is of the essence here as it's my DD. I'm realistic enough about my capabilities to know not to "go for it." I'd screw something up, guaranteed, and have no recourse once I damaged my DD. It's something I CAN learn to do, but learning it under fire with a compressed timeline is not ideal. I dunno... I would love to have a garage, time and another car, maybe i'm not up to the muster for e30 ownership.

For anyone who's still reading this- I told BMW to stuff it. $50 for a tow truck and i'm taking it to a reputable shop who'll do everything (including machine shop and OEM seals) for ~$1k.

I was going to tow it to Rich and Jason at Heritage, but the tow fee was $450 and I don't own (and couldn't find) a truck to Uhaul it. Also checked Penske, Budget, etc.

It's been a ride. Hopefully this shop will do me solid (hehe) and it'll be back in good running order soon.

We'll see, said the Zen master.

[Cephas]

Good luck! I can't believe that someone called for a cracked head without seeing/verifying. It could very well be the headgasket - actually, that's more likely.

[mkcman17]

i'm pretty sure i could knock out a HG with a pair of vicegrips. but really, you need 8, 10, 12, 13, 17, and 19mm sockets, a small extension and ratchet/torque wrench.

hear these words, for the hundredth time; YOU DON'T NEED A BMW SHOP.

i'm positive any shop with a couple old guys that have a few old VWs outside will be able to do the work for a fraction of your dealership price.

stop playing victim. it's your own fault you committed to $400 sensors. i would have sent you some from my old e->i swap for the cost of shipping. the fact that you took it to the dealer means you haven't been paying attention to anything on this forum. take it to xyz shops, get some quotes, take the cheapest/one you feel most comfortable with.

or pay me $1k and i'll fly out with my tools, knock out your HG in a few hours and fly home.