89 325ix auto - Timing Belt

[theperfectcyn]

Hay guys, I bought my 89 325ix last june off an individual seller and I've been loving her as my DD. Well sunday the timing belt broke. The miles are way up there (over 722 but the body looks great .. the estimates to repair are kind of out of my budget though. I took her to Boyds in NE portland, who estimate 8 hours to remove the head. then the following parts to be replaced: timing belt, water pump, thermostat, cylinder head gasket, bolts/bets/fluids .. IN ADDITION to machining new valves/pistons (sorry it was a quick phone call) assuming at least one is damaged from when the chain broke.

give it to me straight, should i put her up for sale and move on? think anyone on here can find a new head for me assuming my camshaft and rockershaft are not ruined? looking for your genuine advice please.

been loving this car but feel like putting as much in to it now as i paid for it in the first place might mean time to put her up for sale.

thanks for your comments and feel free to ask more questions, i really appreciate it.

[agent]

Eight hours just to remove the head seems excessive. You're going to have to thoroughly inspect the bottom end, or have it done by someone who knows what to look at/for. If you're planning to have a shop do all the work, expect a repair bill well into four figures.

[Polaris15]

Time for a m5X swap. Cheap route would be to find a used m20 and swap that in. Get your buddies together, get some beers, and swap it in a weekend.

[butters]

I would suggest posting in the PNW regional forums, and looking on craigslist for a local BMW mechanic. The odds of an honest E30 wrencher in that part of the country are in your favor. You can probably get it done for about half the rate of a shop and perhaps save on the hour count as well. An entire M20 iX engine swap is definitely something to consider, keep an eye out for that.

Don't give up just yet. Good luck.

Also - 722.... thousand miles!? We need photos of this beast!

[theperfectcyn]

Yeah ive been quoted over $2k by two shops. I don't have any buddies yet that can do this work... Willing to make some, lol :) I would have to see the cost get down to around 1k to make it make sense for me. Is that totally unreasonable?

[butters]

Yeah ive been quoted over $2k by two shops. I don't have any buddies yet that can do this work... Willing to make some, lol :) I would have to see the cost get down to around 1k to make it make sense for me. Is that totally unreasonable?

I can't speak from experience but I would think that sounds reasonable. The PNW regional forum is definitely your best bet, I'm sure lots of people would chime in with good suggestions.

[theperfectcyn]

shoot not 722k miles, typo ! upwards of 275k. but the body and interior are so great. all original.

[Polaris15]

Sounds like you need to make some new friends! But seriously, rent a lift, buy a motor and a Bentley manual or start parting it out. Sport interior?

[shelleyd73]

Sounds like you need to make some new friends! But seriously, rent a lift, buy a motor and a Bentley manual or start parting it out. Sport interior?

^^ This. If you pay someone else to do all that work, you are going to end up with a repair bill that is more than the car is worth. At least find some good, used parts and shop around for a more reasonable deal. I used to be very intimidated by doing work myself. The repairs on my e30 would have been way out of my price range, so I jumped in and with the help of a very good friend and a Bentley manual, I was able to get it all done. Very empowering. If you don't want to tackle the project, or if you simply don't have time or help, I agree with Polaris... Part it out, don't try to sell it outright. With a broken timing belt, you are going to lose your a$$ on an outright sale. If you part it out, you are more likely to at least break even on your investment.

And by the way, I'm so sorry about the car. :-(

[nando]

Time for a m5X swap. Cheap route would be to find a used m20 and swap that in. Get your buddies together, get some beers, and swap it in a weekend.

On an ix?

RIF

It would be really awful to part an ix out over a timing belt.

[MR 325]

Fix it!

It should take a DIY mechanic 2 hours to pull the head. A professional should have it off in an hour. There's nothing different involved when doing a head/timing belt on a 325iX vs a rear wheel drive E30. Shop around and post in the PNW forum as suggested above. You should be paying less!

Shameless plug but if you need a quality rebuilt head click the link in my sig. ;)

[Polaris15]

On an ix?

RIF

It would be really awful to part an ix out over a timing belt.

I agree don't part it, fix it and love it. Also I did not know you can't swap an IX. Learn something new every day! Makes sense when you think about it.

[nando]

you can just not for $2000 and not over a weekend with your buddies.

[AwakenNoMore]

I did my head replacement earlier this year. It was way easier than expected. You can do it.

[Chruby99]

Good luck on a swap. You need an iX block a rwd will not swap in. Mabee a low milage rotating assembly with new rings and bearings. But that may be over your head. Pricey either way.