M20b25, Shiny cylinder walls?

[Sparky82]

Hello, This is my first post on the site, so I thought Ill quickly introduce myself while I'm at it. My name is Tom and I drive a 1991 bmw 325i 2 door brilliantrot in colour. I have a question about my car. I had a major oil burning problem and it turned out to be my valves on the number one cylinder. I had the leak down test performed and the pistons seemed to be okay. So anyways, my mechanic got the head off and said my cylinder walls are as shiny as a mirror. he thinks I might be better off replacing the engine. The engine has almost 200000km on it, and Im wondering if this is just normal wear? I mean if the pistons don't leak oil wouldn't it be ok for another 50,000- 100,000 kms? He didn't say anything about scratches etc.... I've had a few second opinions and everyone seems to think I should just get the head refreshed and slap it back on. what are your guys thoughts?

Appreciate any feedback :)

and thanks for reading :)

[digger]

can the cross hatch marks be seen? post a pic

[jlevie]

If you don't see the cross-hatch marks, the cylinders are certainly worn beyond spec. Even if they are there, the odds are good that the lower portion of the cylinder walls will be worn out of spec if the engine has significant mileage on it.

The choices are to overbore (which means new pistons & rings) or to find a lower mileage bottom end in better condition. OE pistons cost around $600 a set. Mahle pistons are somewhat less as I recall. But when you put the costs together you are in the range of a good used engine.

[Sparky82]

Ok so I went to see for myself how the bottom end looked, I could not make out any cross hatching at all :( So Im gonna look for a new motor. Thanks for the replies guys I appreciate the help.