87 325is telling knock knoc jokes

[NI_racing]

The oil pan in this car cracked, as ive been told is common and the PO didnt realize it was leaking oil. The car has developed a soft knock in the engine and needs to be rebuilt. I am not financially ready to do a turbo rebuild as was my goal, so can i do a cheap rebuild/refresh to get it running properly until i can do the turbo build? Things needed to know are where do i get relatively inexpensive rods to put in the motor? Can i salvage them from over cars like the e34? Do i have to replace the crank and bearings or just the rod and bearings or just the bearings? New to rebuilding engines, so sorry if the questions seem a bit on the slow side

[Hallen]

It totally depends on the damage. You will need to do a lot of measuring to make sure everything is OK. I am not an expert on engine rebuilds, for sure, but the knocking could just be bearing play and not a rod slapping anything.

There is a chance that you will just need new bearings all around. That's pretty cheap if that is all you do. It's hard to go that way though because it is so easy to replace other inexpensive items like cam gear seals, front main and rear main seals, etc. You should put on a new timing belt too.

You can get rods from any M20B25 engine that you can get your hands on. Pistons and rods are pretty spendy for this engine if you buy new.

[NI_racing]

Thanks, it appears to have a few more issues that were undisclosed at the time, so we'll be having a lengthy conversation with the PO