M42 Cam Gears NLA

[e30sh]

There should be a Bentley out there with a publication date pre M44. My personal e46 Bentley was printed in 01 before any of the facelift e46 cars were produced.

[wazzu70]

Pictures in the Bentley are all M44 that show the cam sprockets. I took a pic but I cant upload so its probably too big.

I have an extra set of M42 cam gears with square teeth sitting on my shelf. I have no need for them and they are in good shape. If someone wants them I will sell them for a reasonable price to help get my own E30 back on the road. I dont think its necessary to switch from the pointy gears...but if it makes you feel better having them its worth the peace of mind.

[wazzu70]

I can look in my Bentley later for pics.

BMW would release more of a functional guideline, the supplier can make changes to cut costs etc as long as it still meets the spec. I highly doubt the top of the tooth shape was of any concern.

[e30sh]

I understand that they can change suppliers for various reasons but I still thought the new supplier had to manufacture the part to BMW's design.

Anyone with a e36 Bentley that shows the sprockets or an early 90's photo?

[wazzu70]

Its not uncommon at all for a manufacturer to change suppliers. Sometimes there are quality issues, sometimes another vendor is cheaper, sometimes companies dont want to be a supplier anymore, etc.

[e30sh]

Someone in the manufacturing world chime in. BMW designs the part and them farms it out to be manufactured?? Why would they have two different designs?

My 91 M42 has square teeth so it must not be just an early thing.

Does the e36 Bentley show the teeth...I don't own one. That would be an early photo.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I bought an engine and transmission from a 318is 2 weeks ago and got a chance to tear it apart today.the PO said it had 85k miles when he removed it. I was skeptic but...

Jealous. I have been looking for an e30 m42 drivetrain for a while now

[fresh_TD]

I bought an engine and transmission from a 318is 2 weeks ago and got a chance to tear it apart today.the PO said it had 85k miles when he removed it. I was skeptic but...

.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[e30s50dan]

I bought an engine and transmission from a 318is 2 weeks ago and got a chance to tear it apart today.the PO said it had 85k miles when he removed it. I was skeptic but...

[bmwman91]

These are old pictures of my car when i have put another 15,000 miles on these gears since the photos. To be fair i started looking into changing the gear due to direction on this forum.

It's a little hard to tell with the oil and bokeh, but those look more or less fine. Teeth are symmetric and I do not see giant chips missing. Those are the cast ones (which are softer than the square-tooth version), as indicated by the rough faces here & there.

I think that the whole "look out for pointy teeth" thing is just one of those pervasive forum myths. I have repeated it myself a number of times over the years because I heard other people say it. Everyone was probably repeating it, assuming that everyone else knew what they were talking about. These are critical components, so I think that everyone figures "better safe than sorry".

[Dj Buttchug]

ill buy 15-40 diesel oil in a 5 gallon drum and run that. Comes out to be pretty cost effective as well.

[fresh_TD]

I just scored 10 bottles $3.47 @ my navy exchange

Nice.. I bought 15. Might buy some more tomorrow, and put it away.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[e30s50dan]

At the store right now to pick up some 15w-50, and it happens to be on sale [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I just scored 10 bottles $3.47 @ my navy exchange

[ThatOneEuroE30]

The cost of living up here is crazy. I live about 15 mins from DC, where most people are making $100k+/yr. So $25 for oil is normal.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

True coat of living here is pretty cheap compared to most place. Still get taxed more then we should but thats a topic for another thread

[fresh_TD]

Ouch.

The cost of living up here is crazy. I live about 15 mins from DC, where most people are making $100k+/yr. So $25 for oil is normal.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk