m50 frozen solid
My M50TU is seized. Quick rundown of the situation:
-1992 325i E36. Bought the car about 3 months ago. Previous-previous owner swapped in a remanufactured M50, originally from a 1995 525i. Rebuild was 25k miles ago.
-When I got the car, it would crank strong, exhaust would sputter, but wouldn't fire. Wiring harness was all cut to shit, so after searching junkyards for a very long time, I found a replacement and put it in. That was about 1 month ago.
-Ever since I replaced the engine harness, motor would not crank. I thought it was a wiring issue for the longest time (because that was all I'd changed) but just recently figured out that the motor is stuck.
-Took off the valve cover and found a sorry sight. Camshafts have light rust on them and scoring in a couple spots (luckily not on the lobes though). Light rust is apparent in many places. Very dry--little or no oil on the camshaft and timing chain assembly, probably from so much cranking in attempts to start the car (oil level has been full).
-I believe this detail is important: When I first got the car, the ignition would crank the motor easily, and the motor sounded healthy. However, by the time I finally obtained a wiring harness, I had been cranking it many times over the period of a month or so, and it had begun to make a very loud squeaking sound when I turned the engine over. It sounded like metal rubbing without lubrication.
What's the best way to go about trying to unfreeze this engine? It has not been run in about 3 years, but the fact that it cranked easily very recently leads me to believe that I don't need to get it rebuilt. From what I can tell, it sounds like something isn't lubed or has rusted just enough to make it stick.
Help!! Thanks in advance :)
-LooN
-1992 325i E36. Bought the car about 3 months ago. Previous-previous owner swapped in a remanufactured M50, originally from a 1995 525i. Rebuild was 25k miles ago.
-When I got the car, it would crank strong, exhaust would sputter, but wouldn't fire. Wiring harness was all cut to shit, so after searching junkyards for a very long time, I found a replacement and put it in. That was about 1 month ago.
-Ever since I replaced the engine harness, motor would not crank. I thought it was a wiring issue for the longest time (because that was all I'd changed) but just recently figured out that the motor is stuck.
-Took off the valve cover and found a sorry sight. Camshafts have light rust on them and scoring in a couple spots (luckily not on the lobes though). Light rust is apparent in many places. Very dry--little or no oil on the camshaft and timing chain assembly, probably from so much cranking in attempts to start the car (oil level has been full).
-I believe this detail is important: When I first got the car, the ignition would crank the motor easily, and the motor sounded healthy. However, by the time I finally obtained a wiring harness, I had been cranking it many times over the period of a month or so, and it had begun to make a very loud squeaking sound when I turned the engine over. It sounded like metal rubbing without lubrication.
What's the best way to go about trying to unfreeze this engine? It has not been run in about 3 years, but the fact that it cranked easily very recently leads me to believe that I don't need to get it rebuilt. From what I can tell, it sounds like something isn't lubed or has rusted just enough to make it stick.
Help!! Thanks in advance :)
-LooN
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