I'm trying to figure out what I should do regarding my 1989 325iC 5-speed, and I'd like some input. First, my goal: I want to get it into good running condition for this summer and drive it, then next winter I'd like to turbocharge it. My eventual goal is 300+rwhp, and I know I'm not going to do this with $2000. It'll take a while, but that's my goal, so keep the whole turbocharging thing in mind :)
I was planning on ordering $400 worth of mostly engine and a couple of transmission maintenance parts, bringing everything up to date and ending the worry that I'd have any reliability problems from those areas of the car. The car has 120k, and I know that's not many for the M20 engine or the transmission. So I get to taking things off the engine, pulled the radiator, cap, rotor, wires, airbox, and began to pull the intake (because I want to paint it).
At this point the front of the car was on jack stands, with the rear on the ground. I happened to glance under the car, and I see a huge pool of oil. I throw a jar under it and investigate. It's leaking from that weep hole between the bellhousing and the engine. Actually, I think leaking is an understatement, it puked about two quarts in a couple hours. Well that threw a big wrench in my plans, cause if I do it myself I'm going to have to pull my transmission. If I pay someone to do it it's going to be at least $250+, assuming it's just the RMS or input shaft seal. That means together with the maintenance stuff I'm looking at around $650-$750, at least, and I have to pull the transmission.
Looking around the engine bay, it doesn't look like it'd be too difficult to pull the engine. The fact that I have to pull the transmission as well makes this the perfect opportunity for a swap. I figure I could get around $500-$700 for a 120k mile M20, yeah? That means that with what I'd be spending on the maintenance parts, combined with the money from the sale of the engine, I'd have $1150-$1450 for the swap already. The local people that have done the 24v swap have done it for less than $2k.
I'm not sure how good my cost estimates are, but this is what I worked out on a cost per HP basis for each swap:
M20 $700 170hp $4.11
M30 $2000 218hp $9.17
M50 $2000 192hp $10.41
S50 $3000 240hp $12.50
S52 $3600 240hp $15.00
First, I'm going to eliminate the S5x engines. I just can't see paying that much for the engine, especially considering it's output. It looks like the best bang for the buck would be sticking with the M20 ($700 to refresh it), or the M30. The thing I'm not sure about with these engines is whether they're going to be as reliable as an M50 when I put the boost to it. From what I've heard, the M30 is quite a bit more work than the M50 swap, so I'm going to eliminate that option as well. That brings us to the M20 vs the M50.
A nice thing about the M20 is I have it, but that's not a very big deal. It'd be cheaper to keep it and turbocharge it but, as you read above, it wouldn't be very much more money to swap in an M50. The M50 gets a few more MPG, and has some nice updates. I also believe it has more power potential, correct? Is the M50 a better engine to turbocharge? Basically, I just want to hear your opinions.
I was planning on ordering $400 worth of mostly engine and a couple of transmission maintenance parts, bringing everything up to date and ending the worry that I'd have any reliability problems from those areas of the car. The car has 120k, and I know that's not many for the M20 engine or the transmission. So I get to taking things off the engine, pulled the radiator, cap, rotor, wires, airbox, and began to pull the intake (because I want to paint it).
At this point the front of the car was on jack stands, with the rear on the ground. I happened to glance under the car, and I see a huge pool of oil. I throw a jar under it and investigate. It's leaking from that weep hole between the bellhousing and the engine. Actually, I think leaking is an understatement, it puked about two quarts in a couple hours. Well that threw a big wrench in my plans, cause if I do it myself I'm going to have to pull my transmission. If I pay someone to do it it's going to be at least $250+, assuming it's just the RMS or input shaft seal. That means together with the maintenance stuff I'm looking at around $650-$750, at least, and I have to pull the transmission.
Looking around the engine bay, it doesn't look like it'd be too difficult to pull the engine. The fact that I have to pull the transmission as well makes this the perfect opportunity for a swap. I figure I could get around $500-$700 for a 120k mile M20, yeah? That means that with what I'd be spending on the maintenance parts, combined with the money from the sale of the engine, I'd have $1150-$1450 for the swap already. The local people that have done the 24v swap have done it for less than $2k.
I'm not sure how good my cost estimates are, but this is what I worked out on a cost per HP basis for each swap:
M20 $700 170hp $4.11
M30 $2000 218hp $9.17
M50 $2000 192hp $10.41
S50 $3000 240hp $12.50
S52 $3600 240hp $15.00
First, I'm going to eliminate the S5x engines. I just can't see paying that much for the engine, especially considering it's output. It looks like the best bang for the buck would be sticking with the M20 ($700 to refresh it), or the M30. The thing I'm not sure about with these engines is whether they're going to be as reliable as an M50 when I put the boost to it. From what I've heard, the M30 is quite a bit more work than the M50 swap, so I'm going to eliminate that option as well. That brings us to the M20 vs the M50.
A nice thing about the M20 is I have it, but that's not a very big deal. It'd be cheaper to keep it and turbocharge it but, as you read above, it wouldn't be very much more money to swap in an M50. The M50 gets a few more MPG, and has some nice updates. I also believe it has more power potential, correct? Is the M50 a better engine to turbocharge? Basically, I just want to hear your opinions.
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