Bulletproof BMW Engine

[SkiFree]

I second this order. Those three are the result of BMW's over-engineering glory days.

concur.

[nsxguy7]

My m30 has 337,000 miles on it and still runs STRONG. It even passes the annual emissions test here with flying colors...

[TobyB]

You can beat an m42 to death and rev it high all day

and then the plastic coolant pipe popes, the timing chain rail goes trina, and...

well, that shit never happens to an M10. Or an M30.

t

[LJ851]

m20 weak point is rocker arms.

BMW engines with rocker arms weak point is rocker arms.

[E30beemer]

You can beat an m42 to death and rev it high all day :)

[digger]

m20 weak point is rocker arms.

[FlexdXJ]

I do too! The m20 has 215k miles on it without a hiccup, the jeep only has 115k but I've yet to have an issue with it. I'm a little worried about the head cracking problem that late model jeeps have. So far so good but I would almost trust my m20 over the jeep's 4.0.

I've had 4 4.0's two of which had/have 200k+. One had 250k but ran great but the unibody broke because the previous owner was an idiot. My 97 has 137k on it and i recently drove it to Utah and back, she's a runner but 4.0's are noisy by nature. The one with 200k belongs to a friend and he drives it to save miles on his STi. If you have the 00-01 there is the chance of the head issue. Before and after that they weren't an issue. I've only had my e30 for a few months but it seems to be very strong considering its mileage.

[codrum]

I happen to own two of the most bulletproof inline 6 engines. M20 and a jeep 4.0! :D the M20 definitely has more things that could go wrong but it's smooth as silk where the 4.0 sounds like someone dropped a bag of bolts in it. Now I just need a Cummins to complete the trifecta! :D

I do too! The m20 has 215k miles on it without a hiccup, the jeep only has 115k but I've yet to have an issue with it. I'm a little worried about the head cracking problem that late model jeeps have. So far so good but I would almost trust my m20 over the jeep's 4.0.

[FlexdXJ]

I second this order. Those three are the result of BMW's over-engineering glory days.

I happen to own two of the most bulletproof inline 6 engines. M20 and a jeep 4.0! :D the M20 definitely has more things that could go wrong but it's smooth as silk where the 4.0 sounds like someone dropped a bag of bolts in it. Now I just need a Cummins to complete the trifecta! :D

[Raxe]

m10>m30>m20

I second this order. Those three are the result of BMW's over-engineering glory days.

[F34R]

They're finicky if you don't take care of them.

Every engine is bulletproof if you take good care of it. The real exceptional ones are the engines that can take the beating, keep going, and still be neglected.

M30 and M20, all the way.

this^ S38 is amazing but it needs attention, where the m10, m30 and m20 do not. My brother now owns my old e30, I swapped the eta about 5 years ago. Still going strong without attention. My pick is the m10, less things to go wrong than an m30, that is saying a lot with how the m30 will go forever.

m10>m30>m20

[gtdragon980]

M30 hands down. My dad never once gave it an oil change, instead just topping off fluids, etc. We ran it over 300k and sold it running. Never once broke a rocker or needed the head gasket changed. Overheated a few times.


Oh and I checked the compression across all cylinders and it was 180-185 on all cylinders. Not too long before we sold it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[TimKninja]

M20. As long as you change the belt and never overheat it.

I took apart my 300,000 Mile plus ETA Engine and you could still see the cross-hatching on the cylinder walls.

My last m20 had 263k on it and didnt have a single problem, hauled ass and still got 25 MPG. Never burned a drop of anything.And I BEAT it. Its going on in my Friends Vert right now.If i didnt S50 swap it would of been in there until it blew up which i could obnly assume would be never. And my S50 has 210k on it (Granted opn a bebuilt head) and its still mint.

[mikeedler]

M57. As long as they don't eat a piece of the intake, they will never die-- the turbos aren't the best, but the motors are super strong. It's a euro thing though.

With a little bit of maint. all BMW engines other than the newer N series will live forever.

[TurboJake]

I'm curious to know why no "S" engines have been mentioned, I love my s38 (269,000 miles strong) and I hear great things about the s54...

They're finicky if you don't take care of them.

Every engine is bulletproof if you take good care of it. The real exceptional ones are the engines that can take the beating, keep going, and still be neglected.

M30 and M20, all the way.