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My M42 went south at 129K

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    My M42 went south at 129K

    My girlfriend was driving in Oakland last Sat night, car dies at a stop light. Other drivers stop to help and push it off the road. It wouldn't start. She has AAA tow it back to her place. A few phone calls, I tell her to tow it to German Auto Sport in Berkeley. I just talked to them, they tell me the motor has no compression, pistons move but when they pulled the valve cover off, valve train doesn't move at all. I'm guessing the timing chain broke or chain came off sprocket. Unbelievable to say the least considering the mileage on the car (129K). I know it's common for M20 timing belts to break due to maintenance neglect by owners but this is the first time I've heard of a M42 timing chain breaking. Anyone have any other ideas of what happened? Anyone in the SF Bay area have a spare M42 FS? If so, send me a PM. I sold my spare M42 from my 91 318i parts car last year. Little did I know this would happen. This E30 is too nice to part out. I've been driving BMW's for over 25 years and this is the first time I've had an internal engine failure. This sucks to say the least since I'm halfway around the world and 11 time zones away.

    G-Man
    74 2002tii (many mods)
    86 325 (sold)
    88 325is (sold)
    89 325i (totaled)
    91 318is (parted out)
    91 318i
    98 Tacoma Prerunner (parts hauler)

    #2
    Man, that sucks. The most common complaint I've heard of the M42 is the timing rails giving way and taking the entire timing case with it when the chain swings around. Good luck with the fix, M42s are dirt cheap, as long as you can find 'em. I'll be selling mine soon, but I'm on the wrong coast!

    Originally posted by whysimon
    WTF is hello Kitty (I'm 28 with no kids and I don't have cable)

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      #3
      Sorry man. Let her drive the 02 for a while?
      "We praise or find fault, depending on which of the two provides more opportunity for our powers of judgement to shine."

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