M20 Engine rebuild in Portland

[mcdougal]

Hey all,

Thinking about picking up a 325i with a blown motor. Is there anywhere local that sells rebuilt m20 motors? If not, are there any independent shops in the area that you'd recommend for a rebuild? I'd even let a forum member do it in his garage if he/she knows what they are doing.

What does it usually cost for a full rebuild?

Thanks!

[mcdougal]

Also, if anyone has a used m20 for sale let me know.

[TimeMachinE30]

Metric Mechanic. VAC. BimmerBuddies. Lots of choices.

Need to know if you want OEM, slightly tuned, turbo, race car...

[mcdougal]

M20 Engine rebuild in Portland

The plan is to run it n/a for a while and then throw a turbo on it. From what I've read an upgraded head gasket and arp head studs will be necessary but everything else can be oem.

MetricMechanic starts at $7k which seems crazy.

Maybe a good condition used motor with a refresh, head gasket and head studs is the way to go.

[TimeMachinE30]

Plenty of knowledge on these boards. If you want to refresh, bimmerbuddies head on a good condition bottom end should do the trick.

[mcdougal]

Thanks for the tip

[shameson]

Look into Munich Motorworks on Holgate. Ive heard a lot of good things about their work and I know its a shop supported by the CCA

[e30austin]

Hey all,

Thinking about picking up a 325i with a blown motor. Is there anywhere local that sells rebuilt m20 motors? If not, are there any independent shops in the area that you'd recommend for a rebuild? I'd even let a forum member do it in his garage if he/she knows what they are doing.

What does it usually cost for a full rebuild?

Thanks!

For the cost of an engine rebuild on your M20, you could stick a 24v motor in there and be done.

[Batz]

Why not do the rebuild yourself?
The m20 is really not a hard engine to rebuild. Everything is pretty simple and straight forward. Im build a 2.7I atm, and its pretty simple, so far everything costed me around $1200-1500 for the whole rebuild engine. Way cheaper than you will find anywhere else.

But if you have money, try catuned. They usually have rebuild engines for sale, and if not atm im sure they can build one for you.

[mcdougal]

M20 Engine rebuild in Portland

For the cost of an engine rebuild on your M20, you could stick a 24v motor in there and be done.

If I want to turbo the motor I the future im not sure if a 24v makes sense. I know the m20 handles boost pretty well and while a 24v motor makes more power n/a, it wouldn't be noticed with a turbo. Maybe I'm wrong.

[mcdougal]

Why not do the rebuild yourself?
The m20 is really not a hard engine to rebuild. Everything is pretty simple and straight forward. Im build a 2.7I atm, and its pretty simple, so far everything costed me around $1200-1500 for the whole rebuild engine. Way cheaper than you will find anywhere else.

But if you have money, try catuned. They usually have rebuild engines for sale, and if not atm im sure they can build one for you.

I've thought about trying to rebuild it myself. What will your total all in cost be when you're done?

Seems like the thing to do might be to just go with a good condition used m20 and run it till it blows.

[Batz]

I've thought about trying to rebuild it myself. What will your total all in cost be when you're done?

Seems like the thing to do might be to just go with a good condition used m20 and run it till it blows.

Most likely less then $1500. That is with me buying an an I engine, then an eta block, and having my head rebuild in the machine shop, and all good quality parts. Buying just an i also not a bad option either, i got mine for $350, that supposedly run perfectly.

[mcdougal]

Most likely less then $1500. That is with me buying an an I engine, then an eta block, and having my head rebuild in the machine shop, and all good quality parts. Buying just an i also not a bad option either, i got mine for $350, that supposedly run perfectly.

Thanks. $1,500 would be doable. Any chance you could provide a list of parts and their respective costs?

[Batz]

Sure, I have somewhat complete list on my computer. I'll send you tomorrow if I won't forget. If I do tho just pm me to remind me.

[mcdougal]

Thanks Batz