For those of you out there who have owned cars (E30 or otherwise) with both the M20 and M50, which engine have you find to be the cheaper of the two to maintain, money-wise and time-wise? I initially believed the M20 would be the cheaper engine to maintain due to its simpler design, but it seems that this may not be the case for the as the intervals for things like timing belts, engine belts, oil changes, ignition system on the M20 are much shorter than things like the cooling system on the M50 and that there are more items on the M20 that need to be refreshed on a periodic basis compared to the M50
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M20 vs M50 maintenance costs
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If you do all the work yourself? Ive had two e30 cars, both well past the 200,000 mile mark, and the big money stuff for me has always been chassis related things like shocks, bushings, bearings.
I don’t know anything about the newer engines, so all I can say is if you invest $1500 in having a spare head and a timing belt kit I’d say you’re good to go for a really long time with the 20.My son has the 1987 325e, 2 door, 5speed
I daily the 1989 325i, 4 door, 5speed
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What's with people being afraid of the timing belt? It's not expensive ($100 for a kit with a water pump) and you only have to do it every 4 years or 50k miles. Valve adjustments are also no big deal, easy and fast.
IG @turbovarg
'91 318is, M20 turbo
[CoTM: 4-18]
'94 525iT slicktop, M50B30 + S362SX-E, 600WHP DD or bust - updated 3-17
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Originally posted by 325e '87 View PostIf you do all the work yourself?
(currently an E46 owner) but am looking into one.1986 325e Schwarz (sold)
1989 325iX Alpineweiß (daily)
Greed is Good
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I'd state the obvious that if you have a running M20 in the car - maintaining that will without a doubt be cheaper than swapping in any X5X variant.
Having owned both, the beauty of self adjusting valves, timing chain reliability, additional power stretched out of Vanos systems etc. make this a pretty easy win for the 'newer' engines.
If money weren't a variable and you had both motors on hand and a roller ready for a power plant - I don't think it's much of a debate even if $ in maintenance were your only consideration.
That said, the non vanos M20 sure makes a sweet sound!
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buying a swapped car will mean you're at the mercy of the PO to trust that the swap has been done well enough to be reliable and serviceable - not the norm
Also, a shop isn't going to want to touch your average craigslist swap
the M50 is 20 years old at this point. Can we please stop pretending it's SO much better than the m20? They're both old af. Swap an M54B30 or N52 ffs
it's a Kenny Powers quote on wheels
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The answer is that a stock car will require less maintenance than a modified car.
Also, the M50 sucks. You end up with barely any more power, in exchange for a worse sound and more weight on the nose.2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4WD LBZ/Allison
2002 BMW M3 Alpinweiß/Black
1999 323i GTS2 Alpinweiß
1995 M3 Dakargelb/Black - S50B32/S6S420G/3.91
1990 325is Brilliantrot/Tan
1989 M3 Alpinweiß/Black
Hers: 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Black/Black
Hers: 1988 325iX Coupe Diamantschwartz/Black 5spd
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its not the regular periodic maintenance that you should be worried about on 20-30 year old engines.89 E30 325is Lachs Silber - currently M20B31, M20B33 in the works, stroked to the hilt...
new build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=317505
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Originally posted by Das Delfin View Postbuying a swapped car will mean you're at the mercy of the PO to trust that the swap has been done well enough to be reliable and serviceable - not the norm
Also, a shop isn't going to want to touch your average craigslist swap
the M50 is 20 years old at this point. Can we please stop pretending it's SO much better than the m20? They're both old af. Swap an M54B30 or N52 ffs1986 325e Schwarz (sold)
1989 325iX Alpineweiß (daily)
Greed is Good
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