M50 rebuild?

[ToppedOut525i]

I'll be off to college soon, and i'm starting to think about the car situation. I love my E34 to death but i'm a little worried that she's not gonna hold up through college because the problems are starting to pile up as we speak. (possible headgasket problems, and transmission might be going bad) So i thought about getting a whole new car, but i'm not crazy about anything on the road right now thats in my price range. So i had the thought that maybe I could just have the M50 rebuilt, and pop a new 5 speed manual in it. I think i've got an estimate on how much the tranny will cost, but i have no idea on how much the engine rebuild will cost..any estimates out there would be greatly appreciated as well as any recommendations on what i should do.
Thanks

[WolfStrong]

Suscribed.

I would highly recommend a 5 speed swap if you want reliability and fun! I would imagine the M50 wouldn't be overly complicated in rebuilding if you don't worry about Vanos. I am speaking on terms on if you DIY and not pay someone to rebuild it.

[ToppedOut525i]

diy would be nice but i don't have the equipment.. i've got no way to lift it, or remove the engine.. so i would have to pay someone to do the work

[WolfStrong]

Well I know for my other car, one of those 'cheap shops' charged me $1500 (including engine price) to swap out a new engine (not rebuild my current one, but through in a low sub 100k one) because it was cheaper to do that than to rebuild the engine. Most other places were going to charge $2000-3000 to either do the same thing or rebuild the current engine.

You have a M50, and if we are going to be straightforward, the only weakpoint to that engine that you really should worry about with the age it is are the fuel injectors, water pump, radiator, and transmission to name the drivetrain. That money is probably best spent doing those few simple things than doing an engine rebuild, because unless you are pushing 200....250k+ miles, I doubt you are going to run into any problems that involve the engine itself.

[HE53]

How many miles on your car?

5spd is a great idea, unless you've got a load of miles, put a head gasket on it and go.

[CWB]

You have a M50, and if we are going to be straightforward, the only weakpoint to that engine that you really should worry about with the age it is are the fuel injectors, water pump, radiator, and transmission to name the drivetrain. That money is probably best spent doing those few simple things than doing an engine rebuild, because unless you are pushing 200....250k+ miles, I doubt you are going to run into any problems that involve the engine itself.

+1. I spent 5k on the buy, and since have put in about the same on top. However, I have the m60 and I replaced just about everything except the water pump (which I hopefully wont have to soon).

Now, I use it in college and its been a great car so far!

[ToppedOut525i]

How many miles on your car?

5spd is a great idea, unless you've got a load of miles, put a head gasket on it and go.

I'm at 104,000 miles as of right now. This is great news actually because the less money i need to spend on getting my engine running right the better- because i've heard that a manual swap is quite expensive.

[Goathumper]

manual swap is expensive for most cars....but not yours. I had all the parts to do the job but couldn't get over 500 for them. I decided to instead buy a 95' with a bad tranny.

[WolfStrong]

I'm at 104,000 miles as of right now. This is great news actually because the less money i need to spend on getting my engine running right the better- because i've heard that a manual swap is quite expensive.

104k!? Your engine probably just broke in! I have almost 180k and it runs golden! Just do those few things I told you about and your going to be great!

[ToppedOut525i]

sounds great! I was just getting worried because she's been giving me hell lately.. from white smoke out the exhaust, to trans program messages. So I'm just thinking that a headgasket (or head) change, and some new injectors should do the trick. My radiator's brand new, and the belts only have like 2000 miles on em. I'll deal with the tranny when and if it has problems.. i guess i should just start a transmission fund lmao because ive heard that the autos start dying after 100k, and mines already showing some signs

[WolfStrong]

sounds great! I was just getting worried because she's been giving me hell lately.. from white smoke out the exhaust, to trans program messages. So I'm just thinking that a headgasket (or head) change, and some new injectors should do the trick. My radiator's brand new, and the belts only have like 2000 miles on em. I'll deal with the tranny when and if it has problems.. i guess i should just start a transmission fund lmao because ive heard that the autos start dying after 100k, and mines already showing some signs

Mine is original and its running great. Just keep on the the transmission flush/filter change. Not sure what your tranny is complaining about and I would get that checked out! headgasket is probably it along with fuel injectors and you should be good.

[ryan86242]

im in the same boat as you, im a sophmore in college, and im just taking my dads advice, when it goes it goes, i love my E34 with everthing in me. but i still recognize thats its just a car, i can always buy a new one.

[CleanE34]

104k? thats pretty low mileage. i'm running 196k and i just replaced the radi. don't worry about it for now, don't beat the shit out of it and your set to go.

[skylinergtr]

maybe just get your car tuned up, and serviced, then get your tranny looked at by a transmission shop. when i first got my 530 transprogram happened a lot for me. it turns out the transmission cooler was gone on my car. then the PO paid for the new one and installation. it was like 600$ and it has new fluid and everything. and it runs great! also with the chip the tranny shifts perfectly!

[CleanE34]

i would say, replace the coolant system with a better one, do a tranny flush/fluid change, sparks, fuel filter, and your good.

[ToppedOut525i]

the radiator's brand new.. hoses could use replacing.. so i'll get to that as well. I think the main deal is the headgasket right now.. the car's got a rough idle in the morning, and it used to blow white smoke until i took it in and got the knock sensor and o2 sensor reset and cleaned by my mechanic. He told me that if my headgasket needed replacing, the car would be running REALLY bad.. which it's not once its warmed up. He tells me that the headgasket isn't faulty but i've somehow got a slow coolant leak even with a brand new radiator :confused

[WolfStrong]

the radiator's brand new.. hoses could use replacing.. so i'll get to that as well. I think the main deal is the headgasket right now.. the car's got a rough idle in the morning, and it used to blow white smoke until i took it in and got the knock sensor and o2 sensor reset and cleaned by my mechanic. He told me that if my headgasket needed replacing, the car would be running REALLY bad.. which it's not once its warmed up. He tells me that the headgasket isn't faulty but i've somehow got a slow coolant leak even with a brand new radiator :confused

Get your coolent pump and hoses checked out asap.

[4500 RPM]

the radiator's brand new.. hoses could use replacing.. so i'll get to that as well. I think the main deal is the headgasket right now.. the car's got a rough idle in the morning, and it used to blow white smoke until i took it in and got the knock sensor and o2 sensor reset and cleaned by my mechanic. He told me that if my headgasket needed replacing, the car would be running REALLY bad.. which it's not once its warmed up. He tells me that the headgasket isn't faulty but i've somehow got a slow coolant leak even with a brand new radiator :confused

So you think spending $1k on a headgasket is going to solve the coolant leak? :confused

[ToppedOut525i]

So you think spending $1k on a headgasket is going to solve the coolant leak? :confused

pretty much

[5mall5nail5]

Sell ya this one :)

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