Broken Rocker Arm... engine swap or just fix it?

[colinE30]

hello all,
let me start off with explaining my situation, because I'm sure some it might seem a bit drastic to do an engine swap due to a broken rocker arm... The car is an 86 325e.

The other day I was driving along and heard a bang and loud metallic clanging sound.. Great. So I popped the hood, pulled the valve cover and sure enough there was a broken rocker arm. Cylinder #1 none the less.

So at this point I am fairly certain that I will have to pull the head due to lack of room to get the rocker shaft out. I could be wrong here but based on other threads it is very difficult to get the shaft out that far, (all the way), by just propping the motor up or by removing the radiator. So it looks like I have a good amount of work ahead of me.

Now for some more info.... I have been acquiring parts to turn it into a spec e30 car over the winter and plan on working on my NASA license this coming season with hopes to race for real next year. One of the things I need is the m20b25.

So the dilemma is this, do I bite the bullet and do the swap now? Try to sell the e motor after i've pulled it and fixed the rocker?

Some words of advice from someone who has done the rocker arm on that cylinder before would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone has a complete m20b25 w/harness and ecu pm me!

Thanks guys/gals!

[Rigmaster]

It's sort of up to you.

It's probably cheaper and easier to just replace the 1 rocker for now, then acquire the parts as you find good deals on them to do the engine swap.

You CAN do DE's in the 325e, trust me- it will be fun.

[thejlevie]

The #1 rockers can be replaced w/o removing the head or lifting/moving the engine.

[colinE30]

The #1 rockers can be replaced w/o removing the head or lifting/moving the engine.

Please explain because that would be a huge help!!

nevermind found a good writeup over on that evil place.. cough e30tech cough Thanks! I will probably end up doing the rocker arm, maybe a quick summary of the steps I took for others to see.

[colinE30]

turns out there was more damage than i thought. The rocker that broke had a point worn into the metal that follows the cam, the second one in also had this problem so I am replacing it too. The cam has some mild wear in weird places but I am not worried. Also I have so pitting on the surface of the 6th arm.

So interesting lesson for everyone, if you have a "tick" check the part of the rocker that follows the cam and make sure it is still a smooth curve. If it has worn to a triangle this is your tick! I am sure this is caused by poor adjustment of valve lash from the previous owner as I cannot believe this has all happened in the 10,000 miles I've owned the car.