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Thread: bad idea to buy Low milage Engine that sat for 10 years out of car??

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    bad idea to buy Low milage Engine that sat for 10 years out of car??

    hello everyone! well long story short, i'm in the (long) process of fixing what started out as a bad vanos issue on my 99 540, that has now turned into head and valve cover both cracking when i put a jumper box on my car , under the hood, and turned it over..

    I have come across another engine, that has really low miles, for super damn cheap, i mean super cheap!! but has sat out of the car it was in, for 10 years!! i did research online, and found that seals and rubber rot, and engine could seize as well if a car sits.. i couldnt find much on just storing an engine though.. everything was a bout storing a car..

    the engine is out of the car, as it has been since being stored. turns over, looks super duper clean and fresh, but there is a few bolts on the exterior that i guess aren't stainless or galvenized or whatever, and have rusted... tells me there was atleast some moisture at some point.. so maybe the moisture got to the internals too??

    well i think i recall the e39's had aluminum blocks, was it?? well aluminum doest rust.. stainless doesnt rust.. so less likely for the engine to be bad???

    maybe bmw has super durable gaskets? i dont know but i'm hoping to hear somehow, someway, from someone, that it's likely to still be a good buy..

    oh, the local euro shop, wants over $2000 just in labor ... i can find low milage, complete m62's all day cheaper than that... so i'm not interested in fixing the engine in my car w/ 108k... as stupid of an idea some of you may think that is...
    Last edited by Uhdeman; 11-20-2012 at 01:16 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    1997 BMW 540i 6 speed
    Suit yourself, but buying any engine having set for 10 years, under questionable storage conditions, is a pig in a poke. However, you could get lucky.

    When you say it turns over, what do you mean, by hand?

    There's no difference between storing an engine or storing a car.

    What's the $3k for, repair of your current engine? What will they charge you to swap engines?

    Then, the question becomes, why is it being sold so cheaply? And what were the circumstances under which it became an orphan?

    If you do buy it, put it on a stand, and replace the valve cover and upper timing case gaskets, and valley pan; front engine mounts, too.
    Last edited by edjack; 11-20-2012 at 01:31 PM.


    Ed in San Jose '97 540i 6 speed aspensilber over aubergine leather. Build date 3/97. Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA Nr 62319.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    hello. yeah, i'm hoping for the "getting lucky" part... yes, turns over by hand/ well storing a car, one would assume there would be fluids in it to worry about.. where as just an engine, there's obviously no fluids to worry about. that a good thing??

    it was $2000, and that was just for labor in Hours, to put on a new head, and time it.. depending on what exaclty needs to be replaced other than the obvious cracked head and cover, that would be on top of the two thousand dollars. boo hoo!

    the engine was previously bought in an estate sale, where it sat on a palate, with the transmission still attached for 10 years.. and now being brought "out of the closet" after all these years.. and i have a shop to do the engine swap for $500.. but i have the tools and knowledge to do it myself, tho paying the shop would be a lot faster process. thats still up in the air, but $500 worst case.
    Last edited by Uhdeman; 11-20-2012 at 04:27 PM.

  4. #4
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    $2k doesn't sound that cheap IMO if that's the price for the motor. Post is a little confusing whether the motor is $2k or the labor to fix existing is $2k.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    Corpus Christi, TX
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    Quote Originally Posted by RVAE34
    Post is a little confusing whether the motor is $2k or the labor to fix existing is $2k.
    It's pretty clear.

    Quote Originally Posted by Uhdeman
    it was $2000, and that was just for labor in Hours, to put on a new head, and time it.. depending on what exaclty needs to be replaced other than the obvious cracked head and cover, that would be on top of the two thousand dollars. boo hoo!
    Sent from BF.com using my iPhone?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    i agree, 2000 sounds way outta hand.. and to clarify for the record, it would be $2000 In Labor ONLY... to fix the original engine that has 108k.. and who knows how much MORE for a used head, valve cover, and who knows what else broke and went wrong..

    no one finds it odd that the valve cover, and head just cracked when i put a jumper box on it, and turned it over??

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    So when you say the motor that sat for 10 years is cheap, how cheap? I have looked over the thread and didn't see any mention of the cost. Which is why I was confused by some of the price posts.

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