2000-2002 and 2003-2005 M52 engine differences.

[Reginaldino]

Hi all, gave search a wing and didn't find what I was looking for, maybe you can help?

I have a Canadian market 320i e46 with the M54B22. Head gasket went, bolts have stripped out of the block and so on.

I am currently looking to just replace the engine rather than mess around with time serts, which leads me to my question.

Somewhere I picked up that 2000-2002 engines are different than 2003-2005 engines. Are there any differences between age ranges despite having the same engine code?

I know in the Honda world there are some engines that are different (in major ways) despite having the same engine code. Is it the same in the BMW world?

Thanks in advance.