1989 325i Sedan

[erekshun]

Hello fellow E30 enthusiest,


Id like to introduce myself. Im Erek and i own a 1989 325i Sedan. Its been sitting at my dads house for the past 4 years and i am now getting ready to get it back on the road. A couple years back i was using it as a DD and i did alot of maintenece on it.


Timing belt
Timing belt tensioner
New fan
New fan clutch
Radiator and hoses
Alternator
Fuel pump
Brakes and rotors
Thermostat
Water pump
O2 sensor
CPS sensor
Plugs and wires
Cap and rotor
Drive shaft was rebuilt
Center support bearing and guibo replaced
Transmission was replaced
Clutch
Rebuilt shifter
Catalytic Converter
Magnaflow muffler
Flushed the fuel injectors
16" Konig Remembers wheels


I then purchased a new car and lost interest. Gave the car back to my dad and he was using it as his DD comuting from Tracy to Oakland everyday. About 100 miles round trip.
The car eventualy snapped a rocker arm and was parked for the next 4/5 years. well fast forward to today and ive had the car in my posetion for about 2/3 months now.
I have started to break it down to find what broke my motor. I have another thread on R3V https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=419391 but havent had much interaction with alot of users as in tips, advice, criticizm lol its all accepted.


Heres some Pics from when i got the car and to where i stand today.
*Warning Iphone Photo dump*

When I first got the car














Now with the car back in my possesion i have been working on it slowly. Its not my DD so im not in a rush to get it back on the road.
I pulled the valve cover off only to find that not 1 rocker but all my rocker arms had snapped.






A couple weekends ago i started to tear down my motor and i found what broke my rocker arms. My Timing belt tensioner had snapped causing slack on the timing belt.
The visible wear on the inside of the timing belt cover.


Broken timing belt tensioner







The following weekend i got the head and intake manifold removed. Found minor damage on the heads of the pistons but i dont feel any carnage when i cycle the motor.














Broken Exhaust down pipe.


Not much progress this weekend but I did clean up the pistons a little bit. This is about 2/3 hours of scrubbing. Not the best pics sorry.

Before:

After:




I’ll be dropping the head off to get rebuilt in the next couple weeks as well as hitting the purchase button on a top end gasket kit. I was looking at the package that bimmerheads offers. Has anyone picked up their “M20 ultimate head gasket set”?
https://bimmerheads.com/products/m20...ead-gasket-set
I see CATuned has a similar set up for about the same price.
https://catuned.com/ajusa-m20-head-gasket-set
Any suggestions before I purchase anything?


I also see a price difference in the Gates timing belt but they seem to have the same part number T131RB. Does anyone have any idea if there is any difference in the two besides the vendor?
Bimmerheads:
https://bimmerheads.com/products/gat...=8345201672234
Catuned:
https://catuned.com/gates-timing-belt-m20-t131rb-bmw


Thanks again always looking forward to anyone’s advice.

[Siebenthal]

Hey! Im in the bay area! I got a block you can have for like 50 bucks - good condition!

[superj]

dang man, that sucks. that's a very good looking car. I would smooth out those marks where the piston hit the valve, to remove any possible hotspots, and than just throw another head on it and put everything back together.

beauty of a car though.

the same thing happened to my wife's 325is back in the day. after I put it back together, it was the first m20 that I had never heard the valve noise on. it was quiet like a sewing machine

[82eye]

welcome. nice looking car. left a msg in the alternate thread the other day.

best pricing i ever found on a gates blue belt and tensioner was rockauto. just make sure the parts numbers / brands match up both when ordering and on arrival. otherwise stick to the better known suppliers.

[erekshun]

Hey! Im in the bay area! I got a block you can have for like 50 bucks - good condition!

Thanks man but im in SoCal its a little far for me.

dang man, that sucks. that's a very good looking car. I would smooth out those marks where the piston hit the valve, to remove any possible hotspots, and than just throw another head on it and put everything back together.

beauty of a car though.

the same thing happened to my wife's 325is back in the day. after I put it back together, it was the first m20 that I had never heard the valve noise on. it was quiet like a sewing machine

I cant wait to get everything put back together man.

welcome. nice looking car. left a msg in the alternate thread the other day.

best pricing i ever found on a gates blue belt and tensioner was rockauto. just make sure the parts numbers / brands match up both when ordering and on arrival. otherwise stick to the better known suppliers.

I appreciate the comments and tips everyone. i will try my best to document the whole process the best i can. Of course with many pictures

[erekshun]

Wish I had more to update but financially haven’t been able to make any purchases. Just sitting and staring at it.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[richardodn]

The Goetze head gasket or an original BMW should be good. The only head gasket to avoid is the Victor Reinz, although in general VR gaskets are good. (The VR head gaskets seem overly sensitive to prep work.) The Gates racing belt is overkill. A basic Continental/Contitech one is fine. INA for the tensioner and Graf water pump are good choices. Don't forget new head bolts. They can't be reused as they are stretch bolts. Make sure you follow the correct torque procedure that tightens them to an initial torque and then turns them through an angle. Deburr the pistons as suggested to prevent hot spots.