I have a 2001 330Ci 5 speed with about 165000 miles on it. The oil pan is leaking and last year cylinder 1 spit out the spark plug taking the coil pack with it. Not really sure why that happened. A buddy of mine reset the spark plug using a heli coil and its been running beautifully ever since. (Dear god I love this car) My concern is that it will eventually spit that plug out again tho.
Should I do repairs on this engine or just swap in a new (used) one?
I had the same issue with my old M52TUB25 (previous owner had put a 4cyl dipstick and it messed up the reading, the chain tensioner did not appreciate after some hard mountain drive, that's a long story...) and the helicoil did just fine. Although I'm not sure it was repaired the same way yours was (a turner created a new threading in the engine block after soldering an aluminium cylinder into the plug's housing).
It actually survived an engine blow-up...so I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, or just wait until it actually spits it out.
If the repair was done properly, it wouldn't even be a concern of mine.
ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician
Really? That's good to hear. I have faith in the mechanic who did I just had heard inline threads are timebombs. If that's not the case then I'll just fix the oil leak and keep the motor i got.
Thanks
My former engine was not in the best condition and maybe compressions were a bit lower than they should have been, which could (?) explain why the thread held, but I doubt that.
If you wanna be on the safe side you can take the spark plug out in a few hundred miles/months (always on a cold engine and never tighten it back too firmly) and check it out, but your engine should be fine. Mine held on for a good 3 years after the issue even with hard driving/redlining, you name it...
Griff, I agree fully with White94RX. Don't worry about it....fix what's actually broken.
Chris Powell
Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
BMWCCA 274412
German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471
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