m10 engined e30

Post Fri Sep 15, 2006 7:13 pm

are they reliable and what milages if a head was to go would it be common? allso what is there to listen out for?

Post Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:18 pm

Very reliable, some have 500 000 on them in the states!

But with all engines the head will fail if the the cooling system isn't looked after.

Rockers are know to be a bit week..

Post Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:30 pm

M10 carb engine was fitted with a hopeless Pierburg carburettor. If you have one of these with it's usual idle and cold running problems, then replace the carb with a Weber conversion kit.

Post Sat Sep 16, 2006 12:00 am

but isn't the pierburg supposed to be a whole bettr if set up well?

Post Sat Sep 16, 2006 12:59 pm

Yes and no. When running properly (about 1987) they were okay. I don't reckon much to the Weber carbs either. They're cheap Itralian rubbish made by Webcon and they're more for economy than anything else.

They're just shit. Buy a 318i, much better!

Post Sat Sep 16, 2006 2:22 pm

The M10 motor is a fine bit of kit...if a tad long in the tooth, now...

Remember that all '02s had M10s...so you could, should you so wish, transplant in a 2 litre block...
Also worth noting that the ti models (1600ti, 2002ti and the 4dr 1800ti and 2000ti) all came with twin del'orto sidedraft carbs....
So it is easy enough to either find or have made a manifold to take either those or the equivalent (and slightly easier to set up) Weber DCOE carbs...
Lastly you could, with not too much hassle, use a 2002Tii set-up with the Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection...
Once you have the pump, pulleys, brakets, etc, you can start looking for slide throttles. If you slap in a decent 300+ cam and do a bit of light head work, the 2 litre motor can make 210bhp on injection or around 200bhp on carbs...reliably, too.

Worst points on the M10 are the rockers...worth trying to find some Alpina ones or having standard ones nitrided and balanced to avoid them breaking...Some better spec (Schnitzer, for example) vavlve springs help, too.
Other weak point is the distributor....find a spare and have it rebuilt for the inevitable day when your one wears out and you can't get the thing to either idle or rev properly!

Post Sat Sep 16, 2006 5:40 pm

I once overheated my M10 so much that when I cut the ignition it dieseled, !!!
ign on and back to reving,
these bad boys are one of the toughest engine I have ever heard about

One story from a local rally team, was they used a E30 318i with NOZ, when the last stage whas coming to an end
the rad broke so the coolant went everywhere, they said f**k it and kept the NOZ on until they made it to the end at redline with no coolant

Post Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:47 pm

The webber manual choke carb is more like a tap! They drink the fuel with these things on top of the engine!
The M10 318i is a very strong engine, they will go forever, even with abuse

Had a 316 for free before, water pump was hanging out and had to drive it back 12 miles. Just pulled the rad and grill out, bonnet seal off and hey presto, instant air-cooled M10

Had to stop a couple of times for 10 minutes but it was well up for it

Post Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:13 am

Fushion_Julz wrote:The M10 motor is a fine bit of kit...if a tad long in the tooth, now...

Remember that all '02s had M10s...so you could, should you so wish, transplant in a 2 litre block...
Also worth noting that the ti models (1600ti, 2002ti and the 4dr 1800ti and 2000ti) all came with twin del'orto sidedraft carbs....
So it is easy enough to either find or have made a manifold to take either those or the equivalent (and slightly easier to set up) Weber DCOE carbs...

This is exactly what i've done with my m10 only i've used the internals from a 2002tii in an e30 block as apparently there abit stronger. The manifolds and nearly anything you need you can get from a company called jaymic www.jaymic.co.uk there fantastic for anything m10 and 2002 wise. Also keep a look out on german ebay

Post Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:50 am

M10 is made entirely from cast iron, i think! probably the strongest engine BMW have ever made

Post Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:45 pm

Fushion_Julz wrote: Lastly you could, with not too much hassle, use a 2002Tii set-up with the Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection.

Not unless you use a 2002Tii or Turbo block. The fuel injection pump is oil pressure fed and the Tii's and Turbos have a special block with an oil drain back facility.

Post Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:33 am

True, Andyboy...however I believe (from memory/information, cos I've never used Kugelfischer) that you can make an oil supply feed in the required places...But tii blocks aren't that hard to find...

Post Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:16 am

i have one myself with a weber carb conv!

and have hardly any trouble. Only thing major thats gone wrong is i changed the head gasket!
and water pump, other than that she is still going, just keep her serviced and she trots on!

and still spins the rear tyres!

Post Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:54 pm

The M10 is one of BMWs greatest ever engines, I love them!

They can be a bit tappety, but this is easy to adjust, the do have rocker problems as I said before. The weak points are the cooling system and they can run warm, ususally relates to a duff radiator and/or duff viscous fan. Also the hose going from the block to the heater valve at the bulkhead WILL split (has on every M10 BMW I've had/seen) so just replace it when you get it. Because of this I have run M10s on no collant for a good hour before I even noticed something was wrong!!!

Stewart

Post Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:08 pm

as above bout that hose that leads from the block to heater valve!
have changed it twice since having the car!

Post Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:35 pm

Fushion_Julz wrote:True, Andyboy...however I believe (from memory/information, cos I've never used Kugelfischer) that you can make an oil supply feed in the required places...But tii blocks aren't that hard to find...

Sadly you can't becaiuse the area on the block where the drain pipe fits is a raised and mechined surface - ask Lester Own who builds M10's for a living!
Tii blocks are getting quite scarce now - but Kugelfischer is best left in a museum along with the 2002 it came from.