A dilemma - should I keep it or should I scrap it???

[levank]

I have a decision to make. I have 1989 E30 with 316i engine. It has around 140k miles on the clock and is overall in quite a good condition. The car drives like a charm.

But ”“ it as very noisy tappets and recently I noticed signs of coolant in the oil.

Cost if fixing these two problems is around £600, which is £200 more then I actually paid for the car last year.

As the complexity if the job if beyond of my capabilities as a DIY mechanic, I have a decision to make ”“ spend money and fix it, or get rid of the car and get something else instead.

I know this is decision I have to make, but would be nice to hear how other E30 enthusiast feel about it. What would you do in my position?

Perfect opportunity to test ”apoll”a functionality of the forum

Thanks

[whipsey]

engine swap should be on the list

[Ant]

Poll edited

[whipsey]

Poll edited

when

[whipsey]

woo hoo

[fuzzy]

is there any decent parts on it to make breaking it worthwhile?

[pugboy]

Could you not just do a straight swap for another 316 engine? I imagine they wouldn't cost much.

[griff87]

LOL I love it how everyone has put: Drop a 6 cylinder in there when its by far the most expensive and unsuitable option!!!

(I put 6 cylinder as well )

[levank]

Could you not just do a straight swap for another 316 engine? I imagine they wouldn't cost much.

Would engine swap be cheaper then fixing gasket and tappets?

[ShepsEvo3]

If the shell is a good one, there will be many out there wanting that

[Steve-E30]

Could you not just do a straight swap for another 316 engine? I imagine they wouldn't cost much.

316/318 or even a i.s. engine would be a cheaper option than fixing

[levank]

Drop a 6 cylinder in there

I wish that was a real option

[zaust]

£400 and your car and you can drive away in a black 318i 4 door on a g reg lowerd 40mm alround with 10and a half months mot.

[griff87]

Not going to chuck the m535i in with that deal are you zaust?

[snoops]

I had this same problem with my first 316i, I decided to buy another one and bought a 318i

then the same thing happened with the 318i so now I'm dropping a 6cyl in there

[levank]

is there any decent parts on it to make breaking it worthwhile?

I am pretty sure there are. The car is not "as new", but I would describe condition as very good. It has been used as a family vehicle and does have signs of wear and tear, but nothing major as far as I know (except engine)

I guess I need to spend mor etime researching in details conditions of various bits on the car and understanding demand on those

[levank]

£400 and your car and you can drive away in a black 318i 4 door on a g reg lowerd 40mm alround with 10and a half months mot.

Zaust - is that a real offer?

[fuzzy]

Drop a 6 cylinder in there

I wish that was a real option

drop a better 4 pot in it instead then.
if it doesnt have many sought after options or parts it wouldnt really be worth breaking. is it a good shell with no rust issues to make it worth fixing?

[levank]

Could you not just do a straight swap for another 316 engine? I imagine they wouldn't cost much.

316/318 or even a i.s. engine would be a cheaper option than fixing

Interesting....

And what would be the best place to source these? Scrapyards?

[fuzzy]

put an add in the wanted section on here. isnt about £500 a realistic price for a 2.5 engine conversion?

[levank]

is it a good shell with no rust issues to make it worth fixing?

Has little bit of rust on rear wheel arches. This is all as far as i know

[levank]

put an add in the wanted section on here. isnt about £500 a realistic price for a 2.5 engine conversion?

Thank you fuzzy

Does anyone know how difficult (or expensive) it would be to get a replacement engine in, once I have it?

[zaust]

£400 and your car and you can drive away in a black 318i 4 door on a g reg lowerd 40mm alround with 10and a half months mot.

Zaust - is that a real offer?

Yep.. numbers in my sig... and the car is in for sale section somewhere.

[zaust]

Not going to chuck the m535i in with that deal are you zaust?

Will do the same deal on the 5 though.

[Andyboy]

Pacerpete here has a mint engine - I'm sure he'd supply and fit that within your budget.

[levank]

Pacerpete here has a mint engine - I'm sure he'd supply and fit that within your budget.

Thank you. I will contact pacerpete

[levank]

Once again, thank you all for your replies - i appreciate them very much

Ideally I do want to keep a car and I have number of options to do so. Unfortunately all of the options cost between £400 and £600 - way too much considering that the car itself not worth that much.

So my question is - is it realistically possible to find someone to help me to get head gasket replaced for something like £200, may be £250? I would be comfortable with this amount - anything beyond that feels too much (don't want to sound negative, but car has not been very reliable lately and any money spent on it could be a waste)

Does anyone know anybody in or close to Warwickshire who could help me?

Thanks

[Ian_M]

Why don't you take Zaust up on his offer? Check the cars out in the For Sale section.. They look very nice.

[levank]

Ian_M

Zaust's offer is very attractve. But I am very concerned about spending £400 on this car. Plus I know my car has problems, but at least I know what they are. Getting replacement car is always a risk and I am not prepared to take it at this stage. Same probably applies to replacement engines

Plus I really like the condition of the interior of my E30 and would like to keep it

[Ian_M]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=104169

Doesn't seem too bad and maybe you could come to some arrangement? It wouldn't hurt to try!

Anyway best of luck getting your one fixed.

[mr_dink]

One thing to bear in mind is what it will be worth when you're done, if you drop in either a IS or 2.5 engine it may cost you £400-£500 (Much less if you can do it yourself or with a mate) but then the car would be worth closer to £1000 than the £400 you paid.

Go on you know you want to!

[levank]

drop in either a IS or 2.5 engine ... you want to!

Even with 1.6 engine the car is pretty quick (at least compared with my Defender). I can imagine how good it is going to be with 2.5

The temptation is almost too much to bear.

Can the 2.5 engine (installed) be as little as £400??? I have been quoted more for much smaller engines.

[capri_rob]

You could probably get it in and running for £400 but its the ancillary bits that will take time and money to do properly - I'm almost certain you would need to change the diff, the front shocks and springs won't be up to the weight of the 6 cylinder lump, you will need to change the dash clocks or at least the rev counter as that won't work properly with the 6 cylinder ignition system, your rear brakes are almost certainly drums - again not really up to the job. And thats just what I can think of off the top of my head...I'm sure people that have actually done this conversion can add a shedload more to that list.

Surely with the amount of terminally rusty 316/318i's in the scrapyards you must be able to pick up a reasonable basic engine for a few quid and just swap all your ancillary bits over ?

Changing an engine isnt particluarly difficult - its just making sure that you unbolt everything, label things up if your not sure where they go and bolt back in. If you buy a working engine you wont need to mess about setting timing or anything too technical - its just spannerwork.

Someone on here suggested that when you do a job like this you buy an engine crane off ebay ( £70 or so ), do the job, and then straight back on ebay for whatever you paid for it - saves on the hire charges and if it takes you longer than expected it doesnt really matter.

Hope this helps - If the body is in good nick just try and keep it on the road either way - mechanical stuff is easy to fix !

[alan325i]

Unless chassis & body wise it is in excellent condition it aint worth going down the conversion route especially if you cant do it yourself as it will cost £££

Lets face it by the time you have changed the engine, diff, suspension (front and back), prop, brakes (front and back) ECU & loom there would only be the chassis left to change. (and dont forget to tell DVLA about engine change if you do go for conversion)

Might as well just part yours out and save and buy a 325i and save a big headache and alot of work.

[casper8r]

On the conversion prices - you're looking at roughly £500 from someone on the Zone just for the job, NOT including the engine. Bear in mind that your car with 2.5 or I.S. engine will be worth at least £600 even if it's not as nice as you describe it (assuming e30 prices stay at current level).

It's probably more economically feasible to simply weigh in/part ex/break your car and get a 325 - certainly cheaper.