Rebuilding a Head M44

Need technical Q/A then you're in the right place

Moderator: martauto

Alex
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 22665
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:27 pm

going to tackle rebuilding a cylinder head myself, How hard can it be 8O

What would be worth while changing, i was thinking the hydrolic lifters but at the price they are and the fact i need 16 is very off putting, can you get away with cleaning these in brake cleaner or the like ?

are valve springs worth replacing ?

are the valve stem seals easy to change ? would the valves need reseating ?

once its stripped down i will get it skimmed, there is a guy advertising on ebay for £45 plus post which doesnt seem half bad

the cams in this looks like they have some wear to them, can i get these re profiled into some high lift ones ? if not where is the cheapest place to get 2 standard new cams ?
Last edited by Alex on Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Grrrmachine
E30 Zone Wiki / Team Member
E30 Zone Wiki / Team Member
Posts: 8043
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:00 pm
Location: Warsaw, Poland

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:37 pm

capri_rob
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 9678
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:00 pm
Location: South Staffordshire

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:38 pm

The guys who did mine did an acid dip, pressure test, skim and then fitted new rockers and stem seals

They also did something with the valve guides - didnt replace them but re-set them somehow - cant remember the wording :mad:

Get febi bilstein rockers from GSF or our man at ECP

these guys did mine


http://www.headtechnique.co.uk/

Danthe and town325i recommended them to me - they did a cracking job - proper oldskool engineering place :cool:
Image

e30topless said : Proper BMW's have 4 headlights, last of the run was the E30 and E34/E32 anything after that is just complete shite
Alex
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 22665
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:44 pm

Finding it difficult to find head parts for these other than bmw :(
capri_rob
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 9678
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:00 pm
Location: South Staffordshire

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:52 pm

Elring head-set from GSF has stem seals and all the gaskets and stuff you need plus they do the Febi rockers - both OEM quality.

What else you replacing ?

Things like eccentrics, valvesprings, oil spraybar pretty sure these will be dealer only.

IIRC GSF do standard M20 cams OEM quality ( possibly febi bilstein )
Image

e30topless said : Proper BMW's have 4 headlights, last of the run was the E30 and E34/E32 anything after that is just complete shite
Alex
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 22665
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Post Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:57 pm

Should of said its an M44 Engine