Dear BMW Colleagues, The Engine on my 1991 325i Convertible just gave out and no hope. I purchased the car in December 1990 and it has approx. 130,000 miles. I checked online for rebuilt engines and etc. It appears that many vendors have engines for subject vehicle, however when checking reviews/BBB many scammers out there. Have any of you replaced an engines, if so what was the outcome - who did you use? I live in the Washington DC Metro area. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance.
Sounds bleak, but the M20 is a pretty robust engine, would have to be major to not be rebuildable, or to use parts of it.. some head cracks might be weldable, maybe, depends what it is. A mildly warped head potentially could be milled to spec and still be usable - major cracks or cracked in the wrong place, or severely warped, that could be a problem. If the block had a piston blow out of it that obviously would be a problem and not worth even attempting repair, or if the cylinder bores were so deeply scored they couldn't be bored smooth or would be too far out of spec. I don't think there's a shortage of options for sourcing another used motor - rebuilding can be expensive though, lots of time & labor, but easily do-able by competent shops. Not sure if we have any National Capitol Chapter folks on here for local recommendations, but your chapter website should get you to someone for some leads. Now if you want a used M20 relatively clean to just drop in n' go, that probably would be a tougher find. If you start fresh with a properly rebuilt engine and follow original break-in procedures, as long as you keep up with needed and scheduled maintenance, a rebuilt one can be just as similarly long-lived.
Dear BMW Colleagues, I purchases the 325i in Germany 27 years ago and have been the sole owner and decided to not spend another dollar on it, I am donating it to the Vietnam Veterans organization. We have a 2015 M235i and I will decide in the next few months do we really need two cars? Living in the DE Metro area, public transportation is excellent. Regards to each of you!
