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So....while I'm "in there"....what should I do? advice.


rjd2

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Hi all, so as of last week, I was in the pursuit to suss a starter not engaging. After pulling the battery cables, cleaning them, re-attempting start, and then even hot wiring directly to the starter solenoid, all with the same result(starter just whirrs, does not crank), I went nuclear last night and today, and pulled the carb+intake manifold+drained coolant+drained oil+pulled starter motor. And of course, I am now thinking "big picture". A bit of history:

 

When I acquired this '76 E10, the suspension, braking, and cooling systems had all been upgraded to newly modern components(at a great expense). the car has brand new wilwood brakes, sway bars, bilstein shocks, etc etc. I then blew the car apart, and had it professionally repainted. I then re-installed the glass, redid the upholstery, and got the car on the road, and have enjoyed it for a good year(prior to my starter issue). The one thing that never got attended to, to my knowledge EVER, was the engine. So, I'm considering while I took it this far, to go the extra mile, and do some degree of engine rebuild. the car leaks a minor amount of oil. 

 

A few ancillary things to mention: in my possession(out of this car) is a newly rebuilt cylinder head, and a newly rebuilt getrag 245 trans. the engine bay never got painted when the car got painted. there is a part of me that is thinking that now that i should either:

 

A) pull head( inspect lower block), install new head w/ gasket, pull oil pan, install new pan gasket, re-install and go.

 

or

 

b) pull the entire drivetrain, rebuild it all with the new 5 speed, and have a fully rebuilt '76.

 

the odometer shows 39k. i guess it's possible, but seems more likely it's 139k. from what little i know, the gaskets on the motor don't look to show a ton of wear. not new, but not ragged looking. 

 

i really love the car, and i'm really eager to get it back on the road, but i want to be mindful of the big picture. so, any thoughts would be much appreciated! 

 

(one last ancillary piece of info: if i were to pull the lower block and have it machined to tolerance, it would take FOREVER. the only shop in my city that does this has been sitting on another 4 cylinder lower block of mine for the last 8 months and haven't touched it. nobody else in town does this work).

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Here's the coward's way out-

 

clean it up, bolt an M3 starter on it, and put it back together.

Get it running well, THEN do hot leakdown and compression tests.

 

If the current engine's 'ok to good' then drive the snot out of it, and build a hotter one to

put in when you have time and energy.

 

If the current engine's tired, then still drive the snot out of it, but move the 'new engine' priority up.

 

As you've noted, building an engine the first few times can be a time sink, because of both the

unknowns and the reliance on multiple shops.  And then, if they- or you- get something wrong, you end up

trying to find a new head, etc, in a hurry, and that's always expensive.

 

t

has also been known to pull the manifold to change a starter.

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"I learn best through painful, expensive experience, so I feel like I've gotten my money's worth." MattL

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yes you could wuss out and go with Toby's option A...

 

OR be a man and go with my option B. Winter is approaching so now your time won't be at such a premium...>

 

 Go ALL THE WAY and address the motor. All that other great work but you don't touch

the motor?

 

* buy a better starter like a 5 series or an M3..use the stock starter to hold down a tarp or something

 

* find a different machine shop. one that does 02's in particular

 

*while you wait pimp out the engine compartment and drink alot of beer

Edited by iinca
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lol you guys aren't making it any easier!!!

 

my main question is really this: IF this engine ever gives up the ghost, what is the most likely culprit? head gasket, or otherwise? i don't NEED to do a knock down drag out 5 star engine on this car, as i am slowly building a '73 that WILL be my knock down, drag out, A+ E10. that one will get all the fixins. it also won't be done til  two thousand who fucking knows. i can afford to do the trans swap at a later time. the more i think on it, i'd really love to NOT pull the block. 

 

any thoughts on how big/small a job it is at this point to swap the head would be awesome. if it's not a 20 hour job, i could swap em, new gasket, drive this one, and have the old one rebuilt while i'm waiting for stuff on my '73. or i could chuck this new starter in now and drive the car in 2 days....

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The ONLY reason to do a head gasket on an M10 is if the one in there is leaking.

 

The motors can go about 200k, with frequent oil changes, and then the valve train gets so worn that you find yourself

doing it to save on oil expenses.  At this point, though, the original pistons are worn enough

in the ring package that most of us find ourselves back in to replace rings and pistons, and at that

point, it's a complete engine.  So if you've got another project going, 

and this one's doing ok per the leakdown and compression, don't open it, and get the other one going.

 

THEN come back to this car.

 

t

ps, E10 was never used by BMW to refer to the 2002.  

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"I learn best through painful, expensive experience, so I feel like I've gotten my money's worth." MattL

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1 hour ago, TobyB said:

ps, E10 was never used by BMW to refer to the 2002.  

 

Toby,

 

@Jackie Jouret would be disappointed you haven't bought her book yet ?

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Tim Dennison

'72 BMW 2002 tii - Malaga,  '02 BMW Z3 Coupe Sterling Gray,  '09 BMW 650i - Carbon Black,  '15 BMW 228i Estoril Blue,  '19 BMW Z4 30 - San Francisco Red

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4 hours ago, NYTransplant said:

 

Toby,

 

@Jackie Jouret would be disappointed you haven't bought her book yet ?

 

errr, riiiiiiight. 

 

it's still not an E10, but it will BURN e10. Grudgingly.

 

t

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"I learn best through painful, expensive experience, so I feel like I've gotten my money's worth." MattL

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23 hours ago, iinca said:

yes you could wuss out and go with Toby's option A...

 

OR be a man and go with my option B. Winter is approaching so now your time won't be at such a premium...>

 

 Go ALL THE WAY and address the motor. All that other great work but you don't touch

the motor?

 

* buy a better starter like a 5 series or an M3..use the stock starter to hold down a tarp or something

 

* find a different machine shop. one that does 02's in particular

 

*while you wait pimp out the engine compartment and drink alot of beer

 

Do this. You will regret not going all in if you do anything else. Get that engine bay painted that engine rebuilt and that 5 speed installed. You can't just sit on a rebuilt 5 speed forever. Winter is the time. You can get it all back together in time for next summer easily.

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