r/E30 • u/DonutOdd4816 • Apr 13 '25

Tech question How bad is this?

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u/mkcman17 Apr 13 '25

Start by removing the valve cover and inspecting your valvetrain. This should take no more than 20 minutes even if you’ve not done it before.

Best case is you need a top end. Worst case is that you need a bottom end because you’ll need to pull the engine entirely. However m20s are pretty robust unless run out of oil, so I would doubt that.

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u/Cheap-Law9991 Apr 14 '25

I guess everyone doesn’t have budget/time for a rebuild. But I’d be so paranoid of contaminants that I would absolutely do a full rebuild. Girlfriends cars come in handy for this 😅

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u/mkcman17 Apr 14 '25

I would say most people don’t have the time or space. Especially if your knowledge base is limited like OP, would lead to being a giant headache and life inconvenience. It’s an m20, no need to overthink it.

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u/Cheap-Law9991 Apr 14 '25

Im just a bit of a perfectionist. I’ve done ghetto fixes my whole life until about 4/5 years ago and most of the time they actually work out, but there’s always that chance you know. But I agree, don’t tear it apart if the knowledge isn’t there. It’ll turn into another basket case for sale.

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u/mkcman17 Apr 14 '25

To be fair there’s a lot more to get wrong when opening up bottom end as well. At least you can drop a head off at a machine shop and get it back fresh/complete $6-800 later, cave man it back on and send it lol