i rebuilt my m20 and im only 16! - BMW Forum

driftin325s · 03-25-2006, 04:25 AM

so hows everyone doing i havent been on in a while but my 88 325is took a shit on me about two months ago the engine totally blew up on me but now my lil baby is as good as new i rebuilt the engine in one day and i know that sounds bad especially me being 16 but my dad does own his own mechanic shop so this is what i managed to do i rebuilt an m20 that my dad had laying around in one (12 hours) the next day i managed to take out the tranny and the engine i thought that it would be easier to take them both out at he same time instead of doing it seperatly the third day i managed to get the new engine in with the tranny and hook eveything up but i didnt get it started the next day i got it started but it was rumbling and shaking like a diesel so i check the compression and i dont have compression on two of my cylinders so then i had to take off the head and i figured out that i was losing compression because the valves had carbon deposit on them so then i take off all of the valves clean them off put them back in get the head on bolt everything back up and the compression was good but the engine was still shaking so then i thought that it could be the maf so i asked one of my friends to switch their maf from his e30 to mine just to check if its that and it wasnt finally my dad did some tests and he found out that it was the ecu i guess it wasnt giving the right commands at the right time so now im waiting to get a new ecu and my 325is is basically brand new since my engine is rebuilt and i changed my tranny about six months ago and it has about 300 miles on it i cant wait to drive it i miss my car soo much i kno it sounds like im a spoiled little kid but i did about 98% of the labor on my car and i paid for it all i am actually pretty proud of myself me being 16 years old and i have already rebuilt a car myself i also have not read any books on working on cars i just have expierince working for my dad i mean of course he was looking over my shoulder making sure that i dont make any mistakes but i can proudly say that i have changed out at least 15 trannys on different cars including my own and about 4 engines on different cars including my own i just thought that i would share this story with you guys next thing i want to do is maybe do a conversion for is to ix all wheel drive.

ldsbeaker · 03-25-2006, 08:51 AM

Wilkommen!
It's nice to get experience the hard way, the way you have. You learn a lot more that way. As far as the is to ix conversion. I think it is maybe possible, but cost preventative. Then again, I'm just not really sure. If parts are free, then it might not be a big deal, all you have to do is figure out how they put it together. Either way, asking questions and pushing the limits is always fun, especially when you have the resources that you do.
Good luck!

Teh Prof · 03-25-2006, 11:13 AM

WTS punctuation.

JoeMadoo · 03-25-2006, 07:36 PM

Lol seriously, throw a few periods in there. I did an engine swap/rebuild a few months ago and I'm 17, my dad is a school teacher :-(

nukeduster · 03-25-2006, 08:12 PM

My dad can beat up your dad.

guywithblack88e30 · 03-25-2006, 09:52 PM

nice can u do mine or help me with mine at least

Teh Prof · 03-25-2006, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeMadoo

Lol seriously, throw a few periods in there. I did an engine swap/rebuild a few months ago and I'm 17, my dad is a school teacher :-(

Hey, give the school teacher a break.

JoeMadoo · 03-26-2006, 12:48 PM

LOL! I can guide you through the swap or a rebuild. And then we can have a dad fight!

driftin325s · 03-26-2006, 02:36 PM

hey im totally left out of this im the one who made the thread cant i get my dad in this? then we can all place bets on who will win

325iXer · 03-28-2006, 11:12 PM

i dont want to get me or my dad involed in this fight but i thought i would comment on the iX conversion. the iX is a completely different animal in the front end. you would need a transfercase, different trans, front axles and hubs and brakes, powersteering rack and pump, etc., etc., etc. not to mention a whole new front sub-frame. maybe if you bought a complete parts car, but you would probably be better of just gettin an iX. i'll warn you though, any part that is iX specific is at least double the iS price. BUT, iXes are cool, and rare.... but again i would say just to buy one if you really want one.

driftin325s · 04-03-2006, 05:24 PM

yea the reason i want the ix is because i live in las vegas and there is sooo many prerunner bros who think that they are cool with their lifted trucks i just want to go out there with a my little oldschool bimmer and show them whats up.

triggrhaapi · 04-03-2006, 05:53 PM

sorry dude, but old school bimmer will suck at doing what lifted prerunners do. The 325ix trans is weak too.

Good job on the self-rebuild. It's not terribly difficult if you're technically minded. It's just the next step up from making cars out of legos.