Yeah, but if the used lump passes compression and the leakdown numbers are OK, it's a better deal. Tearing down a motor would probably require a re-bore, new pistons and rings, mic the crank, new bearings, all gaskets. Bet I'd be into it for $1500 in parts and machine work alone.


The wrecker wants the old lump back. Apparently the deal around hear is they ship them overseas (SEA probably) and get them "remanufactured" there for pennies on the dollar.

A bit of a followup:


I got a steal of a deal on a used radiator. The wrecker was too lazy to separate the rad, so I got the pusher fan (works), shroud, AC condenser, expansion tank etc. All for $120. I returned the one I got from Amazon for full credit less shipping.


After installation, I noticed the viscous clutch on the engine-driven fan was not locking up. Even with the engine hot I could stop it with a rolled-up newspaper. Put a new clutch in and the fan roars when the engine starts, then tapers off as RPMs rise.

In order to keep an eye on the pressure, I put a hose nipple (1/8" NPT threads in just fine) on the bleed fitting on the upper radiator hose and connected it to a boat water pressure gauge (0-30psi) which I temporarily mounted on the outside of the windscreen. Driving around now I see pressures at around 14psi when cruising, and they peak over 20psi at high RPMs. I repeated the test on our new(er) 3.0 and it does pretty much the same thing.


Compared to the new(er) 3.0 I can tell it has a little less power but hardly noticeable.


Don't think it has a blown head gasket. The thing that really stinks is BMW's idea to 'buffer' the temperature gauge. The wife is sure the gauge was in the middle both times it failed. Was there some hack that let you re-program the gauge to respond correctly to temperature?

Sure is. Crowz has the low-down...

PA Soft 1.4 | Crowz Nest

Yeah, that's what I saw once before. Time to get coding.

Glad to hear it worked out.

BTW, on those threads on the bleed screw, that has an o-ring, so I think they are probably straight threads. I once hacked something so I could put a pressure test tube through there, and M10-1.0 seemed to be a perfect fit, so I think that's what the threads are.

Looking up the 1/8" NPT, it does appear close enough to work with M10-1.0, but may be tweaking the threads in the radiator hose.
1/8" - 27 NPT: major diameter = 10.242 mm thread pitch = 0.941 mm

Yeah, I know the hose has straight metric threads and an O-ring. The 1/8" NPT goes in about 5 turns before it starts getting tight. I put a hose clamp around the plastic neck to keep the pipe thread taper from cracking the neck. The bleed screw goes back in OK after this thread abuse.



Currently running straight water in case it blows again. If it goes OK I'm going to replace the hoses/pump/thermostat and add proper coolant.

Been driving the old girl to work the last couple of days. Today's drive home was a nice 45 minute "park-n-crawl" in 30 degree ambients with the AC blasting. Pressure sat between 10-12psi the whole time.