engine - rebuild or replace - need referral
 

dallas texas... x5 ... sport .. immaculate ... except for >>>
- cam tensioner flies apart at startup
- cam chain rattles and disentegrates housing
- shards fall to pan and are picked up and dispersed through engine
..... disassembly indicates galled cylinders

would you rebuild .......... or .......... buy a used ..

I would enjoy a referral to a reputable (oxymoron ?? ) engine yard ...

or ... in dallas texas ... an incredible engine shop

feeback always enjoyed... and calls welcome
robb
214.500.6500

Get a used one.

think in a long run....u wanna keep it for good(x5)?rebuild then ...if not ...then replace it....

I'm not sure if you can really do too much in the lines of rebuilding unless you get it sleeved being that it is galled up. Also, the camshafts don't have seperate bearings, so you should pull the cams out and inspect the ledges of the heads the cams ride in. If that is good and you want to go the route of sleeving with new pistons etc. contact member m5james as he has rebuilt the V8 in his E38 7 series that way which is the same block as the X5. (I'm guessing you have a pre-facelift 4.4i?)

thanks 'weasel'.... am exploring both options ... i will contact m5james and see where that takes me ... need a reputable engine shop that doesnt have a 6 month backlog for that process ....

and ... have explored used engines ... they are all over the place from 50k to 100k priced from $2999 to $7000 ... have found one place near huntsville that rebuilds them (except the replacement of pistons) for $6000 .... hmmmmm

am using automotix (interesting little tool) ... and through this tool have found plenty of engines ... just don't know what i am getting .. appears that Bavarian Motor out of Rancho Cordova is the only one found that tests the engine .. 'dyno' (not a real one), a leak down and pressure test ... everyone else seems to be a wholesaler searching for engines ... a rare salvage yard (like bavarian) ... in fact .. I too could become an engine reseller with the automotix application (sigh) ...

so ... once again ... does 'anyone' .. .know of a 'reputable yard' ... that a used engine can at least be 'less suspect' coming from ....

thanks again .. and yes am planning on keeping a while

appreciate your comments ...

robb
214.500.6500

ps and m5james .. if you see this .. would you please take a moment and tag me on the cell ... :-)

i would buy used one, and you can do work on that before you put it in. (new gaskets and such) if the engine you have has metal pieces in the pan and moving around you might be in for more work than expected.

That's what I meant,get a used one.It's not a rare or exotic engine like some V12 for example,just get as lower miles as you can.
Even a bmw dealership may do the swap,get an estimate,I had my X's engine swapped because of the same thing..tensioner...no oil pressure,metal shavings..it's not worth bothering to dig deeper to find out more disastrous damages,Unless you do it yourself in which case you don't pay a labor fee which is the most expensive part of the rebuild IMO.But,how much is your time worth?
Anyway,in my case swapped by a local "european" garage was $ 5500 (150.000kms )swapped + tax,bmw dealership estimate $7900 for the engine + 25 hours or so for labor + tax + warranty and such :) oh...yes,in fees are in canadians,US may be cheaper
Do the math.
Good luck

good

The problems I learned with my 7 is that while they're all V8's, there were suttle differences between each year, so years being their own setup and can I could only use that year of engine, ie...96-97 was it's own production run, 98 and 99 were their own individual years, then 00-01 was it's own as well.

I'll call you later this evening Rob. In the meantime, I bought my engine through www.bavengine.com and went with their performance option and then some. At the time though, they we're doing their own work, nowadays they apparently outsource their work. When it was all said and done, I was about $13k for engine and paying a shop for the labor (I had a normal job at the time and only played with my own cars) vs my career now which is working on everyone elses BMW's.

thanks .... good feedback ... $5500 sounds appropriate for a 'used engine' and R&R from a local shop ... appreciate the feedback ... R-

thank you m5james ... i have called bavengine and they do not do 'anything' with an 'X' in the name ... they do have a used one ... will not gurantee the mileage .. or... even care to know the mileage .. they do some testing .. dyno (not a real one), leak test and pressure test.. one of the few that do .... HOWEVER ... with what happened to my 'very well cared for engine' .... i would really like to know the mileage .... the internal parts .. 'plastic tensioner' for example cause me to be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry hesitant on a used .. unless i can be guranteed mileage.

thanks again m5

Yeah, they're business structure has changed since I deal with them about 4-5yrs ago. As for them not carrying anything X, it's the same engine, but then again there could be minor sensor differences or whatnot just like I mentioned in regards to the differences between the 7's that they may know of that could be preventing them from doing an X engine. Who knows, maybe they've just gotten lazy as well.

PS - Sorry I forgot to call, but it sounds like the one resources that worked for me isn't the one to use anymore unless someone wants a complete rebuild. By all means, if you want, let me know and we can still talk though.

With the engine out, why not just replace the tensioner components, valley pan gasket, coolant hoses, any rubber bits/fuel lines, etc.? Much easier than when in the X.

Rule of thumb is that if it touches the engine and can wear out, replace it (motor mounts, for instance). Very conservative, but at that point you have a "new" motor in the vehicle and should not have any issues.