Longévité des pièces - Parts lifetime on M42

[tuNED318]

Hi guys,

I'm new here and wanted to know a couple of things on the M42 1991 engine.

The car I'm looking for is low in mileage(186 000km) so I'm wondering what should be done on the engine if it hasn't already been done.


Also, I know that the profile gasket was a problem and that there's been a recall for it. But if the first owner(there was 2 owners only) didn't do it ; is there anything other than the $5US gasket that would need to be changed?

Thanks

[flukester]

Hi!

Not that I'm an expert on this, but if a recall was never done on the car, won't BMW have to do it for you on the car? Maybe contacting them with the VIN would give you the exact list of recalls that were never fixed..

just my 2 cents
antoine

PS: I saw your other message.. I think you'll be more than welcome at the Sanair meet on May 7th.. At least you'll be able to park at the track and go talk with all the people.. racers or visitors.. I know I'll be there, and I don't have a BMW yet either :)

[Turbo_Bimmer]

Hi,

just for your information, BMW never issued a recall for the profile gasket, even if all early M42 had a problem with that gasket. I know of one custommer who went to court and won against BMW (they had to refund him the $1200 they charged him for the repair), and in other cases, they reduced the repair bill by ~$400 after a customer complained, but that's about it.

At 180000km, big chances are that it has been already done. Mine went bad at ~160000km. Take a look around the cylinder head, you should be able to see a brand new head gasket, and a `fresh rubber` profile gasket if it has been done.

Other than that, the M42 is a good little engine, no timing belt to replace BTW. You have to keep the revs high if you want some performance out of it though. If torque is what your looking for, you should go for a 325.

Good luck!

[tuNED318]

Thanks for your replies guys

flukester: I'm sure I will be welcome but I don't have any car (http://go-advertising.com/?go=car) at the moment. Although it'd be great to have one by may 7thn and it is not impossible!


Turbo_Bimmer: I know the profile gasket is quite long to change, but 1200$ ! Do you know if they replaced anything else than the profile gasket?



Also I got some knowlege on the M42 cuz as you can read under my name I already owned one. As for the timing chain, I think it can last up to 250 000km easily, but just wanted to get a precise number ;)

see ya

EDIT: You said new head gasket? So it would need to be changed at the same time?:eek:

EDIT 2: If I remember well, the profile gasket is right under the upper part of the timing case cover. So you only need to remove the valve cover and that other cover, right?

[Turbo_Bimmer]

Like you already know, the profile gasket cost only $7.00, but you have to install a new headgasket at $75, new head bolts at $50 (Torque and Yield bolts = one time use) and my other parts.
Look here for a list of the parts:
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/engine/all_m42_profile_gasket_faq.html

Add to that may be 6 hours of work and taxes, it will be over $1000 (at $94/hour) !

The way the M42 head is made, it covers the timing chain casing, so the head needs to be removed to access the profile gasket.

But I heard that the new replacement profile gaskets are made with an improved rubber quality... so it should be a permanent fix.

[tuNED318]

thanks for you answers. There is a lot of informations.

you made me realise that there were two parts to the profile gasket

part #10
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AJ93&mospid=47318&prod=19901000&btnr=11_0156&hg=11&fg=10

part #4 is more reachable
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AJ93&mospid=47318&prod=19901000&btnr=11_2683&hg=11&fg=10

[Emre]

My E30 was originally powered by an M42 and I had the profile gasket fail just after the warranty expired. It cost a fortune. As Turbo_Bimmer mentioned, BMW has never formally acknowledged that a problem even exists...let alone issued a recall. I was stuck with a huge bill.


Turbo_Bimmer: I know the profile gasket is quite long to change, but 1200$ ! Do you know if they replaced anything else than the profile gasket?The real expense isn't parts and labor...it's repairing the damage that the gasket failure can cause. When the timing case profile gasket fails, you lose all your coolant. My dad was driving the car when this happened to my 1991 318is. He didn't realize what was happening and kept driving. The engine overheated and the head was damaged, requiring an expensive rebuild. The total cost came in at around $2000 USD.

By now, I doubt you'd be likely to find an M42 that hasn't had the gasket replaced. As long as you use phosphate-free coolant and flush it regularly (i.e., once a year) then the profile gasket should not be an issue.

Emre

[Emre]

PS: I saw your other message.. I think you'll be more than welcome at the Sanair meet on May 7th.. At least you'll be able to park at the track and go talk with all the people.. racers or visitors.. I know I'll be there, and I don't have a BMW yet either :)
flukester: I'm sure I will be welcome but I don't have any car (http://go-advertising.com/?go=car) at the moment. Although it'd be great to have one by may 7th and it is not impossible!Even if you don't have a running car my May 7th, you'll still be welcome to come to the event. There should be a "cruise" leaving from downtown Montreal in morning...so I'm sure we can hook you up with a ride out to the track.

Emre

[flukester]

Even if you don't have a running car my May 7th, you'll still be welcome to come to the event. There should be a "cruise" leaving from downtown Montreal in morning...so I'm sure we can hook you up with a ride out to the track.

Emre

Eh that's funny.. I sent him a PM to that effect a few days ago.. I didn't want to pollute this thread but now, it's too late :)

Antoine

[Emre]

Eh that's funny.. I sent him a PM to that effect a few days ago.. I didn't want to pollute this thread but now, it's too late :)Oops! :o

Emre

[tuNED318]

damn bastards , polluting my thread!! lol

Thanks for the offer guys, I'll keep it in mind if I don't have a car by then.

Although I hope to have one, man I just don't feel going to work with my bicycle every morning, even if its only 10min away and good for my health, hehe. Well anyways, that's probably what I will end up doing cuz I'm a freak when it comes to my car and it's not good to have it run for short periods of time, so I'll try to take it the less I can for that matter.

I guess it'll help to get me back in a better shape.