S38 rebuild pricing.

[Alpina740]

Anyone know how much it would cost to an S38 rebuild? I know the at least the head needs to be rebuilt so I might as well do the entire engine.

[Pat]

A lot. Thats all i know, you can probably get a decent idea by doing a search

[bmwcarl]

8-10k is a ballpark estimate
it cost me 4k to have my head rebuilt last year, which included timing componenets, 12 intake valves, and machining, plus labor to install

[M5BB]

I just finished mine in Oct 08.
Did all the work myself.
Here's a link to some of the info.
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=49 ... &&start=25

It was easily about $5k.
All new bearings, pistons, head work, 6 new valves,
chain guides, cultch and pp, injector clean and spec, new starter and much more.
I can give you some help if you need it.

[fjfar80]

It depends on how much you want to spend and what you want to do with it. I just spent approximately US$10k on mine...it really depends on what you want done. I wanted mine rebuilt from the bottom up and basically had everything replaced/modified from custom pistons to ceramic coated exhaust manifold. There are some excellent engine builders out there and you really need to make sure that you go with someone that knows the S38 engine. I went with Memphis Motorwerks.

Cheers.

- Mark

[Alpina740]

Thanks for the info guys, still debating. Do you guys think $1,500 is a good deal on an S38 that needs to be rebuilt?

[87M6chris]

I just finished mine in Oct 08.
Did all the work myself.
Here's a link to some of the info.
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=49 ... &&start=25

It was easily about $5k.
All new bearings, pistons, head work, 6 new valves,
chain guides, cultch and pp, injector clean and spec, new starter and much more.
I can give you some help if you need it.

+1 I pulled the engine and did the teardown, took the head and block to the rebuilders, he did his work and I re-asembled.
Spent about $4500 on parts and the head and block labour.
The key to keeping the price down is to do as much of the labour yourself.

[bmwcarl]

Thanks for the info guys, still debating. Do you guys think $1,500 is a good deal on an S38 that needs to be rebuilt?

probably, as long as everything is rebuildable. figure its worth more than that in parts alone

[Alpina740]

I just finished mine in Oct 08.
Did all the work myself.
Here's a link to some of the info.
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=49 ... &&start=25

It was easily about $5k.
All new bearings, pistons, head work, 6 new valves,
chain guides, cultch and pp, injector clean and spec, new starter and much more.
I can give you some help if you need it.

+1 I pulled the engine and did the teardown, took the head and block to the rebuilders, he did his work and I re-asembled.
Spent about $4500 on parts and the head and block labour.
The key to keeping the price down is to do as much of the labour yourself.

Well I know I would be doing the rebuild at a shop I work at so labor wouldn't be anything. We get oem parts for about 60% cheaper so I'm not sure how much that would knock off as well.

I will check it out when I get into the office next.

Thanks guys

[RoyW]

Thanks for the info guys, still debating. Do you guys think $1,500 is a good deal on an S38 that needs to be rebuilt?

Yes... but, you better be ready to spend a lot more, e.g., $5K to $10K +(depending on how much work you're doing or if you're having it done). Otherwise, you got a very expensive paper weight

-RoyW

[rustwrks]

I had the entire timing chain assembly including: chain, tensioners, ramps, gaskets and other consumables priced at cost through my friends shop - ran about $950.
So if you can get anything below cost through friends it will help.

[wjosh45]

The cost greatly depends on what you do as stated above. One thing not mentioned was if you are going to build the engine yourself or pay someone else. You can save money buy pulling the engine, taking it apart, and re-building yourself if you have the skills for that. In all cases, I would say the parts alone for a "refresh" i.e. OEM rebuild to be no less than 4K if you are going all OEM. Then cost only escalates after that depending on if you go with custom components.

[Alpina740]

How much do you guys think it would be if I was doing it all my self. I guess I meant to ask how much you guys paid for parts only.

Thanks

[M5BB]

Alpina,

Maybe you should review the messages above before posting a question like this.

[rustwrks]

Gary -

Thought you offered to help the guy - not rail him for being specific??

anyway - I looked at gary's link above and he has a breakdown of the parts and assemblies that he went through - good for reference, but not cost specific in terms of parts etc.

Have you tried contacting "Metric Mechanic" I think he's/they are still around and the offer a core rebate - double check, I have no personal experience with them- so (Gary) correct me if i'm wrong but they refurbish M5 motors and turn out short and/or long block ready to go.

[wkohler]

Gary -

Thought you offered to help the guy - not rail him for being specific??

anyway - I looked at gary's link above and he has a breakdown of the parts and assemblies that he went through - good for reference, but not cost specific in terms of parts etc.

Have you tried contacting "Metric Mechanic" I think he's/they are still around and the offer a core rebate - double check, I have no personal experience with them- so (Gary) correct me if i'm wrong but they refurbish M5 motors and turn out short and/or long block ready to go.

No one I've ever talked to has had a good experience with them. Mostly it was over their transmissions, but building motors that burn a quart of oil every 800 miles is not a plus in my mind - especially for that kinda dough. Hell I could do that with a drill and a chisel.

[Alpina740]

Alpina,

Maybe you should review the messages above before posting a question like this.

Maybe I did review them and like I said was looking for parts prices. Like rustwrks said that didn't answer the questions of cost but good for reference, thanks.

Thanks for the help though guys I found everything I needed.

[rustwrks]

good to know...
thanks for the scoop christopher

alpina-
hey man good luck with the parts

For a specific site other than say bavauto.com
are you familiar with pelican parts? their tech support is very helpful, maybe not the cheapest pricing on parts, but very fast shippers and usually up on their stock. on their website you can put together a "wish list" and tally cost/part numbers etc.

[M5BB]

Sorry about that answer but so many times on here you give people info and then they don't look at it.
Two or more people replied with experienced prices for a rebuild they did themselves.
Every rebuild is different so the prices will vary depending on what kind of outcome you are wanting.
Pelican is great to buy valves from. 6 valves 171.00
I bought the upgrade crank hub from Steve Haygood. $260.
Cam gear. 187. CP pistons $1059. Starter 90. Clutch and t/o 241. Head bolts 78. Two tensioner rails 447. exhaust nuts 24-15.36 release bearing 33. rod bolts 12- 101. trans mount 74.
gasket head set 171. Machine shop 1700.00 chain tensioner
105. injector rebuild & test 105.

Here this will give some idea of the bigger items.
This is almost 4k and i know there is more.

[rustwrks]

now that's a helping hand right there...

good stuff gary.

[Yakinho]

Pulled this from another forum.




That's a good look at what you'll be paying, minus the mild overbore and labor expenses.

[Matt]

I've got an oil leak at what i _think_ is the 3-way intersection of head, block, and timing cover. I threw some goop in there a few years ago and it held, but now i am leaking pretty good again.

What does it cost to pull the head and put it back on, all labor done yourself? I'm assuming parts costs are head gasket, valve cover gasket, plug-hole gaskets. What else? what bolts are single-use in this process?

I've also got a hairline face-crack on the front face of the cam box (IIRC), from over-torquing the two allen nuts that hold the cam box to the head. Is it pretty easy for someone who can do Al welding to take care of that without tearing the whole dam nthing apart ?

Would you ever consider pulling an S38 head to fix an oil leak?

What if you were hoping to sell the car this spring/summer?

[Vin]

I've got an E28 M5 and what started as a blown head gasket is looking like a full rebuild.  My mechanic is finding it difficult to source parts.  Any recommendations for engine parts, and or someone to build the motor?  

The last post on this thread was 10yrs ago, so curious how things are looking today.

All the best,
Vin

[Weifeng]

I have a 79 M90 from an E24 that I am about to tear into, but have been looking for parts sources before I do. In general it is kinda hard to source parts before the head is pulled off and the block is torn down. It seems to me that sourcing parts will be a piece meal affair in this day and age.