Hi Guys, I was wondering if anyone could help me out with what the best way to go about this is.
Long story short - M30 engine loses banjo bolt. Cam bites the dust. Engine has 210k km's on it
Okay, so the cams not totally toast but I think it's had a good 5-7000 km's on it with no lubrication and as a result is pretty worn, only at the front though with Cylinders 1-2 being the worst. The back end seems ok but it really needs to be fixed. The PO said the head gasket was done some 4-5 years ago so I'm debating what to do.
Option 1 - I like doing things well, if you're going to do a job, do it well or don't bother. So if I take the cam off I might as well rebuild the whole head, only barrier there is cost & current wear. Cost - is it prohibitively expensive to buy a rebuild kit (and where from) and wear, is the rest actually worn (which brings me to option 2)
Option 2 - Well the cam is worn, so are eccentrics but the head gasket got done recently, so it makes sense to me that the techs doing it would have looked over the head when it was off and noted anything that needed replacing soon or was wearing and done it, things like valves, valve guides etc. Thus if everything still has good life in it, why waste money replacing it. No need to take the head off, just pull the cam out, regrind it and put it back in with new eccentrics.. Only barrier there how to get the cam out without the head coming off.
What do you guys think is best for a car with 210k on the clock, I'm not after performance on a 7 series, economy if anything. I can do the work myself, although I have no access to a workshop and this would be the first time doing the head on this particular engine. Like with all things money is a barrier but I figure $500 to keep it in good shape is better than a new 2nd hand car (which I still have to maintain anyway)
If I go the cam only route, where is good for a re grind? I couldn't find any stock M30 cams, only performance options. Expensive and money wasted because it's just my daily driver. I don't even know if you can get the cam out without taking the head off.
Thanks for any thoughts on this! Much appreciated!