timetodrive 6 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 My E38 735il that I have owned for a few years (200k km) started playing up the other day, I thought (was hoping) it was the pcv valve, it however is not. The headgasket in between no1 and no 2 cylinder on the drivers side bank has given up. At this stage there is no cross contamination between oil and coolant. Obviously the car is not worth a massive amount of money but I have just had all the paint sorted and fixed most other gremlins. Options at this stage seem to be A: Do the head gasket (has new radiator and water pump currently) but gearbox hasnt been touched what is an acceptable quote for a mechanic to complete this? B: Repower with second hand 4.0-4.4? what are the major differences between these two v8's and the 3.5? different ecu? injectors? mounts? C: Cut my loses and move on.. any advice or reccomendations would be appreciated Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 My E38 735il that I have owned for a few years (200k km) started playing up the other day, I thought (was hoping) it was the pcv valve, it however is not. The headgasket in between no1 and no 2 cylinder on the drivers side bank has given up. At this stage there is no cross contamination between oil and coolant. Obviously the car is not worth a massive amount of money but I have just had all the paint sorted and fixed most other gremlins. Options at this stage seem to be A: Do the head gasket (has new radiator and water pump currently) but gearbox hasnt been touched what is an acceptable quote for a mechanic to complete this? B: Repower with second hand 4.0-4.4? what are the major differences between these two v8's and the 3.5? different ecu? injectors? mounts? C: Cut my loses and move on.. any advice or reccomendations would be appreciated Cheers dont know a huge amount about the E38, but will be different DME and in turn EWS will need to be changed too if equipped, should be. Wouldnt say a repower would be worth it being so heavy.. only you will know that though. cheapest option, replace the head gasket. you will come away with a car you know the history of. remember to solve the problem that caused it to overheat in the first place, unless its just the headgasket that went randomly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 Depends what you want to spend really, or if you have the skills/time to perform the work. The head gasket / cooling system repair will be the cheapest, but you should do both banks rather than just the one that has failed. (Put aside at least $500 to do this, but I'd go further and replace other parts related as you take it apart) On the other hand, if you like the car and intend to keep it for some time, and are not that happy with the performance, I'd suggest like you mentioned a M62B44 non vanos swap, find a good used engine and gearbox, give it a general overhaul / clean up while its out of the car. I'd imagine there would be a level of electrical work to get it working right, but hey an extra 900cc would be worth it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 i would personally go rebuild, but dont forget to do lots of research, these are not simple engines and you need so many specialist tools like cam holders etc. also if you dont want to shell out huge money just yet look into rislone head gasket repair. will run you about $90 at supercheap auto. people turn their nose up at it and ignore then enormous amount of science behind the chemicals it uses. but it usually works, and when it works it is a permanant fix . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timetodrive 6 Report post Posted January 30, 2013 i would personally go rebuild, but dont forget to do lots of research, these are not simple engines and you need so many specialist tools like cam holders etc. also if you dont want to shell out huge money just yet look into rislone head gasket repair. will run you about $90 at supercheap auto. people turn their nose up at it and ignore then enormous amount of science behind the chemicals it uses. but it usually works, and when it works it is a permanant fix . Dont have the skills or time to rebuild myself so I think the cost would be higher than that, dont think Rislone would work due to it being blown in between the 2 cylinders and not comming into contact with any coolant. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted January 31, 2013 If the car is tidy try sell it. ive seen many cars with near terminal engine issues go for very good money due to people kidding themselves about how much it will cost to fix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted January 31, 2013 the smaller trans wont last long with a 4l or 4.4l going through it . so a 2nd hand engine and trans 4L or 4.4l etc prob around $3000-4000 or more you will need all the matching electrics to go with it etc. i have a 96 740iL parts car or maybe sell the car and buy my 98 750iL also what year is your 735i is it the vanos engine or not?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timetodrive 6 Report post Posted January 31, 2013 the smaller trans wont last long with a 4l or 4.4l going through it . so a 2nd hand engine and trans 4L or 4.4l etc prob around $3000-4000 or more you will need all the matching electrics to go with it etc. i have a 96 740iL parts car or maybe sell the car and buy my 98 750iL also what year is your 735i is it the vanos engine or not?? 1997 non vanos, thanks for your input. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
