<![CDATA[m52 cracked head advice wanted]]>OK so a guy from work picked up a 4/98 e36 sedan for about a grand knowing it had headgasket/head problems.  215k, black/black, AT, pretty good condition for age, a little surface rust but overall good.  He would like to just use it for a daily driver.  Engine ran good before teardown, just intermittent temp spikes from the leakage.  It had been worked on by a mechanic that doesn't know BMW's, replaced a couple hoses, new water pump, thermo, and fan clutch and thought that would fix it.  I told him I would work on it for him, started tearing it down, head has 2 cracks, cyls 2 and 3 from exhaust valve seat to coolant passage.  Cylinder bores look good, no step at the top, no scratches, haven't measured the bore yet bot honing marks are still there.  Problem is that there is a ton of nast in the coolant passages of the block.  Looks like aluminum corrosion that migrated from the head.  My question for you guys is do I just flush out he water jacket on the block as best I can and drop a good head on.  Or find a used running engine and swap in.  I don't think its worth tearing down the bottom end for a full rebuild as the money really starts flowing then.  I don't have a problem with doing the work as I have done a full rebuild on an m50 and m20.  I will get a few pics up so you can see what it looks like tomorrow.  And let this be a warning to everyone, maintain your cooling system!!!  Cracked heads around the exhaust valves are from hotspots due to corrosion buildup in the coolant passages.  Change your coolant to keep its corrosion inhibiting properties good.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/topic/1665/m52-cracked-head-advice-wantedRSS for NodeWed, 16 Sep 2026 04:02:49 GMTMon, 15 Jul 2013 16:14:14 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:45:34 GMT]]>I'll probably just get a reman unless anyone has a good head they would like to sell.  He is wanting to get it on the road soon, how did you bend the valves on a chain drive engine?  Also any recommendations on suppliers?  If nobody has a better suggestion I will go with Clearwater Cylinderheads out of Cali.  Does 850 sound like a reasonable price?

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25882https://wibimmers.com/post/25882Wed, 24 Jul 2013 21:45:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:41:09 GMT]]>I've got a head for an M52 B28. Needs some valves (they slapped the piston), otherwise the head is fine. Yours for 75 bucks

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25545https://wibimmers.com/post/25545Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:41:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:11:12 GMT]]>Yea not looking to do anything wild, its a going to be a 60 year old guys daily driver.  Once I got him going on BMW's there's no stopping him, he keeps picking them up super cheap on CL.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25539https://wibimmers.com/post/25539Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:11:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:00:41 GMT]]>Well I have an m50 head on my m52... But it's converted to obd1, so I probably couldn't help you.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25538https://wibimmers.com/post/25538Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:00:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 16:37:21 GMT]]>Here's a couple pics of the block.

post-3281-0-41023200-1373992522thumb.jp

post-3281-0-97445600-1373992523thumb.jp

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25514https://wibimmers.com/post/25514Tue, 16 Jul 2013 16:37:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:59:08 GMT]]>This is for an m52b28, aren't they a little different?  At least the ports under the intake manifold are different, m50 has 3 ports, m52 has 2 ports because of combo ECU and dash temp sender.  Or I could be confused.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25505https://wibimmers.com/post/25505Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:59:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:42:27 GMT]]>I would just buy a used head, and have it refreshed. I was told by the PO that this head was recently rebuilt, but I would still get it checked out by a trusted machine shop. Still a lot cheaper than 850$

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25502https://wibimmers.com/post/25502Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:42:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:41:23 GMT]]>I have an m50 head that's in good working order.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25501https://wibimmers.com/post/25501Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:41:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:40:39 GMT]]>Kinda was my thought, but I do have the head pulled already so it would be pretty easy to put a new one on.  Any good sources for reman or used heads?  I have bought 2 from clearwater cylinder heads out of California and they do a good job, an m50 head was 850$ 4 years ago and an m20 head was 650$ a few months ago from them.  Does that seem reasonable?

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25497https://wibimmers.com/post/25497Tue, 16 Jul 2013 14:40:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to m52 cracked head advice wanted on Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:22:03 GMT]]>A good engine shouldn't cost a ton. Will save a lot of time as well.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/25453https://wibimmers.com/post/25453Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:22:03 GMT