'98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

Welp, as of yesterday the tick in the engine (believed to be valve tap, but BMW "couldn't" fix) turn into a clank and then into a boom.

Pretty positive the engine is shot, but hey it made it this far with issues, I applaud it.

So, now I'm trying to find the best location to get an M44 engine cheap. My plan was and sort of still is to upgrade the car to a 6-cylinder in 2 years from now. So, for now I'm looking for the cheapest way to get the car going. Keep in mind I have a 6 month old child and very little now in savings.

I've currently looked at
http://usedbmwparts.com/
http://www.bavengine.com/other.html
The used engines with a 2 year Warranty sound attractive

Does anyone have any suggestions as to new 1.9, used 1.9, used 6-cylinder. Or know of any good shops in Northern New Jersey (Bergen County to be exact).

Any and all forms of feedback or brainstorming ideas are welcome. If you've got a brainstorm idea and don't wish to waste forum space please email it to me at jason@shuff.info.

Thanks everyone

Reply » '98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

How many miles on the engine? My wife's car has the same engine. I consider it bullet proof and it's at 135k miles.

You sure the engine is shot? You may get by with only having the top of the engine come off. Then again, if the top of a piston smacked a valve and damaged the piston...

Reply » '98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

117k miles

I agree, these engines are just about bullet proof. I don't think any other brand engine would have been able to go 2 years with an engine tick and beat into the ground as much as I (only after BMW said they couldn't fix the problem) and still run extremely well.

I'm pretty positive the entire engine is shot. I'm definitly going to have someone look at it, but I wouldn't be willing to put any cash towards just figuring out if it is or not.

Good luck with your Z, I'm sure it will go well beyond 200k. They're great fun cars and even with a blown engine, I'd never give it up.

Reply » '98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

When you say it went "boom," did it lock up or what?

Was the "tick" you were hearing coming from the top of the engine, or was it more of a knock coming from the lower part of the engine?

Smoke, etc?

Reply » '98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

I do believe you are the first Z3 owner that has blown an 1.9 engine.

If you need a second opinion, check out some independent BMW repair shops. These guys/gals know as much if not more about repairing that engine.
Good luck and hope you get her back up and running.

Independent BMW repair shops

Reply » '98 1.9l M44 engine blown...need suggestions to get car running

Here are the details:
3 years ago my engine began to tick. Sounded like it came from the top 1/2 of the engine. Many people say it was a valve tap, so I dropped it off with BMW for 2 weeks. 2 weeks later I got the car back with "new lifters" (many mechanics say the engine was never even opened) and the same tap. As long as I kept the oil level good in the engine the tap wouldn't be too bad. The engine tapped at idle and during constant MPH's. Like during acceleration it would go away.

The car ran very very well during those 3 years...it just sounded like a bomb was about to go off.

So, now a week ago my wife mentioned the tap sounded like it was getting worse.

Now, yesterday morning the tap definitely sounded louder but it was still just a tap. After work the car ran fine....filled the tank....accelerated onto the highway. Now is when I started to hear a lot more tapping...more lock knocking. I pulled off the highway to check the oil. The car was junk knocking and banging now....to me it sounded like a cylinder was just getting knocked around. The tap was coming from the top of the engine and the knock/banging from the bottom driver side. Plus the car's acceleration was not good.

The oil was a little low, so i added 1/2 a quart of oil to bring it back up to normal. Drove the car 2 miles, no changes. I then checked the oil again. It was normal.

Here is where I think I F**CKED up. And I do work on my car so this is really embarrassing to admit, but I think I left the oil cap off.

10 miles down the highway my engine went BANG, it felt like it fell out the bottom of the car. Blue smoke all behind me and also looked like some debris. My low oil light came on, then went off. I disengaged the gears. Then I heard a second bang and all my dash lights came on (oil, battery, check engine) and then off. I coasted to the shoulder.

Under the hood oil was every where. And a huge trail of oil behind me.

I have not attempted to restart the car. So right now it's just sitting in the driveway.

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