Drastic Measures

I've been battling an intermittent overheating problem since I first installed the M42. I've replaced the thermostat twice, the radiator twice and the water pump once. I've flushed and bled the coolant system more times than I care to remember. Still, I keep getting air in the pressurized coolant system, which ultimately allows for a hotspot and boils the coolant, producing more air.

So, I'm replacing the only thing I have left to replace: the engine.

I'm guessing at this point that the head gasket is leaking and allowing air to get from a cylinder to the coolant system. So, I found another used engine. In all fairness, one of the reasons that I originally had for doing this swap was that a future engine swap would be easier. This is already proving out in that I found a cheap replacement motor that just happens to have a warranty on it's newly rebuild head.

So here is what I bought:



It's from an early E36, so I have to swap over the E30 oil pan and intake manifold.

So, let's get to work.



After wrestling with the engine from the top, I gave up and returned to the tried and true "from the bottom" drivetrain removal method. Here we are after a weekend of work:



A little cleanup is in order.



After a little cleaning and some touch-up paint:



I also started on refreshing a few gaskets on the E36 M42, just because it's easier to do most of these when the engine is on a stand.

New rubber timing chain cover outer profile gasket and tensioner plug crush ring.



Prepped to receive the E30 oil pan and intake, once they are clean: