740i - Dead

"Ballzonya" (ballzonya) 10/22/2014 at 13:16 • Filed to: None

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My friend's mom had a nice 2001 740I w/ sport package that died yesterday. It's either a timing belt issue that caused damage to the engine, or a blown head gasket. The worst part is that the car is in GREAT shape. Doesn's have a mark on it

At this point, would it be worth it to fix and sell it, sell it as is, or just part it out?

JGrabowMSt > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:18

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Pull the dipstick and look for chunks or discolored oil.

Which motor does it have?

What kind of noise does it make when it starts?

Arben72 > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:18

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Timing belt or blown headgasket have two different symptoms. Find out whats the real problem, doesn't take more than a sensor to kill a old bimmer.

505Turbeaux > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:20

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arent these all timing chain engines? I remember a guide issue with the chain but didnt know of one having a belt.

Sweet Trav > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:21

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LS + T56 SWAP!!!!!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:22

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If the timing belt snapped it would be hard to turn over and sound like a bag of nails in a washing machine.

whoarder is tellurium > Sweet Trav 10/22/2014 at 13:23

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This. This right here ^

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/22/2014 at 13:26

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easy to turn over as no camshaft drag.

Ballzonya > JGrabowMSt 10/22/2014 at 13:28

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The oil is dark, sludge with the smell of burnt gasket or something...it doesn't smell like regular burnt oil.

It has the 4.4L V8 (M62TUB44)

It does not start....

HammerheadFistpunch > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:29

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sounds like a HG, is their oil in the water? water in the oil? Part that sucker out is my bet.

Ballzonya > Arben72 10/22/2014 at 13:31

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I'm convinced it's the gasket after taking a second look. The oil is dark and has a strange smell to it...almost like burnt rubber, and there are signs that there was a coolant leak

JGrabowMSt > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:32

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If there's sludge, she wasn't changing the oil, and/or using poor quality conventional oil.

What color is the coolant? To nurse that motor back to life is a very costly ordeal. I have a local BMW shop that really specializes in bringing some cars back from the dead, but I'd hate to see some of the bills.

I'd say it's something you could do some of yourself if you were really interested in putting it back on the road, but it will take a long time to get through it all. You'll have to take off all the coolant hoses etc, and then have some shop pick it up to totally flush the block, replace the coolant hoses, pull the oil pan, do the gasket, check the head gaskets for leakage, do leakdown/compression checks on all the cylinders, check the timing chain...

The difference is how attached someone is to a 740i.

Ballzonya > JGrabowMSt 10/22/2014 at 13:35

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I'm convinced she just drove the thing and never checked anything on it. She claimed that it was serviced regularly, but the oil color/smell says otherwise. The car is now my buddys to sell/part/fix, so he's trying to weigh his options.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:38

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so if it's a headgasket there should be white smoke, sweet-smelling coolant burning, & maybe it'll still start but run like shit. BMWs generally do not have timing belts, they have chains. V8s with timing belts are a VAG thing

JGrabowMSt > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:39

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Get a shop estimate on repairing it. Those 7 series cars look amazing, and are pretty timeless. I don't claim to know the future, but I can definitely see their value going way up in the future. The cost to fix that one may be similar to buying a somewhat recent used car, but it wont be the same kind of quality.

If all else fails, I fully support doing an LS swap with a 6spd. I mean, how often does a donor vehicle just fall into your lap that's just screaming to be brought back to life. Do an american heart transplant, and bring that thing back to life....

Brian, The Life of > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 13:45

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The worst part is that the car is in GREAT shape. Doesn's have a mark on it

Yeah, that's how many BMWs go to the scrapper.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Leon711 10/22/2014 at 14:37

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Depends what position the camshaft is in and the damage, sometimes craking it pushed the pistons back into the valves making it very difficult to turn. That's what our renault was like when its belt snapped.

Steve in Manhattan > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 14:48

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BMWs have interference engines?

Steve in Manhattan > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 15:30

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I'll say the same thing I always say - have a mechanic go through the rest of the car - if it needs a differential, has electrical issues, requires a few grand spent to make it roadworthy, he should know that before he decides.

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/22/2014 at 17:19

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Ironically they only first hand I have is also a renault. A pal had it go on his clio, which bend a few valves that didn't damage the pistons. It was whizzing away real fast whilst turning over, he thought it was the rotor arm becuase it wasn't turning. was in fact that the belt snapped. but yes it's dependent on level of damage.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Leon711 10/22/2014 at 17:23

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I've heard clios are really bad for chewing belts even before service intervals. Seen a few head to the scrapyard because of it.

Leon711 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 10/22/2014 at 17:26

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well this was a 96 clio in 2010, with 52k miles belt was just too old and had degraded. it's just a lack of proper maintenance, I can't say I've heard anything specific to clios. would like a 182 though.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Leon711 10/22/2014 at 17:37

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I like the RS clios too, especially the 197.

StoneCold > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 20:04

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Put a new engine in! Totally worth it!

I miss my '95 740iL all the time.

BenLikesCars > Ballzonya 10/22/2014 at 21:32

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It's a lovely car.

There are tons of these things for sale on Craigslist for a song and probably a swarm of them in salvage yards. Yank the engine out of the "new" one and keep the donor on the front lawn for decoration.

BenLikesCars > Sweet Trav 10/24/2014 at 23:04

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It would only result in The Perfect Car, but other than that...