[jkalbfeld]

Hello,

I have a 2008 335i. I love the car, but it has either a bent piston ring or a burnt valve. It won't pass California smog, but it's driveable, obviously in a horrible way, so it's no longer functional as my daily driver.

I am thinking I want to see what my options are to get the 2008 roadworthy. Getting a new engine and having the whole thing replaced is a horrible financial decision. I know that everyone says it's impossible to take the head off without unmounting the engine, but is that the kind of thing that a skilled BMW repair person could do?

I don't mind buying a high mileage used engine but it sounds like it's all labor expenses. What are my realistic choices?

I've thought about junking the car but I love it, and if I can fix it for $2k or so, it might be worthwhile. Part of the issue seems to be that in order to diagnose the root cause, it has to be unmounted and taken apart, and that's like 20 hours right there, or over $2k. Is there anything anyone can do in the realm of fiber optics, etc to get in there and look around? (I'm a former NASA engineer so my mind goes to such horrible places rather quickly

Might be the Covid-19 talking, might just be my love for this bimmer. What would you all recommend?

Thanks,

Jon

[Steve Sas]

Your best to do a compression and leak down test to see where the problem is?
Who know maybe another issue.