s38b36

No idea on price Alan, but that's a nice little reference for those of us seeking to understand a little more about the upgrades we can do under the hood.

Thanks
 
just curious

mine is brand new race built
cant wait to hear it -controlled by the kdata unit
and the snakes whoopee
 
Well, with S38 rebuilds going at say $10-$15k your engine should be up there too. That is if the buyer is convinced of quality and/or you offer some guarantee. No idea about race build though. Obvious suggestion, but maybe post on m5board? That e28 M5 bubble should work in your favor!
 
Anywhere form $3,000 for a high mileage to $7,500 for a known low mileage complete engine. Rebuilt would be subject to the list of parts and the machine work needed plus shop time. They are no longer available new from BMW.

Keep in mind that the blocks are prone to cracking at the head bolts.
 
s38's are more expensive. The timing components alone are $1000. Frank Fahey, Paul Burke, Terry Tinney, Ullrich, and a handful of others are known builders. You'll pay at least $15-$20+k for a Frank engine these days. Obviously, you can pay less (I have seen s38's that were disassembled and new rings and bearings were put in). Most people do not want to rebuild them stock, or only replace bearings and rings, as high comp pistons can squeeze out quite a bit more hp. Also, the heads require quite a bit more work than a SOHC design (exhaust valve guides are generally worn by 100k miles and need to be replaced). But with building a higher compression motor, the consideration for better fuel management becomes a requirement. I looked at swapping one into my coupe as well, as a few members here have done so over the years.
 
The S38 is one of my favorite BMW engines ever. It's penchant for exploding and needing $15k to make it right was the biggest reason why I chose an E9 over an M6 I had driven earlier that day.
 
I did some research about these engines before rejecting them. I have owned E34 M5's with the 3.6 and 3.8 engines so know the fun they can be. My research indicated that the 3.8 is more highly stressed than the 3.6 and can cause more problems. The received wisdom seems to be the 3.6 is the one to go for.

At some point I might consider fitting one but opted for an Alpina B10 engine for now. One reason was the economics whereby I found a complete car which had an engine rebuild but this was hidden value as it was in a very crusty old car which had done 300,000 miles.

If I found a similar situation with an E34 M5 then I might be tempted.
 
I bought a complete running S38 B35 a few years ago for $1000.

I also own a 1988 M5 with an highly tweaked S38 motor that I built in 2010.

At that time I had over $6000 in parts and head work to rebuild the motor.
It had a burned piston.
So an S38 rebuild now days would probably be $12000 or more depending on how much you want to do.

The biggest problem with these motors is that the valves seem to develop problems fairly easily. Head rebuilds are $1200 or more.

Never had a block problem and don't know anyone that has.

Here is the latest dyno run last fall and this is at the wheels. Add 17% dyno loss and you get E46 M3 Power and torque.
And the sound, oh the wonderful sound at 7000 rpm.

Here is the page about the build in 2010. I have since done a few more tweaks last year.
http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=81942&highlight=

Gary
 

Attachments

  • BeckM5 Dyno runs_10.9.15.jpg
    BeckM5 Dyno runs_10.9.15.jpg
    92.6 KB · Views: 330
The s38b38 is much harder on rod bearings due to the increased stroke.
The s38b35 block has correct bosses for the motor mounts to bolt into a coupe.


Rek said:
I did some research about these engines before rejecting them. I have owned E34 M5's with the 3.6 and 3.8 engines so know the fun they can be. My research indicated that the 3.8 is more highly stressed than the 3.6 and can cause more problems. The received wisdom seems to be the 3.6 is the one to go for.

At some point I might consider fitting one but opted for an Alpina B10 engine for now. One reason was the economics whereby I found a complete car which had an engine rebuild but this was hidden value as it was in a very crusty old car which had done 300,000 miles.

If I found a similar situation with an E34 M5 then I might be tempted.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top