How many hours to R&R a oil pan gasket on a 1989 325i Bmw?

Question

also hours to R&R cylinder head, valve job,camshaft & timing belt. Please?
and R&R driveshaft?

Answer 1

Oil pan gasket, I can do it within 2 hours. pretty straight forward for this car. (M30 engines requires engine lifting, this engine does not)

Cylinder head for M20 engine takes about 4 hours to take out. Valve job should be done by a machine shop. If the cylinder head is in good shape, it would take about $4 - 500. Installation of the new head takes another 4-5 hours. After the installation, you should adjust the valve gap (takes 1 - 2 hours)

Timing belt, I can do it in 4 hours. I usually remove the radiator. While the belt is out, I usually replace the water pump in same time. For your engine, the belt tensioner is setting right next to the water pump so it would be a good idea to replace them together. (Otherwise it would be difficult to replace the water pump when timing belt is applying pressure against the water pump while installing)

driveshaft also takes about 2 hours. The replacement procedure is slightly different from Manual transmission vs. auto. but not too difficult.

Answer 2

There is not specific hours involved. It is miles not hours:
First Oil pan gasket: Don't worry about it unless it is leaking.
Second: Timing belt: You need to get you an owner's manual for that make model year and engine type for your car:
But a good rule of thumb is change the timing belt around every 50,000 miles (80,000 Kms) to be on the safe side:

Camshift and cylinder head there is no set time: Best thing is have a compression check run on the enine when having your timing belt changed. If your compression is way on down on all cylinders, or if it is way down on one cylinder. then you might want to pull the head and check the valves
BMW's are pretty good cars. They should last a while if maintained properly. i.e. oil and oil filter changed regularly. Radiator flushed and new coolant put in once a year.
The front end and drive shaft kept greased properly.

One word of warning: You get water in your gas you run the risk of busting or cracking a valve. This can be avoided by using a good brand of gas and staying away from cheap gas.

Drive shaft: Usually when you feel some slop in the drive line while starting and stopping. And depending on the road conditions. If you drive where there is a lot of water on the road you might should think about greasing it more often than your owner's manual calls for.

A good trick that can save you a lot on front end and drive line repairs if you drive in a lot of water. Instead of using standard grease use boat trailer bearing grease instead. It is not as prone to washing out as regular 4 in 1 grease.

Also if you drive in a lot of water have your rear end checked as well. (They should do this when changing your oil and greasing you car.).

You also should have your front wheel bearings greased once a year at least. Make sure they use bearing grease instead of 4 in 1 grease. Bearing grease is engineered to take the heat and RPM's where standard multi purpose grease isn't. Then is a good time to check your brake rotors and brake pads as well.

A couple of things you didn't mention are your fan belt and radiator hoses, Oops almost forgot heater hoses: I try to change my radiator hoses and heating hoses once a year at least.
I also try to change my fan belts or belt depending on which vechile, at least once a year as well. More often if I seen the belt is starting to crack and look worn. You should always keep a spare set of belts or a spare belt (if it is a poly belt) in case they break on you. I've had near new belts break. and I've rendered road side assistance to people who had just had the belts changed. You can always get a bad belt from the parts house. Hidden flaws not caught at the factory. Nobody's fault but things like that just happen.

Hope that helps you out some. If you are not going to be doing the work yourself find you a shop you can trust to do a good job and not try and have you get a bunch of work you do not need done on your car. The dealership shops in larger cities are the world's worst about that. Note I said larger cities. In smaller towns they are usually OK! Pretty honest. They might be a little high but they are still pretty honest and do you a good honest job.

Oops almost forgot this one keep your battery terminals clean. They get corrided you can have a fully charged battery and the car will not start it will act like you have a dead battery. And once it starts corriding it will eat your battery cables up back inside the insulation where you can not see it.

Answer 3

All I can say is that Sang K seems to know what he is talking about. I do not know if these are IAW BMW labor guides but they are about what it take to do the job. And as said, as long as you do not have to lift the engine it is fairly easy.

Answer 4

this is warranty time. customer pay time is normally 1.5 times warranty.
oil pan --- 2.875 hours
head ----- 6.5 hours
valve job - 6.875 hours(suggest machine shop for that)
timing belt-2.25 (thats for water pump, which you should replace when you do a timing belt)
driveshaft-- 1.75