Piston Rings

Hi All,

First of, I would like to introduce myself to the forum, My name is Louie, I'm kinda desperate to get some professional information on how to repair a blown piston ring, if any of you had some experience on how to repair a blown piston ring? Please, give me an idea where to start, I've been working on many different kinds of vehicles as a hobby, but when it comes to Europian cars? I'm kinda intimidated by them, so any help I can get from you all kind people of this club? It will be much appreciated. Thank you in advance and hope to hear from you soon.

PapaLou13 signig off

How are you Louie? I wish that I could tell you that there is an easy fix but there isn't. To replace piston rings requires a complete tear down of the engine. You will need to remove the oil pan to unbolt the connecting rod caps and then remove the cylinder head to remove the piston replace the rings and then reinstall the piston thru the top. Basically you might as well rebuild the whole engine.

BMW I6s have incredibly strong bottom ends....things like "blown rings" are rarely heard of. How did this happen ?
Also, what year is the car, and how many miles ?

Thanks John, for responding, my other question is if I take the head cylinder out and get a valve job? will the piston ring be replaced? I never worked on an engine like this before? this is different form american engine by far.

Originally Posted by papalou13

Thanks John, for responding, my other question is if I take the head cylinder out and get a valve job? will the piston ring be replaced? I never worked on an engine like this before? this is different form american engine by far.

Thanks for answering my question....

What you`re discussing is a job for the *very* experienced mechanic, and running well into the many thousands of dollars range. Better off thinking about a scrapyard engine to replace the current one....cheaper and easier by far, compared to a rebuild job.

I'm sorry Bob, what happened was my niece drove this car for 31k miles without changing the oil, it's 2004 325 CI, I think it has approx. 125k miles on it, thank you for the info, I've been shopping for a rebuild engine, no luck so far.

Originally Posted by papalou13

I'm sorry Bob, what happened was my niece drove this car for 31k miles without changing the oil, it's 2004 325 CI, I think it has approx. 125k miles on it, thank you for the info, I've been shopping for a rebuild engine, no luck so far.

Scrapyard engines are FAR cheaper than rebuilt, and come with some type of warranty. If you`re serious, I can put you in touch with a friend who has connections in Alabama. They ship all over the country.

Do you have a name and contact #? Do you have any idea how much will it cost me plus shipping??? Thanks for the info