Head Rebuild From Shop Question

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

Somewhat of an unnecessary post, but I'm just a bit antsy...



How long should it take a shop to remove my head, get it machined, and replace a couple of valves/anything damaged from a money shift? (yes I know the damage could vary, and I understand that)



The shop I'm getting it done at said they'd be able to get it done by the end of this week.

I brought the car in last Tuesday (I believe) and left a deposit with my father Wednesday/Thursday. They're open Monday-Friday 7AM-6PM if anyone is curious.

The background on this shop is that it's a "performance/repair shop" that probably see's a decent amount of domestics, mainly mustangs it seems, over euro/imports. You think they'd still should easily handle a head job on a pretty basic inline six, right?



Just curious what you guys think as I occasionally, including today, have rolled by the shop and seen my car just sitting outside (also in the same spot I left it in) and I'm losing my mind



I'm not trying to rush them in any way, but is there something I should do?

They haven't said anything to update either me or my dad, which isn't a huge deal as I'm being patient. More or less I'm just curious how long you guys would expect if you were in my position.



Appreciate ANY feedback and sorry if I sound like a naggy teenager, just has been 80 days in counting since I've had my car work for more than a week, due to my own pitiful mistake.





TLDR: My car is in a shop to get it's head pretty much "rebuilt" and I'm curious how long it should take. Shop is a decently known shop, not just an Indy shop.

[m3f_englishtom1596q]

An afternoon to pull the head. If the machine shop has the parts in stock they can clean it, pressure test, deck, valve job, guides and reassemble in a day. Install on the car another couple of hours. That's all best case scenario but obviously the machine shop won't be sitting around waiting for your head to arrive and I doubt will have parts on hand for a 90's BMW.


Last head I had redone because of bents valves was a VR6 head and they turned it around in less than 24hours with valves, guides, seals, valve job and decking.

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

An afternoon to pull the head. If the machine shop has the parts in stock they can clean it, pressure test, deck, valve job, guides and reassemble in a day. Install on the car another couple of hours. That's all best case scenario but obviously the machine shop won't be sitting around waiting for your head to arrive and I doubt will have parts on hand for a 90's BMW.


Last head I had redone because of bents valves was a VR6 head and they turned it around in less than 24hours with valves, guides, seals, valve job and decking.

Hmm. From this I want to say they'll be on time, but I'll say maybe next week at the latest hopefully...


If they do quality work and aren't shady about anything I'll be impressed because I'm just feeling mixed about everything IDK why.

Seeing my car outside is bugging me pretty bad, but I understand they have work to do on other vehicles too.

[m3f_englishtom1596q]

Hense why 90% of us on this forum do our own work. When you do something yourself you know it's done right. I've worked in many shops over the years with many mechanics. Most of the guys I've worked with I would never let near my cars.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

But even us DIYers use machine shops and someone has to get the head to the shop and pick it up and the shop may be too busy to do it right away. If it needs a guide or valve the shop may have to order parts and wait.

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

But even us DIYers use machine shops and someone has to get the head to the shop and pick it up and the shop may be too busy to do it right away. If it needs a guide or valve the shop may have to order parts and wait.

I'm not going to set any deadlines in my head, but I'm going to guess it should be done by the end of next week for this reason... Hopefully it doesn't have to sit outside for days on end anymore after this... Not a fan of that

[m3f_betrezra]

I can say from experience getting quality work + good price + reasonable time-line is a rarity.


And trust me high price does not mean quality work on time......... .

Also name-brand tuners have issues as well..... from my experience......


All of this leads me to do as much as I can on my own.... and only farm out the things I can't do at home.... paint, machine shop items.


I used to do everything myself due to lack of $$$...... college days..... . then I started to make some decent $$ so I thought well I deserve to have this car work farmed out...... and I found out most places do a shotty job, cut corners, lose half the fasteners... etc...... so now I'm full circle..... I do as much work myself not due to lack of $$$ but due to interest in quality!!!!


GL.

[m3f_JitteryJoe]

My engine has been in the machine/rebuild shop for almost 2 months. I pulled the engine. Good shops have a backlog. Sometimes a very lengthy backlog.

[m3f_bmwbob89]

They might have pulled the head and pushed it outside.

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

I can say from experience getting quality work + good price + reasonable time-line is a rarity.



And trust me high price does not mean quality work on time......... .

Also name-brand tuners have issues as well..... from my experience......



All of this leads me to do as much as I can on my own.... and only farm out the things I can't do at home.... paint, machine shop items.



I used to do everything myself due to lack of $$$...... college days..... . then I started to make some decent $$ so I thought well I deserve to have this car work farmed out...... and I found out most places do a shotty job, cut corners, lose half the fasteners... etc...... so now I'm full circle..... I do as much work myself not due to lack of $$$ but due to interest in quality!!!!



GL.

Yeah after my car is given pack, and might I say HOPEFULLY, in one piece I plan to DIY mostly everything, or take it to the independent mechanic that I've trusted before... I'm so pressed over all of this just because the shop has somewhat mixed reviews online but I have friends who vouch for them with their domestic car.... I just dunno.

Thanks for the wishes though because I feel like I'll need them. Not too sure how my beauty/valve cover will look when I get it back... Praying they didn't leave it greasy or misplace it LMAO

My engine has been in the machine/rebuild shop for almost 2 months. I pulled the engine. Good shops have a backlog. Sometimes a very lengthy backlog.

Agh... I was told sometime Friday that the head was in the machine shop for two days already. Judging from that they had the head off in quite a timely manner so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and expecting it still around the time frame I stated earlier.

They might have pulled the head and pushed it outside.

From the phone call my dad told me about, that's exactly what they did.

My dad told them I was bitching about it being outside with the head possibly off and the receptionist told him that her husband (I guess the owner??) is pretty anal retentive about the things he does. I'll take that as another +.

I just want it back in my possession in all honesty.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

Shops make money by using their work bays, not by parking cars in them while they wait 2 days for machine shop services. Few shops have indoor warehouse space to store cars. You must be realistic about this. Had you ordered an exchange head from vac or autohead or just bought a used one and sent it out in advance, your job might have been done all at once. Though maybe a domestic shop would not know all the small parts it should have on hand for a headjob. A BMW independent shop should.

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

Shops make money by using their work bays, not by parking cars in them while they wait 2 days for machine shop services. Few shops have indoor warehouse space to store cars. You must be realistic about this. Had you ordered an exchange head from vac or autohead or just bought a used one and sent it out in advance, your job might have been done all at once. Though maybe a domestic shop would not know all the small parts it should have on hand for a headjob. A BMW independent shop should.

I can understand that. I would've looked into an exchange if my head wasn't considerably damaged. A used head would've been too iffy for me so I went with just getting my head worked on at a shop. I could've looked into a BMW Indy shop but the majority of BMW specific shops around where I live are 30mi + and would cost quite a bit to get towed so I went with a local performance shop...

I know it should take time, I just hope all the time it's taking is being spent right and not just letting it sit there being a burden to whoever is working on it.

[m3f_thirtysixnick]

Might as well post and update and see what opinions/thought I can receive...


SO after having the finishing date being pushed back about 4 more times, I was told my car would be done last Friday for sure. The owner of the shop got it all together and running, but didn't want to rush it out the door so he said he'd come in the next day (Saturday) even though they're closed to make sure it's 100%.

After a long shift at work Saturday I was expecting to finally get the call that it was good and ready, but once again, it seemed to be quite the opposite.


From what my dad told me he heard over the phone, the car is throwing a code for something lifter related???????

I'm curious if this is possible as I've done a bit of research and haven't really seen anything for a code on an S52 throwing a code for lifters.


From when I rolled by to get a peep not too long ago the sunroof motor cover had popped off, guessing due to heat and 20 y/o clips, and they could now just be stalling to get that fixed??? IDK I'm kind of bothered but they said it should be done today.


Opinions and thoughts on this situation are very welcome.

Thanks.

[m3f_westopher]

From my experience these things never go smoothly time wise. Just make sure you hold the shop accountable for the quality over the time taken. Good luck, it will be worth the wait if done right.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

Lifters can bleed down from extended nonuse. The result is usually ticking, but it typically goes away with a little driving as the oil pressure pumps the lifters back up. Don't think there is a lifter code.


We could only guess at the code, but doing a head job involves disconnecting part of the wiring harness so something may not have been reconnected or reconnected properly. It also involves re-timing the cams and if I had to guess, that is where the shop screwed up. They probably have a vanos mechanically jammed code or a related vanos code. It is also possible they left the cam sensor in the head and it got damaged during removal or reinstallation or by the machine shop and simply needs to be replaced.


Hopefully you will be back on the road soon and the bill won't be too big and you will be determined to learn how to DIY. I am not a mechanic by profession, but think I do a better job than most on my car. That does not mean I know everything -- I have made friends with a couple of professional mechanic over the years and they have helped me out on projects at times. There are good DIYers in this and other forums who will also help you, perhaps for a fee or a present or a donation, work on your car. The more you do the more you learn. And there are many more great DIYs with pictures than when I started DIYing before the internet.