um...is my headgasket no good?

[El Gato Liso]

hi all

i did my m50 swap over a year ago, but now i think my engine took a shit. well, it goes like this...

i turn on the engine. and exhaust is burning mad white smoke on a cold start. eventually when hot, white smoke either goes away or just lingers.

maybe after a good 30-60mins of idling with no r3ving, the coolant expansion chamber goes BOOM and coolant shoots out...as if 1 giant air bubble forms out of no where.

and before its mentioned, yes, i bled the system properly, with the heat on maX.



any suggestions.?

thanks !

[StereoInstaller1]

Suggestion? Buy a compression tester and use it. Should be under $20, read the instructions and do it properly, that will tell you enough to know if it is toast.

[328ijunkie]

"30-60mins of idling"

Does the car overheat while its idling for an hour?!

[Mr.SWISS]

I would re torqe the bolts to 75lbs before I yanked it in case one backed out and allowed it to gap. Run a few heat cycles and see if it subsides, if not a decking and fresh gasket will be in order.

[El Gato Liso]

well compression test resulted about 210psi per cylinder, with like 2 adjacent cylinders reading about 195 or just below 200psi

i dont get this m50....dont get it at all, but its burning coolant. what a head ache...

[StereoInstaller1]

So if your compression is that high, you may have a cracked head, a cracked block or a broken water pump.

[e30rapidic]

like they said above, you need to start with the cheap stuff. Check torque specs on the head bolts first. If they are ok, then have a cooling system pressure test done. Hopefully its the gasket and not a crack....

[DesertBMW]

well compression test resulted about 210psi per cylinder, with like 2 adjacent cylinders reading about 195 or just below 200psi

i dont get this m50....dont get it at all, but its burning coolant. what a head ache...

Very common, small crack at the head resulting in combustion pressure leaking into cooling system.

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