Timing belt bearing no more!

[lowd239]

I was driving my 325is and the engine cut out on me all the sudden. Turns out the timing belt is fine, but the timing belt bearing is no longer with us.

My mechanic said he would charge $1500 to replace the cylinder head but this much money is out of the question so Im going to replace it myself. A few questions I had are

a.) Will the pistons be damaged from the valves?

b.) Is it absolutely necessary to get a new head gasket if I replace the head? (im poor)

c.) Would it be cheaper to fix the head or just find one at the junkyard?


Thanks for the help!!

[5KWattson]

a. not usually the valves stems are so much smaller than the rods that the valves (unless straight on with the pistons) will bend first

b.yes you can not reuse a standard head gasket

c.junkyard if you are going for all out cheap

[Atreus]

would a compression test suffice here? they "typically" don't cause some massive piston damage, i had my belt chew itself to oblivion, and my pistons/valves were fine, rocker arms were another story. i heard somewhere that those would fail before the piston head in the event of a TB dying on you.

you will need a new HG. i used a victor reinz, but some people on r3v have complained about it. well i'm under 5k on it, and it seems to be holding up...

you might as well get a TB/Waterpump/Thermo/HG kit.
and if you're lucky, you can score a good condition head at the JY, but that is absolute budget build for sure right there, lol.

when you put that head back on, don't forget the breather tube from the block to the Int. Manifold, you're gonna want another set of hands there for sure. i hated that thing!

[StereoInstaller1]

Whatever you do on that low of a budget is only going to fail again.

You will need at least $200 in parts and "stuff".

Park it: get a bus pass: save you coin.

[Ruffian]

a.) Will the pistons be damaged from the valves?

b.) Is it absolutely necessary to get a new head gasket if I replace the head? (im poor)

c.) Would it be cheaper to fix the head or just find one at the junkyard?


Thanks for the help!!

A. they will be damaged, but more like scarred and usable.

B. Yes, and you'll need new head bolts, timing belt and tensioner and a collection of other stuff. Probably upper end gasket set as well for valve seals.

C. Cheaper to fix, IF you have the tools and knowledge to do it yourself.