Head Gasket problems.

[custom e30]

its not the bitch tube, its called the tube of death...lol

[efficient]

I want to do this aswell to learn from it. Maybe after I buy a bentley manual

[bmwstudent]

where in nj are you. I can handle this repair no problem but ill want to do it at my shop. Give me a pm if interested I'm in north Delaware.

[BergerNJ]

central nj. the jersey shore.


no way would I tow to you lol.....

I found tow local shops that I have to give a call

one of them, when you drive by, all you see is expensive sports cars getting tuned...but they advertise repair on anything.

gt40s' srt8's, m3's, audi's....you name it

the other is a second shop a town over, another performance oriented shop but I didn't hear as much about them compared to the first....will visit in person and see what they say....

I like showing up acting as a dumb person to test their knowledge.....I do know about my motor.....just dont have the tools or experience to work on it confidently.

[ekurty]

central nj. the jersey shore.


no way would I tow to you lol.....

I found tow local shops that I have to give a call

one of them, when you drive by, all you see is expensive sports cars getting tuned...but they advertise repair on anything.

gt40s' srt8's, m3's, audi's....you name it

the other is a second shop a town over, another performance oriented shop but I didn't hear as much about them compared to the first....will visit in person and see what they say....

I like showing up acting as a dumb person to test their knowledge.....I do know about my motor.....just dont have the tools or experience to work on it confidently.

i feel im in the same situation as u... even tho i need a valve job done which has been quoted to me at 2-400 buks. if i can take head off and bring it to tha man to do it, it will cost me 2-4 hundred. whereas i let him do all the work it will b 9-11 hundred. i want to save this extra labor cost, but am uncertain. i believe i will end up takin the bitch work (takin head off, reinstalling), because the way i see it... that is the easy work. internals i kno i dont have the experience or training to work with, but between my manual and this forum.... i feel fairly confident in doing. situations r different... i agree.. but savin a huge a labor charge is the focus of this post.

[ekurty]

*fairly confident in removing/reinstalling head. internals tho, no confidence.

[e30trooper]

Easy easy job. My first time took 8 hours. I bet now I can do it in less than half. Parts are cheap.

[BergerNJ]

fuck it....doing it live.

me and my girlfriends 1 year is this weekend...so not taking it apart then....but next weekend I will pull some acc. belts to diag the noise, hopefully finding the issue with the belt....then i will start taking it all apart.

[stamar]

Ok well its best to read a chapter over and over and visualize.

Thats why I prefer to do it in 3 days, also, the 2nd day you pull the head off and drive it to the machine shop.

focus on all the things to remove, the intake, the belts the fan is tricky read about that part.
take off the timing belt etc, do all the job of a timing belt job basically make the marks and then stop thats usually enough mechanics for a day. Intake manifold. plugs... theres a LOT of stuff to take off I feel its better to seperate it in two steps...coolant oil.... If you have a step by step pick a number to stop at whether beforehand or see how it goes.

the next day , its just take out timing belt the head bolts and the head and then start cleaning the block...and taking pictures too because you can see it right there whats leaking. Big point to SEE what had been giving you the symptoms you were driving. This should be an easy day or half day.

The last day put a, the gaskets and the head, new head bolts in with the torque wrench. replace the timing belt. putting stuff back on is usually twice as fast. the last day is the toughest day of 3 though and if you want a day 4 just get the basics done of the head and the belt back on and leave the last day for final assembly, which is all basically maintenance level stuff.

So figure everything before you take of the head is basic mechanic stuff. including the fan which is tricky.

The part of taking off the head and the timing belt Is all advanced mechanics So I think that day you are focused and Read up on that for day 2. a short day of advanced mechanics.

putting the head and timing belt on is advanced mechanics you have as much time as takes and dont be in a hurry.

Then once its back on, everything else is just maintenance level mechanics again. As long as nothing catches you by suprise you can do it.

The worse you can do is break a head bolt, and lose the timing of the car. So on day 2.... dont do that be ready and fully prepared to do your tasks and not do those things.

[e30trooper]

Might as well do it all at once. Get that head out. Order all new gaskets and sensors. Get that head set out to your local machine shop to get decked and checked for cracks. Better to do it all right the first rime.

[Aleman]

Which Sensors?

Might as well do it all at once. Get that head out. Order all new gaskets and sensors. Get that head set out to your local machine shop to get decked and checked for cracks. Better to do it all right the first rime.

Which sensors? I'm doing this for the first time, too, and I want to replace everything I should while it's all easy to access. My head is out at the shop getting inspected with new guides & seals etc.

All the tips above are good. I'd add that you can make your own cheap fan holder tool by simply drilling a hole in a 1" x 36" piece of metal. Works like a champ! Instructions are here (about 1/2 way down the page):

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/119957

Remove your hood for easier access.

+1 on the OEM head gasket. I have also heard the Victor Reinz gaskets are no good!

Good luck & take your time.