Do I need a new head gasket?

[my_bmw_sucks]

I apologize in advance for the long story. I was at Thunderhill over the weekend. On my first lap the upper connection on my radiator failed and my engine severely overheated. I only noticed the issue on my second lap when smoke was pouring out the back of the car. When I got back into the pits I found the radiator issue and oil pouring down the side of the block on the exhaust side of the engine.

I was able to drive to Sacramento and get a new radiator. When I filled up the cooling system there was a lot of oil in the coolant. In my mind it was clear that the head had warped and oil was seeping past the head gasket.

The next day I had to limp my car 50 miles to make it within the 100 mile radius for aaa towing. On the drive I checked the oil , coolant, and temp frequently. The temp gauge never moved and no coolant was getting into the oil. I decided to brave the remaing 100 miles.

When I got home I flushed the radiator and to my surprise the coolant stayed clear. No chocolate milk. I've been driving the car hard for the last two days and have not had an issue. Did the head settle back into place?

I will be trackng my car frequently and eventually turning the car into a SE30. Should I bite the built and pull the head, have it decked and install a new head gasket? Or should I just thank my lucky stars and soldier on with other things I know need doing?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Zane

[ncsubowen]

Seems prudent to, rather than risking it. Especially if you plan to track it, you should go ahead and take care of that, maybe deck the head and some bolts. If you can do the work then you should be able to get out under $400 and you'll have a lot more peace of mind.

[TobyB]

It's fairly unusual for oil to get in the coolant- much more likely for coolant
to go everywhere else. There's only one oil passageway under pressure, and it's not
in a particularly weak area. If it was mine, I'd drive it a bit more, and if it bothered me,
or if I started losing coolant, I'd use this as an excuse to freshen the whole head
while you're in there.

I had a hose pop off at PIR this weekend, and likewise, dumped 1 1/2 out of 2 gallons out.
Filled it back up, and no problems whatsoever. Several people wandered by with similar
stories about their race cars- these motors aren't shrinking violets, by any means...

Now, the f*&#ing tow rig, that's another matter...

t

[my_bmw_sucks]

Thanks for the advice. Last night I decided to just pull the head to be on the safe side. Glad I did; there is oil seeping from the front of the engine at the head gasket. Probably just a mater of time before I have another issue. Man I wish I had a garage.

[tractioncircle]

If you haven't put the head back on already, get the Goetze head gasket. The VR gasket is prone to leaks.

The oil leak you had at the front of the block is pretty common on M20's apparently. But is usually not serious. Even mine has it.

[my_bmw_sucks]

Thanks for the reply. I ordered the VR gasket kit but will supplement it with another HG; either Goetze or Elring. The gasket that was on the car was a VR gasket. When I pulled the head it was just seeping. But at the track where I was having the majority of issues it was really leaking out, enough to where it left a small puddle under the car within a matter of minutes when I pulled into the paddock.