Head Gasket Leak (Oil feed passage)

[DirtyTh3rty]

I know there is a good amount of info on head gasket leaks and what not but I am just looking for some input and or advice for my situation here.

Any help is much appreciated!!

PROBLEM:
Started to notice an oil leak down the exhaust side and at first was relieved when I found my valve cover was leaking down that side so i replaced the gasket along with the rocker shaft plugs..threw in some m50 injectors and chip while i was in there =)

Sheck back on everything a week down the road and top end is nice and dry but It seems I have a small oil leak from in between the exhaust manifolds where you can see i believe it is between cylinder 3 and 4 where the oil feed passage is near the outer edge from what I have read. ?

QUESTION:
So I have somewhat conflicting info on this subject. I have talked to a specialist shop that works on a fair amount of m20's said this is a common area for it to leak near the oil feed passage and has seen them leak in the same spot even after new gaskets and said he never really seen an m20 without some oil on the block. Then on the other hand i have read online people saying they changed the gasket after it leaked from there and it stopped.

With that being said if i'm planning on doing a swap not to far down the road am I ok driving with this "common" small leak for a while or should I look into pulling the head off resurfacing and replacing the gasket and studs???


(Dont get me wrong when I ask if its ok to drive with a leak normally it wouldn't be a question for me I am pretty ocd about my toys I take care of them very well. But this seems to have been a common area and don't really want to get into the head if i'm pulling it soon and I don't have to so I figured no harm in asking.)


Like I said before any help is very much appreciated!!!

[abit]

I had the same problem with my m20, at start it leaked a bit oil, after some more speeding, coolant came in, so had to deal with it fast, as it was about month till season end, I just pop'ed off the head, cleaned everything, new elring h/g (previously had reinz), properly torqued down and it was ok till I tear engine down for winter rebuild. And engine in that time seen a lot of hi revs etc. so I believe it would be ok for longer time too.
but the reason of this was loosen head bolt, don't know how that could happen(@ first, I torqued It and It leaked less, but yeah still leaked... :D )... Form me It started to leak about after 15000 km after previous rebuild ( and I'm using engine ''properly'' :D).
at the end looked like this

[TobyB]

I'd say just keep an eye on it.
Unless it can leave a puddle on the ground
sitting overnight, don't worry too much.

If you were planning on keeping the engine forever, I'd fix it.
Eventually... when something else needed attention, too.

t

[packratbimmer]

I would address it soon. I had a high rev oil starvation clang/clack/rattle on one of my iX cars a few years back. It was not getting enough pressure at the head. The problem cleared up after the head gasket was replaced. Mine was a sizable leak though, right in the middle between the manifolds.

[DirtyTh3rty]

I had the same problem with my m20, at start it leaked a bit oil, after some more speeding, coolant came in, so had to deal with it fast, as it was about month till season end, I just pop'ed off the head, cleaned everything, new elring h/g (previously had reinz), properly torqued down and it was ok till I tear engine down for winter rebuild. And engine in that time seen a lot of hi revs etc. so I believe it would be ok for longer time too.
but the reason of this was loosen head bolt, don't know how that could happen(@ first, I torqued It and It leaked less, but yeah still leaked... :D )... Form me It started to leak about after 15000 km after previous rebuild ( and I'm using engine ''properly'' :D).
at the end looked like this

So are you saying im on the verge of coolant coming in? What is the exact cause of this because if the head gasket was actually blown wouldnt I already have coolant in the oil?
I have heard that if your crankcase breather is somehow damages or its not breathing properly it could be causing excess pressure in the block forcing the oil through the seems?
My car still runs great no white smoke great power stays very cool too cool sometimes may have to change my thermo actually after altering some things.

[DirtyTh3rty]

I would address it soon. I had a high rev oil starvation clang/clack/rattle on one of my iX cars a few years back. It was not getting enough pressure at the head. The problem cleared up after the head gasket was replaced. Mine was a sizable leak though, right in the middle between the manifolds.

How long did you have that leak for though? No coolant ever came in?

I have never had any kind of clank or crack at high revs and ive had my share of good times with it.

I know it sounds sleezy but im hoping i can just cruise on this currently small leak for a while until i pull the motor which will probably be around August maybe. But i wouldnt be driving it for 2 months in between this time anyway cause I will be in Europe.

[DirtyTh3rty]

Unfortunately I don't think im going to be able to sleeze out on this one

The rain finally stopped for a few days so i sprayed down the side of the block with degreaser and hosed it off let it sit and dry so i could really see where it is leaking from. Started it up the next day and let it idle for few minutes then went and drove it around for an hour and this is how it looks now..
Only leaking in the one spot outside the oil feed passage but its not looking so swell.

[Okieturk]

Unfortunately I don't think im going to be able to sleeze out on this one

The rain finally stopped for a few days so i sprayed down the side of the block with degreaser and hosed it off let it sit and dry so i could really see where it is leaking from. Started it up the next day and let it idle for few minutes then went and drove it around for an hour and this is how it looks now..
Only leaking in the one spot outside the oil feed passage but its not looking so swell.

Hey I am having the same issue. What was your fix? Did you end up having to replace the HG?

[ForcedFirebird]

Elring and Reinz gaskets don't have enough silicone in the oil drain back areas compared to an OEM BMW or Goetze, and since the drains are outside the head bolts, they tend to leak there. Usually it's the #1 cyl drain, but just had a car at work come in where it was in #3. Unfortunately, it's a several hour job, but if the head is rebuilt/decked and only leaking, you can leave the entire top end together, just remove the head bolts, and timing belt, then use an engine hoist to lift the head enough to redo the gasket.

[Okieturk]

Elring and Reinz gaskets don't have enough silicone in the oil drain back areas compared to an OEM BMW or Goetze, and since the drains are outside the head bolts, they tend to leak there. Usually it's the #1 cyl drain, but just had a car at work come in where it was in #3. Unfortunately, it's a several hour job, but if the head is rebuilt/decked and only leaking, you can leave the entire top end together, just remove the head bolts, and timing belt, then use an engine hoist to lift the head enough to redo the gasket.

yea the head has been decked and this wasn’t an issue before I put the new headgasket on. I’ll get in the shop and put another one on it. The gasket I did use was a Reinz and I’ll got for a different brand this time. Thanks for the info I really appreciate it.

[tomstin]

I'm almost done replacing the head gasket for the same reason. I took the head to a local shop and had them go over it. I decided to use an BMW head gasket. All the effort to replace it, I didn't want to take a chance on a cheap after market gasket.

Clearly, the previous owner(s) have done it before. Even the machine shop mentioned it. I couldn't find anything on the gasket that looked like a brand.