Pulled head to replace head gasket.....Doh!

[ELVA164]

My money is on warped/cracked head.

[Preyupy]

Define "toast". That's like getting a call from your doctor and all he says is "you are f#%£ed" and then hangs up.

[roguetoaster]

Define "toast". That's like getting a call from your doctor and all he says is "you are f#%£ed" and then hangs up.

Now picture a stereotypical Australian doctor saying that, and it gets way more funny.

[c0rbin9]

Head rebuilds are surprisingly good value on E30s. $800 for a brand new engine basically, pretty cool.

[Dagamus(NM)]

Or just buy a used one on here. Stock used heads go between $200-300.

That would lead to a much better return on you selling the car.

Tell us a bit more about the car. What condition is it in?

Clapped out Vert, yeah probably walk away. Straight body with decent interior coupe, definitely fix it.

[DrJosh]

Now picture a stereotypical Australian doctor saying that, and it gets way more funny.

Ur foked m8

[BaltimoreBimmer]

Head rebuilds are surprisingly good value on E30s. $800 for a brand new engine basically, pretty cool.

Can you elaborate on this?

[ForcedFirebird]

Probably cracked under the cam journals, just like ~10 cracked ones I have on the shelf here.

[Julien]

post a picture of the car.. and then get a used head on her

[steelynorm]

reviving thread and issues

So I found a head from RYAN GMW. thanks Ryan.
he gave me a good deal said it was ready to go.
I slapped it on with a Victor Reinz HG kit sourced from Pelican.
After a month.. sorting through other issues. Car seems to be running fine and I notice that I am losing coolant and then I discover I have coolant leak between the head and block in the exact same place.


Hindsight being 20/20 I should have done many things differently.
I guess I was hoping for the best.


I am going to pull the head soon.
I am going to get it pressure tested and skimmed.
if all checks out, what then????

I took a straight edge to the block.
What are the chances of it leaking in the same spot?
Bad block?

[jeffnhiscars]

I'd say you answered your own question....VR head gasket. Unfortunate that you missed the 1000 posts saying " don't use those"

[steelynorm]

I totally get it, but I don't believe everything I read on the internet .
But to have a leak in the same spot?
Does that sound like a poor head gasket design?
Jeff you have a ton of posts on this site ? How often have u heard of engine block failures ?

[jeffnhiscars]

I can't give you any science on why the VR gaskets are frowned upon other than the number of people (including guys who do it for a living) who have had them fail and won't go near them.

As for blocks "failing" if you haven't thrown a rod through the side of the block or had it freeze and crack, stock blocks tend to be quit durable. Damage to the face is another story

[ForcedFirebird]

Generally the VR gaskets leak at the oil return ports, but wouldn't put it past them to leak coolant too.

The major reason they are of poorer quality is the amount of silicone applied to them. Goetze and OEM BMW even look and feel superior when holding them in your hand. I have comparison pics, lost in photobucket unfortunately...

[Kershaw]

I have had three VR head gaskets leak on me. I installed them on 3 different cars. It was always oil near cylinder one. But as FF said, I wouldn't be surprised if they leaked coolant too.

What surface prep did you do to the head and the block?