318iS engine locking on start up in the morning

[Dave441cc]

Hi guys, For the past month my car has been having a issue, When I go to
start it in the morning or when the car has been standing for a period of
2-4 hours.

Go crank it , some times get a rotation, sometimes it completely locks up and
Will not move. Only after waiting a few minutes with the starter engaged, it struggles to cranks but starts. As soon as it's running it misses a little but clears within few seconds.

The car is using water and being winter now i get steam from the
exhaust but no white or blue smoke otherwise.

My thoughts are maybe the head is cracked, HG is on it way out or profile gasket
Gone maybe.


: There is little mayo on the oil filer cap and dipstick
: The car never overheats regardless of mileage driven
: After I have been for a drive and remove the rad cap overnight . In the morning the car starts right up, no locking , no missing , sounds strong .

Any help would be a blessing as this really getting to me ...

Mileage is 209k

Cheers Dave

[AndrewBird]

Sounds like a cylinder is filling up with coolant. Do a compression test to check for a head gasket leak. Pressure testing the coolant system would be a good idea too. You can rent the tools from an auto parts store.

[jlevie]

After the car has been parked for 24 hours, pull the plugs and crank over the engine. If a cylinder sprays water the head gasket has failed (or the head is cracked).

[jrobie79]

happened with my m42...diagnosed it to be a head gasket failure via compression & leakdown testing...I ended up swapping to a known working m42 as the engine was cheaper than the head gasket kit, and only took a few hours more than changing the HG

[TobyB]

Sounds like a cylinder is filling up with coolant.

t