what does a blown head gasket/ cracked head sound like?

[magicswan20]

what does it sound like? or will it even turn on? car is a 1987 bmw 325es.

[bejbis]

might want to tell us your symptoms, there are lots of things a blown HG can do, from making your coolant turn to chocolate milk, to hydrolocking the motor.

[Dillinger]

Sounds like $500 ~$1000.

[downernsp]

Sounds like $500 ~$1000.

X2, it will run like crap, and like they stated above more info what are you exactly asking. Do you see clouds of smoke coming from tail pipe, water looks like chocolate? and if you blow a head gasket from cylinder to cylinder on compression numbers will be high,but again more info needed.

[magicswan20]

haha ya i know it costs that much to fix. here is what happened:

So im heading home on 275 from st. pete. its pretty congested going thru the tampa area. so as im going along at a snails pase i start to smell like something burning. i look around and then i start to see steam coming from somewhere. then as i stop i see its coming out from the front of my car. so i pull off 275 and park it on dale maybery. when i opened the hood the radiator hose was disconnected and there was fluid all over the place. so i filled up the coolant reservoir with water and reconnected the hose and let it sit and cool down. after i let it sit for a while and the coolant light went off. i drove it a couple blocks, than the burning smell came back and steam started coming out again. the hose was still attatched. so i parked it and discovered that the radiator fan was not working. i left it over night and came back the next day and drove it to cars and concepts. (where it is currently) they put a new radiator in, engine mount, new hoses, and fluids in. when i went to drive it back home, something didnt feel right, its hard to describe but when i would go over 2000 rpms the car kinda made like a rattling noise. so i took it back to cars and concepts. they were working on it and i was talking to them, and they were telling me i probably cracked a head/ blew gasket when the car overheated. so i told them to stop working on it and put it back together. they advised me not to drive it.

[DEV0 E30]

[magicswan20]

thanks. idk how that helps, but ok.

[TopOfTheLine89]

is smoke coming from the tailpipe? Check your dip stick to see if the oil is milky. Loss of power?

[magicswan20]

def loss of power. after i let it sit over night and while i drove it to the shop it sounded fine. but it ran out of coolant in just a short distance. now after a new radiator, hoses, engine mount, fluids, belt, etc... were installed. i felt a power loss for the short distance i drove it. i didnt see any smoke and i assume they would have told me if the oil was milky. also, when i went to drive it home, when i would get to around 2000 rpms it would make this weird noise, i dont know how to describe it, but something along the lines of like a vacuum sucking up a bag or a piece of paper. when i pushed the clutch in, it would kinda go away. then it would come right back.

[Hallen]

A shop should pretty well know if you had a blown head gasket. Did they not test drive it after doing all that work? So to throw out the idea that you might have a bad head gasket without anything to back it up is a bit strange. No compression check? No visual inspection? They just said it might be a bad head gasket and shrugged their shoulders? If so, take the car someplace else.

The noise you describe sound more like a vacuum leak than a head gasket. I suppose it could be a head gasket if it were bad enough. But you should have oil or coolant coming out at the point where the gasket is bad and that should be pretty easy to spot.

[magicswan20]

hmmm... the car is at a pretty reputable shop. when i went to pick it up they were just driving it out of the garage as i was pulling in. when i took it back after trying to drive it home. they said they would look at it. i called them and asked what was going on and they said that they were looking/taking it apart. they said they were getting ready to run a compression test. thats when i asked how much it would be to repair a cracked head/blown casket. they told me it would be more than what the car was worth. so i told them to stop working on it. i am trying to sell it now because i am leaving for the air force in like 2 weeks. i dont have the time or cash to find out whats wrong and fix it. idk whats a good asking price for it?

[nando]

never put cold water into an engine that's overheated...

[bejbis]

i assume they would have told me if the oil was milky.

You assume too much, pull the dipstick and take a look at it. Assuming you know where the dipstick is.

See how that works? :up:

[magicswan20]

thanks. the water i put in was from a whole buncha water bottles that i had in the trunk for like a month. they were pretty warm. but ya i shoulnt of filled it up without draining it first. i wasnt thinking at the time i was in panic mode.

[magicswan20]

i know where the dipstick is thank you. i checked the dipstick when it all happened. and the oil didnt look at all milky. a little low, but not milky. and they checked it before i left the shop.