After only 3 months...

[ck_taft325is]

... I blew a head gasket on my "fresh, great running S50". Compression numbers from cylinder 1-6 sequentially:

#1: 210
#2: 155
#3: 122
#4: 152
#5: 160
#6: 180

I have the worst luck it seems. Here's my boy inspecting the bitch in question with me:




Here he actually almost said, "You're fucked..."






So, shenannigans ensued with my very, very good friend, Luke (StereoInstaller1). As pictures say more than I can, here's our 5 hours of progress as documented by my Defy...

Intake and Valve Cover already off:





VANOS and timing gear off:




Cam's and cam trays coming out:


Success!



Removed:



Culperit:


Evenings end and a mess of semi-organized parts:



At least everything looks fantastically clean and tidy on the inside. Timing sprockets look cherry which is a mild headache avoided.




The irony in nearly all of this is that my retainers look as though they've been chewed by a sexually frustraited Rotweiler with a mild coke habit. So, disaster avoided and a bit of a bright side. Head gasket kit, retainers, VANOS rebuild kit (seals and rings) are all on their way hopefully within the next week. Heads off for pressure testing and decking. As you can maybe see there's no significant evidence of a catastrophic head gasket failure. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that the head isn't fuckered at this point. If my luck turns around, all will be well, install as Bentley says, will be "the Reverse of Removal" and I'll have my little heap on the road again with a tad bit more peace of mind in regards to the previously mentioned valve retainers.

[gregslow318i]

seriously what did you do in your last life that gave you such bad luck?

also figure out a way to get up here to grab the cam tools...no way a c-clam is going to time it correctly and not worth the risk with your bad luck.....

[ahriley91]

Shit dude...that blows. And like you said, it does all look very clean, looking good.

[browntown]

Gawd that looks like a complicated mess. I'm liking my decision to go single cam more now.

Good luck

[george graves]

What's the name of the things the cams sit in? Do they have a name?

[Matt-B]

Just cam trays, he posted it lol

[ck_taft325is]

You'll also notice a lack of "chocolate milkshake". The compression numbers say head gasket. The lack of coolant says head gasket. The head gasket and general oil oily-ness say something else. Here's hoping it's not the head ;)


If I could I would, Greg. Orting to Seattle is a trek with no vehicle. I don't want to push or drive Luke's Astro van he graciously let me borrow any more than I absolutely have to. As it is I've missed a day of work just because I can't get there. The real irony is I went swap to have a "more reliable" car. Kills me at this point with work being skinny as it is and having a general lack of money. Throwing it at an engine isn't quite what I expected this month but hey, I do what I have to. If I can I'll pull another 60 hour work week and make it up for spending Valentines Day under our only working car to the wife. She's being great about it, but, I don't want to kill her so far very, very good will.

[Jparkr]

Hope everything works out Chris! Sucks that this happened. Sorry I wasn't able to get you into my shop ASAP but I'm glad it looks like is all coming together.

[lolcantturn]

And I thought doing the head on an M20 was surgery.. props man.

[StereoInstaller1]

Guys, as scary as that looks, it ain't that big a deal. All the parts come apart logically. The timing of the VANOS isn't any really big thing either, as long as you apply logic.

We are gonna split the cost of the VANOS tools, as I have an S50 too, and have not yet checked to see if I have the early retainers or not. Early retainers = head comes off, unless BMW says they already did it.

Chris, we still have to strip that head fully. They need the valves out. Call me later, I am building boxes right now.

[ck_taft325is]

Guys, as scary as that looks, it ain't that big a deal. All the parts come apart logically. The timing of the VANOS isn't any really big thing either, as long as you apply logic.

We are gonna split the cost of the VANOS tools, as I have an S50 too, and have not yet checked to see if I have the early retainers or not. Early retainers = head comes off, unless BMW says they already did it.

Chris, we still have to strip that head fully. They need the valves out. Call me later, I am building boxes right now.

Oh bouey for us. I'm just praying it's not a fucked head.

[ck_taft325is]

Hope everything works out Chris! Sucks that this happened. Sorry I wasn't able to get you into my shop ASAP but I'm glad it looks like is all coming together.

Parker, you're the man already. I understand about the lack of time and shop space with all you've got going on. Again, you let me know if you want a hand in the shop and we can work something out. I'm a RIDICULOUSLY fast visual learner and competant at following directions. Ask Luke ;) He'll tell ya I'm a marvelous help and once I have a few directions and order of operations down, I only get faster.

[Van Westervelt]

Sorry to hear about this! You will be back on in no time though!

24v head gaskets are soooo easy to swap out. m20 hgs take longer. GL, and if you guys want to buy the vanos tools from me, I doubt I will be using them anytime soon, lol. I also have the cam removal bracket. (Pelican)

[LJ851]

Your compression #s are pretty lousy, did you leak down the motor as well to find out where your air is going? It would be a shame to do all that work and not fix that problem. If you didnt leak it , pressure testing the head and making sure all your valves are sealing properly would be prudent. The bottom end would be harder to evaluate. Good luck!

[ck_taft325is]

Sorry to hear about this! You will be back on in no time though!

24v head gaskets are soooo easy to swap out. m20 hgs take longer. GL, and if you guys want to buy the vanos tools from me, I doubt I will be using them anytime soon, lol. I also have the cam removal bracket. (Pelican)

Toss me a PM. I'm actually very interested. Need the cam locks as well. I don't think our C-clamp idea will work with re-assembly ;)

Your compression #s are pretty lousy, did you leak down the motor as well to find out where your air is going? It would be a shame to do all that work and not fix that problem. If you didnt leak it , pressure testing the head and making sure all your valves are sealing properly would be prudent. The bottom end would be harder to evaluate. Good luck!

If you could, explain a bit more? Everything on the bottom end looks pretty damn good. The head is going to the machine shop to be pressure tested I believe. And making sure the valves are seating properly how would we go about it?