Head gaskets

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Permalink Reply by Ron (Anglian Regional Rep) on March 3, 2009 at 8:33pm

Head Gaskets can be bought from GSf (German Swedish French) or Wilco and some Halfords and of course BMW I wouldnt keep driving you car if the gasket has gone..

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Permalink Reply by white36 on March 3, 2009 at 10:03pm

If your head gaskets gone I wouldn't drive the car, it could cause the head to warp which would then need to be skimmed before refitting or the same problem could come back. I've never done a head gasket but I'm sure I've heard that you need to change bolts or it's recommended?

I have heard of a quick fix, I think its something you put in through the spark plug hole. It's a bit of a bodge job but it might do just now? I'll try and find out about it and let you know.

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Permalink Reply by Richard-РИЧАРД on March 4, 2009 at 4:19am

Holy Crap...driving with a blown head gasket...definite No No...
I blew mine and limped it home and ended up with a warped head...$1000 worth of head work and a plus size gasket.
Don't take the risk get it sorted quick....

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Permalink Reply by Richard-РИЧАРД on March 4, 2009 at 4:20am

A follow up for Whites comment about head bolts....yes they are meant to be replaced

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Permalink Reply by Gordon Cotter on March 4, 2009 at 12:07pm

There is almost always water condensation in oil. The scum on the inside of the oil filler cap shows this. If you took the rocker cover off you would have a fit at the state of the oil sludge in there. All this is due to bad maintenance. Lack of oil changes etc. An engine flush is most appropriate. following instructions. I would never suggest a cheap head gasket. Europarts are very good. (Located all over the country) You can re-use the head bolts providing the threads are good and the heads are not rounded. Always use a torque wrench. Most importantly have the head checked for warping. This can be righted by skimming. Do not take short cuts as this is false economy. The symptoms of head gasket problems are many, it depends on where the head is blown. ie between water jacket and cylinder, causing water to flow out of the radiator, or Cylinder and oil gallery, causing water to get into the oil , and out the exhaust. The way you write you do not say if you have power loss, most certainly should have with head blowing. Not a job for beginners though.

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Permalink Reply by Richard-РИЧАРД on March 4, 2009 at 1:34pm

Gordon...sorry to disagree but to save later woes I would replace the head bolts...they are known to stretch and the last thing you want after rebuilding is it to blow again because of a head bolt....Replace them as par for the course..
Been there done that once...2nd time I insisted they change the bolts....
If you get the head skimmed you may need a plus size gasket these are readily available from BMW and not too expensive

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Permalink Reply by Neil "spanner" on August 1, 2009 at 4:54pm

My only concern about skimming the head is you are taking more metal of one part more than the other so to have a flat face for the head gasket, the rest of the head now has a slight bend in it, as the cam bearings are line bored this is going to put a very slight strain on those journals taking them out of line, with high performance engines like ours they need to be 100% perfect. That's my opinion

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