What a nightmare

[paultv]

So I'm trucking down the A10 south of Paris en route to Bordeaux, covered about 600km, suddenly the car starts to sound odd with a miss or two, then clouds of white smoke out the back, smell of oil too, pulled over and shut her down as the temps were also going up too. Horrible knocking as I stopped the car. Now seized as well, so looks like head gasket and possible piston or snapped valve, oil was still squirting out of the head joint at the rear by cylinder 6.

All in all a bad day as I was on my way for a weeks work, thanks to ADAC the car will be trailered back home and I'm now driving a French Twingo, oh the shame.

Looks like I've got my winter work cut out, but what a pisser.

Paul

[ChrisHC]

Sorry to hear that, what bad luck!

[magpie]

oh dear , it's shit itself badly

[ah]

Also sorry to hear that,are you talking about the 325i cab

[paultv]

Yup it's the cabby

Apparently it'll be back in a week or so, I'll pull the head off and have a look, photos of course!

Paul

[martauto]

Sounds terrible mate, did it just give up ?

Mart.

[paultv]

Hey Mart,

I'm not sure exactly what's occurred, but I'd say head gasket first, but I was doing about 70mph, saw the smoke and registered the missing and pulled up as soon as I could, judging by the noise I think something broke in there.

Hope I get the car back without some monkies pinching bits off it,
That's my main concern.

Have to start looking for a recommended machine shop around Dortmund.

Paul

[Satan]

You where getting too close to Dover..................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV5e2HA6XkU


Joking apart shitty thing to happen and good luck with the repair, keep us updated and if parts/shipping is required then let us know as there are cheap Polish transport companies that travel through Germany if you need anything transported.

[paultv]

Just to add salt to the wound, I finished my work and drove the wretched Twingo 1150 miserable kilometers back home on a day that was perfect for the cabby, peerless blus skies, 28 degrees, light traffic - instead I pushed this plastic gutless wonder to its limits, for what I can only describe as a pathetic driving experience. Flat spots, zero acceleration, uncomfortable, crap all round, just makes you realize how great the BMW is to drive, the fun, the noise, the smiles.

Hope the old girl is delivered safely!

Paul

[paultv]

Howdy all,

So we are back! Short update, car is laid up in the garage here, and the head is off revealing two breaks between no 6 cylinder and the waterways in the gasket - compression tests before strip down gave me between 170 and 190 psi across all cylinders - bore wear appears minimal - still have to check for roundness in the cylinders and flatness of the block and head - I'm replacing the camshaft as its pitted - and we'll see what else after the head is stripped.

Doesn't appear to be any damage - the "seizure" after I stopped the car was due to 6 being full of water, doesn't compress too well!

Paul

[magpie]

well it's not too bad i guess , a new head is easier on the pocket than a new engine , i have a good 885 head here from a 56k mile car but needs a snapped exhaust stud on cylinder 4 removing if you get stuck .

[martauto]

Howdy all,

and flatness of the block

What will you do if the block is not flat Paul ?

Mart.

[paultv]

Thanks for the offer of the head, I'll see how I get on, I've also got a broken exhaust stud that someone has tried to drill out, it's a right mess, and also 5 has a cross threaded plug, so it needs to be sleeved.

If the block needs attention it's off to the machine shop as well,

Paul

Head Gasket Damage

[paultv]

And I've started cleaning up the block as well....

[paultv]

This photo posting is great!

Paul

[paultv]

So the head is perfectly flat, no warp, good news!

Paul

[Steve]

This photo posting is great!

Paul

If you click on Place inline you don't get that nasty attachment box

Sorry to hear about your engine

[martauto]

This photo posting is great!

Paul

Mart.

[martauto]

So the head is perfectly flat, no warp, good news!

Paul

I thought it would be but I was very curious to know "how" a block could warp and what some people would do to sort it out.

Mart.

[Brianmoooore]

So the head is perfectly flat, no warp, good news!

Paul

I thought it would be but I was very curious to know "how" a block could warp and what some people would do to sort it out.

Mart.

It's unusual, but can happen. Sorted by skimming, just like you would a head.
In an engine with an iron block but an alloy head, there is movement which grinds the head gasket every time the engine is warmed up or allowed to cool. Eventual gasket failure is inevitable.

I'd recommend a light skim for that head, lightly recutting the valve seats and checking for wear in the exhaust valve guides, but before doing any of that, remove the cam and carefully examine the two cam bearing journals near the back of the head for a crack running through the face nearest the head, just in case enough overheating occurred to cause damage, although this is much more rare with the 731 head compared to the 885.

[paultv]

Thanks Brian, good tip, at least the head appears not to have been skimmed before, at least the gasket appears standard in terms of thickness.

I reckon I'll have the machine shop give it the once over and have them do the spark plug insert and damaged threads.

Paul

[paultv]

here's a couple of shots of the camshaft lobes:


Paul

[martauto]

Hi Paul, they look well past it mate, do you have any pics of what they "work" against ?

Mart.

[paultv]

here's the exhaust rocker arm shaft which has a hole in the end created by a previous over enthusiastic owner or grease monkey
attempting to drive it out, or in??

The result would be reduced oil pressure in that shaft causing excessive wear.

Paul

[paultv]

and here's a rocker which shows considerable pitting and the edges look very rough... meanwhile the eccentrics are perfect, they've covered about 5K miles.

Paul

[Brianmoooore]

Reminds me of a 885 head I once rebuilt where the shafts had been hammered into place with so much force that the ends had 'belled' and would no longer pass through the D shaped cutouts in the head when I tried to remove them. I had to grind them down in situ.
Never underestimate the incompetence or sheer stupidity of previous owners of any car you own.

[martauto]

Never underestimate the incompetence or sheer stupidity of previous owners of any car you own.

Mart.

[paultv]

it's crazy, everything I tackle on this car is really damaged or abused - I dare not pull the block and check the crank

Paul

[martauto]

it's crazy, everything I tackle on this car is really damaged or abused - I dare not pull the block and check the crank

Paul

Very good time to do it Paul, then you know what you have.
It`s worth thinking about if you are keeping her as it sounds like.

Mart.

[paultv]

Yup, I agree, but the car was always super lively - drove like a rocket, had good compression - maybe I just pull the bottom end, polish the crank, fit new shells, hone the bores ... blimey I'll have no time for the day job!!

Paul

[martauto]

Would you have to balance the crank after ?

Mart.

[paultv]

a bit further along with the rebuild - I've had to drill out and re thread 3 bolt holes in the head, as well as two exhaust studs which had been previously knackered, one had been so badly drilled I've had to put an M10 stud in with a helicoil.

Just doing the valves and seals - don't look too bad for a 150K miles- here's no.1 exhaust before lapping:

Paul

[paultv]

.... so after slow progress and problems with some parts, the head is back on today - all new cam, rockers and rocker shafts;

cam belt tomorrow, just found a sheared bolt hanging out the steering pump mounting bracket - bugger, more drilling before I can put the beast back together.

Paul

[Tot]

looks clean,wat did u use to clean the block surface and piston heads? nd is it a necessity to clean the piston heads or more of a cosmetic thing

toy

[Brianmoooore]

......... as well as two exhaust studs which had been previously knackered, one had been so badly drilled I've had to put an M10 stud in with a helicoil.

Don't forget to check that the exhaust manifold face is flat before refitting it. It's warping of the manifold that stresses the studs.