325i leaking from head gasket by bulkhead (oil that is)
Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 2:44 pm
Afternoon everyone. Just looking for any available advice really from the people that know best!
As the title suggests, it appears as if my 325 engine is leaking oil from the head gasket at the exhaust manifold side at the back near the bulkhead.
The engine runs nice and cool not overheating (touch wood), doesn't seem to be losing any power (touch wood again), or losing that much oil (touch wood a third time), but I don't want to leave it and leave it and then it causes something more serious. I think I might have driven the car back from Spain like this without too much problem but I am not sure. Also, I think oil is dripping onto the exhaust which is coming into the car and gassing me out from time to time! This could however be electrical wires burning as my brother has been patching up the electrics and when one thing gets fixed, it seems to spark another problem off, and when my mate was following me to the MOT station this morning he said my lights seemed to be flickering when I was driving either on acceleration or when I was putting the passenger window up and down (another problem that is hopefully just the switch) -he was not in the car with me so I couldn't make out which was the cause of the flickering).
It is in for it's MOT retest as we speak at my local friendly Garage, and I was going to ask them fror a quote to do the head gasket and the gearbox seal/s (car has been laid up for a while so that/them has gone -they noticed this on the MOT).
I don't want to do it myself as I know it mnight not be super staright forward. I know this because when I put a 6 branch manifold on, it didn't quite fit (got it cheap) so from memory, I think I left one bolt out and tapped a new hole half on top, half to the side of a broken stud that I could couldn't get out. At the moment it doesn't blow believe it or not, but I am worried that if I take the manifold off to do the gasket it might blow forever more.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this, i.e. is it going to be a better idea to get a new head (where can I get one from -none on eBay), or skim the old one with the dodgy stud holes? Also does anyone think the head gasket might not be leaking, and what might the costs be at a garage around Wakefield (that's near Leeds), as I have no time to do it myself at the moment if it's not a staright forward whip off, take for a skim and put back on job. Also, the gearbox seal needs doing ASAP otherwise there will be no oil left in the box so how much is the part approximately, and how much to fit? I normally do everything myself (or my brother does electrical stuff) so I don't know how much things costs, and can't afford to get ripped off, so any advice is welcome, including anywhere local to me that I might get any of the jobs done for a reasonable price.
Cheers
Ed
As the title suggests, it appears as if my 325 engine is leaking oil from the head gasket at the exhaust manifold side at the back near the bulkhead.
The engine runs nice and cool not overheating (touch wood), doesn't seem to be losing any power (touch wood again), or losing that much oil (touch wood a third time), but I don't want to leave it and leave it and then it causes something more serious. I think I might have driven the car back from Spain like this without too much problem but I am not sure. Also, I think oil is dripping onto the exhaust which is coming into the car and gassing me out from time to time! This could however be electrical wires burning as my brother has been patching up the electrics and when one thing gets fixed, it seems to spark another problem off, and when my mate was following me to the MOT station this morning he said my lights seemed to be flickering when I was driving either on acceleration or when I was putting the passenger window up and down (another problem that is hopefully just the switch) -he was not in the car with me so I couldn't make out which was the cause of the flickering).
It is in for it's MOT retest as we speak at my local friendly Garage, and I was going to ask them fror a quote to do the head gasket and the gearbox seal/s (car has been laid up for a while so that/them has gone -they noticed this on the MOT).
I don't want to do it myself as I know it mnight not be super staright forward. I know this because when I put a 6 branch manifold on, it didn't quite fit (got it cheap) so from memory, I think I left one bolt out and tapped a new hole half on top, half to the side of a broken stud that I could couldn't get out. At the moment it doesn't blow believe it or not, but I am worried that if I take the manifold off to do the gasket it might blow forever more.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this, i.e. is it going to be a better idea to get a new head (where can I get one from -none on eBay), or skim the old one with the dodgy stud holes? Also does anyone think the head gasket might not be leaking, and what might the costs be at a garage around Wakefield (that's near Leeds), as I have no time to do it myself at the moment if it's not a staright forward whip off, take for a skim and put back on job. Also, the gearbox seal needs doing ASAP otherwise there will be no oil left in the box so how much is the part approximately, and how much to fit? I normally do everything myself (or my brother does electrical stuff) so I don't know how much things costs, and can't afford to get ripped off, so any advice is welcome, including anywhere local to me that I might get any of the jobs done for a reasonable price.
Cheers
Ed