E30 Zone

ok in my previous post i mentioned that there was a liquid being spat from my exhaust, it is accompanied with white smoke, i caught some of the liquid and discovered it wasnt petrol. My conclusion now is that the head gasket is gone and that the liquid in the exhasut is leaked coolant. What my assumption be right? is it a big job to replace the head gasket and are we talking big mony? thanks, o by the way its a 1990 318is m42

It could just be condensation. Is the car using a lot of coolant? Have you got "mayo" on your dipstick or oil filler cap?
It is a pretty big job and you also need to replace head bolts, timing belt,tensioner, etc, etc....
A garage would charge about £500 I reckon. But you may get a zoner who live's nearby to do it a lot cheaper.
Does the car overheat?

dont see any "mayo" on the dipstick, and dont seem to be over heating. but it seems to be smoking a good bit for just condensation

bump

sorry guys, whats the 'bump' thing about, can someone please tell me, in my area it means rip off...

sounds like rings or valve guides if its white smoke. the water coming out of your exhaust is most definatly condensation.

is your car lacking power? noisy valve gear?

if your head gasket is gone youll be usiing a lot of coolant and most likely your oil will look like the top of a capacino.

In forum land it means "bumping my post back to the top"


My 325 smokes quite a lot too. White smoke, the oil goes from the top mark to halfway between the two marks in about 3-4k miles and the coolant is rock steady. There is no mayo. I reckon its just burning a bit of oil, which apparently is nothing unusual with these engines. Every engine produces condensation but it shouldn't be producing any once it/the exhaust has warmed up (it will be steam by then).

if its your head gasket and she's getting hot, for the love of god stop driving it!

an m42 head will crack so easily you wouldn't believe it

THEN it becomes an expensive job!!!

i had no change from ┚¬1000 last year whenit happened me

white smoke is most likely just steam/ condensation. Especially given the cold conditions at this time of year, it will be more common.

Water vapour is a bi-product of combustion, so when you switch the car off there will be water vapour that condenses into water and sits in the exhaust system/ baffles etc.

Does the car still produce this when it has warmed up and been driven for 10+ miles?

Blue smoke is when you are burning oil. Blue smoke on start up is most likely valve stem oil seals. Blue smoke on constant driving or when giving it some beans is more likely piston rings.

A head gasket where it has failed between the exhaust port & water system would not provide any mayo into the oil system. Is the cooling system pressurised?

I would hold fire before ripping the head off etc as it may be nothing to be worried about.

ok cheers for the advice so far. I think i hold fire for a while before i royally shit myself. Shes off the road at the minute so when i put her on the road ill give her a good bit of driving and see whats shes doing then. I dont see any other major symptons that its the gaskey for now so fingers crossed!