E30 Zone

I've never managed to get my m30 to stay bled properly. It'd go fine, but then the water level would go down after a journey... no mayo anywhere so I figured there was just a leak somewhere. & yep, I found that leak (this is just from squeezing the top hose):





So is the m30 head made of cheese like the venerable m20, or is it 'just' new gasket time? Would have been nice if I'd at least managed one journey when I thought I'd properly finished the swap, but hey. I've managed a few 150 mile journeys in it (& it ran fine - blimmin lovely tbh), & was hoping to do the same again this weekend - am I now taking the sodding slow POS diesel Caddy, or is it not gonna do any more damage?

****.

head gasket by the looks of it mate

dont think a cracked head would show up externally..

if its not mixing coolant/oil then keep it topped and it should be fine, might have just gone round a coolant channel

thats why i had mine done before it went into the car. could u not try the head bolts a re'tourque them??

I'd be going the radweld route if it was mine mate

john

would that k-seal stuff work also?

K-seal had crossed my mind John... but it leaks that much with just the pressure from squeezing the top hose (the engine hasn't run in over a week so it was dry) so I really don't think it would stand a chance... would it?

Jaff - nice thought on the bolts, but that's a tad wishful thinking I think!

Cheers Jhonno (& Adam) - makes sense, & I really don't want to drive the Caddy up the motorway - thought I'd done that for the last time when I finished the damn engine swap! Oh the irony of never having a single problem with an m20. Boll*cks.

id give k-seal a go mate, it worked for me when mine was chucking water out like that

Really? Blimey. Gotta be worth a try for the sake of a tenner I suppose - local place sells it...

id definatly have a look at the head bolts and then k-seal it. other than that its headgasket jobby or my engine lol

Ziggy wrote:Really? Blimey. Gotta be worth a try for the sake of a tenner I suppose - local place sells it...

remember my 320 at le mans? the day after we got back it sprung a rather nasty leak, so bad that it went through 6ltrs of water in a day untill i k-sealed it and never did do anything else about it

blitz877 wrote: remember my 320 at le mans? the day after we got back it sprung a rather nasty leak, so bad that it went through 6ltrs of water in a day untill i k-sealed it and never did do anything else about it

Impressive! Mine's nowhere near that amount - it must have lost about a litre on a 180 mile trip.

jaffro wrote:id definatly have a look at the head bolts and then k-seal it. other than that its headgasket jobby or my engine lol

But what would I look for? Can't see them coming undone, or dya reckon one might have snapped? If it was an M20 at least I'd know to be looking for a new head already!
K-seal feels like a bodge, but sod it - the car's been off the road for too damn long recently.

24 valver time?

Sorry mate, thats a right c**t. Buy a few new headbolts and torque em down proper and see if it makes any difference. Highly unlikely. I suspect the gasket has a small 'burn' on it and its not sealing very well anymore, you might just be 'lucky' and its not seaping into an oilway.

whip the head off.... gasket kit of euros and do it yourself mate, shouldnt take too long and u cant really go that wrong

dont try any temporary radweldesque bodges as it may fail in a big way soon and that will just piss you off if you are doing something important at the time

I had a sierra do this to me with an oil gallery. I just re-torqued the head and it never leaked again! I would give the studs a tweak and keep an eye on it. If that doesnt cure it, its a gasket job.

either that or have my newly done engine lol.

Jon_Bmw wrote:24 valver time?

Sorry mate, thats a right c**t. Buy a few new headbolts and torque em down proper and see if it makes any difference. Highly unlikely. I suspect the gasket has a small 'burn' on it and its not sealing very well anymore, you might just be 'lucky' and its not seaping into an oilway.

Heeeell no. Just have to drive it to know the m30 rules! Ah who am I kidding, it's a ****ing POS at the mo, but I'll like it again soon I'm sure.
I'm so chucking some laughing gas at it once this is sorted & my LSD is rebuilt
Doesn't seem to be any contamination of the oil - I've been keeping a close eye on it.

Karan wrote:whip the head off.... gasket kit of euros and do it yourself mate, shouldnt take too long and u cant really go that wrong

dont try any temporary radweldesque bodges as it may fail in a big way soon and that will just **** you off if you are doing something important at the time

You're probably right... not the sort of thing you want hanging over you anyway. Just a PITA, & I've definitely not got the time this weekend - & I want to use the car!
Didn't come across a guide on a quick google search - anyone know of one?

Ritchie wrote:I had a sierra do this to me with an oil gallery. I just re-torqued the head and it never leaked again! I would give the studs a tweak and keep an eye on it. If that doesnt cure it, its a gasket job.

Hmmm... might be worth a try, but I don't rate my chances tbh!

jaffro wrote:either that or have my newly done engine lol.

Why ya selling it mate? How much?!

ziggy if your serious about having your diff rebuilt and soon I can deliver to kevo wed/thurs or fri next week as I'm in swansea. PM or call me if I can help out dude!

And serves you right for ditching the m20

march109 wrote:ziggy if your serious about having your diff rebuilt and soon I can deliver to kevo wed/thurs or fri next week as I'm in swansea. PM or call me if I can help out dude!

Coolio! Yeah definitely need it done... Not about all weekend, but I'll be able to drop the necessary couple of diffs (ratio change too!) off to you early next week? Cheers

And serves you right for ditching the m20

cool, call or PM me for my address but I'm in the Charminster area of Bournemouth, I'll take them up for you depending on when they are ready and you need them for I may also be able to bring them back for you!

Are you in contact with Kevo? I need to know where he is and let him know I'm dropping them off for you!

jaffro wrote:either that or have my newly done engine lol.

Why ya selling it mate? How much?! [/quote]
ive had a change of heart a want to go the m50 route

ziggy did you sort the leak out??