bug*er - cracked head

[JCB]

oh eck - just found out the very nice and shiny engine in my 325 is actually buggered as it has a crack in the head. i was at mallory on sat and it was getting very hot - this explains why !! anyone got a 325 head for sale ?? my BMW specialist tells me this is a common problem on 325 heads. he says he used to get 6 month old cars coming back to the dealership when he worked there - an inherent design flaw with the casting he reckons. i have no reason to doubt him as he a good bloke. he advises a brand new casting just to be sure. he says a recon one is not worth it as it might crack again. again - no reason to doubt him as he says he will make less money out of a new head. any comments / advice / points of view ??

[Andy335Touring]

Just had a look on the ETK for the suggested price for a new head and it's 1100 quid !

[JimmyC]

Might aswell cross post from LOT:

Sorry to hear but TBH I'm not surprised, driving it on sat with know HGF and over heating would more than likely end up with that result Least you had a fun day out of it

Get a second hand head from a breakers on a return and swap if the one they supply is crap.

I got my 3rd or 4th one which was good from BM Bitz in Canvey, they agreed if it was cracked to swap or refund me. I went through a couple from the zone and donations that all showed up cracks when tested. What ever you get, get it skimmed whilst they test it prior to fitting.

New heads are silly money and a breaker should cost you just shy of £100

[JCB]

thanks - i need to think this one through. the labour cost of re-assembling the head it significant so i dont want to get one that is only going to last me a short time.

perhaps i didnt explain myslef properly about the gasket - its in perfect condition apparently and as soon as i realised the car was getting hot i came off the track and stopped so i dont think i have done any damage knowingly. i think it is a common problem and i am just unlucky !!!

[JimmyC]

Sorry, misunderstood what you were saying whilst we were at Mallory then. Thought that was why the funky fan wiring was on.

I was chatting with you with the Fox brothers, mine was the half prep'd racer that I was running the new engine in on.

[JCB]

was yours the grey car next to me. the one where i saw you jumping it from another battery on the floor ??
the fan wiring was because i thought the thermostat was not working - the temp guage was going up and the electric fan was not coming in. i now realise that this was probably due to the water system not having enough pressure . it was weird as everything was just so gradual. the first two sessions everything was fine except for needing a bit of water . then it started getting hot - cured by the fan switch. then it got really hot and i had to come in. but no bangs, no puffs of smoke, no oil in the water header tank.
ive only had the car since august and only used it about 5/6 times. apparently had an engine rebuild just before i bought it - i guess if they used the original head it makes no differnence !!
oh well - at least i didnt crash. its only money !

[JimmyC]

Yep that was me, good spend that £100 odd quid on a race battery that was brand new and totally shagged- mad!!

It's just one of them things, if makes you feel any better, I'm loosing water in my brand new build withs some residue on the dipper- I see rebuild number 2 coming along!! its only done 250 miles

[JCB]

so far a web search has found new heads for £616 inc vat

see here : http://www.headcentre.co.uk/pricepet.html although it doesnt say what generation 2.5 this is ?

[calder]

your cheapest possible option:
buy another car for £25 from ebay/local small ads with no tax mot
remove head, throw the rest of the car away......

[JCB]

not worth the risk of a used / recon head when the car spends 2 hours at 5/6k revs every track day !!! I splashed the cash and bought a new casting. total bill....er ....um....well lets say it was over a grand !!! ouch ! never mind - car is running and did a full day a rockingham last week. cheers.

[Taffy]

Keep an eye on the temps, I've known new heads to go as well, they are all prone to cracking when on track as you have to remember they were NOT designed for it