Head off...M42....Profile Gasket??

[matcox77]

I was wondering if some of the technical guys could give us some advise on this. We have stripped things down as far as the following photos:




I think you can see in the second picture that the gasket appears to have popped out.

Is there an article somewhere that would give instructions or a what to / what not to do guide for removing the head? Not being a mechanic how do you deal with the timing chains? Do you have to take the cams out of the head or will it come off as a complete unit? Any advise would be gratefully received!

At least we had a beer while we got mucky....


Thanks for your help,

Matt.

[tourer-dan]

Can I ask what made you start the strip down in the first place? If the gasket is not seated correctly (virtually impossible) it would have been done during the assembly, however if that was thw case it would have played up from the word go.

Don't even atempt to do the Head gasket without some sort of set of instructions, or I reckon it will all end in tears.
If you get a haynes, you need the E36 book for this engine.

[matcox77]

We stripped it down because it started to loose coolant very quicky. It was running (not just a dribble) from this general area it appeared to be coming from under the tensioner. Our local garage said that it was the profile gasket as it is a common fault but was Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£ to fix.

At this point we could easily put it back together so we thought we would stop and get more information before carrying on. I am sure there will be someone on the zone that knows what to do next.

[Geeman]

Cue Demlotcrew.

I have one, but have no idea where the profile gasket fits. Does it drop into that channel you can see that runs just above the waterpump position...?

Giles.

[tourer-dan]

My 318iS did exaclty the same thing, however that was 8 years ago when my car was worth 5 grand, and I had all the work done by BMW. The bill was like a telephone number......

If you've got the room, get the instructions and do it yourself. You need some sort of special tool to deal with the cams on the M42, so research that before you start, someone here will enlighten you better.

The feeling you get when it's all finished is great and you'll be rather smug for it cosing you just Ԛ£50 in bits.

BTW. spend a bit extra and have the head crack and pressure tested before you put it all back together!!

[matcox77]

Hi Giles,

I think that the gasket has two halves and the front section goes in that groove between the chain cover plates. From the stuff I have read on the net it's the back part that is the problem and it is under the head!

Matt.

[tourer-dan]

Sorry mate, I've got confused, I've been reading Head Gasket for some reason....

Here's the profile gasket, Item 10
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=11&fg=10

Looks like you should be able to do it by removing the chain and sprockets, but I could be wrong again.....

[E30Mark]

Everything you need to know about a M42 profile gasket...

http://www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/318is ... filegasket

I cheated on my 318iS, when the head went i changed the whole engine... i keep meaning to strip down the old engine and work out how it all goes together etc and really find out what went wrong with it.

[matcox77]

tourer-dan

I had the same problem on my H reg 318is but that too was a long time ago and I sent it to an indy to do the work. This car belongs to a friend of mine and we are trying to repair it for as little Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£Ãƒ”šÃ‚£ as possible, the quoted repair cost was near what he paid for it.

I think I can remember the special tool for the cams now you have mentioned it but as yet I can not find much info and from what I have herd the Haynes book is not very good.

Thanks for your help,

Matt.

[pmaddy00]

I am in the middle of changing a timing chain on my IS. It is not that difficult!! No need of a special tool either for the Cams. I have followed the instructions on Brendan's site (see E30Mark link) all seem OK to me(I am not a mechanic)
The profile gasket is defo. sits btn the two chain's covers (top & bottom) and apparently was a big problem on M42 engines (E30),. mine looks ok, so probably wont change it.

[jello]

Howdy all,

Thanks for the tips on the M42 profile gasket problem.
It's actually my motor and thankfully mon ami matcox77 is helping me with the mechanics of it all, i am nominated torch holder and tool passer.

Cheers again!

Angelo.

[tourer-dan]

Jello, I think the correct term is 'spanner girl'

[Geeman]

not 'spanner bitch' then...

[Demlotcrew]

Ok first off you i would like to say how clean that engine looks! I would also like to add if you dont know what you are doing you will destroy the engine. Its not the easiest thing to do.

If the water is coming from the chain tensioner area then its most likely its the other side of the gasket thats gone and not the popped out section (its a little strange for it to pop out like that).

Ok first off you will need to undo the bottom crank bolt. The instructions can be found on Brendans site. (just follow that till all the chain is off)






Ok from that you can tell that the alluminium channels in the first part of the timing section of the front can rot and cause the coolent to leak out that way, so its possible thats what the case is.

Then we have,



Then,













Hope that helps if there is something i have missed then PM me.

PS G you cant call women bitches!

A

[Geeman]

Jello ain't a girl... is he?

[Demlotcrew]

[matcox77]

Thanks for the info Demlotcrew it does look a little involved. What is the situation with the special tools mentioned, do you need them? Can they be bought?

Geeman : Your ok, the girl in the photo is actually Jello's girlfriend. As well as passing spanners Jello takes the photos!

[Demlotcrew]

I would like to say you dont need them, but ive never taken the head off and replaced the gasket so i cant say 100% but i would think that you need them yes.

Andrew

[Ant]

you do not need the special tools TBH, I have them and use them alomost daily but a flat chunk O steel and an 8mm drill bit suffice for the DIY spannering sessions

theres an error on the info demlot posted, should you get the head skimmed bolt the front timing cover back on and get that machined too.

[Karan]

what were the exact running probs u had? leaking coolant---overheating.???

check the head when it is off...... it may be cracked especially if it has run hot even once!!!! i know cos ive cooked one of these and they MUST be treated properly

[matcox77]

Thanks for all the info, I thought we should show you where we are up to after day 2 and the very leaky profile gasket!



Some cleaning being done:


Smell of fuel, that will be this!


Well the parts list has gone to the stealers this morning so we will see how much that comes to. Head is going away to be tested.

Matt.

[Demlotcrew]

Good work mate!

A

[E30Mark]

Nice one! hope all is going well,

Have you checked the exhaust manifold for cracks yet? they tend to split where the pipes are welded to the carrier that bolts upto the head. Especially around number 1 cylinder...

[matcox77]

Finally running again!!

After a break for holidays and waiting for pay day the parts arrived and we started the rebuild, just got it finished in time for a quick wash and polish before the show at Tatton Park yesterday.

All seems to be ok with it and would just like to thank the zone members for the information and suggestions that helped us to complete the job!

Thanks, Matt.

[Karan]

good work mate


did u have the head tested when it was off the car