Head Gasket Gone?

[Felix79]

Hi all , my 1st post . I just baought a nice 325i Cabrio on a 87 E 104k tons of paperwork ect. did a test drive and everything was perfectly fine as this is now my 3rd E30 ( 1st 325i ).

As I was driving yesterday on the motor way one of my radiator pipes burst , steam every all over the shop. Pulled over and RAC guy replaced the pipe and filled the system back up and off I drove. About 50 miles on the temp shoot upto max and I just stopped and got the RAC out again. He did a number of test to see if gasket gasses were getting in the coolent but it came clear, but the temp stayed on max when driven.

The exhuast has been pumping out alot of steam ( white with no funny smells and no real blue colour ). Could this be the start of the head gasket going out as luquid is leaking in the exhuast system?

I not risked driving it bar just to run around the block to see how it behaves and it was slowly going up to max heat after about 25 - 30 mins. On idel the temo needle remains in the middle as you would expect.

[maxfield]

Heads are like chocolate on these things!

Is there any mayo on the oil cap?

[Felix79]

Cap is clean as a whistle , no white gunk at all. Bucket loads of steam comes off the ehxuast and the temp slowly rises to max.

[fuzzy]

if the exhaust is pumping out alot of steamand its overheating that sounds like the head gasket to me, how long have you had the car?

[beardymat]

sounds like youve got a leak between the cylinder and water jacket which is pressurising the cooling system hence the burst pipe. could be head gasket or cracked head. not all head gasket problems leak water into the oil or vise versa so mayo on caps is not conclusive.

[Felix79]

I had the car about hmmmm 24 hours.

It only started steaming after the pipe burst , also it only starts steaming once it is warm, when cold not even a puff comming out of the back.

[fuzzy]

24 hours? sounds like youve been sold a dog. take it back.

[Sanchez]

I had the car about hmmmm 24 hours.

It only started steaming after the pipe burst , also it only starts steaming once it is warm, when cold not even a puff comming out of the back.

when cold there wont be any steam, its like a kettle the water heats up then you get steam.

[Felix79]

Well the previous owner actually given me £300 back to put towards fixing the problem . The RAC guy thinks with the pipe going it caused the chain of actions that prolly donald ducked the gasket. Thing is before the pipe went it drove amazingly well , and the time between break down 1 and 2 ( some 50 miles more ) it was fine , I did push it a little hard then the over heatign started again.

This moring I just got it running again and see what is going on. Even with this problem and I am guessing I got about a £500 bill comming my way I am still really happy with the car , even the RAC guys said she was a stunning example , just the usual rust on the rear arches.

[Felix79]

Just rechecked the oil cap after running it and got the dreaded mayo now, so it's a head gasket all right. Any idea how much I be looking at to get this job done and length of time for it to be done?

[redchurch]

I'm pretty sure it'll be mostly labour (parts are cheap) so call around and get a few quotes. I always get the parts myself, euro car parts is usually good. I had to get the gasket changed on my jeep recently, part was £100 from the dealer and £90 an hour, I got a gasket set off the web for £7 and found a mobile mechanic who did it for £25 an hour so it only added up to around £200.

[Felix79]

Got her booked into a good BMW specilist they said expect worse case £800 max ( cracked head ect ) but they recon it will be around the £400 margin if the heads not got any cracks. So hopefully in a weeks time I will have it back and a very empty wallet

[325ic-bondy]

i had the exact same thing happen on my 325i cabby. i lent the car to my mate last august when he came over for a weeks holiday from the states. he said at the time he thought that it was on its way out. so, i checked the cap and it was full of goo. i pulled the head off, got it pressure tested and it was cracked. zaust managed to find another one for me. same thing, but it had a crack running the full length of the head. i then got a head off nelly. and, yes. it was cracked. nelly swapped it for another one which was ok. what a nightmare. be prepared for the worst mate. i was almost at the point of selling it for bits. all done now and moted it today.

[Bally]

I had the same , unless your engine is low mileage it may be cheaper to buy another engine , they go for about 2 to 300 pounds for a good runner, then find somewone to fit it, (Nelly did mine in January to cold for me and no engine hoist and lack of knowledge), if he has refunded £300 this will cover the cost of a second hand engine also change timing belt and check clutch (if manual) while you swap them over at least you will have these major items covered. good luck

[Felix79]

Latest news I got from the garage was they didn't think it was looking too bad at all. They will start stripping tomorrow but they think I may not have to worry to much, will find out more tomorrow day time.

Everyone that has seen her said she is in really good condition ( bar the arches need doing ) , the engine has 104k on it but before the radiator pipe blowing on the motorway she was running soooooooooo smoothly and sounding so nice. I keep my fingers crossed that I wont be with out my new toy for too many days

[325ic-bondy]

it took me 9 months to sort mine out. i hope for your pockets sake that it all goes sweet. before i bought my car, the lady had the head gasket done because the rad blew. her mechanic fitted a new rad and did the gasket. the head was probably cracked way back then. luckily, i only give 850 for it.