Cracked head?

[BochumBass]

Hi, I've just spent the last 2 hours scanning this forum for some answers, and it's made me very paraniod! I posted yesterday concerning a problem with my 1985 320i, but no-one answered ... so while trying to find some info tonight I stumbled across a few threads which concerned me.

The main problem (amongst others) with the car is this: It's generally fine when used regularly (eg work and back, sometimes evenings), but if left for say, 20 hours or more without use it is really hard work to drive for about 10-15 mins. It seems to "hold back", even if you have your foot flat down on the accelerator, but will suddenly shoot forwards at normal pace, then jerk a bit more...and so on...whilst idling it sometimes makes a "grumbling" sort of sound and the revs drop a bit. The best cure for this seems to be a good blast on a straight road for a few miles, then everything is back to normal. I was thinking maybe the temp sender for the ECU? Leads and plugs? All the faults that seem pretty common...then I found a couple of threads saying it could be a cracked head?

From what I gather, water can leak into one of the cylinders, stoping the car from firing properly when started. Until the water has dried out, the car will drive badly, which I imagine would take a few minutes with a warm engine? I havn't noticed excessive coolant loss, but it does seem to be going down a little quicker than it used too, which is another thing which has got me thinking this is the problem...

So, does this sound like I'm on the right lines (I'm a begginer and have no idea about anthing more complex than changing plugs!) or am I being paranoid? Any comments would be greatly appreciated, eg: other possibilities, remedies etc and does a cracked head mean basically game over unless you have money to throw away? I love the car but I have to draw the line somewhere!
Thanks and sorry about the long post!

PS...if this sheds any more light on things - I havn't been able to start it since leaving it untouched for about 35 hours over the weekend...trying but just won't fire.

[E30BeemerLad]

hello mate, not certain of your problem, but a good way to check on water being in the bores is to whip the plugs out and crank it over and see if it pisses water out the plug holes.

If you've read other threads about cracked heads or headgaskets going, then look for the white sludge under the oil cap on a cold engine and signs of oil contamination in the coolant.


this website is a useful source of info http://www.bimmerdiy.com/e30

[optima]

also it can cause to much pressure in your rad and hoses. but dont panic there are plenty of e30 out here if your head is gone. you just gotta keep your eyes open. i got a e30 318 with a shit body and a good engine and it was less than a gasket set serious infact it was free i swaped it for a remote control car. and with a very limted knowledge of cars (hanes manual) and a hammer i changed it over the weekend finshed it today. the hardest part was the bonnet. just get a few friends and it easy. look in the adtrader for ones with no mots and tax bargins

[Dan318-is]

am i not correct in saying mayo under your oil cap in the morning? or is that head gasket?

[optima]

it depends on where the crack is piston to coolant, coolant to oil (mayo in the cap) or piston to oil (BANG good bye engine)

[BochumBass]

Cheers for the replies so far...I've checked for the mayo and all seems ok there. I'm hoping to take the plugs out tomorrow if it's still light after work but doubtful! Would it be a decent indicator of water in the bores if one (or more) of the ends of the plugs was cleaner than the others?
Makes sense to me but I know very little!

[keith52]

The colour on the tip will be a lighter shade of :, when starting up from cold remove one lead at a time ( use an insulated tool or you'll get a kick )
and you should get a distinct drop in the idle speed if that cylinder is ok if not, that probably where your problem lies Try all the leads noting which ones don't change engine note. A bit hit and miss i'm afraid unless you take the car to get the system pressure tested but not expensive to do

[Jon_Bmw]

As far as i know and from what i've read you have a 320?? If so they do not crack as easily as the 325 heads. You are part of the 731 club I believe and hence these heads don't have the usual 325 cracking scenario. I could be wrong though.

Was the idle lumpy whilst or before these problems were occuring?

[BochumBass]

As far as i know and from what i've read you have a 320?? If so they do not crack as easily as the 325 heads. You are part of the 731 club I believe and hence these heads don't have the usual 325 cracking scenario. I could be wrong though.

Was the idle lumpy whilst or before these problems were occuring?

Yes, it's a 320i (1985)...the idle has always been a bit erratic (rising and diping slightly once the engine is warm) but not "lumpy". I did have problems last year but had the rotor arm replaced, which made a huge difference to starting and general running/idling. The lumpy idle only occurs when the car is in it's first 5-15 mins after starting (having been sat for 20 or so hours +), once it's had a decent run it returns to normal, which suggests to me it's warmed up and dried out. I'm not certain how long the car has had the problem as until 2 months ago I used it very regularly for work, but now I can walk to work so don't use it as much, hence it sits for longer periods and the problem appeared.

Thanks for all suggestions and help so far, unfortunately I've been unable to start it since Saturday so all tests which involve having the car running are impossable at the moment!

[TOURINGDADDY]

Hi mate if u do need a 320 head ive got one that has been rebuilt and guarnteed good 100 notes and its yours. has a new cam valves tapets etc

[JOSEMI]

Keith52 wrote

when starting up from cold remove one lead at a time ( use an insulated tool or you'll get a kick )
and you should get a distinct drop in the idle speed if that cylinder is ok if not, that probably where your problem lies Try all the leads noting which ones don't change engine note.
A bit hit and miss i'm afraid unless you take the car to get the system pressure tested but not expensive to do

Sorry for stealing the thread for a mo: you mean starting up the car and remove the ploug-leads one by one ?? is this possible without damaging the engine ?? Jose

[BochumBass]

Hi mate if u do need a 320 head ive got one that has been rebuilt and guarnteed good 100 notes and its yours. has a new cam valves tapets etc

Cheers mate, I'll bear it in mind if you still have it and I end up needing a new one.

[TOURINGDADDY]

when it did start did the exhaust release alot of white smoke/steam if so then a cracked head could b to blame or a cracked water jacket in the block

[BochumBass]

when it did start did the exhaust release alot of white smoke/steam if so then a cracked head could b to blame or a cracked water jacket in the block

It did tend to release a fair bit of white smoke/steam, although this did seem worse on cold/damp mornings so I always put it down to general moisture in the air...if only I could get it started I could check all these things!