head gasket/profile gasket??

[Ammaco]

Are the head gasket and profile gasket the same thing in a m42 engine? or are they 2 diffeent things? thanks

[Geeman]

2 different things.

One is for between the head and the block, the other is for the front timing chain casing.

See part No. 10 for the profile gasket



...and No. 1 for the head gasket

[Ammaco]

ok now im unsure which i need to replace. Here are the symptoms if it helps any:

The car is smoking a lot at the exhaust, long after start up

The temperature needle on the dash stays up in the red and does not return to the middle

If you turn the heater on in the car after driving for a while it just blows out cold air

The pipe to the radiator is still cold after driving

Also ive heard a tapping noise under the bonnet somewhere

Is it best to get ther car pressure tested or what? and which would be the most costly to replace the head or profile gasket, hope this makes it clearer, thanks

[Geeman]

The smoke and heat may be two unrelated problems.

I had the same problem with the over heating, so I replaced everything I could. This included the radiator, waterpump, thermostat and all related pipework. I also removed the viscous fan and replaced with an electric, front mounted fan. All this cured the coolant problem.

The constant smoking could be rings, or head gasket, though probably the former - especially if you can hear tapping / knocking.

The tapping (if a light sounding tapping) could be a worn / sticking tappet which is fairly common on M42 engines, a blowing manifold, or similar...

It's probably worth getting a trusted technician to have a look / listen to your engine though before you go diving in.

Please don't take my word as gospel on this though.

[Ammaco]

Thanks for the advice mate. The fella that had the car before me put a fan on it which stays on constantly. could this be a problem? Yhe im gona have a qualified fella to look at it to see if he can help! thanks

[Chris-W]

and which would be the most costly to replace the head or profile gasket, hope this makes it clearer, thanks

Head comes off to replace the profile gasket, so you'd be doing both anyway I'm afraid.

[Geeman]

Thanks for the advice mate. The fella that had the car before me put a fan on it which stays on constantly. could this be a problem? Yhe im gona have a qualified fella to look at it to see if he can help! thanks

If this is the case, the problem could have been there already and the previous owner was trying to cure it himself.

[Chris-W]

If this is the case, the problem could have been there already and the previous owner was trying to cure it himself.

Scary thought....

[Ammaco]

after jacking here up and having a good look underneather there seems to be a lot of oil leaked over the outside of the engine, could this be a result of head gasket failure? Roughly how much would it cost me to do this job, bearng in mind it will be me and a mate carrying out th job so just need to cover parts really?

[Chris-W]

About £150 all in (gasket kit, head bolts, oil & coolant, various intake hoses you will end up needing).

[E30Mark]

Does it use water / oil?

Is the water / oil mixed together?

Are you sure the water pump is pumping? some of the pumps have plastic impellers that work loose on the shaft and then don't pump nowt!

Hope the head isn't cracked.... finding a new head is a nightmare job, sourcing a complete new engine is easier...

This could be soooo many things!

[peejay]

I wouldn't carry on driving it if I were you

PJ

[Ammaco]

naw im not driving it guys, its off road. Oil and water arent mixing yet, to be honest i think its the early signs of a head gasket, so im going to replace both it and the profile gasket and see how that works. First time il be doing this job, is it very difficult, can anyone recommend a good guide for the m42 engine? ive heard that the haynes manual for e36 bmw's covers the m42 in god deatil?