330CI blown head gasket - NEED HELP

[BMWCoupe]

Hi guys

I have a 330 ci 2003 model with a blown head gasket. Now the car is at my mechanic who says that the fault was caused due to the thermostat staying open and allowing water into the engine.

I had the head redone, as well as bought new gasket set (note that i bought it myself), bought the thermostat and everything else needed for the car.

I am not a BMW mechanic and he has told me that the threads on the block have to be redone? is this correct? or is he taking a chance?
Also he says that he has a guy that can come out and do all 24 for R1200... is this the going price???

Besides all of that, he is charging me R1800 labour which i thought to be a job that would take a couple of hours???

PLEASE OFFER YOUR OPINION/ADVICE.

Thanx Chaps

 

[Hellas]

I think clutchplate is currently working on his 330. Also in JHB.

 

[netercol]

my mechanic who says that the fault was caused due to the thermostat staying open and allowing water into the engine.

say what now? that is exactly the job a thermostat is supposed to do.. maybe he means it stayed closed, not allowing the water to circulate, thus overheating the engine..

cant see why the threads on the block would need to be redone, unless he messed them up when removing the head?

that said, R1800 labour is not too bad for replacing a head gasket, provided he does a good job ofc..

 

[Kamz]

Hi guys

I have a 330 ci 2003 model with a blown head gasket. Now the car is at my mechanic who says that the fault was caused due to the thermostat staying open and allowing water into the engine.

I had the head redone, as well as bought new gasket set (note that i bought it myself), bought the thermostat and everything else needed for the car.

I am not a BMW mechanic and he has told me that the threads on the block have to be redone? is this correct? or is he taking a chance?
Also he says that he has a guy that can come out and do all 24 for R1200... is this the going price???

Besides all of that, he is charging me R1800 labour which i thought to be a job that would take a couple of hours???

PLEASE OFFER YOUR OPINION/ADVICE.


Thanx Chaps

Hi there,

yes when your cylinder head has been removed sometimes the block needs to be helicoiled or the head bolts needs to be replaced with bigger bolts, it all depends if you have an alluminum block or not... reason is if the same head bolts are used the head and block wont have a tight fit therefore it could cause over heating issues..etc

The reason why its abit of a job is because of the VANOS, this system needs to be timed properly otherwise your car will not run well or if its not timed properly you could bend valves on first start up.. hence his price sounds alil steep...

 

[P1000]

Price sounds very good! The problem is, you have an alu block, and as soon as it overheats, you change the alloy so much that as soon as you try to torque the head down, you will more than likely strip the threads. Only solution is to helicoil. You can look on other forums for guys with stripped headbolts after a overheat/new gasket episode with the 30i motor...

 

[BMWCoupe]

Thanx for the input guys.

So are you saying that the mechanic could have taken the head off and possibly damaged the threads?

If so, should i tell him to pay for them??

Is there a cheaper as well as reliable method of getting things sorted out??

Thanx[/align]

 

[Kamz]

Thanx for the input guys.

So are you saying that the mechanic could have taken the head off and possibly damaged the threads?

If so, should i tell him to pay for them??

Is there a cheaper as well as reliable method of getting things sorted out??

Thanx[/align]

Nope i dont think you can blame the nech for this as this is a common problem with alu blocks. All BMW mechs will tell you this before doing a head job as they know of the common faults...

 

[Jacques668866]

Sounds to me that the guy actually knows what he is doing. But to be sure, I'm sure he will be able to show you on the block why he wants the treading to be done...?

Bit off the topic; but was there no warning sign before the engine overheated? What mileage have the engine done?

Please give us an update!

Sterkte.

J.

 

[netercol]

The problem is, you have an alu block, and as soon as it overheats, you change the alloy so much that as soon as you try to torque the head down, you will more than likely strip the threads. Only solution is to helicoil. You can look on other forums for guys with stripped headbolts after a overheat/new gasket episode with the 30i motor...

interesting.. guess i have learned something new about beemer engines

 

[BMWCoupe]

Hi

Apprently the thermostat was the cause of the gasket blowing as it was not functioning properly, in which case there was no warning as the car never overheated once. The temp gauge sat perfectly in the middle where it should.

The car has 145 000km on the clock.

Will keep you posted.

Thanx

 

[sclass]

I have the same engine in an E39, replaced the cylinder head but now the car hestitates at low rpms, has diesel like clatter at idle, rough idle, sometimes emits a sonorous boom when prodding the accelerator, horrific fuel consumption. Initially thought is was a bad PCV but I've replaced that and no change. Others have pointed to the MAF? But there's a wooshing sound coming from the intake side of the engine every time you open the throttle but the sound gets drowned out by the engine noise so it's easy to miss but IT'S THERE. If I press the accelerator about 1 inch you can clearly hear the 'huff'...

So did my mechanic fail to reset the Vanos properly? Does the process need special tools or diagnostics? Can anyone do it or do I have to go to the stealers and get raped????

 

[clarkandrew45]

I have the same engine in an E39, replaced the cylinder head but now the car hestitates at low rpms, has diesel like clatter at idle, rough idle, sometimes emits a sonorous boom when prodding the accelerator, horrific fuel consumption. Initially thought is was a bad PCV but I've replaced that and no change. Others have pointed to the MAF? But there's a wooshing sound coming from the intake side of the engine every time you open the throttle but the sound gets drowned out by the engine noise so it's easy to miss but IT'S THERE. If I press the accelerator about 1 inch you can clearly hear the 'huff'...

So did my mechanic fail to reset the Vanos properly? Does the process need special tools or diagnostics? Can anyone do it or do I have to go to the stealers and get raped????

Last month, I encountered problem on my cylinder head gasket. I had no choice but to replace that with the advice of my mechanic. It cost me a lot but then the engine starts to work properly.