New Member.....help

[S.W.B.C]

Greetings,
Sorry if this post appears in the wrong spot but my antique computer will not let me start a new thread. I just purchased a 1997 318ti with unknown engine issues. Here is what i know so far. The car had a massize coolent loss due to the rear coolent port in the head failing(why would anyone make that casting out of plastic?). The previous owner parked the car and then I got it. The motor turns over fine but when I went to pull a plug I discovered that there was a seriuos amount of oil in the plug port. I did not pull the plug as I ran out of time. Tomorrow I plan on digging much deeper but thought I would see if anyone has thoughts on the matter.The car is very clean and has great service records so I am hoping that once the problem is ID it will be a good car. I have always liked the TI so pretty excited to have a project...not that I needed any more as I already have 7 others only one of which is a BMW and it is a 1975 2002.
Well thanks and hope that this does find it way to some of the other members.
S.W.B.C

[Will'sBimmer]

The plastic coolant pieces that break are very common. Mine have not blown yet but I hear they go out often. There are a few threads on this site about them and they can be easily purchased and replaced. Also the oil on the plug (are you talking about a spark plug?), if it is a spark plug I would say your valve cover gasket and spark plug gaskets need to be replaced.

[Marv17]

well sounds like you need a new valve gasket and some other little peices. depending on the mileage you might as well do some work on it. maybe replace the head gasket, belts and stuff.
so if you need anything of that sort i have a bunch of new gaskets waiting to be used. bought them and neve used them since i did something else with my car.

[MPWR]

The big problem is that broken plastic coolant fitting. Obviously it will need to be replaced- fortunately it's not terribly difficult, but removing the valve cover makes it easier.

The question is whether or not the engine overheated due to this coolant leak. M44s are very, very intolerant of being overheated. If the engine overheated, it's likely the headgasket may be blown- if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, the headgasket is blown and the head is warped.

Don't worry too much about oil in the plug holes. It is a chronic and relatively minor problem with a number of BMW engines. A new valve cover gasket will fix that (change it while you're doing that plastic pipe).

A compression test would be an easy way to check the headgasket. If it passes, you should be in good shape.

Otherwise the ti is a fantastic little car. Fortunately, they're also easy to work on.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[S.W.B.C]

Thanks for the e-mails regarding my new ti. Have not made it back to my shop but call me a pessimist I think the problems must be more serious. Why for instance won't the car give any indication of firing? Does the ecu have anyway of knowing that some sysyems are down and thus will prevent the car from attempting to fire? Will post later when I have some more useful info like compression etc.
Cheers S.C

[MPWR]

What exactly is it doing (or what it is not doing)?

[S.W.B.C]

Hi There,
I just had a few minutes to go to my shop and take a bit of a closer look at the ti. What the previous owner stated was that the car lost all coolant when the rear inlet fixture on the head failed. I have now had a chance to run a compression test and confirmed that there is virtually no compression.
#1-30psi, #2-0psi, #3-0psi , #4-50psi
The front to cylinders showed oil on the piston tops the rear two had coolant present.
The motor has 165K and was well cared for prior to failure.
I am going to pull the head regardless but is doing a head job on an M44 with the stated milage wise or should I seek a complete motor.
That is it for now have to do some christmas shopping.
Thanks again!

[RAiMA]

Permitting budget allows, I'd look for a complete motor. A replacement M44 will get you back on the road quickly and cheaply, while a 6 cylinder engine conversion will cost additional time and money to get it going, but you'll have more power from the compact.

Good luck with the car

[S.W.B.C]

thanks for the advice,
I will have to do some thinking on how best to proceed with regards to the engine repair.
On a seperate topic how do I ascertain what model and specification ti I have? Is this info coded in the VIN or ???.
Curious if the car has LSD for instance.
Thanks

[MacUser]

Originally Posted by S.W.B.C

On a seperate topic how do I ascertain what model and specification ti I have? Is this info coded in the VIN or ???.
Curious if the car has LSD for instance.
Thanks

Ask Mallard!

[tiFreak]

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18444

post the last 7 digits of the VIN here, if the car is a 97 though, it won't have a factory-installed LSD, they stopped making it an option in non-M cars in mid model year of 96

[S.W.B.C]

Hi,
The last 7 digits of my VIN# are: AS99300
Thanks S.C

[MPWR]

Between new head and new engine, it's really a matter of what's most convenient for you.

M44 blocks and internals tend to be pretty bulletproof. If the engine was reasonably well cared for, the pistons, rings, rods and crankshaft are all likely in good shape- maybe excellent shape. We don't hear much about people rebuilding (rings, etc) these engines- just replacing the heads if they overheat. 165k isn't much. With a new head you might still go a long way before having to do 'real' work on it.

[S.W.B.C]

Hi There,
Thanks for the encouragment with regards to the lower end on the M44. As time allows I will remove my head and see what the internals look like. What should I expect to have to pay for a used but good head?
Thanks S.C

[cooljess76]

It's cheaper/safer just to have your current head checked and possibly resurfaced by a machine shop. Reason being, if you buy a used head, who's to say it's not warped. Now if you take your head to a machine shop, they can tell you if it's warped or not as well as tell you how much material they need to remove to make it flat again. This is important because when you remove material from the head's surface, you reduce valve clearance and raise compression. Too much compression is bad, too little valve clearance is bad. Depending on how much material is removed, you may or may not need to use a thicker head gasket. Keep in mind, this job is pretty labor intensive and you need to know exactly what you're doing. There's a reason why shops charge $1500-$2000 to do this job. It's not fun and you can easily mess things up, cause more damage and have to start over. I'd say this job is just out of reach for most DIY'ers as there's special tools and extensive mechanical knowledge needed to pull it off. You might consider having your shop do it or perhaps it's time for a 6cyl swap. However, if you're good with a wrench, have the resources(sounds like you work at a shop), maybe you can get some help from the other mechs and do this job for around $400. Best of luck to ya! Pelicanparts.com has an excellent article on BMW headgasket replacement in their tech article section.