M44 Tear Down--how tight should those cylinder head bolts feel?

[jwinlaporte]

Hello everyone. I bought a 1996 318ti, and it overheated on the way home. As is.

I've been reading a ton both here and at Pelican (and the crappy Haynes manual) and I've torn down the M44. The oil pan produced 5.5 quarts of runny butterscotch syrup, so I strongly suspected the head gasket. Also, it appears that someone had just been in the motor, the head bolts did not have captive washers, and there was a valve cover bolt missing-(among other oddities I noted under the hood). Most alarming of all was how easy it was to bust the head bolts loose. So, here's my question for those who have removed a BMW cylinder head. . .

Shouldn't these bolts be pretty darn tight?

I remember taking the heads of a Chevy 350, and it took several grunts to get them loose. Thanks for your input. . .

And one more question for you all. . .
What's the bullet proof head gasket to buy? I'm not trying to turn it into a racer, but it came with a couple things: a Borla muffler and a cold air intake are the only things changed that I can see.