1995 318ti CS .. overheated last night, wont start today.

[Xenocide]

Doubt the block is toast, but up to the guy.

[xunearthhxcx]

Originally Posted by Xenocide

Doubt the block is toast, but up to the guy.

but if it is.. im going to have to pay the labor price they quoted to take it off. if the blocks toast. then its going to cost that much more to have the engine replaced...

im usually pretty handy. but I dont have extensive tools or experience other than usual maintenance.. How hard is it on a scale of 1-10 to take off the head? and put a new one on?

sorry if im sounding like a noob. just frustrated because Ive wanted a 318ti for a few years and now that I got one its been hell.

[Xenocide]

Yea man that really sucks. Tony's motor would be the best bet if you want to swap the whole thing out, if it didn't overheat really bad I think you could get away with just the head. Shipping a motor is expensive, but for $300 that is a STEAL.

If you don't feel like diving into it just have a shop do it, tell them you can provide your own motor or head which ever they need. I am trying to sell the head for $150, my engine wasn't overheated so it should be in good shape, took it off for a 6cyl swap, but it should obviously be checked over by a machine shop.

[xunearthhxcx]

Originally Posted by Bluebimma

i have an m42 from a clubsport here for 300.

Pm sent.

[mohaughn]

I think it should also be pointed out that unless you drove the car with the needle pegged in the red for more than a couple of minutes, this car more than likely already had head gasket issues.

Before you run out and buy a new motor, I would have a professional, independent BMW mechanic take a look. If it is just a matter of replacing the headgasket, you'll be much better off paying to have just that done, instead of buying/shpping/installing a new motor.

I think it is much more likely given the description that you gave that this car already had a blown headgasket when it was sold to you. Blown headgaskets cause overheats, and if you really did shut it off quickly, the motor itself should be fine.

The labor will be significantly less to replace the headgasket than to drop the entire motor. Not to mention that if you motor only has 97k miles on it, that is the preferable motor to have.

[Bluebimma]

Dont forget machining, testing, etc. included with a headgasket job. Most headgasket jobs are comparable in price to replacing the engine itself. The ETA for a headgasket job on a non-vanos 6cyl is 18 hours and doesnt include machine shop time. The m42 and m44 are closely related to the non-vanos as its just static timing rather than variable valve timing and needing to assemply the spring loaded assemblies in time with the rest of the engine. Figure about 14 hours of labor, 1-200$ in machining costs due to searching for cracking and warpage, machining of the head to make it true, headgasket kit, head bolts, misc. hardware, misc. engine pieces that need to be replaced, then theres always the issue that the head may not be repairable to to prior damages, cracking, or warping. You guys really need to look further into what is thrown out there for someone.

OP, i dont know much about you, but from your posts, you dont seem like youd be able to or want to do a headgasket job yourself, so take into account that labor rates are 40-110hr, depending where you go for this job.

My price quote from my bmw dealership, with my BMWCCA discount was over 2500 for 4 valves replaced and a headgasket job since the head was taken off, youre not looking at a cheap problem here if its honestly a headgasket case. Ive done my own headgasket job on my non-vanos 6cyl, 12 hours, and parts were less than 100$ because i bought bolts and just the headgasket itself, machining was a couple hundred but i decided not to do it and found that the head was cracked. Lots of labor gone to waste, make sure you dont skip on it.

[xunearthhxcx]

The seller is a good guy, He agreed to pay 300.00 towards a new motor and do the swap himself for free. I really appreciate this because the seller legally does not have to do anything for me. But anyways thanks for your suggestions guys. As soon as I get the car up and running ill let people know!

check out this thread for pics....
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27338

[bmvw]

This situation is very odd. i don't think you did nearly enough to account for the so thoroughly destroyed engine. It's like the head wasn't torqued to spec and as soon as it heated everything went. If that's the case I would be suspicious of anything under the hood including the block & yes the seller knew.

[Houston H.I.D'S]

If you just purchased the car I think you should search Lemon Laws in your State

http://www.lemonlawamerica.com/Lemon-Law-Statutes.htm

[bullmand]

A friend of mine (he's on the forum here too) just had this happen to his '98 318i. He was driving down the highway, the car lost power, he pulled over to check it out and found white smoke/steam coming from around the engine. The check engine light came on at some point during all this so we checked the codes and replaced the coolant temp sensor and the cam position sensor based on that. Once that was done we started the car long enough to get more smoke coming out of the back of the engine compartment and traced it to the broken cooling fitting on the back of the head. We replaced that (BTW, this can be done with everything on the car as long as you have access from underneath), filled it with coolant and attempted to start the car. It wouldn't start and the compression was escaping into the cooling system and pushing coolant out of the radiator. Final diagnosis was a warped head which was pressure tested, cleaned, and machined for $95. We haven't put it back together yet because we're waiting for parts. It took about 4 hours for three of us to get everything apart. He dropped a couple hundred dollars on parts including some stuff that he's replacing because it's accessible. I expect it will take us another 6 hours or so to get it all back together. I don't know if this will help at all, I just thought I'd share. Based on this experience and your description of what happened to your car I would guess that you might be in the same boat. Good luck and keep us posted.

[xunearthhxcx]

Originally Posted by Houston H.I.D'S

If you just purchased the car I think you should search Lemon Laws in your State

http://www.lemonlawamerica.com/Lemon-Law-Statutes.htm

The title was not even in the guys name. He said he purchased the car and drove it for a few weeks . He hasnt responded to any texts or calls since coming to my house. But has written 1 email. Im honestly scared ****less about this whole ordeal.Its the lack of communication that makes me worried... Especially after something like this, if it was me who sold a car to someone, I would be in constant touch with them to help them along and do what I can.Im being ignored.

There is no bill of sale because in Arizona they base it on the original list price of the vehicle and take off a certain % each year. Now. its kind of odd that he told me just a few days ago hes going back to NJ to visit some family for 10 days. Im terrified that ill be stuck with a broken car..Any legal advice would be great but I think im screwed... if anyone who spoke or contacted this seller would you please get in touch with me or even call me and tell me what they said?


again, this is the thread where they posted the car for sale.
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27338

anyone who heard back would you please get in touch with me id like to talk to you to see what they claimed. I may be going a bit overboard here , but im terrified.

[xunearthhxcx]

and here is the craigslist ad

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/1267890956.html

[Houston H.I.D'S]

Originally Posted by xunearthhxcx

and here is the craigslist ad

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/1267890956.html

Did you run a CARFAX Report?
I would make a lemon law report.

[b.u.ti-ful]

There is still the possibility that the seller is honest and will make good in some way.

Having said that, I did find this thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=135056

[dave45056]

this is an interesting comment in the CL ad.
"The cooling system has been gone through with new water pump, radiator and expansion tank"
reminds me of those carfax ads.

But if the legal approach doesn't work, to replace the head is not that difficult. I'm not sure if you are up to the task, but do you have any mechanic friends? Are there any members here in your area? The head may be toast (I'd say 50% chance), but you have a lead on 2 different options to get a replacement. In addition to the cost of the head it will run another $200 or so for gaskets, head bolts, etc.
Good luck.