Help Head Gasket gone on 1995 318i BMW

marley123

How Much is this going to cost me?? Would it possibly be cheaper to get a reconditioned engine??

Will take a couple of days to get mechanic to look at so just want a rough idea on how much it will cost to fix..

Mr Benevolent

marley123 wrote: »

How Much is this going to cost me?? Would it possibly be cheaper to get a reconditioned engine??

Will take a couple of days to get mechanic to look at so just want a rough idea on how much it will cost to fix..

The car is now effectively a writeoff. Cheaper to buy another 318.

Agricola

Yep. With a car that age and value, you'd be better off cutting your losses.

jaffa20

marley123 wrote: »

Would it possibly be cheaper to get a reconditioned engine??
.

This would be cheaper

marley123

Thank you for the replys... especially yours jaffa20..

The car was a present from my Dad who passed away at 58 a couple of mths ago!!!

I am not looking for any smart as* comments - just an approx cost on how much a replacement head gasket/reconditioned engine would cost.

jaffa20

marley123 wrote: »

Thank you for the replys... especially yours jaffa20..

The car was a present from my Dad who passed away at 58 a couple of mths ago!!!

I am not looking for any smart as* comments - just an approx cost on how much a replacement head gasket/reconditioned engine would cost.

Sorry for the loss but as advised. You would be better off selling for parts but if the car has a personal attachment then i'm sure a 2nd hand engine would work. No idea on the cost though.

homer90

marley123 wrote: »

Thank you for the replys... especially yours jaffa20..

The car was a present from my Dad who passed away at 58 a couple of mths ago!!!

I am not looking for any smart as* comments - just an approx cost on how much a replacement head gasket/reconditioned engine would cost.

Where are you located ?

Take a look on some Irish BMW forums . Some site sponsors on there which may be of help...

Sorry to hear about your dad btw.

DublinDilbert

If you want to get it sorted it would cost in the €600 ball park...

marley123

€600??? Seriously - just rang a mechanic who told me it could cost up to 2k!!

DublinDilbert would you have any recomendations on a mechanic that may be able to fix it at that price?

cantdecide

I'm in the middle of a minor ordeal with my spare car, which is a 1995 316i. I was told las August the HG was gone. Even still, I'm not 100% sure if it is or isn't.

I can tell you, i found faults across the whole cooling system. The rad, thermostat and viscous fan all had faults that could have contributed to the car overheating. They've been replaced but I've just found another cracked hose that might explain the coolant loss. I'm going to do the water pump next and I might still have to do the HG yet.

I understand you have sentimental value attached to the car. I love these cars, I think they're a nineties classic and I would urge you to hold onto it but bear in mind, it might become frustrating and costly.

biko

How bad is it? How do you know it's the head gasket?
Overheating? Compression tests? Smoking? Drinking coolant? Mechanic says so?
Does the car drive at the moment?

You don't have to buy a reconditioned engine if you buy another car second hand and use the engine from that.
Ring traynors.co.uk and ask about second hand engine prices.

marley123

Biko - tbh I really don't know anything about the mechanical side of cars..

Engine was making a clicking sound, then lost complete power & whole car filled with smoke..

The breakdown guy reckons it is a head gasket problem - having a mechanic look at it tomorrow hopefully

biko

Yeah have someone diagnose it properly before cashing out on anything. Maybe even get a second opinion from another mechanic.
It could be something else.

Tails142

Well, that doesn't sound like the typical head gasket symptoms...

Head gasket keeps the coolant out of the pistons, and seperate from the oil being pumped around the engine.

If your gasket cracks or warps, you can either lose coolant (usually slowly) which will eventually cause the car to overheat or you can get water in the oil which will also cause problems after a while.

Clicking noise and smoke, not sure myself but sounds more like replacement engine territory rather than a more basic replacement of the head gasket. Could've been trouble with the timing chain.

cantdecide

or a knackered water pump/ overheated?

marley123

There was definetly Oil leaking from somewhere under the bonnet

Will wait & see now what the mechanic says tomorrow & may get a 2nd opinion aswell.

Nissan doctor

Its impossible for anyone to say it would ONLY cost €600 to repair. A repair, if it is the head gasket, would be more realistically starting at €600.

A proper repair would include full pressure test and skim, full gasket kit, head bolts, water pump, thermostat etc.

316/318 are also very prone to cracking the head if they have overheated anyway badly, meaning the head is scrap.

Top Dog

marley123 wrote: »

The breakdown guy reckons it is a head gasket problem - having a mechanic look at it tomorrow hopefully

Definitely get a second opinion. I had a recovery truck driver diagnose a HG failure on our old Laguna last year ... turned out to be knackered glow-plugs! :rolleyes:

Top Dog

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Its impossible for anyone to say it would ONLY cost €600 to repair. A repair, if it is the head gasket, would be more realistically starting at €600.

To be fair to the person who posted that, they suggested that to get it sorted would be in the ballpark of €600 - they didn't say repair.

Given how common the 318 is/was, then you might pick up an engine for €300-400, add in €200-250 to get the swap done, and €650 = €600 ballpark

Nissan doctor

Top Dog wrote: »

To be fair to the person who posted that, they suggested that to get it sorted would be in the ballpark of €600 - they didn't say repair.

Given how common the 318 is/was, then you might pick up an engine for €300-400, add in €200-250 to get the swap done, and €650 = €600 ballpark

You've obviously never tried to source a decent 316/318 engine or head..:eek:

Top Dog

Nissan doctor wrote: »

You've obviously never tried to source a decent 316/318 engine or head..:eek:

You have me there

Its not that bad, is it? :eek:

Nissan doctor

Top Dog wrote: »

You have me there

Its not that bad, is it? :eek:

They are an engine that is extremely prone to cooling problems so finding one that has not had problems is near impossible. And when they do overheat, its extremly likely the head will crack meaning that good replacement 316/318 heads are like hens teeth.

x in the city

ayone is nuts to go out on all the stops on repairing a E36 of that era to fix the head gasket, does not economically viable mean anything!?!

Plug

These heads and blocks can crack.

Mar4ix

Plug wrote: »

These heads and blocks can crack.

also before skim head, worth do compression test (find any leaks/cracks in engine head), would cost 40 - 60 euro... ish, i was doing this before i had to change , my wifes rover engine head... , old head was cracked .

mondeo

x in the city wrote: »

ayone is nuts to go out on all the stops on repairing a E36 of that era to fix the head gasket, does not economically viable mean anything!?!

I suppose in this case it's a sentimental thing.