Cost of Head Gasket - 3 series

sticker

Hi All,

Quick question, whats a ballpark figure for a head gasket repair?

Spec: 2004 BMW 3 Series 316 I E46 ES 04DR - 110,00 miles.

No major issues, losing coolant, so garage did pressure test and no leaks, so given mileage and model, assumption of head gasket.

Been quoted €1,000 for gasket work and €200 for timing chain replacement (this being recommended seeing as they will be in that area during the work.)

Another guy - not a garage - but recommended - will do the gasket for €450!

Thoughts anyone...?

Kenny Logins

€450 sounds waaay too cheap IMHO.

sticker

Yeah - after a Google search the €1,000 look like a solid price. slightly high but these guys do everything in-house, skimming etc.

Alanstrainor

Make sure it's the head first...

Has it over heated that you know of? These cars are notorious for cooling issues, such as water pump failure, and leaking for pretty much anywhere in the cooling system!

sticker

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Make sure it's the head first...

Has it over heated that you know of? These cars are notorious for cooling issues, such as water pump failure, and leaking for pretty much anywhere in the cooling system!

It went though a coolant bottle earlier in the year, then started losing coolant very quickly - done dry after 10 - 20 mile journeys,

Garage has done pressure test and no leaks, so their thinking is that the head gasket is the only likely culprit.

Would this make sense? That the coolant is going but no leaks...?

Kenny Logins

Has to go somewhere...

Alanstrainor

sticker wrote: »

It went though a coolant bottle earlier in the year, then started losing coolant very quickly - done dry after 10 - 20 mile journeys,

Garage has done pressure test and no leaks, so their thinking is that the head gasket is the only likely culprit.

Would this make sense? That the coolant is going but no leaks...?

If its drinking that much coolant, opening the oil cap and looking inside you'll see what looks like Mayo. If all you're seeing is oil then...

But by the sounds of it, if it has been pressure tested then it's the head alright. I'd just want to be sure.

sticker

Thanks for all the advise - It looks like the garage I'm going to is charging the right amount, that they are capable (word from other garages) and that the job needs doing after the testing has been done...

Its a hit, but I've no choice I suppose.

Thanks again for the help -

burke027

sticker wrote: »

Thanks for all the advise - It looks like the garage I'm going to is charging the right amount, that they are capable (word from other garages) and that the job needs doing after the testing has been done...

Its a hit, but I've no choice I suppose.

Thanks again for the help -

Hi there I work for a bmw specialist. Have done afew of these heads down the years and the coolest bottle is a common failure
to me 450 is very cheap but in all honesty I'd say more in and around 600 to 700. There's plenty of work on it but when you kniw your way around them there not to bad. Then having the timing tools is a must for that engine just make the setting up the timing simple.
You need any more info just ask

Kenny Logins

burke027 wrote: »

Hi there I work for a bmw specialist. Have done afew of these heads down the years and the coolest bottle is a common failure
to me 450 is very cheap but in all honesty I'd say more in and around 600 to 700. There's plenty of work on it but when you kniw your way around them there not to bad. Then having the timing tools is a must for that engine just make the setting up the timing simple.
You need any more info just ask

Did you mean expansion tank? :pac:

burke027

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Did you mean expansion tank? :pac:

Yes I ment the expansion tanks aka coolant tank

anthony4335

If you are loosing that much coolant it should be easy to tell if it the gasket, as your sump will be full of water. Ask them to do a sniff test on the coolant.

sticker

OK thanks guys - all good advise

DublinDilbert

To be honest i wouldn't be pulling the head from that engine unless i was 100% sure it was causing issues.

I was susceptible to the odd bout of paranoia myself about things like this myself when I had an E46 which was loosing coolant. One wise ex-boardsie mechanic said to me, If your loosing coolant and its going into the engine you'll know about it very quickly! The car will run like crap and you'll have lots of signs, not just loosing coolant. I didn't even find the sniff tests very accurate.

The problem at the end of the day was the L-shaped pipe at the back of the engine block. The reason no one could fine the leak was that the water was dripping on to the gear box and running 1/2 way down before dripping off. One L-shaped pipe later the car was perfect, and was fine for the next 2 years till I sold it.

The cooling system in the E46 it full of o-rings, these go hard over time and don't seal correctly, especially if you've opened up any connections. BMW don't supply the o-rings, so don't bother replacing the hoses, just get new o-rings from the likes of abbey seals.

sticker

DublinDilbert wrote: »

To be honest i wouldn't be pulling the head from that engine unless i was 100% sure it was causing issues.

I was susceptible to the odd bout of paranoia myself about things like this myself when I had an E46 which was loosing coolant. One wise ex-boardsie mechanic said to me, If your loosing coolant and its going into the engine you'll know about it very quickly! The car will run like crap and you'll have lots of signs, not just loosing coolant. I didn't even find the sniff tests very accurate.

The problem at the end of the day was the L-shaped pipe at the back of the engine block. The reason no one could fine the leak was that the water was dripping on to the gear box and running 1/2 way down before dripping off. One L-shaped pipe later the car was perfect, and was fine for the next 2 years till I sold it.

The cooling system in the E46 it full of o-rings, these go hard over time and don't seal correctly, especially if you've opened up any connections. BMW don't supply the o-rings, so don't bother replacing the hoses, just get new o-rings from the likes of abbey seals.

Thanks for that - unfortunately, I'm no mechanic and I've been lead to believe by many that this garage is the specialist in Dublin - so I'm taking his word for it after running a pressure test.

If the sniff tests are not that reliable also, it doesn't leave me much wiggle room to ask the mechanic to investigate further...

Wolfey

DublinDilbert wrote: »

To be honest i wouldn't be pulling the head from that engine unless i was 100% sure it was causing issues.

I was susceptible to the odd bout of paranoia myself about things like this myself when I had an E46 which was loosing coolant. One wise ex-boardsie mechanic said to me, If your loosing coolant and its going into the engine you'll know about it very quickly! The car will run like crap and you'll have lots of signs, not just loosing coolant. I didn't even find the sniff tests very accurate.

The problem at the end of the day was the L-shaped pipe at the back of the engine block. The reason no one could fine the leak was that the water was dripping on to the gear box and running 1/2 way down before dripping off. One L-shaped pipe later the car was perfect, and was fine for the next 2 years till I sold it.

The cooling system in the E46 it full of o-rings, these go hard over time and don't seal correctly, especially if you've opened up any connections. BMW don't supply the o-rings, so don't bother replacing the hoses, just get new o-rings from the likes of abbey seals.

Hi,

Could I please get the name of your mechanic who sorted out this issue for you?

I'm having similar problems with the engine in my own car (e46 2.0 litre petrol) and I suspect that it's something simple like a pipe needs to be replaced.

I've brought my car to two different garages recently and neither were able to properly diagnose the issue.


Thanks.

maudgone

Before getting the head gasket done, make sure your radiator is 100% in order, with no blockage in the core. Remove it and have it checked out by a radiator repair/specialist. A blockage in the radiator can give the same symptoms as a blown head gasket.

DublinDilbert

sticker wrote: »

Thanks for that - unfortunately, I'm no mechanic and I've been lead to believe by many that this garage is the specialist in Dublin - so I'm taking his word for it after running a pressure test.

If the sniff tests are not that reliable also, it doesn't leave me much wiggle room to ask the mechanic to investigate further...

Your loosing a lot of coolant very quickly, you said earlier the reservoir would be dry after a 20 mile trip, that's about 2L of coolant. If you burning 2L of coolant in a short time I'd imagine you'd be electing a pope daily with the amount of white smoke.

Do you know how the pressure test was done? Did they run the vehicle with the pressure tester attached and monitor the system pressure?

Is there any sign the rad cap is venting? Maybe it's faulty?

sticker

Wolfey wrote: »

Hi,

Could I please get the name of your mechanic who sorted out this issue for you?

I'm having similar problems with the engine in my own car (e46 2.0 litre petrol) and I suspect that it's something simple like a pipe needs to be replaced.

I've brought my car to two different garages recently and neither were able to properly diagnose the issue.


Thanks.

I've PM'd you his number...

the culture of deference

Get the front thermostat housing checked, common flaw, costs about 12 euro


https://www.google.ie/search?q=front+thermostat+housing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs&gws_rd=cr&ei=LMrDU93DHqTy7AajrICYBg#channel=rcs&q=front+thermostat+housing+e46&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

sticker

The car is in getting the work done now