newbie with a 99 m3 headgasket leak..help? - BMW Forum

nate2002 · 06-13-2008, 02:45 AM

just got a 99 m3 and there is water in the oil. im just guessin but im hopin its the headgasket cuz i cant afford to replace a cracked head. i was going to go on alldata and figure it out cuz i have done headgaskets b4 but apparently u cant look up alldata for bmw's!?!?! so im stuck...what can i do guys? i cant afford a 2500 shop bill...

darkhorse737 · 06-13-2008, 09:14 AM

you can try a quick fix using liquid glass. I have used them on cars before with very good rate of success.

nate2002 · 06-13-2008, 02:01 PM

ya that might work for a little while but i want to do the whole job and have a car that is going to be reliable.

nate2002 · 06-14-2008, 02:19 AM

wow noone has anything for me here? i really need some help/direction...

witeshark · 06-14-2008, 09:48 AM

A head gasket leak may a warp, and that means the head needs to be re machined.

darkhorse737 · 06-14-2008, 03:36 PM

Well... if you have done heads before; then there's no reason why you can't do a bimmer head. It's the same procedure in general, no matter what make, model, or year the car is ;-) If you are in doubt because it's an M3, don't let that scare you... set your #1 piston to TDC before you start and you won't go wrong. Tag the lines and take notes as you go so u can match them on assembly, and you wont have probs. (someone even suggested take lots of pics :-) - good idea too)

for the specs, working range/s, tolerances, and the like... or tips and shortcuts that i might know... i can walk you through that as you go.

Good Luck!

nate2002 · 06-15-2008, 04:58 AM

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Portland Oregon
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as far as loosing coolant i have not had time to really monitor it but the coolant level did just pop up on the way home saying that it was low. are you saying that the oil can become milky from just sitting on a car without a headgasket problem? my car is a 99 so it is an e36 right? the bentley manuals im seeing say e36 to 1998 but dont include 99???!!! I am going to change the oil today and see what the oil looks like in a drain pan then top off coolant and drive around a bit to see how it gets. I am leery about doing this i dont want to totally ruin the engine. i know water in the engine isnt going to do much good for bearings and such. so i notice these motors look like they sit an angle. does anyone know if this produces an issue in removing the head? im just wondering if im going to need an engine left to move the engine around. i know when i do a [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]front [COLOR=blue ! important]wheel [/COLOR][COLOR=blue ! important]drive[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] honda or something like that its easy to live the head out of the engine compartment sometimes with [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]exhaust[/COLOR][/COLOR] or intake still attached even. any suggestions for a head gasket? should i get it from dealer or ebay or something aftermarket? what things should i change or at least check while im that deep into the motor? checking to see if the head is straight and checking for cracks while its off is just a given im guessing? maybe even do a port and polish while its off??? anyone ever have any experience with getting a title in your name when the car has lost cali title?