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my daughter blew the head gasket on her 98 528i, (bigger job than I have the time or talent to complete) so I take it to a mechanic, he tells me it is the head gasket and replaces the head gasket, at the same time he replaces the cooling system (radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing, hoses belts, fan clutch) $2,800...feel my pain. We get the car back and the next day it over heats and starts thowing a engine code that says cyl 3 misfiring...I have it flatbedded to his shop, 3/4 gallon low on "water"...we fill it and he tries to get it to over heat it won't...duh, he drives it for 13 miles around town and still won't over heat. I get in it and drive it for about 50 miles and it over heats...let it cool down and it is 1/2 gallon low on "water" and still missing on cyl 3... he thought that the head must be cracked he took it off and had it pressure tested turned out fine. He said he put a straight edge to the head when he had it off and it was fine...
my daughter blew the head gasket on her 98 528i, (bigger job than I have the time or talent to complete) so I take it to a mechanic, he tells me it is the head gasket and replaces the head gasket, at the same time he replaces the cooling system (radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing, hoses belts, fan clutch) $2,800...feel my pain. We get the car back and the next day it over heats and starts thowing a engine code that says cyl 3 misfiring...I have it flatbedded to his shop, 3/4 gallon low on "water"...we fill it and he tries to get it to over heat it won't...duh, he drives it for 13 miles around town and still won't over heat. I get in it and drive it for about 50 miles and it over heats...let it cool down and it is 1/2 gallon low on "water" and still missing on cyl 3... he thought that the head must be cracked he took it off and had it pressure tested turned out fine. He said he put a straight edge to the head when he had it off and it was fine...
What do we do next? ever heard of such a thing?
Maybe it has to do with the heating system....
try with the heater off for awhile then on see what happends...
__________________ 1991 Ford Taurs SHO 5 Speed White on Tan
1996 Chevy Lumina LTZ Rep 3.4L
1992 318i Coupe parts car
1992 325i Ls1 swap with a T56 6 speed 12.2 quarter mile
1976 Mercedes Benz 300D with a Ford 5.0L Fuel Injected soon to be Modded I am Captain Obvious
__________________ 1991 Ford Taurs SHO 5 Speed White on Tan
1996 Chevy Lumina LTZ Rep 3.4L
1992 318i Coupe parts car
1992 325i Ls1 swap with a T56 6 speed 12.2 quarter mile
1976 Mercedes Benz 300D with a Ford 5.0L Fuel Injected soon to be Modded I am Captain Obvious
I blew a head gasket on my car years ago. The problem is the head is aluminum. They are great as long as the temp stays within boundaries. They warp about the first time its overheated. My guess is the first time it overheated on your daughter, thats when the damage happened. I am suprised that they didnt replace it when it was off. I am not sure a straight edge would show whether or not it was warped. After I spent my 2300 for a new head, water pump, etc. I found out that if the temp gauge EVER goes over the halfway point, shut it off, there is a problem.
Hope this helps. Good luck...
da_male_cow
__________________
-There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary, and those who do not.
-If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under...Ronald Reagan
Yes it origionally over heated...thought it was the thermostat...since it has again over heated after the new head gasket was put on only for a minute, do I need to be concerned?
Yes it origionally over heated...thought it was the thermostat...since it has again over heated after the new head gasket was put on only for a minute, do I need to be concerned?
When was it overheating, when the car was not moving, like when sitting in traffic, idling, etc? Or was it overheating as you were just driving down the road?
Bleeding the cooling system is a absolute neccessity. Also I found that an aftermarket thermostat will not work. I had to get a BMW part number one.
I TOTALLY concur - I did a flush and fill and had similar overheating problems until I completely bled the system. It can take a while to get all the air out. E39s are notoriously touchy when it comes to cooling systems...
lol I was actually hoping it got better with the E39s. The E34's are the same way. Bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, and then bleed, bleed, bleed.
__________________
-There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary, and those who do not.
-If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under...Ronald Reagan
lol I was actually hoping it got better with the E39s. The E34's are the same way. Bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, bleed, and then bleed, bleed, bleed.
haha, nope they carry over the same tradition. I thought I was going to kill several small animals with the amount of antifreeze I was letting out in my driveway getting all the air out.
haha, nope they carry over the same tradition. I thought I was going to kill several small animals with the amount of antifreeze I was letting out in my driveway getting all the air out.
lol i dont like squirrels so thank you!
__________________ 1991 Ford Taurs SHO 5 Speed White on Tan
1996 Chevy Lumina LTZ Rep 3.4L
1992 318i Coupe parts car
1992 325i Ls1 swap with a T56 6 speed 12.2 quarter mile
1976 Mercedes Benz 300D with a Ford 5.0L Fuel Injected soon to be Modded I am Captain Obvious
I did the headgasket on the ol' 528 last month. Fun stuff!
Cylinder 3 misfire could be several things, and maybe even unrelated. Fuel injectors and coil packs can be damaged upon removal and reinstallation, the headgasket may have been defective, valve problem, loose spark plug, etc, etc.
As for as still losing coolant, what hasn't been replaced? If the quality of work is good - it's most likely the only few components that haven't been replaced. Overheating takes it's toll on more than just the head!
BTW - straight edge is the main method to check for straightness by the machine shops.
BTW - straight edge is the main method to check for straightness by the machine shops.
I was thinking that a mechanic might not actually have a straight edge, but more like a metal yardstick or something lying around that he could get close with. The machine shop, on the other hand should be using one. Your new car looks snazzy btw...
da_male_cow...
__________________
-There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary, and those who do not.
-If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under...Ronald Reagan
When was it overheating, when the car was not moving, like when sitting in traffic, idling, etc? Or was it overheating as you were just driving down the road?
Prior to the head gasket replacement it only over heated when sitting still or when idling...rev it up to 2 grand or take it on the Hwy and it cooled down.
After the head gasket replacement it started to over heat moving or sitting still... I figured that the over heating had be due to loss of Anti-freeze through the intake side...I was thinking this because it took about 50 miles of driving to loose the 3/4 of a gallon
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