03-17-2014, 11:38 AM
I managed to sweet talk DJ out of the rear diffuser from the race car to put on, and he's gonna grab one from Mike Ruppert. :thumbup: I bolted that fucker down with fresh hardware instead of plastic rivets, so this time if something hits it, maybe it won't go flying off into oblivion. Or it'll just take the whole rear bumper with it. :roll:
In other news, I've been dealing with this seeping headgasket issue for, shit, I dunno, a year or two now. Last week I ran into an older retired gentleman driving a gorgeous alpine/cardinal '88 M3 at C&C who used to run a BMW shop. We were parked next to one another and comparing notes, like you do at a C&C, and after explaining my issue he suggested I simply throw in some new head bolts.
The idea had crossed my mind before, but was usually shot down before it left the concept stage, the general belief is that once a headgasket has failed or the head has warped, there's nothing you can do except the full replacement.
HOWEVER, in my particular situation where the car is just seeping a small amount of water, as a result of being overheated, it is possible the aluminum head expanded and stretched the head bolts (which are designed to stretch when torqued), causing it to lose its seal when it cools back down.
I vetted the idea against my shop and some internet folks with mixed results, but ultimately decided it was an inexpensive and relatively low risk quick-fix worth trying. Best case, I squeeze a few more leak-free miles out of this tired old motor, worst case, I still have a leaky car. I've always been more willing than most to play guinea pig when it comes to these kinds of fixes, so I ordered a head bolt set for $15 and new VCG set for $40ish.
I was originally planning on replacing all 14 bolts, but after sorting the bullshit from the legitimate points made in a bimmerforums thread, I decided to only replace the 3 bolts closest to the leak. I first checked the torque of the problem children, and they started to turn at 35ft-lbs. The ones on the opposite side of the motor were considerably tighter.
The original torque spec is 22ft-lbs+90*+90*, but that assumes you're installing a fresh HG that will compress as you torque it. I ended up doing 22ft-lbs+90*, which seemed to most closely match the torque of the bolts on the opposite side. Only took me about an hour of actual work, and 2-3 hours of fruitlessly driving around town for a deep, thin-walled E12 torx socket before giving up and modifying mine with an angle grinder. I bolted it back together and lo-and-fuckin-behold, it stopped leaking.
So far I've only heat cycled it 3 times and driven it about 20 miles, but the coolant level is holding steady on the cold mark. Before, I would already need to add an inch or two to the reservoir. I'm not going to call it a clear win yet, we'll see how it holds up after putting some real miles on it.
Bimmerforums is struggling to accept the news: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sho...Head-Bolts :lol:
That forum really seems to struggle with critical thinking and reading comprehension sometimes. The audience is smaller on bimmerfest but the people taking the time to comment usually have the experience to back up their opinions.
I also threw a new fan blade on the fan clutch, and ordered a new set of clutch and brake pedal bushings I haven't installed yet.
My better half is starting a new job and will be out of town for most of the next month, so I think I'll keep myself occupied by knocking out some minor projects and cosmetic things to really polish this turd before the MM show and Bfest later in the summer. :thumbup:
In other news, I've been dealing with this seeping headgasket issue for, shit, I dunno, a year or two now. Last week I ran into an older retired gentleman driving a gorgeous alpine/cardinal '88 M3 at C&C who used to run a BMW shop. We were parked next to one another and comparing notes, like you do at a C&C, and after explaining my issue he suggested I simply throw in some new head bolts.
The idea had crossed my mind before, but was usually shot down before it left the concept stage, the general belief is that once a headgasket has failed or the head has warped, there's nothing you can do except the full replacement.
HOWEVER, in my particular situation where the car is just seeping a small amount of water, as a result of being overheated, it is possible the aluminum head expanded and stretched the head bolts (which are designed to stretch when torqued), causing it to lose its seal when it cools back down.
I vetted the idea against my shop and some internet folks with mixed results, but ultimately decided it was an inexpensive and relatively low risk quick-fix worth trying. Best case, I squeeze a few more leak-free miles out of this tired old motor, worst case, I still have a leaky car. I've always been more willing than most to play guinea pig when it comes to these kinds of fixes, so I ordered a head bolt set for $15 and new VCG set for $40ish.
I was originally planning on replacing all 14 bolts, but after sorting the bullshit from the legitimate points made in a bimmerforums thread, I decided to only replace the 3 bolts closest to the leak. I first checked the torque of the problem children, and they started to turn at 35ft-lbs. The ones on the opposite side of the motor were considerably tighter.
The original torque spec is 22ft-lbs+90*+90*, but that assumes you're installing a fresh HG that will compress as you torque it. I ended up doing 22ft-lbs+90*, which seemed to most closely match the torque of the bolts on the opposite side. Only took me about an hour of actual work, and 2-3 hours of fruitlessly driving around town for a deep, thin-walled E12 torx socket before giving up and modifying mine with an angle grinder. I bolted it back together and lo-and-fuckin-behold, it stopped leaking.
So far I've only heat cycled it 3 times and driven it about 20 miles, but the coolant level is holding steady on the cold mark. Before, I would already need to add an inch or two to the reservoir. I'm not going to call it a clear win yet, we'll see how it holds up after putting some real miles on it.
Bimmerforums is struggling to accept the news: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sho...Head-Bolts :lol:
That forum really seems to struggle with critical thinking and reading comprehension sometimes. The audience is smaller on bimmerfest but the people taking the time to comment usually have the experience to back up their opinions.
I also threw a new fan blade on the fan clutch, and ordered a new set of clutch and brake pedal bushings I haven't installed yet.
My better half is starting a new job and will be out of town for most of the next month, so I think I'll keep myself occupied by knocking out some minor projects and cosmetic things to really polish this turd before the MM show and Bfest later in the summer. :thumbup:
Now: 07 Porsche Cayman S | 18 VW Tiguan
Then: 18 VW GTI Autobahn | 95 BMW M3 | 15 VW GTI SE | 12 Kia Optima SX | 2009 VW GTI | 00 BMW 540i Sport | 90 Mazda Miata | 94 Yamaha FZR600R | 1993 Suzuki GS500E | 2003 BMW 325i | 95 Saab 900S
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