Headgasket Replacement

[BMW-F1-FAN]

I am about to replace my headgasket. I have everyting I need and expect it to take me the entire weekend. I called a reputable shop and they gave me a price of $630 to do it for me. What do you think. Should I have them do it or should I tackle it myself?

[Bill R.]

no idea of your skill level or knowledge, tools that you have, ability and determination... There's also no way to tell what you'll find or what the shop would find once they get it apart.. It could have other problems such a crack or warpage that would need a trip to the machine shop or you may find other problems.. Its a judgement that you have to make on your own.

I am about to replace my headgasket. I have everyting I need and expect it to take me the entire weekend. I called a reputable shop and they gave me a price of $630 to do it for me. What do you think. Should I have them do it or should I tackle it myself?

[George M]

if they are charging you that amount for the whole job, it does not include having the head disassembled and machined which I strongly advise because of the amount of labor involved. You can do the job for probably just under the quote you got and you could get your head reconditioned to boot....my recommendation.
Good Luck,
George...many of us have rebuilt the top end on the M-30.

[Hector]

Im not a mechanic but I have some skills on auto repair so I have successfully replaced the head gasket of a Mazda I currently own and I'm in the process of replacing the headgasket of my M30. Without exaggerating, replacing the headgasket of the latter is alot more involved than that of the former. If you decide to tackle this yourself, it's not going to take you a weekend to do it properly. If you decide to pull the head off but don't want to disassemble it, then at least get it pressure tested at a good machine shop for peace of mind. I've been quoted 40 bucks for this service from a local shop.

Hector

[Unregistered]

What kind of car is it?

I replaced mine (with some serious help from Martin, Jeff N, and others on this board). It's a big job.

I'd also recommend having the head reconditioned while it's off (valve grind, valve guides, etc.). But it's not *necessary* if the head is in good shape, or if you have low miles. Make sure that they ensure that it's not warped or cracked before they reinstall it, though. A simple machining to make sure it's flat won't cost you too much.

Good luck.

Erick

[Javier]

prevent damages to the timing chain guides when removing the head? Think I saw some info about it in the forum.

[George Mann]

only tip would be it is quite common when removing the long heavy head on the big six when swinging it up and out of the engine compartment....is to catch the plastic timing chain guide located on the driver side front of the block. This generally will break the guide resulting in a need to disassemble the front of the engine, remove the crank nut and lower timing chain cover. Makes a big job even bigger. A good idea is to make a list of do's and don'ts and tape them to the hood for reference when doing the head gasket as to not make any big mistakes. I really should put together a list but just haven't had the time. Also a fellow enthusiast and now a friend botched the job the first time and didn't set the cam timing correctly resulting in a number of bent valves. He also did a lot of horrific things wrong when rebuilding the top end resulting in him having to do the job twice. I am happy to report that both he and the engine somehow made it through the ordeal and it is now running beautifully.
HTH,
George
One hugely important point whenever the engine is opened up is to be very careful with little clips, intake/exhaust copper nuts etc...do not drop anything down inside the engine. Sounds silly but can happen very easily and ruin your day and make the job a whole lot harder.
George