O great BMW Oracles of Knowledge - 95 525 Head Gasket ;(

[Scott C]

Well,

Looks like Santa dumped the turds on me this Xmas, the headgasket in my 95 525i appears to be leaking both oil and antifreeze at the far back of the engine above the bell housing. The antifreeze is leaking at about 1 quart every 3-4 weeks and oil is less than a quart at 3K miles (but will need to watch).

I drive this thing to and from work (5 miles each way) and don't abuse it - straight and level simple drive. The crystal ball question is, can I with moderate risk continue to drive this (watching the temp gauge) through the winter until weather is warmer or am I jeopardizing head warpage by doing so? I am not familiar with the failure modes of this puppy, but know it is gonna cost a fortune if I warp the head.

Anyway, that is the question - looking for opinions as to how stupid this would be based upon known experience with head gasket failures on the M50TU engine!

Thanks much in advance,
Scott

[colo525i]

I'd check for a leaky heater hose first before being certain it was the headgasket. Has the car ever been overheated?
The oil could be the valve cover gasket, they like to get rock hard and let oil go everywhere. Also check the coolant for oily spots. You can also check the spark plugs to see if they are clean of deposits. The M50 is prone to headgasket failure if it is overheated, but they tend to go quite catastrophically.
Don't see any reason to stop driving if it isn't overheating as that is what causes the warped head.

[Scott C]

I'd check for a leaky heater hose first before being certain it was the headgasket. Has the car ever been overheated?
The oil could be the valve cover gasket, they like to get rock hard and let oil go everywhere. Also check the coolant for oily spots. You can also check the spark plugs to see if they are clean of deposits. The M50 is prone to headgasket failure if it is overheated, but they tend to go quite catastrophically.
Don't see any reason to stop driving if it isn't overheating as that is what causes the warped head.

Thanks,
The heater hose was replaced 1 year ago (the hard to replace one under the intake man) and it seems to be sealed tight at the fittings). The valve cover gasket was changed this summer but I will double check to make sure I did not cock it up...

Edit... I verified that the valve cover gasket is in well and that the hoses are tight and not leaking. I just love working in garage that is at 40 degrees

[scott 4991]

Well Scott C, you got my original name - many years ago I was Scott C - but no more.. anyway, I had a similar problem on my 535i. This was a 3'rd car, so I did not need it to drive everyway, and my son and I took the engine apart, with the help of Bentley, and replaced the timing chain, had the head trued, water pump, all associated parts - and it's been fine ever since. I now have 172K miles and it runs great. Don't know how long you plan to keep the car, but if for a while, why not do this? My head truing and valve seating ran $440 at a high performance shop - not through a dealer. I considered this a good price. I'd sure we spend $800 when finished, but still running strong at 172K miles is great.

To address your question, I think you can drive it as it, as long as you watch for overheating and watch the oil.

Good Luck.

The old Scott C

[Scott C]

Thanks,
I intend to fix it long term (and keep the car 4 or so more years), it is just that with the snow coming here in the great white north and the fact that this is the car I have to drive (and with Blizzaks - big grin) and really don't want to tear it down while it is cold. I am researching whom can do the head locally (grind, seats, etc) and am reading about all the wonderful tools needed to potentially do this job (with the vanos).

Well Scott C, you got my original name - many years ago I was Scott C - but no more.. anyway, I had a similar problem on my 535i. This was a 3'rd car, so I did not need it to drive everyway, and my son and I took the engine apart, with the help of Bentley, and replaced the timing chain, had the head trued, water pump, all associated parts - and it's been fine ever since. I now have 172K miles and it runs great. Don't know how long you plan to keep the car, but if for a while, why not do this? My head truing and valve seating ran $440 at a high performance shop - not through a dealer. I considered this a good price. I'd sure we spend $800 when finished, but still running strong at 172K miles is great.

To address your question, I think you can drive it as it, as long as you watch for overheating and watch the oil.

Good Luck.

The old Scott C

[winfred]

as long as you don't overheat it or run out of oil it will probably be ok, be advised theres always the possibility it could blow a chunk of gasket out and the drip turns into a gush so beware

[Scott C]

as long as you don't overheat it or run out of oil it will probably be ok, be advised theres always the possibility it could blow a chunk of gasket out and the drip turns into a gush so beware

That is exactly the type of failure that I was worried about - a catastrophic failure that screws the engine....

Thanks much Winfred!

[Scott C]

Not to beat a dead horse....

Based upon years of experience, car with 115K miles and assuming the head does not need reground, should I just go ahead and get a valve job (and seals replaced) while it is off? I should note that there is currently no smoke from the car (either under heavy load or coasting) but my usual philosophy is to just get 'er done while in there. I am somewhat reluctant to take the head to a shop and have them work on it as my experience to date is not good with local shops (rural NY).

It seems a no brainer if I have to plane the head to get the valves done....

Thanks much.

[winfred]

it should be fine, the non vanos m50s had problems with valve guides but the vanos cars seem to be fine, and 115k ain't much mileage the stem seals are probably still flexible, at most (unless given cause) id lap the valves and knock on new valve stem seals, otherwise if it's clean and straight throw it back on with new head bolts

[Scott C]

it should be fine, the non vanos m50s had problems with valve guides but the vanos cars seem to be fine, and 115k ain't much mileage the stem seals are probably still flexible, at most (unless given cause) id lap the valves and knock on new valve stem seals, otherwise if it's clean and straight throw it back on with new head bolts

Thank you very much kind sir!
Scott