head gasket or cracked head

[jonbo]

I have been given a 1991 318I sedan that has been overheated on more than one occasion.I am no stranger to E30's however I am a complete stranger to the m42 power plant .The motor makes good power and easily revs to the redline.I have not done a compression check yet but... when full of coolant there is a vapor trail like a misquito fogger. Bentley's does not cover the m42 that well so I guess I need documentation and info about m42 characteristics.Local head xchange wants 950.00 for an xchange.I think that I could find acomplete engine w/accssy's for that.

My hope is that I can make this car my daily driver and dedicate my other E30 to track work.Hopefully I'll get the head off this week and make a decision.In ball park terms what should expect to pay for an M42 head and/or engine.In the event that this idea exceeds my budget I'll part it out.All help/info is appreciated.

Thanx

[Febi Guibo]

well, the good news is that there are enough disloyal ingrates who swap their M42 stuff out for other engines

so if you want a new engine, they show up rather frequently, sometimes for nothing or next to nothing!

There's a lot of guys here that have cylinder heads and/or cylinder head parts... they will chime in!

As a rough benchmark, bavarian engine exchange (not really recommended) sells M42 longblocks on ebay for around $900...

...and welcome!

[jonbo]

thanx for the info at this point all is appreciated.After looking through many posts made in the past it would seem that overheating is something that is a frequent problem w/m42 engines not sure if it is a design flaw or owner oversight.In the meantime Iv'e got to accummulate enough documentation so that I feel comfortable in the diagnoses,disassembly,fix and reassembly.

I'll keep my eyes open for those wanting to part w/a functioning head or engine.