urgent- m42 whoas

[jw325ic]

okay, heres the deal. i know its an e36, but has the m42....

my brothers 95 318i overheated not too long ago. so our friend replaced the water pump, thermostat, and the fan clutch. i dont know if he put the water pump in wrong or the thermostat in wrong or what. all it did was over heat.

so my brother took it to a shop, they did something to the cooling system, and about a week later the car started showing white smoke out the exhaust which definitely smells like coolant only. some arkansas mechanic said he thought it was the head gasket. but i looked all over the engine and no coolant in the head, or in any of the oil lines. i drained the oil, and it looked like it was just time for a routine oil change.

when i first looked at it, there were bubbles in the coolant reservoir, but after changing some gaskets with the valve cover, and the spark plug gaskets, and changed the oil, there were no more bubbles. the coolant definitely needs to be flushed though.

so heres where i am. the car still has white smoke coming out the exhaust. when you start it it wants to die(im thinking the ICV). and evidently it still over heats. there was a missing coolant hose which i replaced, and i replaced the lower radiator to water pump hose. no leaks anywhere. no coolant in the oil or vice verse.

whats going on? any body know??? help pleeeaase!!!

[nickmpower]

it probably wants to die because there is water in one of the cylinders leaking from the cracked head.

[P. Kennedy]

pull the head off (it's not that big of a job) and you will have your answer(s)

[jw325ic]

yea im thinking its a cracked head :mad: the mid-right spark plug chamber had oil in it about 1.5 inches up. the plug was flooded. so i replaced all the gaskets on the valve cover for the spark plug chambers and the cover itself. cleaned up that chamber. im only here tonight and tomorrow. i looked at it this afternoon and decided it wasnt the head gasket. but i read on BFc that it could be the cracked head since theres not mixture of fluids. sound about right? i keep telling him to get an e30.

[gearheadE30]

Sounds like a cracked head because that is a known problem when the motor is overheated, and you would probably see a mixture of fluids or a large compression loss if it was the head gasket. Good luck with the repairs.

[johna]

Did you mean "woes"?

[Vladi]

Did you mean "woes"?

Prolly.

[jw325ic]

Prolly.

lol ya ya whatever. i was in a hurry. i had to go up to north arkansas from dallas tx to find out its a cracked head. im either going to replace the head or just sell the car and get an eta. itll be perfect for him making the 5 hour trip and driving around campus. his e36 has been through so many wrecks and engine issues i say sell. thanks for yalls help though.