Cracked Head?

Hi Mate

theres loads of bmw breakers out there. If you go on www.yahoo.co.uk and type "bmw breakers" in the search box and click uk only, it brings up loads of sites. Just make sure its been re-conditioned and not just been removed from another engine though. Theres also a few breakers in the back of performance bmw magazine.

The first signs that something was wrong was a slow loss of coolant, more so when driven hard. I checked for leaks all round but found nothing at all. I then pressure tested the system to find it lost pressure but only over 15 psi so this must be a small leak but a leak. I checked the coolant for oil or some sign of a head gasket problem, nothing. I checked the oil but nothing. To which I decided to cont. driving it until the leak showed itself. It continued to loss coolant but no leak could be found at all, no coolant in the oil still,no oil in the coolant and no funny smells in the car(a E30 320i touring). Then the coolant loss got worst and the signs started to appear, the oily look to the coolant(oil on a puddle). I removed the cam cover to find moisture on the inside, water in the oil then.Having been told how to check for cracks in the head or the common places where they crack( handed having a BMW tech. in the family) I looked long and hard, but there it was one very small crack in the cam journal above No.4. 

To do this you warm the car up to full temp. and remove the cam cover, then you start the car with the cover off. Using a good light you inspect the head around the cam journals but I found it by looking for the coolant trail not the crack. It is so small you can hardly see it. You may find it easier to see when the engine is turned off but I'd still look with it running first.

Hope this helps.

DoR.