engine and drivetrain Blown head gasket - 74 tii

[kaptanoglu]

I have read related threads and am pretty sure I have a partially blown HG (like being partially pregnant?). White sweet smoke at idle, no noticeable power loss, rough idle....

The shop I called recommends having the head fully inspected and decked, along with an R&I of all the valves, etc.

The car is a well cared for driver that I plan on restoring next year.

Questions:

? - Is now the time to do cam, head work, etc., or should we just do the minimum and wait for a more complete power train effort? If it is time for tweaks, best ideas for this motor, if I want to keep the fuel injection?

? - If I am doing a resto anyway, should I just pull the whole engine (so we can get a proper paint job) and ship it off to TEP (or someone else)?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks a lot.

[gracer]

Do you want to keep the car stock or do you want to modify it? I would advise that you keep the stock cam. If you modify the cam then you have to modify the fuel injection. The stock engine is more than enough for todays traffic. I would just replace the head gasket. Do have the head checked for straightness and cracks. G

[kaptanoglu]

Do you want to keep the car stock or do you want to modify it? I would advise that you keep the stock cam. If you modify the cam then you have to modify the fuel injection. G

graver, thanks for the response.

The answer depends on the day of the week. The car was purchased new by my father in law, and he made some minor mods that I will not undo, so it will never be a pristine specimen in stock form. It will also be driven.

I guess what I am shooting for is "a little better than stock" without changing the character of the car. I want to ke the FI and received similar cam advice from another source.

Now I just need to decide whether to just do the gasket, or pull the whole enchilada so that I can have it properly painted.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

J

[Gordon]

I have read related threads and am pretty sure I have a partially blown HG (like being partially pregnant?). White sweet smoke at idle, no noticeable power loss, rough idle....

The shop I called recommends having the head fully inspected and decked, along with an R&I of all the valves, etc.

The car is a well cared for driver that I plan on restoring next year.

Questions:

? - Is now the time to do cam, head work, etc., or should we just do the minimum and wait for a more complete power train effort? If it is time for tweaks, best ideas for this motor, if I want to keep the fuel injection?

? - If I am doing a resto anyway, should I just pull the whole engine (so we can get a proper paint job) and ship it off to TEP (or someone else)?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks a lot.

Been there, done that last year when the head gasket blew on my 74 tii.

Pull the head, send it to a machine shop to do a pressure test to check for cracks. My head was cracked and we noticed a little water in the oil so the whole engine was pulled. The machine shop will pull the valve train, install new valve guides, etc...While the motor is halfway apart, time to do the rest of the motor. While the motor's out, take a look at the clutch if you have no idea of when it was last replaced. Recommend that you don't touch the cam in a tii. The best thing you can do performance wise for a tii is go with piano top pistons, 9.5:1 comp ratio, same as a Euro spec tii motor with a E12 head, that's what I have in my tii. Save your pennies since an engine rebuild won't be cheap but a local competent BMW mechanic can easily do this. Where do you live? Ask on the forum for a BMW shop near you that is competent working on a tii. For more info, read this. http://www.bimmers.com/02/upgrades/engine.html#fuel_injection

G-Man

[kaptanoglu]

Been there, done that last year when the head gasket blew on my 74 tii.

Pull the head, send it to a machine shop to do a pressure test to check for cracks. My head was cracked and we noticed a little water in the oil so the whole engine was pulled. The machine shop will pull the valve train, install new valve guides, etc...While the motor is halfway apart, time to do the rest of the motor. While the motor's out, take a look at the clutch if you have no idea of when it was last replaced.

That sounds like consistent advice. My current plan is to:

(1) let the car sit until I have the loot to go at this full bore (early next year)

(2) figure out any extra metal or holes I want for mods (bigger radiator, moved battery, etc) and make them

(3) pull the engine and trans for a rebuild

(4) pull the remaining engine compartment accessories so that I can get a good paint job

(5) do a full bare metal repaint (and clean up those little bits of rust)

(6) reassemble

Recommend that you don't touch the cam in a tii. The best thing you can do performance wise for a tii is go with piano top pistons, 9.5:1 comp ratio, same as a Euro spec tii motor with a E12 head, that's what I have in my tii.

That sounds like an easy upgrade. Do you have any issues running 93 octane in the summer, or is it good to go?

Save your pennies since an engine rebuild won't be cheap but a local competent BMW mechanic can easily do this.

Interesting thought. I was planning on sending the motor out to TEP or Korman (and am interested in the group's opinions on that). A local option might be cheaper, and might let me in on the process.

Last, has anyone overbored their engine, and if so, was it worth it?

[Gordon]

I'm at near sea level in CA and we have only 91 octane as premium here where I live. with 91 octane, I have no pinging on acceleration with 9.5:1 pistons. The key to a tii is getting it dialed in after the engine has been rebuilt, i.e, knowing how to properly connect the tii linkage, FI pump, etc... Any good machine shop can rebuild a tii motor, it's after it's rebuilt where the challenge is. That's why I recommend you find a shop that knows it way around Kugelfischer FI systems. Once it's dialed in, you won't have to mess with it for a long time. I'm lucky that Rob's shop (2002 Haus) is less than 30 minutes from my house.

G-Man

[ray_]

You'll want to have the KF pump gone through and the distributor rebuilt/re-curved while you're at it. A number of shops can do the pump and the distributor. Pretty sure that Precision Automotive can still do both.

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/66/32/

Cheers,