blown head gasket common in BMWs? how do you prevent a blown head gasket?

Question

is it true that BMW that are '96,'97,'98 etc have a better chance of blowing a head gasket?
my brother had a 96 ti and blew his head gasket twice. what can you do to prevent a blown head gasket?
thanks guys!

Answer 1

always check your oil...give the car a proper oil change when needed and never run the engine to its maximum RPM's that could mess it up. be consisten with the oil changes.

Answer 2

No year BMW is better than another for blowing head gaskets. The '96ti had a 4 cylinder engine with a head gasket and a profile gasket. When the profile gasket failed, all the coolant could be gone in seconds. Not stopping the car immediately would probably warp the head and subsequent running would blow the head gasket.

Many newer BMWs have plastic radiators which fail prematurely. Same thing if you run without coolant - warped and blown.

Some BMWs had plastic water pump impellers. When the impeller fell off flow stopped. If the impeller fell to pieces, some can lodge in the cooling passages. Ask me how I know. 1995 525iT.

Never re-use BMW head bolts. They are torqued past yield strength. Anyways, they are cheap.

Prevent blowing head gaskets by maintaining your cooling system. Use the BMW coolant. Check all the hoses. Watch for drips.

Answer 3

There was a time when customer service included a tie up of the head (very important, according to torque specs) after the break in. Rising manpower costs induces to skip this step and better manufacturing methods would support the idea.
Introduction of Aluminium head and steel blocks made the job of the gasket much tougher. The different expansion of metals is really giving hard time to the gasket that lay in between and shall take all the abuses.
Style of driving does not help either. "Heavy foot" on the gas is definitely reducing the life span of engine, even the best engines.
Replacing the head gasket means: plane the head (very important) and the block, install a new gasket, follow a break in procedure, after 5 to 7 thousand KM tie the head bolts according to specs. And...don't push too hard!!

Answer 4

There's no way to fulley protect yourself from blowing a head gasket. The easiest ways to prevent it is to do the proper maintance when it is recomended, and not when its needed, or when its needed and not recomended, whichever comes first. I had a 1986 Plymouth K-Car (probably the worst car ever built for blowing head gaskets) with the 2.5L. I went through about 5 head gaskets in the life of the car. I also had a 1987 Plymouth Caravelle, with the 2.5L (same engine, and almost the same car, jsut longer) and I only had to do the head gasket once. Maintance is important, but it can' not prevent it from happening. As long as you keep up with the proper preventative maintance (doing work before its required, eg, doing an oil change at 2500mi instead of 3000mi.) you should be fine, and if its going to blow, it will, but proper maintance will reduce the chance.

Answer 5

The cylinder heads on BMW's are a light weight alloy that exposes them to warping under high temperature conditions. The best way to prevent problems is to check your coolant regularly for proper coolant/water mix, and keep it topped up.

Once a head gasket is blown, it's usually because of a warped head. The head should be "planed" to remove the warp before the new head gasket is installed or else it's likely it will blow again. Double check that the head bolts are torqued properly.

Answer 6

You must be living in a country which has extrem climate. late 90's model had a lot of similar complain. You can avoid this by regularly checking the coolant level in the raditor but never ever open the raditor cap when the car is even slightest warm as air seeps trough the engine cooling system allowing that air to expand and blow the cylinder head gasket.

Answer 7

Make sure you remill the head when replacing the head gasket. I had an engine I replaced the gasket twice before milling the head. After that no problem-O.
All it takes is just a few thousandths of an inch warpage to cause this.

Answer 8

Re torque the cylinder head bolts,,,and take car of the engine cooling system, some cars are more prone to cooling system failure than others.
Use a non corrosive antifreeze,some aluminum block engines corrode very easily on the inside ,and get the cooling system flushed regularly.
after blowing a head gasket,its always a good idea to have the cylinder head Planed, before re-installation,,some times the block mating surface has to be milled as well.

Answer 9

The words blown and BMW are used together often. I have owned several BMW's.

However I do not recall anyone I know ever having a problem with a head gasket. My guess is that your brother is not properly maintaining his cooling system.

Answer 10

i own a repair shop,and all cars made have a good chance of blowing a head gasket at one time or another,i don't think there's any car made that wouldn't blow one under the right circumstances so this isn't just about BMW,s its about any car made,now days,the only thing you can do to try and prevent this from happening is to try and never let it get hot on you ,that's about it,and even then i have seen them blow,i seen one blow on a new car a while back,so nothing is perfect,as long as its built and assembled by people anything is possible,and even machines make mistakes,good luck,i hope this help,s.

Answer 11

Don't over heat your engine. This is what blows the head gasket.