Should i buy this head? Mine is Cracked

well after i had a tech look over my 01 325i he said my head has a crack, their heads are way too expensive at 3000 bucks so i found this one on ebay what do yall think? I wont need to take it to a machine shop and the tech said he will put it in and swap my cams over for 800 bucks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-M54-Rema...36b884&vxp=mtr

Wow that looks pretty good. And for $700 just wow.
Please let us know how it goes OP

+1 VAC Motorsport does great work...

you could also try car-part.com to find one local.

Did your tech remove the head already and know the threads in the block haven't been pulled up...that it will hold torque.

Start by tightening the head bolts before you go buying a new head. This, based on what I recall reading here...I'm not a mechanic...just know stuff!

HTH

The last time I had a mechanic tell me I had a cracked head it was simply a bad head gasket but they wanted to charge me for the works. I'd get a second opinion.

Idk I go to church with the guy so I do trust him, is tightening down the head bolts something I can do myself?

"Church" and "trust" are two things I do not put in the same sentence.

Get a second opinion.

From where? That was the BMW dealership

OP...what were your symptom(s) that led you to finding out that the head was cracked?

Originally Posted by 2003silver330i

OP...what were your symptom(s) that led you to finding out that the head was cracked?

Ive been losing coolant for the past 4 months, well as soon as i bought it the previous owner said it was a hose leak so i trusted that i'm not sure how long it has actually been like this. i could never find a leak so i started assuming the water was going in the motor cause it puffs white smoke out the exhaust ever so often. There is no water in the oil and it always smells like burning coolant. I have to put in about 32 ounces of water a day and its actually losing alot more after the tech at the dealership did a leak down and compression test. He told me that compression was great but when he tested the radiator that water spewed out the cap which isn't supposed to happen due to the valves being closed so water is leaking through a crack in the head which caused the water to spew out. He said a reman head will fix the problem and it will be as good as new. I found one for 800 and he will install at his house for 800. i'm debating on doing it.
Thats all he told me, i didn't really argue with him, i told him i'll research and let him know if i want him to put in a new head for 800.
It also doesnt like to run at startup until it is at operating temperature, it stumbles and dies if i come to a stop sign and push in the clutch it will just die unless i keep it revved up.

ok i called him and he explained, he pressured up the 3rd cylinder and water sprayed out the radiator cap. all other cylinders were fine

US $799.99

it's so expensive..

mmmm.... we do e46 engines at our shop on a regular basis. this is my input.

never ever ever buy a used cylinder head. go the route youre going. always buy a reman from a reputable dealer WITH A WARRANTY. if that is the route you choose.

$800 bucks almost sounds to good to be true considering its calls for roughly 24 hours of labor to perform such a repair, but dont cry to him if something goes wrong with the new head. generally when you supply your own parts there is no warranty. so you have to decide if thats a risk you are willing to take.

used heads 101

-people just dont take cylinder heads off e46 engines.... unless it was overheated and blew a gasket.

-9 times out of 10 when a engine is over heated to the point of needing a head gasket the head is garbage.

-take a straight edge to any e46 cylinder head after it has been warped to the point that it needs a head gasket. they are warped for days beyond machine shop repair.

-which brings me to my next point. if you do attempt a head gasket job.... well if that engine has been overheated to the point it needs a head gasket. i can almost probably guarantee the threads in the block are going to rip out..... e46 engines just dont blow headgaskets out of the blue.... they are overheated for far to long because people want to drive that extra 5-10 minutes to make it home.

put it this way its easier to just put a used engine with a warranty, than to replace a cylinder head, tap threads and put time serts in the block.

used engine is the way to go.


my .02

ps these head dont normally crack. they warp.

The tech told me a used engine for my BMW would cost me around 3500

+1 on what stookin said. Start looking for a used engine.

Well today it will barely run, it got 35 degrees today, won't rev up when floored unless I pump alot and engine is shaking all through the power and while driving dies over and over

stop running it before you bend a rod.....shits not gonna fix itself. park it until you have the means to fix it.

I'm gonna get a new motor ill run it till it blows