# 01 740i - Head gasket (Update - valley pan gasket)



## jsanstone (Jan 21, 2009)

I recently discovered that i have a blown headgasket on the drivers side. Is this common for the e38? I dont know how this happened i originally thought it was the water pump but, under investigation i noticed that the water leaking was acutally coming from the head at the right side @ about the #1 cylinder. Is this a tought job to take on myself? Is it worth it? I'm mechanically inclined but seems like it could be a bigger job than i can take on. If anyone could help i greatly appreciate the advice. THanks


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## dannyc9997 (May 15, 2008)

Very big job that is tough to walk someone through. BMW VANOS V8's are quite the piece of engineering, I would NOT suggest trying this yourself unless you have a backup plan (an experienced BMW mechanic waiting in the wings). The headgaskets on my 540i were changed by myself and a master technition when I first got it. There were so many little things that he knew specifically about the M62-TU that made the job possible, without him I can just imagine what would have went wrong. One other thing is you will need a special tool to set the timing after the job...


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## Beemaboy (Jun 1, 2006)

+1

I have just had the heads done on my 98 740I and it is a REALLY BIG JOB!!! You do need to know what you are doing. The M62, and especially your M62TU is very complicated. If everything does not align up perfectly timing wise, you will have no end of troubles...

Its better to let a qualified tech do it. They will send the heads away for machining that will replace all the valve seals, springs, lifters etc... You also get a guarantee, so if something goes wrong or does not feel right, you can take it back...

If you do decide to do it yourself though, buy the Bentley manual and quite a few new pieces on underwear!


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## jsanstone (Jan 21, 2009)

*Fixed*

Replaced Valley Pan gasket water pump and about 10 other things.. now left with a 3000$ gone from the bank!! thanks for the input


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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

so......if I read correctly, it was not the head gasket after all. Had it truly been the head gasket, I personally would have recommended a rebuilt engine....cheaper than trying to fix it yourself. 

The valley pan gasket is a known leaker, along with some other hoses in the back on the firewall. OSV should have been replaced when you had the intake manifold off, water pump is always a good replacement....

Yes, your bank account will be considerably lighter with these type of repairs. Hope all is well again in sunny, shaky, smoggy California.

jake


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## jsanstone (Jan 21, 2009)

Yeah jake, they did replace the oil seporator valve, water tubes and along with all the hoses and o-rings located in and around the intake manifold. Pricey fix but worth the money. Now i have to worry about all the other fixes that need replacing to make it like new again... only time will tell, but will happen 
:rofl:


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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

You'll be in good shape for a while with the repairs you have done. Monitor your radiator/reservoir constantly, look for splashes and other tell tale signs of trouble. Buy yourself some new water hoses if they have not yet been replaced, watch your power steering fluid lines for leakage, pull the covers off your valve covers and dry/soak up any oil you may find in/around the plug wells and/or consider replacing your valve cover gaskets yourself. Change your oil regularly.....yourself.

jake


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## jsanstone (Jan 21, 2009)

Yeah. they did replace all the radiator hoses along with the valve cover gaskets so that part is pretty much taken care of. Only trouble im having now is the transmission after being in traffic for a while. Its holding the gears i posted a thread about it, that will be the next fix here within a couple weeks.


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