Hello everyone,
I've been visiting forums for years to help myself on numerous projects I've had on the go. I couldn't find a lot of instruction on doing a head gasket job on the N46 engine, so I thought this current project might be a way to give back in a sense.
The car: 2006 BMW 320i E90
The Engine: N46 4 cylinder
The Gearbox: Automatic
The Story: I live in the Cayman Islands, an accountant by trade. I'm always looking for projects to work on. Came across this one guy who was selling his 320i for cheap as he said its down on power and overheating. I assumed it's the head gasket and proceeded to purchase the vehicle.
The Plan: I'm going to keep a log on this thread of what I'm doing, steps I've taken, and try and include some good pictures in order to generate good feedback, and conversation. Keep in mind, I'm not a mechanic, and I'm doing this in my driveway with limited tools.
Let's get into it...
The symptoms and observations: Since I've purchased the car, I've driven it a few times and here are some observations.
1) Misfiring - head gasket or bad coil/plug
2) Oil found in coolant reservoir - another symptom of head gasket or failed heat exchanger
3) Over-heating - likely the head gasket again, however, after the engine cooled I noticed water pooled under the belts - and no sign of where it came from.
3) Loud vibration noise upon start-up of cold engine, but only when gearbox is under load (Drive or Reverse). I suspect the Alternator Pulley.
4) Bit of a timing chain rattle - 73,000 miles so no huge surprise here.
5) Large amount of sludge in the top end when looking into oil filler cap - Could be causing the VANOS to work incorrectly and cause misfire mentioned earlier
Other not important observations:
a) BMW badge on the hood is faded and cracked - needs replacing
b) Trim above back passenger door is missing and needs replacing. How something like this goes missing is a mystery to me
c) Wheels need to be refinished
I've just simply started by removing the heat exchanger. I wanted to see if this is where the oil was mixing with the coolant. After inspection it did not appear to be the cause, however, I'll try and pressure test it to be sure.
This is as far as I've gotten, and I expect over the next few weeks I'll start to make some progress and update the thread as I go. I have ordered the timing tools for the N46 and they should be arriving on island within the next week or so, hopefully.
If anyone has any feedback, questions, or advise it is always appreciated.
Fish
