Thanks in advance for any help given I have learned so much from this site and hopefully can contribute some day. Here is my dilemma 2003 r53 100k miles only had for about 4 weeks purchased for my son. Needless to say it has turned into a project car and we have done our fair share of replacements probably the hardest things we have done were changing the supercharger oil/new harmonic balancer or for sure the hardest new control arm bushings.

The car overheated earlier in the week so we thought we were losing coolant through the expansion take which we ordered. Already replaced thermostat and pump. While that was on order we replaced the control arm bushings so the car sat for about a week getting worked on. Installed the coolant tank then noticed the t fitting from overflow had broken so replaced that. Then tried to crank the car noticed bubbling in the expansion tank thought it was just bleeding the system but could not get the car to start. Pulled the plugs and there appeared to be water/coolant on 1 and 2 and seemed to spit coolant when trying to crank. Finally got it started tons of white smoke misfiring etc rant it for a while and the white smoke finally cleared but still misfired and was not happy. Weird thing is the car seemed to run fine a few days after the initial overheat but now barely runs.

My guess is we blew the head gasket? Don’t have a compression tester to verify but from what I have seen here I think this is a pretty good guess. Any input on this would be appreciated hope I’m wrong.

Now the questions,

I could not find a tutorial on replacing the head gasket searches not finding much of anything other than videos if anyone knows one that would be super helpful preferably not a video.

Any ideas in the time involved doing this? Can’t take it to dealer would probably cost more than I paid for car.

Should I look for/replace anything else if I have to dive this deep?

Is it possible the head is damaged, how can I tell and if so what should I do about that?

I have access to a salvage car of the same year for about the same price as a head rebuild or new head would it be wise to go that route?

Any suggestions for someone that could rebuild the head possibly mildly port it while in there?

 

I can't really comment on the actual issue that you have, but the second post here has a pdf of the relevant section of the Bentley manual:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...moval-diy.html

And Pelican Parts has individual instructions of various components in their technical articles. They don't as far as I know show how to remove the head, but many other components are included if you need more pictures and/or instructions than the manual shows.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...tech_index.htm

 

If you are losing coolant and there are no visible leaks (You've pressure tested the system), then there is a possibility of a head gasket leaking.

The second thing would be to inspect the coolant and oil for cross contamination. Also look for residue in the tailpipe. If the oil or coolant are milky like chocolate milk or cloudy, then chances are you have a blown head gasket. Another test is whats called a Block Tester http://www.summitracing.com/parts/oe...hXLBoCZUzw_wcB , which is relatively cheap.

IF you have a head gasket leak, then go from there. I would be 100% sure I have a leaking head gasket before I tackle it because it gets really expensive, especially if done wrong.

 

One can't really assess if there's damage to the head without having it removed and inspected by a machinist, who should be able to tell if anything is out of spec.

Other things to do while you're in there: have fuel injectors cleaned & replace O-rings, clean intake manifold, replace O-ring at crank sensor, replace worn plastic air intake pipes and seals, replace belt tensioner and idler pulley and passenger motor mount if it's old.

 

Cool thanks for all the tips. I did buy one of those block test kits from Napa but I am pretty sure the gasket is done for as water is getting into the cylinders some how.

I do know several machinists who I can have look at the head for me, I didn't think about that.

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who could rebuild the head and possibly do a valve job that won't break the bank? If I am going that deep I might as well get a little performance boost out of it.

 

When I was still working on cars you could usually get a head pressure tested and machined for $150. Valves for about $100 plus parts when done together. Its the R&R that gets labor intensive plus the "replace while your in there parts". Totally worth it in the long run.

 

i removed and replaced the head on my R53 recently for valve stem seals. Not a bad job for an experienced DIYer. Pulling the harmonic damper off was the only PITA for me.

Would love to find a shop that would freshen up a head for prices like that. The MINI specialty shops seem to want at least $1000 to exchange an old head for a rebuilt one.

Someone suggested this to me and it worked - you can find "delivery miles only" heads on eBay UK for around $400. Cheaper than paying for machining and a few valves if that is what it would take to fix yours up...

 

Yeah, well we are talking the prices of DIY and Letting someone else do it for you.

A Mini shop is probably like $120/labor hour.

A Indy shop is probably like $60/labor hour.

What 5-10 hours depending on your skill level?

So a Shop is going to charge you about $600 Plus parts and headwork.

If you do it yourself, you are saving the labor. But you add $150 for Machining, $100 for valve install, and like maybe $50 per valve kit. There is your $4-500 dollar rebuild.

People underestimate labor costs. Also in some cases, parts are WAY more than the cost of labor to install, but on big jobs like engine work, labor is WAY more than the cost of all the tiny parts you need.

 

After 1000 miles one should check the torque of the engine block .

 

If you were able to do the supercharger yourself, getting the head off will be no problem. Did mine a few weeks ago and was surprised how easy it was.

There are a few guides out there, just Google r53 head removal. The Chiltons manual is also good for this job.

There's a pdf from the Bentley manual in the link from the second post. You dont really it though if you have the chiltons, except for the part in it that mentions the timing chain is designed to not come off the bottom sprocket. Some people hang the chain up in the air but it's not needed, it wont come off.

The only special too I used was the camshaft holder. I just rented it from Detroit tuned, makes the job much easier for only $20.

Don't have advice on where to take it, but you'll probably want to since it overheated. Hopefully you just blew the gasket though

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...questions.html

this is a pretty useful post too