Sounds exactly like my M30 at idle. These engines can be a pain to bleed properly. Lift the front of the car (helps getting air out of the heatercore), heater at max, fan at low. Fill Coolant reservoir. Open the bleed screw. Observe bubbles coming out of bleeder screw and close when no bubbles or system seems full. Start the car. Let engine warmup. It helps is to circulate the coolant through the system faster, is rpm is kept at 2500. Open the bleed screw several times until no bubbles come. Make sure some coolant is present at the coolant reservoir at all times. That is alot of bubbles though. Might be a headgasket issue.
I had an e30 325 with the same symptoms, i was convinced it needed a headgasket but it just needed bleeding properly. It was a nightmare but it sorted it 👍 I cut the bottom off a square 5 litre water bottle and taped it to the water inlet on the rad, filled it right up to the top and the extra water pushed the air out eventually
@@Joshwaa___ m20 engines are a pain for the water system, mine was leaking somewhere so I had to do the bottle trick every couple of weeks 🤣 the compression test will just be valve seats and will get better with use 👍 it needs thrashing
Josh...do the test hot and disconnect the fuel, add a little oil to the bores. If your oil isn't milkshake its just a bleed problem on the cooling, compression differences are due to it sitting and valves bedding in after all these years sitting, change the big fuel filter near the tank also. AND..!!! Do not do the open fuel tank with a battery on clips...You are lucky you didn't blow the bloody doors off...
Fuel filter is new! i’ll do another test and do the re bleed like you say! a fair amount of people have commented saying this very well could be a bleeding problem! thankyou!
Greetings from Ireland! Grew up with these beasts and so can appreciate the work you're doing. Your a very nice guy with great skills, hope this channel blows up! 👏
I was going to say knackered cap and rotor, plus the rings stuck slightly due to being stood but that does look a bit head gaskety - it can happen if it's been cooked and the head is warped. What it's more likely to be is severe corrosion in the head water jacket that's gone into the one of the head gasket fire rings, or maybe two. When M20 heads crack you get oil in the coolant and/or vice versa, mayonnaise everywhere and it's not that. The stalling sounds like coolant literally putting the spark out. 2.5 885 heads aren't hard to find. You could try bleeding it out. BMW's are pretty easy, just add coolant slowly with the heater set to hot, bleed screws loose (one on the rad next to the filler cap and another on the thermostat housing) and 2000 rpm until the heater blows toasty. Ultimately the head probably needs to come off though. You are far better sourcing a good original head than trying to repair a bad one. Be careful revving it in N or P as it can bugger the front clutch in the 4HP22 auto.
5:20 I have more questions! Why is stuff missing from the interior? When did you get your dogs? What do the earbuds taste like? What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Good video, a few things already mentioned, but I'll add my 2 cents as a certified hexagon turner. The comp test should be done when hot, with the fuel disconnected and also with the theottle wide open, this helps with stopping the fuel washing the bores clean of oil, and WOT prevents any vacuum restrictions for consistent readings. Add a small amount of oil to each cylinder for a second compression test (wet) and that will help determine if the low compression is by worn piston rings. As for the cooling system, its not uncommon for the M20 and M30 engines to do headgaskets esp when the wrong coolant is used, the cyl head corrodes around coolant galleries, usually resulting in milkshake style engine oil though. Howevwr, as mentioned, these can be very problematic to bleed the air out of the system too, heater tap open, bleed screw open, front end raised, thats the usual process. Another way is with a vacuum system, but that needs more tools, but works wonders. Also, a cooling system pressure test will also tell you if you're losing coolant somewhere, again, more tools required. After a while you end up becoming a mechanic rather than doing what you actually want to do, which is more fun. Cant wait to see what you do with the E34. I've owned about 10 of them now.
This is a fantastic selection of information!! thankyou! i’m going to try get this thing another bleed and do a couple of these tests with some borroerd tools 🤣 worth it, if i dont have to take the head off that’d be grand
What attachment did you use on your drill to clean the wheel arch? I reckon the valves are gummed up. Probably needs an Italian tune up. Might be worth doing a sniff test to see if head gasket has blown
it was a polishing pad haha. i think if you cut the end of a toilet brush off it would be much better lol i’m gonna mess about with it some more and see if i can do something, some more testing lol
Hey Josh, results are low'ish across the board, 160psi is healthy. I'd also lean towards HG failure, and low comp test readings also being due to rings and valve seats due to sitting. I've had a few BM's and they are a PITA to bleed (always heater on full heat and front high up in the air), but bubbling and burping like that is not normal. Look forward to the next one 😎👍
With a compression test result showing 'low', you can 'isolate' ring wear by adding a couple drops of oil in the bore - then re-test. If the pressure improves, then the rings are iffy. You can get cheap bore-scopes from the usual places (£30) - they are good enough to look in the cylinders (not super shiny or HD - but good enough - make sure it has illuminated end). On my Dads (RIP) Volvo 850 - I could see coolant beeds along the cylinder wall after leaving it to 'weep' overnight. It puked its guts out during the emissions test, during strip down, I checked the head bolts - 3 were not tighty-tight haha. Still pulled the head for pressure test, guides etc. The skim was only 3 thou to clean the head - so it wasn't a pretzel - . It's done 237k miles - so nearly home after visiting the moon! Water doesn't compress, so I wouldn't rev the tits off it, without comfirming water is not sat on the piston, using a bore-scope. I hope the E34 gets sorted without too much hassle fella, love the E34, last of the great headlights. I know I know, E39 is the bestest 5 series ever, yea yeah - but I love the E34 more! Love the doggos! Great episode!
Thankyou for this info!! i’m gonna test it a little more and do a little update and hopefully have it all working just lovely and not have to remove the head fingers crossed lol
A little tip for next time you use the compression tester...you need to have the throttle open. That allows the enging to suck in the air easier and build compression quicker 👍 And yeah, definitely get yourself a coolant system bleed funnel.
I am fairly sure that the crack you have will effect the cooling system and not necessarily the cylinder seal. That bubbling is the air getting into the system from the crack. Do you have water in your oil? The chocolate milk look. If not then it might only be the head. Hope this is helpful. Have a great week. Marc from Australia
I am so amazed how you know all these things about all these different brands and how to fix them. I guess it’s all the same after a while only wrapped in a different package 😂
Good Evening Josh. What a real Bargain you got for the right amount of Nagociated money. This very Beautiful and Stunning BMW E34 will be a really Good Summer Cruiser going down the road. Once, she has had her Head gasket worked on and made better. It won't belong before she will be on the road, with you Driving her. She was well worth You and Your Friends rescuing her from the Recycling Center. A brand new set of BBS Wheels and Tyres, complete re-wiring of the cars Electrical System and maybe a Good I.C.E System she deserves. She will be Awesome and to see her driving down the road and peoples heads will turn and You will get Smiles and Thumbs up from people Admiring your Beautiful BMW E34, Shining in the Summer Sun Shine. Well Done Josh. 😃😃😃😃🤓🤓🤓🤓💯💯💯💯💯👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
@@Joshwaa___ You are always Welcome my Friend Josh. You always Produced such Top Quality video's. Your Incredible Skill and Know how is Absolutely the Best i have ever seen. Well Done Josh.
Sounds exactly like my M30 at idle. These engines can be a pain to bleed properly. Lift the front of the car (helps getting air out of the heatercore), heater at max, fan at low. Fill Coolant reservoir. Open the bleed screw. Observe bubbles coming out of bleeder screw and close when no bubbles or system seems full. Start the car. Let engine warmup. It helps is to circulate the coolant through the system faster, is rpm is kept at 2500. Open the bleed screw several times until no bubbles come. Make sure some coolant is present at the coolant reservoir at all times. That is alot of bubbles though. Might be a headgasket issue.
Thankyou!! i’ll give it another go and see what i can do!
I had an e30 325 with the same symptoms, i was convinced it needed a headgasket but it just needed bleeding properly. It was a nightmare but it sorted it 👍 I cut the bottom off a square 5 litre water bottle and taped it to the water inlet on the rad, filled it right up to the top and the extra water pushed the air out eventually
Ahhh interesting, maybe i’ll see if i can give that a go, it is rather odd! more diag needed!
@@Joshwaa___ m20 engines are a pain for the water system, mine was leaking somewhere so I had to do the bottle trick every couple of weeks 🤣 the compression test will just be valve seats and will get better with use 👍 it needs thrashing
Oh are they ahha, this is my first one so sounds great 😂😂 i’ll try the bottle trick!!
@@Joshwaa___ good luck 😉 make sure you keep it full right to the top and keep opening and closing the bleed screw, you’ll be amazed how much burps out
Josh...do the test hot and disconnect the fuel, add a little oil to the bores. If your oil isn't milkshake its just a bleed problem on the cooling, compression differences are due to it sitting and valves bedding in after all these years sitting, change the big fuel filter near the tank also.
AND..!!! Do not do the open fuel tank with a battery on clips...You are lucky you didn't blow the bloody doors off...
Fuel filter is new! i’ll do another test and do the re bleed like you say! a fair amount of people have commented saying this very well could be a bleeding problem! thankyou!
Also there was hardly anything flammable in there, was more like syrup 🤣
Greetings from Ireland! Grew up with these beasts and so can appreciate the work you're doing. Your a very nice guy with great skills, hope this channel blows up! 👏
Thank you kindly!!! Appreciate it mate
I was going to say knackered cap and rotor, plus the rings stuck slightly due to being stood but that does look a bit head gaskety - it can happen if it's been cooked and the head is warped. What it's more likely to be is severe corrosion in the head water jacket that's gone into the one of the head gasket fire rings, or maybe two. When M20 heads crack you get oil in the coolant and/or vice versa, mayonnaise everywhere and it's not that. The stalling sounds like coolant literally putting the spark out. 2.5 885 heads aren't hard to find.
You could try bleeding it out. BMW's are pretty easy, just add coolant slowly with the heater set to hot, bleed screws loose (one on the rad next to the filler cap and another on the thermostat housing) and 2000 rpm until the heater blows toasty. Ultimately the head probably needs to come off though. You are far better sourcing a good original head than trying to repair a bad one.
Be careful revving it in N or P as it can bugger the front clutch in the 4HP22 auto.
Another great vid. Thanks bud! Hyped for more of your own cars!
You and me both!
0:40 That's my car!!! Thanks for rushing it through, do not lower it!!! 😂
5:20 I have more questions! Why is stuff missing from the interior?
When did you get your dogs?
What do the earbuds taste like?
What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
African or European?
Good video, a few things already mentioned, but I'll add my 2 cents as a certified hexagon turner.
The comp test should be done when hot, with the fuel disconnected and also with the theottle wide open, this helps with stopping the fuel washing the bores clean of oil, and WOT prevents any vacuum restrictions for consistent readings. Add a small amount of oil to each cylinder for a second compression test (wet) and that will help determine if the low compression is by worn piston rings.
As for the cooling system, its not uncommon for the M20 and M30 engines to do headgaskets esp when the wrong coolant is used, the cyl head corrodes around coolant galleries, usually resulting in milkshake style engine oil though.
Howevwr, as mentioned, these can be very problematic to bleed the air out of the system too, heater tap open, bleed screw open, front end raised, thats the usual process.
Another way is with a vacuum system, but that needs more tools, but works wonders.
Also, a cooling system pressure test will also tell you if you're losing coolant somewhere, again, more tools required.
After a while you end up becoming a mechanic rather than doing what you actually want to do, which is more fun.
Cant wait to see what you do with the E34. I've owned about 10 of them now.
This is a fantastic selection of information!! thankyou! i’m going to try get this thing another bleed and do a couple of these tests with some borroerd tools 🤣 worth it, if i dont have to take the head off that’d be grand
Cant see a link to the E36 listing in tue description?
What attachment did you use on your drill to clean the wheel arch?
I reckon the valves are gummed up. Probably needs an Italian tune up. Might be worth doing a sniff test to see if head gasket has blown
it was a polishing pad haha. i think if you cut the end of a toilet brush off it would be much better lol
i’m gonna mess about with it some more and see if i can do something, some more testing lol
Hey Josh, results are low'ish across the board, 160psi is healthy. I'd also lean towards HG failure, and low comp test readings also being due to rings and valve seats due to sitting. I've had a few BM's and they are a PITA to bleed (always heater on full heat and front high up in the air), but bubbling and burping like that is not normal. Look forward to the next one 😎👍
Thanks !! i’ll investigate more and see!
With a compression test result showing 'low', you can 'isolate' ring wear by adding a couple drops of oil in the bore - then re-test. If the pressure improves, then the rings are iffy.
You can get cheap bore-scopes from the usual places (£30) - they are good enough to look in the cylinders (not super shiny or HD - but good enough - make sure it has illuminated end). On my Dads (RIP) Volvo 850 - I could see coolant beeds along the cylinder wall after leaving it to 'weep' overnight. It puked its guts out during the emissions test, during strip down, I checked the head bolts - 3 were not tighty-tight haha. Still pulled the head for pressure test, guides etc. The skim was only 3 thou to clean the head - so it wasn't a pretzel - . It's done 237k miles - so nearly home after visiting the moon!
Water doesn't compress, so I wouldn't rev the tits off it, without comfirming water is not sat on the piston, using a bore-scope.
I hope the E34 gets sorted without too much hassle fella, love the E34, last of the great headlights. I know I know, E39 is the bestest 5 series ever, yea yeah - but I love the E34 more!
Love the doggos! Great episode!
Thankyou for this info!! i’m gonna test it a little more and do a little update and hopefully have it all working just lovely and not have to remove the head fingers crossed lol
Why don't you paint the calipers when you have them loose?
Smell the coolant tank with it running, does it smell like exhaust gasses?
I’ll have to do some more tests! i
A little tip for next time you use the compression tester...you need to have the throttle open. That allows the enging to suck in the air easier and build compression quicker 👍
And yeah, definitely get yourself a coolant system bleed funnel.
Throttle wide open! didn’t know that! thankyou
@@Joshwaa___ no problem mate 🤙
Headgasket it will be loosing compression and putting exhaust gases into the coolant system
Do a hot compression test
I am fairly sure that the crack you have will effect the cooling system and not necessarily the cylinder seal. That bubbling is the air getting into the system from the crack. Do you have water in your oil? The chocolate milk look. If not then it might only be the head. Hope this is helpful. Have a great week. Marc from Australia
Thanks Marc, i think you’re correct! few people have said this specific engine is abit of a twat to bleed out, so will give that a go again!
Surprised not to see it in the comments but replace the timing belt asap!
Hope you get it sorted, lovely car 😀
I hope so too
In the future when performing compression tests it's preferable to hold the throttle wide open while cranking the engine for more accurate results 👍
Thanks for the info!
I am so amazed how you know all these things about all these different brands and how to fix them. I guess it’s all the same after a while only wrapped in a different package 😂
love your content josh thanks
Glad you enjoy it!
Looks more like an electric problem, all the gauges were bouncing.
Yeah there’s some funky electrical going. on
@@Joshwaa___ and we know how you love anything electrical 😬
buy a sniff test kit bout £15 that will tell you if headgaskets gone , also make sure heaters on so no air trapped in heater matrix
I’ll give it another go!
Fookin quality vlog bro.....awesome 🚗 car....wish I still had mine......was in the top 3....ever....
Thanks 👍
"I Turn Hexagons" merch time!
🤣🤣🤣
Hi Josh will be cool car to have for the summer good luck (got to be head gasket)
did someone say M52 time?
You can test the water to see if fumes are getting in it.
probably will be head gasket as would make no sense to leave a perfectly good car in a hedge
A hydrocarbon test on the coolant will give you a definitive answer before you start ripping it apart.
Gonna give this ago!
How did this car stay this good
no clue!
Set the valves properly and retest the compression, these M20 engines need this doing every couple fo years really.
Okay thankyou good tip! this is my first m20, good to get some tips!
it's a great car and needs some love I believe, it would last for a lifetime if you give it good service.. BMW's in that generation are bulletproof.
They’re really good aren’t they!
i just love your polo van '
hahahahah
That's not good for a compression test. They should be within 10% of each other
Maybe just the gasket 🤷♂️🤞
Maybe! i’ll look into it some more !
Sat for ages, rev tits off it when cold that’ll do it the world of good 🤦♂️
300
Good Evening Josh. What a real Bargain you got for the right amount of Nagociated money. This very Beautiful and Stunning BMW E34 will be a really Good Summer Cruiser going down the road. Once, she has had her Head gasket worked on and made better. It won't belong before she will be on the road, with you Driving her. She was well worth You and Your Friends rescuing her from the Recycling Center. A brand new set of BBS Wheels and Tyres, complete re-wiring of the cars Electrical System and maybe a Good I.C.E System she deserves. She will be Awesome and to see her driving down the road and peoples heads will turn and You will get Smiles and Thumbs up from people Admiring your Beautiful BMW E34, Shining in the Summer Sun Shine. Well Done Josh. 😃😃😃😃🤓🤓🤓🤓💯💯💯💯💯👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thankyou Jonathan i appreciate that sir!
@@Joshwaa___ You are always Welcome my Friend Josh. You always Produced such Top Quality video's. Your Incredible Skill and Know how is Absolutely the Best i have ever seen. Well Done Josh.