Head gaskit

I have a 1997 BMW 528i with 102,000 miles. I recently spent $5,000 on various and numerous repairs (cat converter, water pump, elect water pump, aux fan, etc.). Now the dealer is telling me that my head gasket is leaking or I have a crack in the head from overheating. And that is why the temp gauge is still occasionally running hot. The needle goes up but drops back down. Can I just keep on driving the car? Should I trade it in? I really don’t want to spend more $.

no, have someone else look at it, and if they say the same then get it, dont drive the car

As I recall, that engine had a well know head problem. I would check with the dealer and see if there was any type of recall/TSB/etc. issued. I would also check some BMW forums and see if they were able to get ant help on this repair. If the deler won’t do anything for you, find a good independent BMW shop.

Thanks, the car is worth about $7,000 or $8,000. I just put $5,000 into it and it runs great. A head gaskit replacement cost about $3000. Replacing the head seems like too much to spend on the car. I will check with folks on the BMW car club.

the car is worth about $7,000 or $8,000. I just put $5,000 into it and it runs great. A head gaskit replacement cost about $3000. Replacing the head seems like too much to spend on the car

Well what you have spent on the car is over and done with. If it indeed does have a cracked head, then I would think that spending $3,000 to fix it would be well worth it for a good running car worth t least $7,000. You just have to forget that $5,000. Without the head gasket it is going to be worth far less than $7,000.

How mechanical are you? For less than $800 you could rent a cheap car for a week, remove the head(s) and have them resurfaced and tested ($125-200), replace gaskets ($60-200), and if you dont want to reinstall it yourself (sometimes tricky) then HAVE A GOOD MECHANIC PERFORM THE =REINSTALL ONLY= ($200-300 tops).

If you reinstall it yourself, the most important things to remember are the timing chain lineup and not over-torquing the head-bolts.

What you have spent on the car is what accountants call a “sunk cost”, it should not influence your current decison making process. If the car is otherwise OK, get an independent mechanic who knows BMWs check it out. If the diagnoses is correct, I would do the work, but it should not cost you $3000. However, you must really like this car to go through with it. What the car is worth is also irrelevant; what it is worth to you is what counts. I once repainted a 1988 Caprice for $1450 while the book value was only $3000, but the car ran well and pulled my camper for another 9 years.