Gas build up when taking off engine cap
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Joined: Jun 2022
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190e
Gas build up when taking off engine cap
Hi all,
Fulfilled a dream of owning a 190e two days ago. Engine sounded smooth, test drive was great, no blue smoke. Was happy.
A mate came over and took the engine cap off when the car was idiling and it was leaking gas. He reckons it’s valve or piston leak meaning engine is done. I’m an idiot for not suspecting something was not right as price was really good and/or doing a proper inspection before purchasing it.
Any chance that it’s not that bad? Don’t really want to pay a mechanic to tell me it’s what my mate said anyway.
Id like to use it as a daily and am thinking about a K24 engine swap. I’d be trying to get the engine and install done for $5000aud, am I dreaming? Not concerned about it being crazily powerful I’d just like a reliable engine with cheap parts.
Would cheapest option to get it on the road quickly be to just replace the same engine?
thanks
Fulfilled a dream of owning a 190e two days ago. Engine sounded smooth, test drive was great, no blue smoke. Was happy.
A mate came over and took the engine cap off when the car was idiling and it was leaking gas. He reckons it’s valve or piston leak meaning engine is done. I’m an idiot for not suspecting something was not right as price was really good and/or doing a proper inspection before purchasing it.
Any chance that it’s not that bad? Don’t really want to pay a mechanic to tell me it’s what my mate said anyway.
Id like to use it as a daily and am thinking about a K24 engine swap. I’d be trying to get the engine and install done for $5000aud, am I dreaming? Not concerned about it being crazily powerful I’d just like a reliable engine with cheap parts.
Would cheapest option to get it on the road quickly be to just replace the same engine?
thanks
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,369
Likes: 195
From: SF Bay Area, CA
190E 2.6L 1989, 190E 2.6L 1988, BMW 535dXdrive 2014, BMW 428i 2015
Very sorry to hear. Maybe first tell us more detail. What engine is it? 1.8, 2.0, 2.3 or 2.6?
Do you also smell fuel when you take the dipstick off and smell it?
How many miles on the engine?
The condition you are describing is not common at all, especially if it is running smoothly.
If I had the car I would first try to find out where the fuel is coming from.
Disconnect the PCV hose and observe if there is fuel smell coming from that direction (crankcase). If so, and there is no fuel smell out of the exhaust pipe, I would say that engine is done.
If not the only other possibility is the exhaust valve stems I suppose. That is just a head job which is not that expensive if you do the head removal yourself.
I would say the simplest is to replace with a similar engine (M102 if it is 1.8-2.0-2.3, or M103 it is 2.6).
- Cheers!
Do you also smell fuel when you take the dipstick off and smell it?
How many miles on the engine?
The condition you are describing is not common at all, especially if it is running smoothly.
If I had the car I would first try to find out where the fuel is coming from.
Disconnect the PCV hose and observe if there is fuel smell coming from that direction (crankcase). If so, and there is no fuel smell out of the exhaust pipe, I would say that engine is done.
If not the only other possibility is the exhaust valve stems I suppose. That is just a head job which is not that expensive if you do the head removal yourself.
I would say the simplest is to replace with a similar engine (M102 if it is 1.8-2.0-2.3, or M103 it is 2.6).
- Cheers!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,995
Likes: 394
1991 190E 2.3
You can go to your local parts store and purchase some engine dye to run in your car. The engine dye is not expensive. This will help you to better determine where the gas is leaking from as leaks can travel good distances which can throw you off in determining where the leak is. This is also why a pre-purchase inspection is a good safeguard against just such a situation and well worth the cost.
