Head Gasket Cost - 2007 Z4 2.0L

Hawksey · Post by **Hawksey** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:07 pm

Hi all,

After some advice. Just been to view a Z4 I was really hoping to buy.

It’s a 2007 2 litre model.

Checking it all over I noticed an obvious creamy sludge around the oil filler cap. Owner stated it’s the first time he’s noticed it (Yeah right!).

Anyway, obviously suspect head gasket has gone and said I would research how much this would cost to get done, and then possibly make an offer.

What do you guys think. What approx cost should I budget and is the head likely to be warped as a result.

Any advice appreciated.

Matt

1000rr · Post by **1000rr** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:55 pm

Not necessarily the gasket.

Short journeys in cold weather causes condensation and you’ll have a milky residue under the cap on the zed engines.

Get a sniff test to be sure

Hawksey · Post by **Hawksey** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:57 pm

Great thanks. ‘Sniff test’??

ph001 · Post by **ph001** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 2:24 pm

Yeh unless it's his daily driver, condensation can easily form in the oil as creamy sludge. If you get the engine fully up to temperature after half an hour or so it should have gone so I would be doing an extended test drive to check that. The 2.0l is marred with many reliability problems but head gasket failure is not commonly one of them.

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:10 pm

As others have said, lots of cold starts, short trips and long service intervals can result in oil sludge.

Usually a good motorway run or an Italian tune up should solve this problem.

However, I would be more interested in the service history and overall condition of the car to determine whether it is a lemon or not.

OP - have you got a link to the advert?

Hawksey · Post by **Hawksey** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:27 pm

Thanks for the replies.
Sorry don’t have a link to the advert unfortunately.
It’s got part service history and there was a fair gap in between the last couple. Only one in last 3 years.
Just under 80k miles but been sat on a drive way for 6 months.

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:45 pm

Hawksey wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:27 pm Thanks for the replies.
Sorry don’t have a link to the advert unfortunately.
It’s got part service history and there was a fair gap in between the last couple. Only one in last 3 years.
Just under 80k miles but been sat on a drive way for 6 months.

Part service history is already an alarm bell for me.

Also cars which have been sat for 6 months and not used can actually cause niggly issues such as sticking calipers.

I haven’t seen the car and can only go by what has been said, however I would walk away from this one OP.

There’s lots of good cars out there, and whatever you buy make sure it has the following:

Full service history (preferably with receipts)

Less than 10 owners (preferably less than 5)

Not a write off

No signs of accident damage

Rust free

Good brand of tyres which you will at least get 5,000 miles out of

Good set of pads and discs which you will at least get 5,000 miles out of

Evidence of some form of suspension work (eg replaced bushes and springs)

Good condition interior.

If a car ticks all of the above and is a good price/most of the above and the seller will accept a discount to reflect what work needs doing then it shouldn’t let you down.

MKZ4000 · Post by **MKZ4000** » Thu Mar 14, 2019 5:41 pm

A sniff test is a vacuum pump with a liquid that you stick in the coolant tank and pump while the engine is up to temperature and running.

the liquid is usually blue and if it turns yellow it means there are exhaust gases present and a HG problem.

Was there a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust?

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