1st Gen R53 Cooper S Replacing cylinder head....what do I need? Tips?

Hey everybody,

Back in February I had one of my Denso Iridium plugs pop out of my #3 cylinder and destroyed the threads on my cylinder head. I had a time-sert insert installed along with some Brisk 4 prong plugs and the car has been running ever since. Problem is ever since this happened its been running horribly under load with a severe hesitation under 3000 rpms (I have posted about this before so I'm not gonna get into it). Well I was able to snag a used head for $250 and I'm going to put that head in and see if that eliminates my problem. I've been weary of that insert ever since it was installed. I just wanted to know from some of you guys that have either done them or seen them installed what exactly I need, what I can reuse, and what to expect going into this. I know i'm gonna need a head, intake, and exhaust gasket (assuming none of them are reusable) along with coolant and oil but anything else? head bolts? other misc gaskets? I do have a Bentley manual which I will be going to often I'm sure. I've also done a motor swap on a VW GTI in the past and consider myself pretty mechanically inclined. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer.

Steve

 

oh they do make a gasket kit? that's good. I was actually going to bring that head to an engine shop and have them clean it up a bit. It came off a car with 80,000 miles so its a little dirty. Any idea where I could get a set of those arp bolts or do you know the thread pitch and length?

 

ok found the arp kit part# 201-4301. Is it true Victor Reinz is the OEM gasket supplier for BMW? I read that on someone carrying a gasket kit for our cars. I'm gonna be into the gaskets and studs more than what I paid for the head! :lol:

Steve

 

Keith,
Thanks for all the advice man I do appreciate it. I have a compression test gauge so I can do that myself but where can I go to get a reputable leak down test performed?? Engine shop? The only reason why I was going to just put another stock head on is because the price difference between buying a performance head and just throwing a stocker back on is drastically different!! Even to have it ported and polished is just unnecessary money right now. But I can understand why you would suggest it
I installed new plugs and new oem wires. Replaced the BPV with a DT one, swapped out the tmap sensor, and tested the map sensor for correct voltage all not fixing the problem. I think it may be the coil or throttle plate motor but its hard to test those for proper signals. I thought it was related to the time-sert/head because the problem immediately began after the car was back up and running from the plug popping out. Anyways I'm not gonna get into all that again. We have a thread going on here and "the other site" about it. Thanks again though for all the advice guys. Its much appreciated.

Steve

 

Damn $35!!! That's great...thanks Nate for the link. Yeah I figure the average shop would charge at least a minimum 1 hour labor at $90-$100 that gets a little crazy! Although I personally don't have a compressor I know a few people that do that I'm sure they would let me use. BTW the Bentley manual should have all the correct specs that I'll be looking for right?

Thanks,
Steve

 

Hey Thumper,
Thanks for the tips. I knew most of them but when you say the head must be surfaced flat you mean that any old gasket material be removed and to recondition the aluminum surface right? You don't actually mean removing aluminum material do you? I dont see why that would need to be done unless the head was overheated and warped. That's a good heads up about the timing chain slipping off the crank gear. I was given a neat tip by a friend of mine who used to be a Mini tech. He said they used to zip tie the chain and the cam gear together ensuring that the teeth wont slip off but I never thought about the crank gear so I'm gonna have to mark that one anyways. Thanks for the tip. And yes it is always right to change ALL the gaskets which is why I'm gonna just keep it simple and pick up a gasket kit that way I know i'll change everything to new.

Chad,
I'll try to give you a call sometime this week coming up. I was wondering if ARP studs are overkill on my street car but if it does provide better clamping force? (is this really true for a street driven car?) than I guess the price can justify it, although I havent priced out a set of head bolts from Mini yet but I'm sure they don't come cheap either!!

Thanks,
Steve