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Thread: Head gasket thickness and factory sleeved blocks

  1. #1
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    Head gasket thickness and factory sleeved blocks

    EDIT!!!:

    OK I'm less confused now. Originally I thought he took 0.02" off which confused the hell out of me. After calling back he confirmed he took 0.002" off (he forgot a 0 when he wrote it down for me). So since he took so little off I'll stick to the OEM gasket and thickness.

    I am still curious about what engines came sleeved tho!
    From previous post: "On a side note, I noticed my block (s52) is sleeved. I wasn't expecting this and after some googling I can't quite tell from pictures if all s50's and s52's were sleeved. It looks like there's a combination of both sleeved and unsleeved s50/2's out there. Just curious what e36 engines came sleeved from factory."


    Original Post:

    "I just got my head back from the machine shop. He said he took between 0.02" and 0.03" off which is more than I was hoping, but the head has 190k on it so who knows. The HG I pulled off ranged from 0.06-0.07" (oem thickness).

    1. I thought there was a factory oversized gasket (maybe 0.08"?) but I can't seem to find any. Any non-MLS custom size options out there?

    2. Is my best option to go with a MLS head gasket (~ 0.098") in order to get back to oem? It seems like people are hesitant to use MLS gaskets.
    2b. If I go MLS, just some gasket sealer near the timing chain cover and I'm good? Copper spray, yay/nay?

    All this talk about MLS gaskets almost makes me want to just jump up to 0.120/0.140" and ARP studs to prep for future FI hehe.

    On a side note, I noticed my block (s52) is sleeved. I wasn't expecting this and after some googling I can't quite tell from pictures if all s50's and s52's were sleeved. It looks like there's a combination of both sleeved and unsleeved s50/2's out there. Just curious what e36 engines came sleeved from factory."


    Thanks for the input,
    Mike
    Last edited by Carpy2; 07-23-2018 at 07:48 PM. Reason: Clarified some information and updated post with it
    Feel free to ask about my car:

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  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carpy2 View Post
    EDIT!!!:

    OK I'm less confused now. Originally I thought he took 0.02" off which confused the hell out of me. After calling back he confirmed he took 0.002" off (he forgot a 0 when he wrote it down for me). So since he took so little off I'll stick to the OEM gasket and thickness.

    I am still curious about what engines came sleeved tho!
    From previous post: "On a side note, I noticed my block (s52) is sleeved. I wasn't expecting this and after some googling I can't quite tell from pictures if all s50's and s52's were sleeved. It looks like there's a combination of both sleeved and unsleeved s50/2's out there. Just curious what e36 engines came sleeved from factory."


    Original Post:

    "I just got my head back from the machine shop. He said he took between 0.02" and 0.03" off which is more than I was hoping, but the head has 190k on it so who knows. The HG I pulled off ranged from 0.06-0.07" (oem thickness).

    1. I thought there was a factory oversized gasket (maybe 0.08"?) but I can't seem to find any. Any non-MLS custom size options out there?

    2. Is my best option to go with a MLS head gasket (~ 0.098") in order to get back to oem? It seems like people are hesitant to use MLS gaskets.
    2b. If I go MLS, just some gasket sealer near the timing chain cover and I'm good? Copper spray, yay/nay?

    All this talk about MLS gaskets almost makes me want to just jump up to 0.120/0.140" and ARP studs to prep for future FI hehe.

    On a side note, I noticed my block (s52) is sleeved. I wasn't expecting this and after some googling I can't quite tell from pictures if all s50's and s52's were sleeved. It looks like there's a combination of both sleeved and unsleeved s50/2's out there. Just curious what e36 engines came sleeved from factory."


    Thanks for the input,
    Mike
    They are not sleeved blocks. The only ones that are sleeved are Aluminum M52 blocks on the Z3. Someone has dicked with your motor before.

  3. #3
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    You don't need a bigger gasket till like 20 thou is taken off.

    None of the iron blocks are sleeved. Do you have a pic?
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Braymond141 View Post
    They are not sleeved blocks. The only ones that are sleeved are Aluminum M52 blocks on the Z3. Someone has dicked with your motor before.
    Hmmm interesting. Stock bore so maybe they damaged something... Magnet sticks to it so it's definitely not some rando aluminum block. Interesting, thanks for letting me know.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by ScotcH View Post
    You don't need a bigger gasket till like 20 thou is taken off.

    None of the iron blocks are sleeved. Do you have a pic?
    IMG_0560.jpgIMG_0561.jpg

    Unless that's just a weird discolored ring around each cylinder, it looks sleeved :P
    Feel free to ask about my car:

    TRM Coilovers 560f/784r | Epic Motorsports Tune | Apex Arc-8 17x9.5 et35 | Wilwood SL-4 BBK
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    S54 Oil Cooler
    Z3 Rack | Crossbrace | 3.38 LSD | Dinan Strut Tower Brace | AKG Chassis Mount Shifter
    SS Long Tubes | SS Race Exhaust |
    LTW Replica Wing | MM Underpanel | CF Sunroof Delete
    OE GT Front Splitter | Rear Rollbar | Rear Seat Delete | BW Fuel Starvation | Turtle Labs Door Panels
    And Really Old Paint

    Check out my YouTube channel for more DIY's and videos about my E36 M3

  5. #5
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    That’s the head gasket fire ring silhouette.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Braymond141 View Post
    That’s the head gasket fire ring silhouette.
    Ok cool that makes 100x more sense.

    Aight I'm done being a noob for now, time to put this thing back together
    Feel free to ask about my car:

    TRM Coilovers 560f/784r | Epic Motorsports Tune | Apex Arc-8 17x9.5 et35 | Wilwood SL-4 BBK
    M50 Manifold | ASC Delete | Dinan BBTB | Fan Delete | Power Pulleys | Dinan CAI |
    S54 Oil Cooler
    Z3 Rack | Crossbrace | 3.38 LSD | Dinan Strut Tower Brace | AKG Chassis Mount Shifter
    SS Long Tubes | SS Race Exhaust |
    LTW Replica Wing | MM Underpanel | CF Sunroof Delete
    OE GT Front Splitter | Rear Rollbar | Rear Seat Delete | BW Fuel Starvation | Turtle Labs Door Panels
    And Really Old Paint

    Check out my YouTube channel for more DIY's and videos about my E36 M3

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carpy2 View Post
    Ok cool that makes 100x more sense.

    Aight I'm done being a noob for now, time to put this thing back together
    Hey, it's the only way to learn man ... get back to work
    Check out the 8legs Racing page: https://www.facebook.com/8legsRacing/


  8. #8
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    Check the bottom end of the cylinder bore for sleeving. There will be a small lip and an edge where a sleeve would bottom out on the cut shoulder instead of a stock smooth bore over it's entire length.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carpy2 View Post
    Original Post:

    "I just got my head back from the machine shop. He said he took between 0.02" and 0.03" off which is more than I was hoping, but the head has 190k on it so who knows. The HG I pulled off ranged from 0.06-0.07" (oem thickness).

    1. I thought there was a factory oversized gasket (maybe 0.08"?) but I can't seem to find any. Any non-MLS custom size options out there?

    2. Is my best option to go with a MLS head gasket (~ 0.098") in order to get back to oem? It seems like people are hesitant to use MLS gaskets.
    2b. If I go MLS, just some gasket sealer near the timing chain cover and I'm good? Copper spray, yay/nay?

    If the head and block are milled to the correct finish MLS with no sealer would be just fine. If you do use a copper spray, use it on only one side, not both.


    All this talk about MLS gaskets almost makes me want to just jump up to 0.120/0.140" and ARP studs to prep for future FI hehe.

    Installing ARP anything without the corresponding machine work with the ARP hardware in place is asking for big trouble. Just check cylinder concentricity before and after using the ARP studs and a torque plate, or con rod big end bores with and without ARP cap hardware. Most of the measurements will be out of round and out of tolerance with just a straight changeover and no machine work. This especially applies to main bearing bore alignment when changing to ARP main cap studs.


    On a side note, I noticed my block (s52) is sleeved. I wasn't expecting this and after some googling I can't quite tell from pictures if all s50's and s52's were sleeved. It looks like there's a combination of both sleeved and unsleeved s50/2's out there. Just curious what e36 engines came sleeved from factory."


    Thanks for the input,
    Mike
    tjm
    Last edited by tjm3; 07-26-2018 at 12:30 PM.
    See ya later,

    tony
    '98 M3, '92 Dinan3, '05 R1100S BCR, '07 R1200S, Aprilia T

  10. #10
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    Hey all sorry for the late response, but in short she's running great!

    Basically after I cleaned the block up and got the head bolted down I reinstalled the VANOS with 0 issues which was great and kind of surprising. I expected a little bit of confusion but everything fit together almost like it was made that way... Put everything else together, got the valve cover on, and on the last nut I sheared the top half of the valve cover stud bolt thing that screws into the cylinder head. It was the far back corner one under the electrical harness and I just put too much horizontal force trying to jam my wrench back there. Was able to get the piece out of the nut with no problem, replaced it, and then put everything back together. Did fluid flushes and then started the car. I then proceeded to freak out for a minute as you can't tell if your engine is blowing up or if it's just the coolant burning off the headers There was a single very loud ticking noise so I googled that and decided it was most similar to lifter tick and read that BMW recommends (or at least bmw forum people say BMW recommends it lol) running at about 3k RPM for a few minutes to resaturate everything with oil properly. So I just went for a normal short drive and when I came back everything was perfectly fine. Super happy with how quiet my VANOS (and engine bay in general) is now. No more marbles for me!

    Anyways everything seems to be in working order. I feel like I have more torque but then again I haven't driven the car in a while, so whatever lol. I have 1 unused bolt after all of this (it holds the O2 sensor wire brackets on the back of the cylinder head on), but for some reason I don't have that side of the bracket so we're good. Scared me for a second though because I didn't really remember removing that bolt, nor did I remember there being anything there to remove (which there wasn't, but should have been). So not bad. But yeah that's it.

    Got it done with almost 0 issues because of all the resources here and on the internet. Can't thank you all enough! Currently at 192k and can't wait for 200k and beyonddddd
    Feel free to ask about my car:

    TRM Coilovers 560f/784r | Epic Motorsports Tune | Apex Arc-8 17x9.5 et35 | Wilwood SL-4 BBK
    M50 Manifold | ASC Delete | Dinan BBTB | Fan Delete | Power Pulleys | Dinan CAI |
    S54 Oil Cooler
    Z3 Rack | Crossbrace | 3.38 LSD | Dinan Strut Tower Brace | AKG Chassis Mount Shifter
    SS Long Tubes | SS Race Exhaust |
    LTW Replica Wing | MM Underpanel | CF Sunroof Delete
    OE GT Front Splitter | Rear Rollbar | Rear Seat Delete | BW Fuel Starvation | Turtle Labs Door Panels
    And Really Old Paint

    Check out my YouTube channel for more DIY's and videos about my E36 M3

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