Cooling System replacement?

[M633CSi]

I remember reading something on here about the M62 Engine in the 540is' having cooling system breakdowns, is that true?

What could be somethings to do to prevent it? If something did happen would the factory warranty cover it?

Thank you.

-Alek

[FP5241]

All e39 cooling systems are gaaabage....
To prevent it, don't dog the car out... and i think a factory warranty may cover it.. but dont quote me on that.

Oh... BTW...
In b4 Search nazi's and threadlock nazi's!!!
:redspot

[M633CSi]

Thank you for the answer. The cars warranty runs out on April 2009 Or 100k but the car only has less then 73k on it.

[FP5241]

Have you had any problems with it so far?
If it decides to crap out, try getting as much of it replaced as possible.. cuz once one part fails.. the rest is sure to follow.

[M633CSi]

I'm just being precautious

[FP5241]

Nothing wrong with that...
Just rememebr.. it will fail.
Good luck.
:thumbup:

[M633CSi]

Ya that puts me to a good nights sleep. Dammit people why couldn't you make everything reliable. On the M30 its the head will warp if you over heat blah blah blah. Here its the cooling system WILL FAIL. Dang it

[FP5241]

LOL... it's an ultimate driving machine.. not ultimate cooling machine... :rofl

[coolguy]

I think you'll be able to tell when it's going to fail... little leaks are a good sign. I ignored all mine for a long time and put it off, now everythings screwed up.

[M633CSi]

Ohh Alright. Thank you very much for the heads up.

[jnyost]

Definitely replace all plastic pieces at once. If you replace your expansion tank, don't skip your radiator. Do it all at the same time otherwise you'll have another failure soon.

Jared

[Beej]

Mine took a dump on my a few months ago and cost me $2k...and I didn't even replace the radiator.

But like all BMWs, parts and labor are expensive, so when something breaks, replace other parts in the area in chunks to save on labor later.

The 540 cooling system's weak points are:
Water pump
Valley gasket
Reservoir bottle/level sensor

[jnyost]

Mine took a dump on my a few months ago and cost me $2k...and I didn't even replace the radiator.

But like all BMWs, parts and labor are expensive, so when something breaks, replace other parts in the area in chunks to save on labor later.

The 540 cooling system's weak points are:
Water pump
Valley gasket
Reservoir bottle/level sensor

Was that mostly labor? Was it at the dealer?

Parts will be just a few hundred with most reporting labor at around $400. Total installed should be around $800.

Jared

[Beej]

Was that mostly labor? Was it at the dealer?

Parts will be just a few hundred with most reporting labor at around $400. Total installed should be around $800.

Jared

Yeah, it was at the dealer. But like I say, have them do things in chunks. Replaced a leaky power steering hose, thermostat (even though it was still working), valve cover gaskets (since they had the valley gasket out), etc., etc.

Lots of labor cost. Believe me, I price matched every part they tried to rape me on! :) Fortunately my dealer will work with me on things like that.

[M633CSi]

Will warranty cover it?

[DAT240]

I've got a 2002 540 with 105K km (65K miles). Replaced the rad about 4 months ago because there were small areas with green deposits around the fittings. Posts on the forum suggested that the rad was about to go. (I love the car, but what rad blows with low mileage like that!) I bought a Nissens online, installation was easy and the old rad was worse than I thought. I should have taken the rest of the advice on the post and replaced the expansion tank which looked fine at the time. It split wide open on Friday night. Dealer parts department was open Sat morning, so there was a happy (but expensive) ending to the story. My experience confirms that if you change the rad, change everything else that touches it at the same time.
I've uploaded a photo of the split expansion tank. There's a light inside the tank to show off the split. This part is poor quality and not what I'd expect on a bimmer. The job was easy, total time to change was about 1 1/2 hours - take your time, the plastic parts are brittle. And the Bentley manual is useless for this job.