WTF! Coolant leakage!

[rufryder]

WTF !!

Every day there's something new now and it only has less than 75k. The other day, I happened to drive home and the following day, opened the hood and part of the area was wet! Couldn't figure out where the leakage was from or what it was. Today, after an hour of driving, I happened to pop the hood after the drive, I noticed coolant being squirted. Seems there's a tiny hole where you can see in the pic (not the hole but traced of the squirt). WTF!

From the looks of it, its not a hose or anything..therefore not an easy fix, its the hard body... can that shit be welded or glue it with some proxy which won't melt?

[Poolman]

Welcome to BMW and their great cooling system--you must be very new and haven't had the idea to do a check into the search gallery on our great website.
Yes --you rad is leaking where the hose connects---now you can fix that one item and in less than a week you'll be back raising hell that there's another leak and fix that one and be back the next with stat problems or---find whats going on is that ---YOUR past due for a cooling system over haul......That can't be happening to you
that only happens to all the other owners of BMW"s.
Get set--don't try to squirm out of it--it's gonna cost you about 650 in parts--if you
DIY--try about 1300 if you pay the man--and about 1900 if you go to the dealer
To get you started though read the below---it will show you how to take the fan shroud off and get to all those goodies that need repalcing--along with that cooling system--the price of Vanos seals are included in the price I mentioned above--so your really getting a good deal---you need--rad--water pump--thermostat--expansion tank--hose's belts-belt tensioners-pullies--and valve cover gasket and Vanos seals---man I spent alot of time with you neeewby--read below
http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/vanos_procedure.htm

I forgot to add--just disregard all the things I stated above and spend the money later
on a new engine head and cooling system at that time--seem's reasonable to me

[m5hoot]

+1 You just got excellent advice. Take it to heart.

[rufryder]

HOLY MOLY $1,900?!! Is that what the stealerships are charging?! And, I bet 100k warranty doesn't cover it, uh?! shiiiiiiiiiiit.... I guess its the pride 'n joy of owning a bimmer.

[Gumbi4u]

HOLY MOLY $1,900?!! Is that what the stealerships are charging?! And, I bet 100k warranty doesn't cover it, uh?! shiiiiiiiiiiit.... I guess its the pride 'n joy of owning a bimmer.


If you can make it across the bridge to Jersey, I can knock it out for less then half that. You should see what BMW cooling systems are all about. Be glad you havent broken down yet on the highway.

[lennardlector]

It pays to hop on the internet and do a little research on forums such as this one before buying a car. You can only get so much info from the dealer, edmunds, etc....

Here you learn real fast what "we" members have learned the hard way.

IMO, things are going to break regardless how well the car was treated by the previous owner. It pays to read up on ALL the DIY tips and what not and try to tackle these problems yourself unless you:

A. still have a warranty
B. have a fat wallet

in time you will get comfortable doing the work yourself and it will save you a load of money. in some cases you might even invest in a tiny fridge and foldaway cot cause youll be spending more time in your engine compartment than you will driving the car.

(just kidding)
(but really not)

[jamesdc4]

Welcome to BMW and their great cooling system--you must be very new and haven't had the idea to do a check into the search gallery on our great website.
Yes --you rad is leaking where the hose connects---now you can fix that one item and in less than a week you'll be back raising hell that there's another leak and fix that one and be back the next with stat problems or---find whats going on is that ---YOUR past due for a cooling system over haul......That can't be happening to you
that only happens to all the other owners of BMW"s.
Get set--don't try to squirm out of it--it's gonna cost you about 650 in parts--if you
DIY--try about 1300 if you pay the man--and about 1900 if you go to the dealer
To get you started though read the below---it will show you how to take the fan shroud off and get to all those goodies that need repalcing--along with that cooling system--the price of Vanos seals are included in the price I mentioned above--so your really getting a good deal---you need--rad--water pump--thermostat--expansion tank--hose's belts-belt tensioners-pullies--and valve cover gasket and Vanos seals---man I spent alot of time with you neeewby--read below
http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/vanos_procedure.htm

I forgot to add--just disregard all the things I stated above and spend the money later
on a new engine head and cooling system at that time--seem's reasonable to me
Nice post. :)
I don't know if you meant to put the VANOS seal replacement link up. It would be a good thing for the OP to get familiar with.
I will add the cooling system replacement in case he wants to tackle the job.

Cooling System Replacement (528i) (http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/199986)

The OP has the 3.0 liter M54, but the DIY is on the M52. I believe they are pretty much the same as far as the cooling systems go.

Thanks and good luck!

[teedub21]

WTF !!

Every day there's something new now and it only has less than 75k. The other day, I happened to drive home and the following day, opened the hood and part of the area was wet! Couldn't figure out where the leakage was from or what it was. Today, after an hour of driving, I happened to pop the hood after the drive, I noticed coolant being squirted. Seems there's a tiny hole where you can see in the pic (not the hole but traced of the squirt). WTF!

From the looks of it, its not a hose or anything..therefore not an easy fix, its the hard body... can that shit be welded or glue it with some proxy which won't melt?
New here are ya?..........:redspot

FWIW, an indy should do this for less than $1000, not much less, but less. If you are a DIY'er you should be into it less than $500 and an afternoon.

[Dave G]

New here are ya?..........:redspot

FWIW, an indy should do this for less than $1000, not much less, but less. If you are a DIY'er you should be into it less than $500 and an afternoon.

Really? It cost me $800 just for the parts... that didn't include hoses, tensioner pulleys, and all the belts:

-Rad ($300 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P & Thermostat ($290 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P gasket ($6 - Dealer)
-Exp. Tank ($140 - Dealer)
-A/C belt ($15 - Dealer)
-G-05 Coolant ($60 - Napa)

Yes, this was in Canadian dollars, but this was done last year when our dollar was worth more than the US dollar.

[Poolman]

Jamesdc4--I added the Vanos website to the post for a reason--If they go there
and investagate they can see how to take the fan shroud off and get to the heart of the matter to start the work---most haven't a clue on just that one point---it helped me get started--then Cn90's post on the how to of the cooling system was the second bit I needed for the finish.

[NNY528I]

HOLY MOLY $1,900?!! Is that what the stealerships are charging?! And, I bet 100k warranty doesn't cover it, uh?! shiiiiiiiiiiit.... I guess its the pride 'n joy of owning a bimmer.

Why wouldn't the 100k warranty cover this?

[teedub21]

Really? It cost me $800 just for the parts... that didn't include hoses, tensioner pulleys, and all the belts:

-Rad ($300 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P & Thermostat ($290 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P gasket ($6 - Dealer)
-Exp. Tank ($140 - Dealer)
-A/C belt ($15 - Dealer)
-G-05 Coolant ($60 - Napa)

Yes, this was in Canadian dollars, but this was done last year when our dollar was worth more than the US dollar.
Granted, it was a little over 3 years ago, but my indy charged me $1100. Full cooling system, new idlers, belts, hoses, a full synthetic oil change and this included an $80 BMW key, since I only had one at the time.

Your parts prices are sort of high. Radiators are pretty readily available at about $200, anything you bought at the dealer was probably 25% too high. EAC has the expansion tank for $63, t-stat for $86, water pump $124. etc. Gotta shop around. And, really, the Canadian dollar was higher than the USD? I didn't think it was ever even worth 1 to 1.

[Dave G]

And, really, the Canadian dollar was higher than the USD? I didn't think it was ever even worth 1 to 1.

Yup, from Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008 a Canadian dollar was worth as much as $1.10 USD... that's why Canadians were running across the boarder to buy all the cars from your dealerships! But now our dollar is back down to about $0.77 USD.

[FP5241]

If you can make it across the bridge to Jersey, I can knock it out for less then half that. You should see what BMW cooling systems are all about. Be glad you havent broken down yet on the highway.


This is what makes this forum a great place.
When my cooling system crapped out on me, a fellow bfc'er (e39dream) offered me help too.


:buttrock

[quickjoe1961]

Yup, from Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008 a Canadian dollar was worth as much as $1.10 USD... that's why Canadians were running across the boarder to buy all the cars from your dealerships! But now our dollar is back down to about $0.77 USD.

Lets not exaggerate

http://www.x-rates.com/d/CAD/USD/hist2008.html
http://www.x-rates.com/d/CAD/USD/hist2007.html

1 to .96 seems the highest.


Really? It cost me $800 just for the parts... that didn't include hoses, tensioner pulleys, and all the belts:

-Rad ($300 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P & Thermostat ($290 - Pelican Parts)
-W/P gasket ($6 - Dealer)
-Exp. Tank ($140 - Dealer)
-A/C belt ($15 - Dealer)
-G-05 Coolant ($60 - Napa)

Yes, this was in Canadian dollars, but this was done last year when our dollar was worth more than the US dollar.

Frankly i dont believe W/P needs to be changed. What you "must" replace is radiator and thermostat/coolant. My w/p has 254k and it runs fine. Other than that everything is optional. Rad + thermo should run for $230 at az autohaus shipped.

[RJLupin]

OP .. if I were you, I would take up Gumbi's offer and drive across the bridge. Cooling system is a time bomb and please fix it asap (hoping you can afford it right now).

[mookish]

Mine is leaking from that EXACT same spot :(

[NNY528I]

once again, why wouldn't this be covered by your warranty?

[Poolman]

I went back and looked again at the pic--thats the rad giving up the ghost--not the hose--either way, the only thing to do is replace it all or you'll be going back in again to fix what you didn't the first time.

[crdiscoverer]

Oh my...! Now mine is leaking or burning coolant... at this point I hope it's the head gasket and not a radiator leak. I guess at 81k miles I should consider myself lucky. Damn you sh*tty cooling systems! Has anyone done an air-cooled retrofit? :devillook

[Poolman]

You hope it's the head gasket instead of the rad---HMMMMM--lets see --new new rad and complete new cooling system --parts are going to run around 700 bucks--for a new head gasket and install--around 2500 to 3 grand----HHHHMMMMM
81k miles is about where these parts start to fail if one doesn't flush and refill with
new coolent every two years. I got lucky and went a full 100 k miles on mine---only did it then because I was doing my Vanos seals and figured to do it all at once.

[crdiscoverer]

You hope it's the head gasket instead of the rad---HMMMMM--lets see --new new rad and complete new cooling system --parts are going to run around 700 bucks--for a new head gasket and install--around 2500 to 3 grand----HHHHMMMMM
81k miles is about where these parts start to fail if one doesn't flush and refill with
new coolent every two years. I got lucky and went a full 100 k miles on mine---only did it then because I was doing my Vanos seals and figured to do it all at once.

Haha! I know, I was joking that for once I hoped it was NOT the cooling system this time... but I'm crying inside :(

Seriously now, I'm crossing my fingers it's just a hose or something, however there is no coolant under the car in the mornings and the dash warning came after more than a month (of heavy use) since the last one so it's not a massive leak... anyway, sadly I know what to expect.

[ViolinARC]

WHAT?!? You're having cooling system problems on your bimmer....NO WAY! LMAO...guess you didn't do your homework before acquiring this ride. Cooling system failure are so common on these cars that mine has been overhauled three times now and right after the overhaul, my expansion tank failed. $350 at the Indie and I bought the part for $70 and did it myself in about an hour (didn't drain the system, just clamped off the hoses).

Look into the Zionsville (is that right guys?) replacement if you never want to have another problem with the main part of your cooling system...GL.