Well my day turned to crap. Busted coolant line.

[itraveltoomuch]

I have been on the road for two weeks now and made it home last night. Had lunch with the wife and on the road home I had a decision to make, take the long way and enjoy the drive or take the short way just in case something goes wrong with one of the belts I haven't changed yet.

Well, it wasn't a belt but I am glad I took the short way.

First the engine temp light came on, and just as I was shutting her down on the side of the road the coolant level light tripped. Popped the hood and was greeted with white smoke everywhere.

Took some pictures with my camera-phone, now the hunt is on for the part that broke.

She still sits out there, less than two miles from home.

:(

[m60b30530i]

same happened here but at the radiator neck. what is that thing next to the lines mine ticks all the time. (<pic3)

[itraveltoomuch]

That apparently is where the problem is...#15:
http://i25.tinypic.com/k0r5lh.png
And it's a $178 part from the dealership.
Not happy over here.

[itraveltoomuch]

Am I correct in assuming that coolant only flows through that control valve if either the AC or Heater is on?

If that is the case, I can turn both of those off...pour in some more coolant and drive her home. Is that correct?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thus far to tow and fix the car I am looking at anywhere between 300-500 bucks.

[Binjammin]

Dude, grab a ton of water in jugs and fill it up and drive home. Even if it leaks out and you start running hot, you can let it cool and top it off again. It may take you a long time, but it's better than spending 500 on a tow. Start the car, drive, get up to speed, put it in neutral, shut the car off, and coast most of the way. Start the car only when you need to, and you'll be fine.

[spankyway]

That apparently is where the problem is...#15:
http://i25.tinypic.com/k0r5lh.png
And it's a $178 part from the dealership.
Not happy over here.
Is it the heater valve? If so I have it for you cheep, $10.00 plus shipping. The only part I am missing from this area is the Aux water pump.
Steve

[pacecar78vette]

Is it the heater valve? If so I have it for you cheep, $10.00 plus shipping. The only part I am missing from this area is the Aux water pump.
Steve


And if you need the aux pump I have one laying around that would cost you another whole $10 plus shipping. I have it left over from replacing my heater control valve. However you may not need then pump if yours isnt broken since they are seperate of one another and the pump will come off of the valve.

[Rebel635csi]

u didnt break anything, u just popped the hose off...

take that clamp, loosen it, put the hose back on and tighten the clamp closer to the edge of that hose....

u'll make it home no problem and then some...

[itraveltoomuch]

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for the comments.

I went and picked up the car last night and drove it home with no issues. The 300-500 I quoted earlier was for tow+fix.

This morning I dug around and the heater valve is fine, it is in fact the auxilary water pump. I'll take some pictures later and post them but if you look at the diagram above the outlet that runs straight broke in half so there is nothing to clamp the hose too.

Pacecar you are a savior man, these things new are about $150. PM sent.

[itraveltoomuch]

Here's the pic:
http://i32.tinypic.com/a1l8nb.jpg
Just as well too, the plastic impeller was broken anyway.

This place continues to come through for me.

Thanks.

[brosher]

Same exact thing happened to my aux pump in the fall. I just bypassed it as it is not needed. Some good old german over-engineering. You being in Texas I wouldn't waste 100 bucks on the thing. It's just one more thing to break again. Definitley dont replace it with another old/used one or you'll just be stuck when the next one cracks. The only time I noticed a little less heat than normal this winter was when at idle and outside temp was -10 degrees F or less.

To bypass it you just need to remove the little bendy hose from the system. Connect the input that was going to the aux pump directly to the valve input. It's a little tough to get all the air out of the system after working in this area. I know the M60 is "self bleeding" but you may need to get the big air bubbles out by burping the hoses up there.

Here is mine. Just put some electrical tape over the connector. :D

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2909/pict1499xk4.jpg

[r1101r]

Is it the heater valve? If so I have it for you cheep, $10.00 plus shipping. The only part I am missing from this area is the Aux water pump.
Steve is that what could affect my heat being uneven from each vent side ?

[itraveltoomuch]

Same exact thing happened to my aux pump in the fall. I just bypassed it as it is not needed. Some good old german over-engineering. You being in Texas I wouldn't waste 100 bucks on the thing. It's just one more thing to break again. Definitley dont replace it with another old/used one or you'll just be stuck when the next one cracks. The only time I noticed a little less heat than normal this winter was when at idle and outside temp was -10 degrees F or less.

To bypass it you just need to remove the little bendy hose from the system. Connect the input that was going to the aux pump directly to the valve input. It's a little tough to get all the air out of the system after working in this area. I know the M60 is "self bleeding" but you may need to get the big air bubbles out by burping the hoses up there.

Here is mine. Just put some electrical tape over the connector. :D

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2909/pict1499xk4.jpg
No kidding?

I wouldn't have thought this would be a good idea.

[itraveltoomuch]

It's a little tough to get all the air out of the system after working in this area. I know the M60 is "self bleeding" but you may need to get the big air bubbles out by burping the hoses up there.

How does one do this?

tia

[skylinergtr]

try to find one, used or new. perferably new. my failed a while ago, i bought a new one for $200 and i did it myself. i'm pretty sure you can do it yourself when you get the part. good luck.

[itraveltoomuch]

try to find one, used or new. perferably new. my failed a while ago, i bought a new one for $200 and i did it myself. i'm pretty sure you can do it yourself when you get the part. good luck.
Yeah I swapped out the head with the one pacecar sent me, install was easy as pie.

The problem I think I may have now is that there is some air trapped in the system. I put about half a gallon of coolant in the reservoir and it didn't go anywhere.

I might be wrong, but better safe than sorry.

[skylinergtr]

was the pump making a lot of noise? i know when i replaced mine, and got the car running it was making a lot of noise then i kept adding and eventually it stopped. fill it to the top.

[spankyway]

is that what could affect my heat being uneven from each vent side ?
I don't know, but I think your problem might be realated to doors not opening properly.
Steve

[Binjammin]

Actually, the things above the aux pump are the heater valves, and they do go bad. One of the symptoms is uneven heat in the cabin. Basically the valves work like fuel injectors, they're PWM controlled, and the signal is fed from the HVAC head.

[StealthBimmer]

been there had that happen on my 740...Luckily it was outside my friends house, so we put a lug nut in the hose and clamped it off. I may have a spare one on my 525 parts car ill look, not sure though.

[sfgearhead]

is there a way to test if the aux pump is working? my wife complains about slow heat in the winter, although she's always cold and mostly drives in the city.

i plan to replace all the hoses this summer (cheap insurance at 12 years and 112k miles) and wonder if i should replace this as well. thanks!

[sfgearhead]

bump, i never heard back on this, and i'm losing coolant. since it's likely i'll need to replace my hoses soon i'd like to test the aux pump before wifey starts complaining again.

[Binjammin]

i plan to replace all the hoses this summer (cheap insurance at 12 years and 112k miles) and wonder if i should replace this as well. thanks!

Add 5 months and...


i'll need to replace my hoses soon

What happened to summer?

You can test the water valves.

http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/watervalves/watervalves.html

[jared94e36]

Yeah I swapped out the head with the one pacecar sent me, install was easy as pie.

The problem I think I may have now is that there is some air trapped in the system. I put about half a gallon of coolant in the reservoir and it didn't go anywhere.

I might be wrong, but better safe than sorry.

to get that air out run your heater system full blast, and push/squish the hoses to work the air out

[itraveltoomuch]

to get that air out run your heater system full blast, and push/squish the hoses to work the air out

For some reason your post sounds dirty.

Could be me though. ;-)

[sfgearhead]

Add 5 months and...



What happened to summer?

You can test the water valves.

http://bmwe32.masscom.net/johan/watervalves/watervalves.html

yeah, what did happen? oh yeah, we bought a 100 year old house that was a foreclosure. it was cheap but needs lots of work, so i've been spending my weekends painting, fixing garage doors, more painting, cleaning, hanging gutters (portland rain ya know), moving, repairing appliances, etc. the cars have had no love, but i now have 2 garages - one is attached/under the house for daily use, the other is built into the hill at the back of the property and will be my "batcave" play area for projects. but it needs lights, more electrical outlets and door repairs before it's really usable.

i might just have to suck it up and take the car to our local indy to have him check it out. nah, i'll take a week off from the house and check out the car.

thanks for the link!