e60 550i coolant and oil consumption

[Peter Coomarasw]

Hi Folks, my recently purchased 550i seems to have a thirst for coolant, I'm putting in half a quart every thousand miles. The oil consumption is a little less than that. There is no sign of water in the oil and I don't see any tell-tale signs of smoke from the tailpipe. The car runs strong with no issues (besides the above). Any ideas or solutions would be appreciated. I did try the search function but came up with nothing definitive.

Thanks

[White94RX]

A proper pressure test of the cooling system needs to be done. There are a boat load of places that coolant can leak from. The valley pan is a common source of leaks when there are no external signs (i.e., coolant dripping onto the ground)

[Peter Coomarasw]

Thanks so much for that response because it makes sense, there are no external signs of anything dripping. I noticed that you are a Master Tech, sorry to bother you with this question but I tried to order a pressure tester with the proper thread size, (I have a Stant unit) but need the adapter. Do you know of a P/N for one or where I might find one. The one I thought was correct turned out to be the wrong size and I can't seem to locate the correct information. I appreciate your response- Peter

[White94RX]

No, I don't, sorry. If I was buying one, I'd just ask the Snap-On man for the one that fits a BMW and he would sell it to me.

[zoom750]

If you can't find the adapter, you can get a loaner from Advance Auto. If I remember correctly, Advance Auto had the kit with the correct size. If not, then it is Autozone.

[M3C]

Do you notice any oil wet areas the engine, you would need to remove the front underbody covers and check. One common issue is alternator bracket seal, can also be valve cover gaskets to start with.
For coolant, so many hoses, you will find out with pressure tester.

[jclausen]

Is would take the car to a good bmw independent shop for evaluation, simple, easy, effective

[Peter Coomarasw]

Thanks everyone for your input. I really like this car, it's comfortable, powerful and has a 6-speed :-) so I'm thinking I might keep it for another 100K miles. I appreciate your advice since I'm an old-school BMW guy and get a little lost with the computers and electronics (which does make me wonder why I'm installing megasquirt in my e9) Ugh!

[Robert Carew]

Check the seal on the coolant cap if it’s weak when driving and pressure builds it will come out the overflow and you might never know it.