2001 BMW 525iA Sport Touring (E39)

[tobinen]

I can't see anything obvious ref the coolant but it took about 0.75 litre to bring the float up to the maximum.

The PAS pipe to the reservoir is a bit damp with fluid as is the reservoir.

I'll keep my eye on both.

Thanks for the advice as always

[Northbrook]

Right move on the battery. I remember getting Halfords to replace one on the Smart a while back - the (more competent than most?) guy brought out the battery the system said, swapped it in, then said the clamp didn't clamp and that'd be an MOT failure. Even though the battery is in a recess in the floor, under the carpet/foam which is a bugger to get out.

Kudos to him - rather than fit it and not mention it, or cancel the sale and refund me, he found a right-sized one and installed it.

So. Getting the right battery is worth it.

[GrantD5]

Just had a quick flick through, love the tourings and glad to see you are putting it to use!

[tobinen]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that since I disconnected the bonnet alarm switch, I have not seen any unwanted hazard lights flashing randomly. A new switch is about £30 so one would hope that is the fix.

[d_a_n1979]

tobinen said:

One other thing I forgot to mention is that since I disconnected the bonnet alarm switch, I have not seen any unwanted hazard lights flashing randomly. A new switch is about £30 so one would hope that is the fix.

Personally I wouldn't bother

They're a known fail point; the pin inside the switch fails readily.

Just leave it be

[njw1]

tobinen said:

Yes, the replacement is a bit smaller. In fact the clamp doesn't hold it top or bottom! Do I pad it out or take it back? Varta Blue 100 I think it is.

Apparently that zinc plated bar that goes across the top of the battery isn't actually there to hold the battery in place but is in fact a strengthening brace to prevent the battery from being crushed should the car take a hit on the offside rear corner.

[njw1]

tobinen said:

I can't see anything obvious ref the coolant but it took about 0.75 litre to bring the float up to the maximum.

The PAS pipe to the reservoir is a bit damp with fluid as is the reservoir.

I'll keep my eye on both.

Thanks for the advice as always

My 540 developed a phantom coolant leak a while back, it would need half to three quarters of a litre every month to six weeks yet I could find no sign of a leak anywhere, it would also sometimes tell me it was low on coolant when it wasn't. I had a sniff test carried out and did a compression check as I was fearing the worst yet everything tested fine but then a mate who knows more about BMW's than I do said to try a new cap on the header tank and since then it hasn't lost a drop of coolant or told me it needed topping up. I assume it wasn't sealing properly and I was losing coolant as steam and this must have also been upsetting the sensor in the header tank somehow.

[tobinen]

Thank you. I will bear that in mind.

[tobinen]

I ordered a new cap from BMW as I thought for £17 it's worth a go. As I change it the level has dropped again and I haven't driven it at all since the last check. Hmm. I am going into the office tomorrow so I'll take this and see if it drops over 16 miles.

[d_a_n1979]

Hairline crack where the top hose connects, hairline crack at bottom of header tanks, water pump failing and stat cracked/leaking,

These are the most common failures that let coolant leak out and not really be seen...

Check them all and see if you can see anything and swap out what needs to be swapped out ASAP

[tobinen]

I haven't been paying much attention to this but I did a small drive at the weekend. Again, I had to top up the header tank with about 1/4 litre of coolant. The cap has not made any difference and it's losing coolant when sat. The header tank is dry externally but I will have another check this weekend.

In the meantime I have booked it into the garage in a couple of weeks for them to check, if I can't find anything in the meantime.

I am hoping it's not the head gasket, which I can't see how it can be if it's losing coolant doing nothing.

It's been parked under a tree for two weeks so it looks in a right state. I think a tenner with the Romanians this weekend will help.

[tobinen]

I am just back from the garage after a pressure test (on the car, not I). Nothing untoward found even though it needed another slight top-up. 'Please monitor'. That will be £58 please.

[tobinen]

No pictures as I forgot, but I removed all the accumulated leaves from the scuttle and under the bonnet having not driven it since its visit to the garage. The coolant level was correct so I pumped up the tyres and decided on a drive to keep the battery charged.

I had a 90 minute blast around the deserted roads of West Berks, Wilts and Hants. The only issue was a ticking noise not coinciding with road or engine speed. Odd. I switched off the wireless despite R4 running a recreation of Thunderball with some big name actooors. I decided to turn off the aircon and the noise stopped. I presumed a leaf had entered near the fan motor. I switched it back on and the noise stopped. Happy days, a simple fix.

[tobinen]

I drove to the office yesterday and re-checked the coolant. It's definitely lost a bit so I still have the issue. It also needed a litre of oil top-up.

My mind is now wandering towards off-loading it as a spares or repair but with the CL still off the road, I'll keep it as a 'just-in-case' as it's OK for short journeys.

Very annoying!

[d_a_n1979]

My money is on the water pump leaking at the bottom when it's up to temp.

They weep slightly and sometimes it's hard to spot

On the rad and pipework itself, it's quite easy as you'll see coolant deposits etc when it dries off

[tobinen]

Cheers Dan. It's booked in 30 Nov for another inspection.

Any recommendations for cleaning the engine without using a pressure washer (I don't have one)? Is there a gentle degreaser I could use, say, a hand spray?

[Northbrook]

I find that the cleaner from Bilt Hamber does a good job. Can't recall its name at the moment, but you're relatively local to Wokingham, aren't you? As it can (or should) be diluted, I could decant some from my bottle so you could give it a try.

[tobinen]

Ok cheers chap. I am working this weekend so I doubt I'll be able to get out much. I'll have a scan of the interwebs.

[d_a_n1979]

tobinen said:

Cheers Dan. It's booked in 30 Nov for another inspection.

Any recommendations for cleaning the engine without using a pressure washer (I don't have one)? Is there a gentle degreaser I could use, say, a hand spray?

Autoglym Engine cleaner and degreaser, or, fairy liquid and a good scrub

Both work superbly; give it all a good clean, dry it off and then get the engine running to dry all the bits you can’t reach off and then give the plastics a good treating with Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care; it lasts well

[tobinen]

Still no joy on the cause of coolant loss. The garage is as frustrated as I and no charge today, quite correctly.

I am off to ECP tomorrow to buy some coolant ready for a trip back to Cambridge. I think I should be ok for 130-ish miles.