Head Gasket problems? E39 528i
Discussion
I am hoping yet again for advice from all you knowledgeable people on pistonheads. I had a problem this morning on the way to work with my '96 528i runabout.
The temp gauge rose to between the half and three quarter mark when it always sits steady at a half. Switched it off let it cool down. Coolant level was way down. Not wanting to drive it too far and being only 5 miles from the house got my missus to come out with water and coolant and topped it up(around 2 litres)
Nursed it a mile closer to the house to a car park, with the temp now back up to between three quarters and the red. Opened the coolant cap and coolant now boiling over and half empty again. Suspected possible cracked hose, water pump failure etc phoned the RAC to get it home without doing any further damage.
RAC guy refills coolant system with straight water, almost 6 litres this time! bleeds the system and restarts car. Clouds of steam from the exhaust. My first thought was the head gasket had gone. Rac man "think your head gaskets gone!" Got car up to temp and idled for a couple of minutes(still a little smoke coming from the exhaust) and temp gauge stayed steady at half way. Drove the car the 5 miles or so home, temp gauge still steady at half way. Have now been out for a run in it for a few miles this avo, no smoke from the exhaust, temp now still sitting steady at half way up the gauge running bang on the money and hasn't used any further coolant. Oil seems clear of water, no sludge under the filler cap.
Now im confused! The coolant had to have gone somewhere this morning(last checked it a couple of weeks ago and was full) and the clouds of smoke from the exhuast seemed to indicate water/coolant in the engine. From the ammount the RAC put in the car the system must have been almost dry so explain the overheating. I wondered about a leaking water pump causing an air lock in the system, is this possible? still doesnt explain the clouds of smoke.
Sorry for the long winded explination, just wanted to cover all of the facts
Gavin
The temp gauge rose to between the half and three quarter mark when it always sits steady at a half. Switched it off let it cool down. Coolant level was way down. Not wanting to drive it too far and being only 5 miles from the house got my missus to come out with water and coolant and topped it up(around 2 litres)
Nursed it a mile closer to the house to a car park, with the temp now back up to between three quarters and the red. Opened the coolant cap and coolant now boiling over and half empty again. Suspected possible cracked hose, water pump failure etc phoned the RAC to get it home without doing any further damage.
RAC guy refills coolant system with straight water, almost 6 litres this time! bleeds the system and restarts car. Clouds of steam from the exhaust. My first thought was the head gasket had gone. Rac man "think your head gaskets gone!" Got car up to temp and idled for a couple of minutes(still a little smoke coming from the exhaust) and temp gauge stayed steady at half way. Drove the car the 5 miles or so home, temp gauge still steady at half way. Have now been out for a run in it for a few miles this avo, no smoke from the exhaust, temp now still sitting steady at half way up the gauge running bang on the money and hasn't used any further coolant. Oil seems clear of water, no sludge under the filler cap.
Now im confused! The coolant had to have gone somewhere this morning(last checked it a couple of weeks ago and was full) and the clouds of smoke from the exhuast seemed to indicate water/coolant in the engine. From the ammount the RAC put in the car the system must have been almost dry so explain the overheating. I wondered about a leaking water pump causing an air lock in the system, is this possible? still doesnt explain the clouds of smoke.
Sorry for the long winded explination, just wanted to cover all of the facts
Gavin
Had a similar problem once with my 528i. Thermostat failed and was renewed. Temperature gauge would at random get close to the red and then return to normal. Regulary had to top up expansion tank at the side of the radiator. Turned out the thermostat housing gasget was leaking causing the water level to drop and getting an air lock which messed with the temperature sensor.
Hope it is a simple leak or a water pump at worst. Iv had it out for a 15 mile run tonight. Still as it was running without a hitch, no smoke from exhaust no coolant loss, temp as should be. If it was the pump or gasket failed I would have expected it to keep loosing coolant.
Im reasonably handy with the spanners, but dont fancy a head gasket on the bimmer. Did one on a 205 Gti years ago and it wasnt too bad, just time consuming. The M52 with vanos timing etc sounds a lot more complicated though. Anyone had experience of doing one if thats what it turns out to be?
Im reasonably handy with the spanners, but dont fancy a head gasket on the bimmer. Did one on a 205 Gti years ago and it wasnt too bad, just time consuming. The M52 with vanos timing etc sounds a lot more complicated though. Anyone had experience of doing one if thats what it turns out to be?
gav2612 said:
I am hoping yet again for advice from all you knowledgeable people on pistonheads. I had a problem this morning on the way to work with my '96 528i runabout.
The temp gauge rose to between the half and three quarter mark when it always sits steady at a half. Switched it off let it cool down. Coolant level was way down. Not wanting to drive it too far and being only 5 miles from the house got my missus to come out with water and coolant and topped it up(around 2 litres)
Nursed it a mile closer to the house to a car park, with the temp now back up to between three quarters and the red. Opened the coolant cap and coolant now boiling over and half empty again. Suspected possible cracked hose, water pump failure etc phoned the RAC to get it home without doing any further damage.
RAC guy refills coolant system with straight water
, almost 6 litres this time! bleeds the system and restarts car. Clouds of steam from the exhaust. My first thought was the head gasket had gone. Rac man "think your head gaskets gone!" Got car up to temp and idled for a couple of minutes(still a little smoke coming from the exhaust) and temp gauge stayed steady at half way. Drove the car the 5 miles or so home, temp gauge still steady at half way. Have now been out for a run in it for a few miles this avo, no smoke from the exhaust, temp now still sitting steady at half way up the gauge running bang on the money and hasn't used any further coolant. Oil seems clear of water, no sludge under the filler cap.
Now im confused! The coolant had to have gone somewhere this morning(last checked it a couple of weeks ago and was full) and the clouds of smoke from the exhuast seemed to indicate water/coolant in the engine. From the ammount the RAC put in the car the system must have been almost dry so explain the overheating. I wondered about a leaking water pump causing an air lock in the system, is this possible? still doesnt explain the clouds of smoke.
Sorry for the long winded explination, just wanted to cover all of the facts
Gavin
I hope you get some coolant/anti freeze back in there before the weather turns even colder!. I'd hate for this problem to be sorted and then lead to the block cracking due to frozen water in the cooling jacket! The temp gauge rose to between the half and three quarter mark when it always sits steady at a half. Switched it off let it cool down. Coolant level was way down. Not wanting to drive it too far and being only 5 miles from the house got my missus to come out with water and coolant and topped it up(around 2 litres)
Nursed it a mile closer to the house to a car park, with the temp now back up to between three quarters and the red. Opened the coolant cap and coolant now boiling over and half empty again. Suspected possible cracked hose, water pump failure etc phoned the RAC to get it home without doing any further damage.
RAC guy refills coolant system with straight water
, almost 6 litres this time! bleeds the system and restarts car. Clouds of steam from the exhaust. My first thought was the head gasket had gone. Rac man "think your head gaskets gone!" Got car up to temp and idled for a couple of minutes(still a little smoke coming from the exhaust) and temp gauge stayed steady at half way. Drove the car the 5 miles or so home, temp gauge still steady at half way. Have now been out for a run in it for a few miles this avo, no smoke from the exhaust, temp now still sitting steady at half way up the gauge running bang on the money and hasn't used any further coolant. Oil seems clear of water, no sludge under the filler cap. Now im confused! The coolant had to have gone somewhere this morning(last checked it a couple of weeks ago and was full) and the clouds of smoke from the exhuast seemed to indicate water/coolant in the engine. From the ammount the RAC put in the car the system must have been almost dry so explain the overheating. I wondered about a leaking water pump causing an air lock in the system, is this possible? still doesnt explain the clouds of smoke.
Sorry for the long winded explination, just wanted to cover all of the facts
Gavin
A week later still running fine. Checked for leaks and nothing. Not using a drop of coolant. Only possibilty I can come up with is when it first overheated the coolant cap wasnt 100% tight. Not loose, just not as tight as it should have been and coolant may have escaped that way causing the overheat. Will keep an eye on the thermostat and have now added coolant to save any cold weather problems
Thanks for all the advice
Thanks for all the advice
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