BMW 5-series engine cooling problem

Almost certainly a blown head gasket or cracked head, get a sniff test done by another garage. The absence of water in the oil is irrelevant to whether the head gasket has gone.

In message , MrCheerful writes

Thanks, I've pointed him at sniff tests.

Apparently, the first fault after he got the car was that it blew a hole in the radiator. The AA man said it was almost certainly the head or head gasket, but the garage said no and replaced the rad, water pump and thermostat. At this stage they failed to put all the drain plugs back in properly. Hence its second garage visit.

AIUI, the repair garage who did this are related to the supplying garage. They are closed this weekend and he's away Monday and Tuesday, and his wife has to get the daughter to playschool and then on to work. She will use the car as it's seemed OK on these short trips, as the only alternative is taxis.

He will have to have his "interesting" discussion with the garage on Wednesday.

Any vaguely modern engine will be very likely to have head gasket problems if it has ever overheated, even just once, it sometimes takes years before it actually shows, but if you delve into its past you will almost invariably find that it has been overheated at some time in the past.

An Astra bought by an ex lady friend overheated. I checked the radiator level and added at least a quart of water. Checked again after a few days and again had to add water. She had bought it off a "friend", with a cheque plus cash, and didn't get a receipt !

We managed to get its service history and I saw it had a replaced water pump. Running the engine from cold saw bubbles appearing in the header tank (easier to check in an older car).

I immediately guessed a blown head gasket, and a vauxhall dealer agreed.

New head gasket, but also the head was distorted and required a skim. Regardless of whether the machining was a rip-off, the car had obviously been driven with a blown gasket for some time, so it was feasible. I paid half her £500 bill, because I should have kept a closer eye on the car for her in the first week or two..

The longer this car is driven without a proper diagnosis, the more expensive the repair will be.

But I'm not a mechanic. ;-)

In message , Gordon H writes

Son's problem is that he is going to be away and taxis for the wife and daughter will be expensive and awkward.

If the head requires a skim, is this something that just adds a little extra to the cost, because the major cost is in the dismantling and reassembly, or is it likely to make the whole job vastly more expensive?

Also, should it be OK to go back to the supplying garage and hope they do better this time, or is it sensible to seek out somewhere that advertises specific major engine repairs?

This son is the one who got me into my problem Jeep (see earlier posting) and his problems are probably going to affect sorting or replacing that. Bank of Mum and Dad (BMAD) is starting to resemble Barings.

If it is a head gasket then a skim is a normal part of the job unless you want to do it again in a few weeks/months. However, the skim is one of the lower cost parts of the job, the gaskets will be more expensive.

Perhaps time to get the AA involved in an action against the garage who failed to replace the drain plugs properly.

But probably there's no way out other than to spend a lot of money. It may be better to sell the BMW and buy two much older and cheaper cars that are simpler to maintain. Then he can use one while the other is being maintained.

Then he needs to find a trustworthy maintenance garage.

He might be better off if he were to change jobs so that he doesn't have the weekend travel requirements. And perhaps investigate a leasing arrangement for the wife's travel requirements, so that the leasing company has the responsibility of dealing with the maintenance arrangements.

Last time I looked, the A don't offer any sort of service to challenge garage repair work. I don't think they even have an 'approved' scheme any longer. They have changed and evolved over the last couple of decades, and bear no resemblance to the organisation they once were.

Older? This car is 13 years old already!

An old, large car that might once have been considered 'prestige' is not suitable as a family car that is going to cover a lot of miles on a shoestring budget. A much better bet would be something mainstream, Focus- sized, perhaps five years old, and bought from a dealer close to home with a good local reputation.

(Sorry Mr C; I know you take exception to me saying this.) Good luck with that - I'm still looking after 52 years of motoring.

Chris

No offence taken, I only know of one other garage that I would fully trust to do a competent and fair job, they will also go the extra mile to keep prices down where feasible. Like me, they only work on recommendation and turn away jobs that they consider will end up as uneconomic (either to themselves or the customer)

In message , Graham J writes

He is in touch with the original selling garage and says they have been very positive about talking to the repair garage with a view to getting everything sorted. We just have to hope.

I understand that his financial state may affect his ability to lease.

There is no chance of him changing his job. He has developed his school's unique outdoor project from scratch to where his team have been to the Palace for a personal meeting with the Duke of Edinburgh, and there is a television project in the offing. The pilot programme has been made and they have a major serious presenter on board.

It's just that he can't seem to find an affordable car that works.

Does the coolant need constant topping up? It shouldn't need any.

I've got a 5 Series, and bleeding the rad correctly is quite an involved process. If it has the auxiliary electric pump for residual heat.

The principle symptom of it not being properly bled is erratic heater performance.

However, I'd also get the system pressure checked.

Perhaps a call to the local newspaper, with a suggestion that the original selling garage is sponsoring the school's project, by guaranteeing transport?

In message , Graham J writes

Hmmm. The nearest pub to the school funded the suits for the pupils for their visit to Buckingham Palace.

I couldn't possibly encourage him to push his luck any further.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Thanks Dave, I've forwarded that to him to add to his information base.

Thanks also to everyone else.

Best bet would be to trade it in for something more sensible, a Ford Focus or any Toyota, mazda, nissan, subaru

En el artículo , Bill escribió:

I believe that's an indication of HG failure - a blow-through from a cylinder overpressures the cooling system and something gives way. Could be wrong though, happy to be corrected.

En el artículo , MrCheerful escribió:

He might do worse than a Hyundai. They have long warranties and appear to be reliable. Maybe a used i30? Doesn't have quite the same cachet as a Beemer, though.

I had a Getz (the predecessor to the i10) for a while (inherited it). Bit boring inside but a nippy, reliable fun to drive little motor with a very quiet engine.

The Focus also has the ability to protect itself to some degree from overheat damage via the partial shutdown method it uses.

Chris

Only when the rad is rotten, in normal circs. the water cap would release any overpressure. However, the rad failure would have been the time to check.