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      08-14-2013, 06:54 PM   #1
cmagalis
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Leak or Bad Headgasket?

Hey everyone! So my car is running low on coolant. I've never smelled burning coolant, or had white colored exhaust smoke at idle, etc. No puddles under the car either.

Any ideas here? I know it could be a hose, radiator, etc.

I know these cars are prone to cooling system leaks and I would like to try and sort this out ASAP.

I did drive it during the winter (Minnesota), bought it in December and couldn't resist! So it has seen some pretty drastic temp changes.

How would I know if there was coolant seeping into the oil (oil level rising?) or if the head gasket is bad (known issue on 3.0)? I want to make sure it isn't a lurking demon, or something worse than the cooling system overhaul that these cars so often need.

Thanks!
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      08-14-2013, 07:06 PM   #2
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Usual sign of coolant in the oil is the bottom of the oil fill cap will be covered with what looks like chocolate milk.
Check for puddles in the "diaper".
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      08-14-2013, 07:15 PM   #3
GriffBrew
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How quickly is it going through coolant? If its the first time you've checked it, it could just be normal loss.

You can check your oil for presence of radiator fluid, though this is not always obvious or apparant. You can turn it on while cold, with radiator cap off, and watch for bubbling. Or you can do a leak test, which you may have to pay a shop to do. I've tried all of the above and the leak test was the only useful one. First shop that did the leak test said there was no issue. I didn't trust that so I got a second opinion. The second said blown head gasket. This was in a civic, but its the same basic idea.
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      08-14-2013, 07:24 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
Usual sign of coolant in the oil is the bottom of the oil fill cap will be covered with what looks like chocolate milk.
Check for puddles in the "diaper".
WHS.

The head gaskets are known to weep, but even if it is more than a weep, you still wouldn't have oil in the cooling system unless it is real bad.
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      08-14-2013, 07:27 PM   #5
cmagalis
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No, I've never added coolant before, but the light has been on a while (I just figured out what light it was).

The car is parked 90-miles from where I live (keeping it at parent's house currently). I had my dad check the expansion tank and the float level, he just called and said it was completely dry.

Going to have a look myself this weekend and pick up a gallon of coolant.

This is my first BMW, so I may just be getting a bit excited here. I've always owned Audis, which are a completely different animal with their own "special" problems.
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      08-14-2013, 07:32 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seank View Post
WHS.

The head gaskets are known to weep, but even if it is more than a weep, you still wouldn't have oil in the cooling system unless it is real bad.
I'm concerned about coolant in the oil.
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      08-14-2013, 08:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
Usual sign of coolant in the oil is the bottom of the oil fill cap will be covered with what looks like chocolate milk.
Check for puddles in the "diaper".
What do you mean by "diaper?" The plastic shroud under the engine?
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      08-14-2013, 08:25 PM   #8
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Pull the resevoir cap and shine a light in there. If there is oil, it will have round floating oil on the top. Easiest seen after it sits for the night.
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      08-14-2013, 11:36 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmagalis View Post
What do you mean by "diaper?" The plastic shroud under the engine?
Yep. That's the technical term for it.
From under the hood use a flashlight to look at it from above down around the sides of the engine.
If you have a leak it will go there before it makes it to the driveway.
Even if it's evaporating before it gets to the driveway, it should have left marks.

And when you check the bottom of the oil fill cap for chocolate milk, use the flashlight to peer down inside the valve cover. If everything looks golden and shiny, I think you're OK.
If things are looking sudsy ....
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Last edited by StickMon; 08-14-2013 at 11:46 PM..
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      08-15-2013, 11:59 AM   #10
cmagalis
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Thanks guys, the cams and inside of the valve cover look normal. I'm thinking it needs to have some hoses, water pump, and the radiator replaced. I might just do it all in one shot and save the pain later on.

Going to fill it up with coolant today and see how long/if the light comes back on. From what I know, the whole radiator is drained, so it probably is a big leak (water pump).

Hasn't overheated or gone past normal, even after putting over 3k on low coolant.

For the price I paid, I expected to do a little work to it over the first year or two.
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      08-19-2013, 05:46 PM   #11
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Some headgaskets can leak by having exhaust gases migrate into the coolant. This brings the coolant to a high temperature, turning it into steam or a gas at the overflow tank where it will leak out slowly through the plastic cap. Seen this happen on a couple Honda Civics. If your expansion tank continues to lose fluid at a fast rate, this is very likely the problem. There will be no white smoke, or puddles under the car, but you still lose coolant, especially on highway drives.
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