Dreaded coolant leak!!

I took the 6 in to see about a leak and this is what the Indy said needed to be done:

engine mounts (leaked all fluid)
valve cover (leaking oil)
transmission pan
coolant pipe (leaking coolant all the way to the tailpipe)
front control arms (car shakes)
gas cap


I was quoted between 3k to 4k.

How was your day!!!

That is a whole lot of bad, I feel for you. It should be titled "dreaded everything", not just coolant!

If I take my car in for a coolant leak and they find a laundry list of stuff including the gas cap I would start questioning things. If you asked for a full inspection or mentioned other issues that's another story, but the gas cap - really?? How did they find it defective in the process of looking for the source of a coolant leak??

None of these are rare failure points as the miles accumulate, but it's a big list if all you took it in for was a coolant leak fix. You must be frustrated if all these issues were unexpected.

I wanted to get a second opinion before any work was done. I now have a knocking noise coming from the front end when the car is moving. I am taking it to a different Indy tommorrow. I have been pleased with the work he's done to this point.

Oh, and he charged me $105 to diagnose and $30 for the damn gas cap!!

Not real happy right now!!

What do you mean "leaking coolant all the way to the tailpipe"? There shouldn't be any coolant any further back than the heater core (under your dash). Whoever you took the car to sounds a little scheming. Good call on getting another opinion.

Hi! The dreaded coolant leak is actually the pipe that runs inside the engine front to back, above the cylinder block, where the rubber seals fail and it weeps out of the front of the engine, there is a tiny hole it comes out of!
Any other coolant leak is pretty standard, as it is the above leak that costs the major $'s. BMW split the engine whilst others are using the engineered kit from various suppliers.
The only good news in a sense is that to repair this you will naturally change all of the seals/gaskets etc to get to the part!!!!!!

Originally Posted by FredoinSF

If I take my car in for a coolant leak and they find a laundry list of stuff including the gas cap I would start questioning things. If you asked for a full inspection or mentioned other issues that's another story, but the gas cap - really?? How did they find it defective in the process of looking for the source of a coolant leak??

A bad gas cap seal will throw a code on most cars now, at least I know it does on the Euro cars. It is not an unusual failure item!

Originally Posted by 645/333

Hi! The dreaded coolant leak is actually the pipe that runs inside the engine front to back

Exactly, so why would coolant be anywhere near the tailpipe?! OP where do you see the coolant?

Sorry to hear about the big laundry list but those are all common wear items.

The shop probably did a scan and found the gas cap error. I've changed at least 3 gas caps over the years on German cars, countless control arms and valve cover gaskets on 2.

A bad coolant leak could down the transmission onto the exhaust pipes then easily run down the pipes to exhaust canisters, especially if you park the car on an incline (like in your sig).

The noise from the front and shaking is a pretty good indication that the front control arms are shot.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

Sorry to hear about the big laundry list but those are all common wear items.

The shop probably did a scan and found the gas cap error. I've changed at least 3 gas caps over the years on German cars, countless control arms and valve cover gaskets on 2.

A bad coolant leak could down the transmission onto the exhaust pipes then easily run down the pipes to exhaust canisters, especially if you park the car on an incline (like in your sig).

The noise from the front and shaking is a pretty good indication that the front control arms are shot.

Hi Yorgi! showing my ignorance hear! the gas cap, is that the same as the petrol tank cap?? And if so what goes wrong with them that causes a code to be raised! Have never experienced this so would be interested as to its effect?? Many thanks Michael

I know the gas caps can start deteriorating and throw a code. My point was that if the OP took it in for a cooling issue and nothing else, I can kind of understand the shop pointing all the underhood stuff as they poke around, but going as far as the gas cap seems like padding the bill - unless there was a code. This list really depends on what the OP asked for.
Reminds me of my partners MINI that went in for a O2 sensor covered under warranty and came back with 5k laundry list and basically told him the car was one key turn away from self destruction. Some of it was legit such as bushings and all which I had taken care of by my independent but the rest was a tactic to make service dept numbers go up and \ or send him off with a brand new car. 18 months later it still runs like a champ.

Crap!!

Sorry to hear about this, I've experienced all of these issues at separate times. I was lucky to have my aftermarket warranty cover these repairs for me, but there was a point where every 2 months I was experiencing something new, and that can be frustrating. In this case, you can get this entire list completed in 1 shot which is much better than what I had to go through.

Originally Posted by amanra

Crap!!

Sorry to hear about this, I've experienced all of these issues at separate times. I was lucky to have my aftermarket warranty cover these repairs for me, but there was a point where every 2 months I was experiencing something new, and that can be frustrating. In this case, you can get this entire list completed in 1 shot which is much better than what I had to go through.

+1 - sorry to hear about the long list of repairs.

She's at the shop right now gettin' all fixed up for me so I can ride her another 100k!! Coolant leak is under the intake manifold. He said it needs a cap replaced. Oil leal is a valve cover and main gasket. I told them to change the belts and flush all the fluids. The front control arms were fine.

$2800

Can anyone suggest any other parts that I should replace while there at it for preventative measures??

Originally Posted by vegas645

She's at the shop right now gettin' all fixed up for me so I can ride her another 100k!! Coolant leak is under the intake manifold. He said it needs a cap replaced. Oil leal is a valve cover and main gasket. I told them to change the belts and flush all the fluids. The front control arms were fine.

$2800

Can anyone suggest any other parts that I should replace while there at it for preventative measures??

If you have the "dreaded coolant leak" which weeps out the hole in passenger side manifold cover, then that fix requires at least $2-$3K on it's own. There is also a common coolant leak at the coolant temp sensor that costs about $100 to fix. I would find out what exactly your shop is doing.

The "dreaded" leak requires pulling apart the entire manifold and installing a new pipe from All German Auto. You should at least change the manifold cover gaskets in this case. Check out this DIY thread to see what's involved (download the .pdf), it is a MAJOR job - the dealer pulls the engine and charges $9-$11K for this job.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

If you have the "dreaded coolant leak" which weeps out the hole in passenger side manifold cover, then that fix requires at least $2-$3K on it's own. There is also a common coolant leak at the coolant temp sensor that costs about $100 to fix. I would find out what exactly your shop is doing.

The "dreaded" leak requires pulling apart the entire manifold and installing a new pipe from All German Auto. You should at least change the manifold cover gaskets in this case. Check out this DIY thread to see what's involved (download the .pdf), it is a MAJOR job - the dealer pulls the engine and charges $9-$11K for this job.

Is an engine pull actually required???

Originally Posted by All-Or-Nothing

Is an engine pull actually required???

Go to the e65 forum and search "weep hole". They are plagued with this issue!

Originally Posted by bimmerzone

No engine pull if using the AGA pipe
http://www.bimmerzone.com/BMW_Perfor...-PIPE-N62.html
you can check out pics and videos

Even my dealer does the aftermarket pipe...reluctantly. It is frowned on by bmw but they say thay have to offer to keep from losing to the independents.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Bimmer App

I just got the 6 back from the shop today and here is what was done.

R+R intake and replaced valley plate (Cap) with seal. $1488
Replaced leaking valve cover and upper timing cover seals. $1304
Replaced micro filters.
Brake fluid flush.
Coolant system flush

The car runs much better!!

$3,208

Good to hear it's all fixed. That is a huge bill to have to swallow but actually you go a great deal. I've never seen the center water pipe (cap with seal) fixed for anywhere close to that amount. Normally the charge is at least $2K at an indie.

Thanks Yorgi. I was driving it yesterday and when I turned it off the oil can symbol popped up. I don't get a message in the I drive though showing that I need to add a quart. When I checked the dipstick it looked spot on. I changed about 3k ago.

Originally Posted by vegas645

Thanks Yorgi. I was driving it yesterday and when I turned it off the oil can symbol popped up. I don't get a message in the I drive though showing that I need to add a quart. When I checked the dipstick it looked spot on. I changed about 3k ago.

Careful not to overfill, as that can cause some serious issues.

Originally Posted by vegas645

I just got the 6 back from the shop today and here is what was done.

R+R intake and replaced valley plate (Cap) with seal. $1488
Replaced leaking valve cover and upper timing cover seals. $1304
Replaced micro filters.
Brake fluid flush.
Coolant system flush

The car runs much better!!

$3,208

Glad to hear that she's well again!

Sorry to hear about this big pile of work. But, glad to hear you just got it back. At least, you're good to go already.

What is good about the cost spent is that you have added real life to your car, just make sure you use BMW own brand coolant fluid, even if you have to redo it!!!! This will protect the coolant system as it should be!!!!