2001 BMW 330xi Problem Overheating and Coolant Leak

Hey,

Sort of new around here and I have my first official problem which is scaring the **** out of me. I never push my car .. as I just got it ... haven't even pushed 100 yet.

I went out tonight and was just driving around normal speed limit and then took the highway home and pushed 60-80 and my friend said he smelled something (good thing I opened the windows).

It was fine as we were driving home but as soon as I got home I saw the engine temp go all the way into the red so I pulled over and I shut it off and let it sit with the hood open for about 30 minutes. I noticed my my coolant was ontop and leaked on the right hand side ... not a ton .. but I'm sure most of it just went straight down to the floor. Then I noticed I was stepping in it ... and there was a huge puddle of coolant.

I let it sit and parked it in a spot outside my house where it will stay for the next few days. A guy stopped by and saw I was having trouble and said that he thought it was the water pump because coolant was not on the other side of the hood or on the engine or anywhere else. He checked a hose near the coolant tank and it was really low pressure as the car was on.

My other friend said I might have blown a cylinder head gasket. I don't know much about cars but this is all scaring me. I just hope the engine didn't heat up enough to expand because then I'm seriously screwed. Please help ... I have pictures and all so you guys can tell me what you think and how much you think this will cost.













I really hope the metal didn't expand ... some of you will prob laugh at me cuz I'm a younger guy and don't know much about cars ... but I def was not treating this car like crap.

Water pumps and expantions tanks are prone to failure between 60-100 K. What ever it is in your case DO NOT DRIVE it or you will end up with blown head gasket. Have it towed to the shop unless you are doing the repair yourself.
Good luck!

Yeah I am definitely not driving it. You think it can make it 10 blocks? the shop I go to is close to my house .. or should I not take a chance at all? I would love to replace it myself .. but how can I be sure that is really the problem ... my car has 93k miles

it will NOT take 10 blocks. do not even think of it. you'll blow the head gasket and it's $$$$. Faggetaboutit as they say in Brooklyn. On your picture it looks like there is coolant on the right if you are facing the car. that's where the expantion tank is. Check it for a crack in plastic. It's a DIY job. check the wiki.

Okay I will definitely not move it ... the only place I need to move it however is from outside my house into the back of my driveway which is like 30 ft ... should i be able to do that? The only place under the hood where there was coolant is as you said on the right hand side when your facing it .. the drivers side ... near and to the right of the coolant tank ... I will check the wiki ... I would love to really do it on my own .. but how can I diagnose if this is really the problem?

Went in the E46 wiki but I couldn't find the do it yourself. However, I found this:

It's not a bad idea to change the water pump, thermostat, and hoses every 60,000 miles.

The coolant expansion tank can crack and require replacement (part is only $130).

Is this an expensive job ... If I have it done in a shop?

Considering the location of the evidence, almost 100% guarantee that it is the expansion tank. Considering the cars milage, and the fact that you dodged this bullet, I'd put a major cooling system maintenance cycle on the TOP of your list. Read the wiki but it should include:
- Thermostat
- Water pump
- Coolant flush/fill
- Expansion tank
Depending on condition, you may want to replace belts and hoses while you're at it (they aren't too expensive and its easier while you're in there).

All this work is a certainly a DIY task with basic tools and a Bentley manual. If you hire it out to a BMW dealer, you'll be looking at a $700-1000 bill, an indy mechanic will probably fall in the $500-700 range and DIY can be done for around $250-300 and 2-4 hours of your time.

I wish I could DIY it .. but I'm scared cuz I don't know what I'm doing really and I don't have someone who is experienced to watch over me while I do it. I need to learn a lot more about cars so I don't get screwed when I bring it to shops ... so I know he really did what I paid him for ... you know?

I will post as soon as he calls me and lets me know what exactly the issue is.

Ugh what a headache =[

Is there anything you guys can recommend so that I can learn a lot more about my BMW and cars in general? More knowledge never hurt anyone.

Why is your coolant green...... should be blue.
And really though. DIYing the cooling system is much easier then it sounds or looks.
I mean the radiator pretty much slides right out after two screws.
Same with the expansion tank. And you just unclamp the hoses. It really is quite easy. And I think it would be a great first DIY if you did it.
You'd learn a lot about your car and it would help in the future.

Oh damn

Probably the expansion tank, water pump, maybe hoses, and "maybe" the radiator. You just toasted the entire cooling system. You better hope the block is ok

I'm so sorry to hear that

Originally Posted by MalibuMafiaV

Why is your coolant green...... should be blue.

I use BMW coolant, but green is ok. That's the LEAST problematic issue right now.

Yeah I understand the BMW product coolant is blue ... the car came with green in there ... I am the second owner. I hope the engine block is okay .. that's what scares me the most .. i was not driving for more than 15 minutes though .. and I noticed it was overheating as soon as I got home. I really hope it didn't get destoryed.

Toasted my entire coolant system? How much could this cost me?

Originally Posted by RFTBunny

Yeah I understand the BMW product coolant is blue ... the car came with green in there ... I am the second owner. I hope the engine block is okay .. that's what scares me the most .. i was not driving for more than 15 minutes though .. and I noticed it was overheating as soon as I got home. I really hope it didn't get destoryed.

Toasted my entire coolant system? How much could this cost me?

I replaced my radiator, water pump, lower and upper radiator hoses, expansion tank and new coolant. Put it all in my self and it was $350ish total.
Radiator is like $140, hoses together are like $70, water pump is $60, coolant is like $30.
and Expansion tank is like $50.

http://www.bmw330ci.net/maintenance/completecoolant.php

this is an exellent DIY. there are more - Google and use search the forum: key words water pump replacement, coolant tank replacement, coolant system. This is the way to get knowledge
Did you check your coolant tank for a crack in plastic??
Did you look around the water pump housing for signs of leak?
Did you check hoses?

On your pic the coolant is splashed around the tank. I'd check it first.

Best regards,

I had it towed this morning to the shop .. my mechanic is going to call me and let me know what the issue is .. I will keep you guys updated ... I didn't notice any cracks but I may not be looking in all the right places.

Okay so here is my UPDATE:

He called me and told me that he let the car run all day and that he could not find a leak anywhere ... however he did tell me that one of the hoses was very hot and the other one was cold even after letting it sit idling all day. He said there is probably something wrong with the thermostat .. alluding that the water boiled really hot and pushed all of the coolant up outside the receiver cap.

I find it a little hard to believe that there is no leak ... with the picture evidence I posted on here ... how could it get pushed out the top of the cap yet at the same time not be all over the damn place ... it is obviously all over the floor ... He told me the thermostat from bmw should be about $100. He said we will take it step by step.

Sounds like a problem I was telephoned about my now ex. I wasnt in town so it just sat til I got back. Said her dad looked at for a bit and couldnt find nothing. Not sure how closely he looked. I get there finally, looked and couldnt tell nothing immediately. But did notice fluid on the right side. And then there it was!!! The upper radiator hose had cracked. The way it sat, if you didnt look extremely close or move parts in that area you would not have seen it. 30 bucks later, im on the road... I need to do a complete overhaul but didnt have time since I was headed back outta town. Car still sitting, waiting for me to get back home.

Originally Posted by RFTBunny

Okay so here is my UPDATE:

He called me and told me that he let the car run all day and that he could not find a leak anywhere ... however he did tell me that one of the hoses was very hot and the other one was cold even after letting it sit idling all day. He said there is probably something wrong with the thermostat .. alluding that the water boiled really hot and pushed all of the coolant up outside the receiver cap.

Does the mechanic that you are using specialize in BMW repair? If not, I would definitively look elsewhere.

For any mechanic who knows anything about E46 not to want to preemptively overhaul the cooling system on a vehicle of your age, even if you hadn't had a problem, seems dubious.

The whole concept of "letting the vehicle idle all day" on an M52/54 engine that had been experiencing major cooling system issues, just scares the crap out of me. Along with the comment the "the water boiled really hot and pushed all of the coolant up outside the receiver cap." makes me really wonder if this guy understands the sealed BMW system at all.

The guy may be competent, so I apologize if I am judging unfairly, but his approach as described just gives me the willys.

Originally Posted by kimmy

does the mechanic that you are using specialize in bmw repair? If not, i would definitively look elsewhere.

For any mechanic who knows anything about e46 not to want to preemptively overhaul the cooling system on a vehicle of your age, even if you hadn't had a problem, seems dubious.

The whole concept of "letting the vehicle idle all day" on an m52/54 engine that had been experiencing major cooling system issues, just scares the crap out of me. Along with the comment the "the water boiled really hot and pushed all of the coolant up outside the receiver cap." makes me really wonder if this guy understands the sealed bmw system at all.

The guy may be competent, so i apologize if i am judging unfairly, but his approach as described just gives me the willys.

+1

yeah the problem is i don't know very much about this .. i know the owner of the shop owns an m3 so i would assume they have a good idea of what they are doing but again that is my assumption ... if it happens again .. i can take it elsewhere if it happens again ... if it does .. do any of you guys know how i can find a bmw mechanic in my area that i can trust?

Make sure that they put BMW coolant! because and that they used distilled water and not water from the faucet. The green stuff is not the same!!!

Originally Posted by RFTBunny

yeah the problem is i don't know very much about this .. i know the owner of the shop owns an m3 so i would assume they have a good idea of what they are doing but again that is my assumption ... if it happens again .. i can take it elsewhere if it happens again ... if it does .. do any of you guys know how i can find a bmw mechanic in my area that i can trust?

There's Bimmer Clinic in Elizabeth, NJ (1-732-218-7632). Ask for Bill.