v_therussian

Unscrew that black cover (its pretty straight-forward, but if you need inspiration, search brabusw209amg's threads and you shall find), and go exploring. There is a chance the hose just needs a little adjustment. Most likely though, it is the return hose. Use realoem.com to determine which one is which, here's the blow-up on an '05 530 with the M54 engine - not sure whether its the same for N52, or which one you have in your MY 2005:



I'm bettin' you're gonna need the #2 - return hose, but we shall see. In the meantime, I seriously doubt you need to go to the dealer for this. Parts come out of roughly $50 USD, while at the dealer you'll be adding at least an hour of labor to that. In my case, I had warranty, so it was replaced free of charge to me, but the total cost listed on the bill was close to $300. Weigh your options, but I'd suggest you do you yourself - easy as pie
(unless, of course, it is something serious that requires dealer's expertise, but based on your description, I doubt it)

968turboS

+1. I was stupid enough to let me wife talk me into having the dealer change the lower radiator hose. $350 later it turned out to be the radiator. I ended up spending $160 on a replacement Behr radiator which was being quoted at $640 with CCA discount or $800 without. Don't waste $$ with dealers. I recently did this and it's not hard at all.
Regards.
Raj

sjzking408

thanks for the replies guys... Before I got to read v_therussian's post, I already had towed the car to the dealer since this whole thing was stressing me out. The stealer will charge me the $125 to figure out the problem. I guess if it is one of those hoses. I will just change it myself... I dropped off the car yeseterday and since it's thanksgiving day today, they probally haven't gotten to the car yet...

v_therussian

$20 bucks on return hose, anyone got me?

sjzking408

Ok guys, the dealer called today early in the morning and it is not what I wanted to hear.

They said the front seal failed on the water pump. So I have to get a new water pump. They quoted me $564 (parts + labor) They said that the water pump alone is $164, i thought it was way more than that.

The service advisor also recommended me to change the two belts since coolant went on them. (belts $230) He said they dont have any wear and tear but it may affect the life of the belt because of the coolant wetting them... Is that true?

Also he said I have a bubble in one of my front tires ($221) I have two sets of wheels, right now I have my stock ones on and I have warranty on that tire, I will just take it to Discount Tire, they will give me a new one for aprox $30.

Well the total added up to around $900-1k... I'm going to use the wonderful search button now to see if there is any DIY to change the water pump.. Now I want to ask you guys about the belt issues? should I get them changed or not?

The car is at 82,XXX miles and I have to get them all chaned in 12k miles anyways. What you guys think?

05545i

I had the same issue. Was a combination of the waterpump, radiator, and the vent tube for the radiator. Waterpump was not leaking, radiator was leaking like a sive, and the tube was broken. All at 60k miles 2005 545i.

luigi524td

Make sure the dealer is not adding labor for belts twice! That labor should be bundled in the water pump R&R! I think the price for (2) belts at full retail is about $60ea! I can't imagine 2+ hours to remove and replace them. Regardless of the coolant potentially damaging them at 60K+ miles they are getting close to replacement time anyway; might as well have it taken care of while they are in the general area anyway!

Just check on the double billing for labor!!

stoic1

Which dealer is this? If the $125 for the diagnosis doesn't go towards the repair costs, I would find some where else to get this done. Those belts should be fine unless they were worn to begin with. Sounds like they are trying to pinch you for some more cash.

968turboS

Two belts would cost you under $75 if you do them yourself. The belts have not been compromised from the coolant. You just rinse them off with water.
Raj

AchtungE60

I agree, belts were not compromised. You may not even need to replace them in 12,000mi. if there is no wear and tear then that means they're not near their end. They'll show signs of wear as they stretch out. I have an M54 engine in mine. After degreasing and cleaning the engine I got a lot of squeal from the belts. I'd add a little belt dressing and it would correct the issue for about 5 min then reappear. It was only on the main belt....Other one didnt squeal. After a whole can i decided to just change them anyway....i paid about $40 or so from Advance Discount Auto for my belts.

Problem is that you have to take the whole front top plastics off before you can access the fan. Then you have to remove those radiator hoses from the fan and and slide the fan out. Fan doesn't come out so easily because it's a tight fit. The problem I had was getting the new belts to go on. Specfially the main serpentine belt. I was difficult the hold the spring loaded pully down and slide the belt on at same time. It wasn't like my other M54 and M52 engines. Perhaps it was just my car. Put it this way....after an hour of cuts and pinches and sore knuckles (from the slips) .......I asked my wife to slide the belt on while i hold the spring down......LOL.....first try was a charm. I got a little squeal for first couple hundred miles. This is normal until they set. Don't dress them just let them set themselves.

If there's not a good HOW TO, shoot me a PM and I'll try to assist.