I miss my car
03-15-2009, 01:14 PM
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Some of you may remember my post about oil in the coolant. Well it's been 19 days now and my mechanic is still cleaning up the mess. It was the head gasket. He asked me if the car ever overheated. The only time it did overheat was last summer; the BMW dealer accidentally dropped a plastic trim piece in front of the cooling fan preventing it from turning on when needed (I discovered it about a week after the visit to the dealer). I was at the drive-through getting my afternoon coffee when the "Engine Hot - Drive Moderately" message popped up. It then changed to "Engine Overheated - Turn Off Immediately"... I shut it off immediately after but could a single episode of overheating have somehow damaged my head gasket????????? 
I meant to complain to the dealer, and now in hindsight I should have
, but now 6 months after the fact it's a little too late to blame them for the head gasket failure.
My mechanic said that the BMW dealer is not cooperating when he asked them to provide some VANOS diagrams. I heard that they must cooperate with other repair facilities.
Quick question: I drove the car hard, I mean at a high rate of speed (240+ $km/h, 5th gear, close to but below redline) for a few minutes a week prior to the gasket failure. Could that have anything to do with it??
Any relevant opinions highly appreciated.
Greg
p.s. I'm stuck driving my wife's '05 Volvo S40. Nice car, handles great, but nowhere close to my car
I meant to complain to the dealer, and now in hindsight I should have
, but now 6 months after the fact it's a little too late to blame them for the head gasket failure.My mechanic said that the BMW dealer is not cooperating when he asked them to provide some VANOS diagrams. I heard that they must cooperate with other repair facilities.
Quick question: I drove the car hard, I mean at a high rate of speed (240+ $km/h, 5th gear, close to but below redline) for a few minutes a week prior to the gasket failure. Could that have anything to do with it??
Any relevant opinions highly appreciated.
Greg
p.s. I'm stuck driving my wife's '05 Volvo S40. Nice car, handles great, but nowhere close to my car
03-15-2009, 01:22 PM
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Originally Posted by slickE60' post='817502' date='Mar 15 2009, 05:14 PM
Some of you may remember my post about oil in the coolant. Well it's been 19 days now and my mechanic is still cleaning up the mess. It was the head gasket. He asked me if the car ever overheated. The only time it did overheat was last summer; the BMW dealer accidentally dropped a plastic trim piece in front of the cooling fan preventing it from turning on when needed (I discovered it about a week after the visit to the dealer). I was at the drive-through getting my afternoon coffee when the "Engine Hot - Drive Moderately" message popped up. It then changed to "Engine Overheated - Turn Off Immediately"... I shut it off immediately after but could a single episode of overheating have somehow damaged my head gasket?????????
I meant to complain to the dealer, and now in hindsight I should have , but now 6 months after the fact it's a little too late to blame them for the head gasket failure.
My mechanic said that the BMW dealer is not cooperating when he asked them to provide some VANOS diagrams. I heard that they must cooperate with other repair facilities.
Quick question: I drove the car hard, I mean at a high rate of speed (240+ $km/h, 5th gear, close to but below redline) for a few minutes a week prior to the gasket failure. Could that have anything to do with it??
Any relevant opinions highly appreciated.
Greg
p.s. I'm stuck driving my wife's '05 Volvo S40. Nice car, handles great, but nowhere close to my car
I meant to complain to the dealer, and now in hindsight I should have
, but now 6 months after the fact it's a little too late to blame them for the head gasket failure.My mechanic said that the BMW dealer is not cooperating when he asked them to provide some VANOS diagrams. I heard that they must cooperate with other repair facilities.
Quick question: I drove the car hard, I mean at a high rate of speed (240+ $km/h, 5th gear, close to but below redline) for a few minutes a week prior to the gasket failure. Could that have anything to do with it??
Any relevant opinions highly appreciated.
Greg
p.s. I'm stuck driving my wife's '05 Volvo S40. Nice car, handles great, but nowhere close to my car
03-15-2009, 01:24 PM
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...when your head warps, it creates a break in the gasket seal between the head and the engine block, just to clarify what is actually happening when your engine overheats and your head warps.
03-15-2009, 02:11 PM
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Originally Posted by ObD' post='817526' date='Mar 15 2009, 05:45 PM
How many miles on the engine?
03-15-2009, 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by craigm1841' post='817507' date='Mar 15 2009, 05:22 PM
Aluminum heads are delicate. if they overheat bad enough they will warp easily. when that happens they need to be milled/resurfaced or possibly replaced completely. Anytime you have a car with aluminum heads that you want to drive hard, you need to be very cognisant of the engine temp. oh thats right, bmw doesnt put temp gauges in the car...
I agree, and think that EVERY car should have a temp gauge. When I get my car back I'm putting an aftermarket one in.
03-15-2009, 02:25 PM
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
Driving the car hard shouldn't have anything to do with the head gasket. Some malfunction in the cooling system caused the overheating and subsequent warping. You didn't cause the problem.
03-15-2009, 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted by CWS530' post='817559' date='Mar 15 2009, 06:25 PM
Driving the car hard shouldn't have anything to do with the head gasket. Some malfunction in the cooling system caused the overheating and subsequent warping. You didn't cause the problem.
A word of caution to everyone: When someone else has been tinkering with your car (even the dealer), pop the hood and do a visual inspection. Had I done that maybe I would have found that plastic piece stuck in front of the fan right away.
03-15-2009, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by slickE60' post='817570' date='Mar 15 2009, 06:33 PM
the "malfunction" was caused by the BMW dealer accidentally dropping or jamming a plastic trim piece in between the fan and the rad. I found it there after the car overheated one week after the dealer flushed my brake fluid.
A word of caution to everyone: When someone else has been tinkering with your car (even the dealer), pop the hood and do a visual inspection. Had I done that maybe I would have found that plastic piece stuck in front of the fan right away.
A word of caution to everyone: When someone else has been tinkering with your car (even the dealer), pop the hood and do a visual inspection. Had I done that maybe I would have found that plastic piece stuck in front of the fan right away.
03-15-2009, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by craigm1841' post='817580' date='Mar 15 2009, 06:39 PM
if it stopped your fan from working, that is without a doubt the reason your car overheated. i would raise hell