I REALLY hope its ur thermostat. CHeap and easy fix. Keep us updated Vlad. Crossing my fingers and toes for you. I seriously doubt you need a new engine. Let's hope worst case scenario head gasket and BEST case scenario thermostat.

 

Let me clarify and comment. First Vlad I am really sorry to hear that, I know how you care for your baby and love that car! Couldn't have happened to a guy who took better care of the car-I feel for you. Part of why I went to a new car as out of warranty is frightening.

1.It is NOTHING to do with the lifters. I had my entire head/valvetrain swapped on my n52 with the "new" cylinder head for 7k bucks through bmw when I had the ticking. I got to go in and look at the cylinder head once removed and compare the 2. It was a subtle change in the check valve ( I think its called that) that lets a bit of oil out when the engine turns off. The fixed head allows a bit more oil to stay in the lifters when engine is off. Its nothing to do with any problem you are having.

2.Oil in your coolant-its your radiator that is broken and mixing the 2 fluids. Which is why you are overheating so quickly because oil cannot act as a coolant and when mixed with the coolant no matter how much gets run through the channels its not going to extract heat properly. You will need your plumbing and radiator changed. Probably 1200 dollar job. You will also need to flush your coolant system obviously they will do this with the radiator.

good luck!

 

I wanted to comment on one thing and this is just my opinion but I really feel bmw's truly do better when they are beaten to hell for its entire life. Not due to my doing, my car was murdered from day 1 with 5 miles on it. The dealer "showed me" a test drive and revved the hell out of it. I continued on doing that since day 1 and 20 miles on the clock. I have burned tons of oil over the years (signifigantly more in the first 10k miles) but my car has been really bullet proof as far as the engine goes. I had the cylinder head replaced for the lifter tick but other than that it still runs so smooth that it does not even feel like the car is turned on. Its at 65k miles.

I have no clue if it would have mattered in this case but I beat the piss out of my car, revving it to 7k any chance I could get, hanging it out in 2nd and 3rd on the freeway to keep the rpms at 5k and above and the car has performed flawlessly until I just sold it.

I really think bmws do the best when beaten on driving wise and cared for well maintence wise. I always changed oild at 5k, tranny fluid at 40k, spark plugs at 40k, differential oil 40k, coolant flushed every 25k. And I continued to beat the piss out of it and it ran awesome!

So dont baby your car folks-I truly think in bmw case it is detrimental

 

Hey, I am crossing my fingers and hoping for an N54 engine here

Thanks, John! I really appreciate the kind words and wishes! Of course, I too hope it isn't anything major. But knowing you and Leo makes me feel better


Ah! Interesting! Thanks for the input - I'll have the radiator checked. How would a radiator have access to oil though?



haha That's one way to look at it I like to drive the car at limit, but I only get to do it when I'm in a totally safe environment - road course or track. I don't get to do it much. Other than that, I do drive the car often around town. Occasionally, I do rev it and run through some esses in 2nd or 3rd gear, holding 3-4k rpm. But that's child's play for this engine - or at least, it should be.






EDIT: Just talked to my indie tech on the phone, he said it is possible that oil and coolant are mixing in the radiator. He still thought it will be best to wait for the lab results on the oil though.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU

 

Water pump is another common issue with these cars, done 2 of them, cuz they're electrical and the car kept overheating.... look into that.

 

If you need a new engine Vladdy a nice S85 might do the trick

 

Yes, I thought about it too!
Would water pump cause oil to appear in the coolant reservoir though?

oh phhukkk yeah!!!!!!! I wonder if it will run well with the existing transfer case and transmission though - AWD and all...

 

Where do you think your engine oil is cooled? It runs through a heat exchanger that has fins that run among the coolant fins. When something breaks this is the point of the mixing.

 

So there's a chance that the coolant could have entered the block like that as well? Hope not...