steve1

Is there anyone in Auckland who can fix blown head gasket on BMW 316

On 4/12/2013 at 12:03 AM, firstjuly said:

Hi there,

Am new to these forums but would like some advice about what to do with my 2004 BMW 318i.

Whilst driving my BMW the other day, I noticed the temperature go up into the red zone. I continued for about 200m to get to somewhere safe and let it cool down. I did not know what was going on, but when I turned the engine back on again, it was fine, and so drove from where I was (Twizel) to Oamaru. The temperature was fine the whole time until I got to Oamaru, where at low speeds, the temperature went back up into the red area.

I got the car towed back to Dunedin with AA plus, and found out that there was milky fluid in the coolant. My mechanic says it is probably a blown head gasket and that it will cost me quite a bit to have the gasket repaired and all the milky stuff flushed out of the system.

I am just wondering:

1) Are blown head gaskets the usual cause for the cloudy coolant and engine overheating?

2) How much should I be charge for having it repaired?

3) Are there any other options for me?

4) My mechanic did an engine oil change and change of spark plugs about 6 months ago. Ever since then, the orange engine oil level sign would come on whenever I turned the engine on, and stay there for about 10 seconds afterwards (it never happened before the servicing). However, because the light always went away, I never thought much about it. Do you think that this could have been a warning sign of some thing wrong with the servicing/spark plug replacements, which might have lead to this blown head gasket? In other words, do you think that there could have been any negligence on their part?

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my questions. I would really appreciate it if any one could provide me with some helpful answers. Many thanks!

Cheers!