Opinion sought

[pc233 6]

Hello all,

Well, one week into owning my 2006 E61 525i, I noticed a small puddle on the ground underneath the driver's side front. Furthermore, the coolant light came on and when I checked the level, it was below minimum. ?

I bought a 1.5l bottle of the appropriate coolant from Winger BMW here in Wellington, diluted it into required the 50:50 mix and went through the 3l over the next two weeks.

Upon getting the car over a pit and removing the splash panel, I could immediately see that the coolant pump was messy.

There did not appear to be any leaks coming down from above, all the messiness was around the pump itself.

Providing the coolant level is kept topped up, there are no bells and whistles going off, and the stain underneath the car seems to be larger on some days, and smaller on others, with no correlation to the amount or type of driving I have done.

In addition, I noticed on the other side a dirty area underneath the oil filter housing, which is not visible from above, but has caused a very small amount of splash when viewing the engine bay. The fourth photo shows that area and it doesn't appear to have contaminated the belt.

I would appreciate knowing how serious these points are as I am a newbie to the E60/E61 series and if I need to stop driving right now, then I will do so.

My understanding is that if the coolant pump needs replacing, the thermostat should be done at the same time, and that unfortunately it is not cheap. ?

I love the car, but it is disappointing that it's soiled itself after such a short time. It has done 110,000kms.

Any help will be most welcome.

Regards,

Paul

 

 

[balancerider 758]

purchased off a dealer? i'd take it back to them. CGA is your friend in this instance...

[Jacko 2157]

Thats oil, not coolant? Its likely to be coming from rocker cover/sump gasket, and looks like a pretty big leak (but those gaskets failing is common, they will all do it at some point). 

If its not covered by any warranty, clean it down, find the source once you have a fresh leak to chase. Rocker cover gasket is easy, sump gasket is a big job, parts are cheap but there is a lot of labour in doing sump gasket. 

 

If its also loosing coolant, its likely another issue. 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Jacko

[andrewm 236]

While it may have only done 100k, it is 14 years old and potentially has higher engine hours than cars with double those km.

The average speed in my wifes x3 was 61.7kmh and the average speed in my e46 Was like 28, while she had 140,000km and i had 90,000 my e46 had definately done more hours than her car.

[Eagle 1662]

+1. K's mean jack on a 14 year old car.

[Lubed 55]

Your last picture shows leaking oil filter housing gaskets, its best to chase this leak first then clean off oil stains and recheck for possible furthers leaks. Have a close inspection of the coolant hoses that oil has leaked over as the oil can contaminate and swell the rubber hoses. Also have a good look around for blue coolant stains that may lead you to your coolant leak, or better yet pressure test the cooling system and check for leaks.

[M3AN 4016]

At least your oil is clean... tells you you're not losing your coolant into the engine.

Silver lining and all... ?

[pc233 6]

12 hours ago, Lubed said:

Your last picture shows leaking oil filter housing gaskets, its best to chase this leak first then clean off oil stains and recheck for possible furthers leaks. Have a close inspection of the coolant hoses that oil has leaked over as the oil can contaminate and swell the rubber hoses. Also have a good look around for blue coolant stains that may lead you to your coolant leak, or better yet pressure test the cooling system and check for leaks.

Cheers for this, most helpful. I will see if I can get a pressure test, and hopefully repair, done this week as we're meant to be taking it to New Plymouth this coming weekend.

Thanks to all for the replies.