[DaveSA]

Hi,

I'm not a mechanic, or a DIY'er. But, I could sure use some suggestions as to possible issue(s), here. Thanks

Purchased the vehicle 2'nd hand (April 2016) @ approx 136,455Km.

Vehicle now at: 160,185Km (average KM traveled per year: 11,864)

(should mention... stone tray and the other small tray behind this, was not put back-on when they replaced sump gasket. I only discovered this f#ck-up a couple months later. By that stage, Adelaide BMW refused accountability, saying it must have fallen off when driving ( )... Yeah, sure, 20 hex self tapper screws all drop out and both stone trays (approx 2feet x 2feet) both fall off the car without me noticing it. (BM Connections service car now)

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Current Overview of Vehicle Maintenance

Vehicle has had the following parts replaced/fixed:

• Electric water pump and thermostat - approx 136,700Km
• Injectors (recall replacement) - approx 136,700Km
• Oil filter housing + hoses etc (crap oil from card yard sheared and turned to black sludge) 3x flushing, 2x oil filter replacements. - approx 143,000Km
• PCV (positive crankcase value) - approx 143,500Km
• Cooling system reservoir (seal burst) replaced, and associate hoses etc - approx 150,000Km
• Sump gasket replaced - approx 150,000Km
• Electric fuel pump replaced - approx 154,000Km
• Radiator replaced, and hoses etc - approx 157,000Km
• Oil is changed every 5,000Km (Fuchs Titan GT1 SAE 5W-40)

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Two weeks ago, while on a road trip (returning from Vic to SA) received a Yellow Radiator Warning Light in the heads up console display. Waited for car cooled down, removed reservoir cap, to discover water level was down.

BMW dealership in Ballarat, hence took it there. Hooked up computer but no error message reported. However, it require approx 750Mil of water/coolant. Drove back to Adelaide with no issue.

A couple of days later at home, after returning from shops (approx 3Km), notice small water leak, dripping down from where exhaust connects to catalytic converters(?).

Rechecked after about 30 min, at a guess, about a cup of liquid. By this stage it had stopped dripping.

Took car to mechanic (BM Connections - 27'th April 2018) they couldn't find any leaks. But did bleed system etc. Also found O-ring for (input side) intercooler was just about to break, that was replaced, tested, boost all good.

Arrived home from visiting shops today, approx 3Km, had top down, smelt a slight hint of coolant smell. Checked under car, and again drips present. Re-checked 30 min or so later, no more drips... Aprox 1/8'th cup of water present on concrete.

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So... right now, I'm back to being paranoid, and don't know why my car is dripping this little bits of water every so often???


Cheers

Dave

[Brule]

Is it water or coolant?
The ac drops water from that area.

Check the coolant each day when its cold to see if you have any coolant loss.

Undertrays definitley dont fall off, I wonder if its at the shop hiding.

[DaveSA]

Originally Posted by Brule

Is it water or coolant?
The ac drops water from that area.

Doesn't really smell like coolant, nor appear like it either. More like water with a hot (metallic) engine aroma (if that makes sense).

Originally Posted by Brule

Check the coolant each day when its cold to see if you have any coolant loss.

I'll do that every day from now on, thanks for the tip

Originally Posted by Brule

Undertrays definitley dont fall off, I wonder if its at the shop hiding.

Agree 100%. I ran the "hiding" (misplaced) theory past them... They refused to accept that. Instead, kept saying it must have fallen off. All I can think of is the tech placed the trays someplace in the workshop (away from car), and they've been misplaced. But can't do much about that when they keep feeding me that rot. Anyway... They're back on albeit at my expense.

They also broke my convertible switch, which they also did not inform me about. I went to use it a month or two later (after winter) and it was broken.

Some real horror stories come from this place. Kinda annoying, given they charge $250 p/h for labour. I expected more from them.

[BSG335]

If the cooling system is fine (No leaks) you shouldn't be consuming coolant right?

Unless there is some coolant consumption like oil consumption in these cars that I'm not aware of.

[Socket]

water drips down from ac drain
Can you take a pic of where is it dripping under the car?

As said above, monitor the level in the water reservoir over a few days and see if it drops much

[kookie]

I Swear you look at the engine bay wrong and shit starts leaking.

For me, it was the radiator hose. The FMIC was off by a few mm and when the car moved it would push the hose a bit weird and it would leak.

pulled it apart. Realigned the FMIC, replaced the hose (dumb connection) and has been fine. Also needed to replace the cap of the radiator as the seals were crap and I was losing some coolant via evaporation.

[R32GOJIRA]

I have a coolant leak in mine at the moment which i need to fix.
It is coming from the coolant return line from the back turbo.
Both the supply and return lines from the twin turbos are sealed by orings, and have a tendency to leak after a while. It also may be the lines themselves and not just the orings.

[1275]

Originally Posted by kookie

I Swear you look at the engine bay wrong and shit starts leaking.

For me, it was the radiator hose. The FMIC was off by a few mm and when the car moved it would push the hose a bit weird and it would leak.

pulled it apart. Realigned the FMIC, replaced the hose (dumb connection) and has been fine. Also needed to replace the cap of the radiator as the seals were crap and I was losing some coolant via evaporation.

I definitely agree kookie.

I replaced the cap for coolant reservoir about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday as I got to work the top hose running across the top of the fan/radiator disintegrated. It's an easy fix and relatively cheap fix for the hose, but in my limited experience with cooling systems, fixing one thing usually reveals the next weakest point. Now that this hose is fixed, I'm wondering which hose will blow next...

It may be overkill but I am going to pressure test my cooling system this weekend as this has me spooked.

I think, in summary, plastic parts in the cooling system suck.

[e36mmm]

Mate sorry to hear about your troubles. She'll be fine. That dealer needs a slap. This method below worked twice for me in similar situations that you have gone through. Please keep in mind you need to be firm when talking to any dealer in general. Unfortunately they deserve this pressure.
Go back once again to that rot dealer and ask for dealer principal first thing. They will send service assistant or manager, decline their offer with a hand gesture and do not even give them a chance to talk, repeat once again you want to see the dealer principal. If they say they say he is busy and most likely they will, increase your tone slightly and say that you will not leave until you have a word with him or her and that it is an urgent matter. Within 15 minutes, most likely the principal will attend, again be firm, explain your intent, your loyalty to the brand, all the inconvenience you have gone through to ensure you can enjoy your car with a peace of mind and mention how the dealership has failed to demonstrate their advertised "ultimate service" standards. And then Demand for your tray to be replaced and the roof button as a no cost option as they were not damaged or missing before the service. If he dares to decline, mention that you will be on your way to contact BMW Australia with all your receipts and file a complaint. I bet they will replace them on the spot for free. Regards

[DaveSA]

Originally Posted by e36mmm

Mate sorry to hear about your troubles. She'll be fine. That dealer needs a slap. This method below worked twice for me in similar situations that you have gone through. Please keep in mind you need to be firm when talking to any dealer in general. Unfortunately they deserve this pressure.
Go back once again to that rot dealer and ask for dealer principal first thing. They will send service assistant or manager, decline their offer with a hand gesture and do not even give them a chance to talk, repeat once again you want to see the dealer principal. If they say they say he is busy and most likely they will, increase your tone slightly and say that you will not leave until you have a word with him or her and that it is an urgent matter. Within 15 minutes, most likely the principal will attend, again be firm, explain your intent, your loyalty to the brand, all the inconvenience you have gone through to ensure you can enjoy your car with a peace of mind and mention how the dealership has failed to demonstrate their advertised "ultimate service" standards. And then Demand for your tray to be replaced and the roof button as a no cost option as they were not damaged or missing before the service. If he dares to decline, mention that you will be on your way to contact BMW Australia with all your receipts and file a complaint. I bet they will replace them on the spot for free. Regards

Hi Mate,

Thanks for the advice, but sorry to say I've tried all that. The dealer principle sits in his ivory tower, and barks orders (it seems) to his minions. The catalyst of the stone-tray-loss, was repairs I flatly refused to pay for, on account of this dealership making a total b#lls up not following my direct instructions of a previous service which also included (or should have) a flush, oil change and filter.

Why wasn't it replaced? A mechanic dipped his finger into said oil, observed it was clean, and decided it didn't need doing.

Problem is though... he wasn't Mr Gadget, and his finger wasn't hooked up to an automatic oil analysis machine. Hence the "oil" might have looked clean, but (approx) 3,500km later, that oil totally sheared, and subsequently turned into black sludge... A world of expense followed.

When the cooling system sh#t itself back in April (2017), when this dealership had previously said car/parts etc, etc the all clear, to see steam jettison out from the right front wheel arch, and the reservoir tank spewing water everywhere, that was the straw which broke the camel's back.

Due to legal reasons (signed non disclosure agreement) I'm unable to furnish what happened following this.
However, all repairs were completed free-of-charge.

A few weeks later whilst on a road trip, I discovered both stone trays missing. Phoned the dealership, only to be feed that absurd and ridiculous excuse that both trays (and 20 odd bolts) just fell off without me knowing.

Hence, I have no option but the wear that replacement costs of both the stone strays, and the convertible switch, myself.
All parts have since been replaced.

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The stone strays, for some reason arrived being the wrong part numbers. BM Connections ordered the correct parts but it seems the parts centre at Adelaide BMW, screwed that order up, and the wrong parts arrived. Anyway I had no option but to drive the Melbourne and Back without said stone trays.

The coolant issues has been found, and it's going to cost $3,000 to fix. They had to use one of the video camera's on an arm to find the leaks. Which, are coming from some where around the bottom of the engine.

To fix this issue, I've been told it will take approx 15 hours labour. They have to remove the engine sub-frame and other engine stuff, to even get to the issue. I can't help but wonder, if the stone strays were present on my trip to Melbourne, if I'd now be staring down at a $3K repair bill???

Seems from what I've been told, it could have very well been a loose stone which has caused this issue.

I'm not really happy to have to hand over $3K, given (feasibly) it may quite possibly have been caused by the lack of stone trays. (I gave the Indy guys over 2, maybe 3 weeks notice for these trays). I'm really annoyed at what happen, and again me being the sucker slogged with the fix fee

[Socket]

$3K to fix a water leak wtf?
Doubt it was anything to do with the stone trays, unless you were very unlucky
I drove mine around for 12 months without trays and has zero issues
Did they say exactly what is leaking.. my guess is hoses to the water pump

[e36mmm]

My guess is that too. Because I do have a leak on one of the bottom hoses near radiator or near water pump so my car will need to be serviced in near future. Sorry to hear about all these probs mate. Hope shes back in order soon.

[EB89]

Take it to another dealer that’s just stupid, they are trying to price scare you away.

Or better yet an Indy and ask them to replace alll the water pump and thermostats pipes.

[DaveSA]

Originally Posted by Socket

Did they say exactly what is leaking.. my guess is hoses to the water pump

Not really, they just waffled on about how hard a job this is, and about having to remove the engine sub-frame etc, to get to these hoses. Given I'm not mechanically minded, nothing meant jack to me, well... lol...all accept the $3K price tag!

I'm about to phone the shop now, and ask for more details. I'll post when I have that info.

[Socket]

Find out what the problem is and post
For $3K get it towed to Worx in Melb

[DaveSA]

(this is only an estimate price, as they're not entirely sure how long job will take)

I should also add, these guys have done stuff for me before, at not cost. EG - Oil filter housing was leaking, replaced O-Ring free of charge. They also gave me a free oil change when the stone-tray order got stuffed up. And a few other bits here and there for free.

More so, I'm just totally blown away that this car, having done around 22K since purchasing it, has cost me an arm and a leg. Just about everything that could go wrong with it, has been replace/repaired.

Job Repair Description

REPLACE LEAKING ENGINE TURBO FEED & RETURN COOLANT HOSES
REPLACE LEAKING TRANSMISSION DATA PLUG SLEEVE (this has been weeping for a while now, figured best to fix while they have car).

REPAIR PARTS:

• PIPE COOLANT RETURN FRONT TURBO N54 1.00 177.320 EACH
• PIPE COOLANT FEED FRONT TURBO N54 1.00 177.320 EACH
• PIPE COOLANT FEED REAR TURBO N54 1.00 177.320 EACH
• PIPE COOLANT RETURN REAR TURBO N54 1.00 177.320 EACH
• O RING 335i OIL COOLER LINES 8.00 13.170 EACH
• O RING INLET WATER PIPE 1.00 43.090 EACH
• SEALING SLEEVE TRANS 1.00 48.300 EACH

REPAIR OILS / FLUIDS & SUNDRIES:

• COOLANT 1.5 LTR 2.00 15.150 EACH
• OIL AUTO TRANS MAXLIFE ATF DEX III 8.00 14.300 LITRE
• WORKSHOP CONSUMABLES 1.00 12.000

REPAIR LABOUR:

• LABOUR 16.50 140.000 (total inc GST - 2,310.00)

Subtotal - 3,066.12
Rounding Amount - .02
GST - 306.61

TOTAL - $3,372.75

(Reiterating, includes repair of transmission data plug sleeve)

[DaveSA]

As a side question... Given this issue is turbo "coolant" related, would these, or could these, contribute to the engine running hotter than usual for a 335i?

Currently, it doesn't take much for the oil temp to raise close to the limp-mode threshold, when I'm giving it the 'stick' (I live in the country, so it's not hot city air) Furthermore, when it gets really hot, the car start to lack power/boost.

[vtl]

Coolant turbo lines require a fair bit of work to remove but not 16 hours. I have done full turbo replacements in less time than that on jack stands! For a workshop on a hoist I would say 4-6 hours at most.

Just need to drop the downpipes and engine mount bracket. Possibly need to remove turbo outlet pipe too. Can remove the coolant inlet lines easily. Coolant outlets are more of a pain in the ass to access the engine block connections, as the rubber orings weld themselves on. But if the hoses don't need to be saved you can grab them with a big pair of vicegrips and pull them off with all the force you need.

[R32GOJIRA]

So I was right about the turbo coolant lines.
Ive been quoted $1000 just to replace one return line by bmw and that is at $240/hr labour!!! So your labour cost p/h is relatively cheap. Just their estimated time is a little off.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by vtl

Coolant turbo lines require a fair bit of work to remove but not 16 hours. I have done full turbo replacements in less time than that on jack stands! For a workshop on a hoist I would say 4-6 hours at most.

Just need to drop the downpipes and engine mount bracket. Possibly need to remove turbo outlet pipe too. Can remove the coolant inlet lines easily. Coolant outlets are more of a pain in the ass to access the engine block connections, as the rubber orings weld themselves on. But if the hoses don't need to be saved you can grab them with a big pair of vicegrips and pull them off with all the force you need.

For $3K Dave should drive to Melb and pay you to do them for him. Then we can all go on the town lol

[Mayuri Krab]

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

So I was right about the turbo coolant lines.
Ive been quoted $1000 just to replace one return line by bmw and that is at $240/hr labour!!! So your labour cost p/h is relatively cheap. Just their estimated time is a little off.

We are from WA, the expensive state

[DaveSA]

Sorry for the late reply guys (had another kidney stone episode). Been laid up with that, along with an infection, meaning, they couldn't operate. Anyway, next week they're getting taken care of Which let me tell you, will be a very welcome relief!

Originally Posted by vtl

Coolant turbo lines require a fair bit of work to remove but not 16 hours. I have done full turbo replacements in less time than that on jack stands! For a workshop on a hoist I would say 4-6 hours at most.

Just need to drop the downpipes and engine mount bracket. Possibly need to remove turbo outlet pipe too. Can remove the coolant inlet lines easily. Coolant outlets are more of a pain in the ass to access the engine block connections, as the rubber orings weld themselves on. But if the hoses don't need to be saved you can grab them with a big pair of vicegrips and pull them off with all the force you need.

I contacted the Indy workshop who provided the quote above, the guy I deal with seemed a bit miffed, when I gave him the verbatim above from vtl. Said it was impossible, according to him, they have to drop the engine sub-frame etc.

He finished the email saying (in a gruff manner)... "it will take as long as it takes, and cost as much as it costs."

TBH, I'm getting sick and tired of sticking cash into this car, seems I do one thing, only to have something else go on me... the things in the workshop more than it's on the road. And, with all this stuff going wrong, I'm at the point where I'm too paranoid to drive or enjoy it. I bought to have fun in, not to replace every component in the engine etc.

Hence, thinking about selling it, then purchasing a 2009 - 2011 M3 (convertible) V8.