Did I mess something up? bmw 328i N52 engine, dirt and leaves fell into comportment

mastarron · 03-19-2015, 04:12 PM

Hey Guys,

I'm planning to change my brake pads today. In preparation to locate my brake fluid reservoir, there were a lot of leaves and even some dirt in that area(to the right of the brake fluid reservoir). I began cleaning it out with my hand. There was a black plastic filter/cover and I accidentally lifted it up resulting in some of the leaves and dirt falling in the hole there. I took out as much as I could, but there is definitely some stuff still there that I cant get out.

This same type of filter resides on the other side of the car in the same exact area(top right by the brake fluid reservoir and the top right by the electronic box cover). When I turned the car on I thought I heard a "funny noise". Did I cause some sort of issue? I cant tell if the "funny noise" was there or if im hearing things because this happened.

I'm looking at the Bentley manual and I dont see anything about this part, or at least I cant locate it when looking at the N52 engine bay picture.

Any help would really be appreciated!

EDIT: Just to clarify, the dirt is NOT in the brake fluid reservoir, but the compartment that is located to the right of it, just want to clarify that.

-Mastarron

mansito · 03-19-2015, 04:23 PM

You cannot damage anything by removing the leaves and debris from the drain filters. These are the water drain areas. Just remove debris from these areas every time you wash your car.

335m · 03-19-2015, 04:25 PM

A picture with a red arrow on it is worth 1000 words

mastarron · 03-19-2015, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mansito

You cannot damage anything by removing the leaves and debris from the drain filters. These are the water drain areas. Just remove debris from these areas every time you wash your car.

Thank you so much mansito for your explanation. That makes sense because I figured if I did some sort of damage, it would of been the poorest design of anything I had ever seen.

I will take it to the car wash after the snow storm is over so it should flush it all out.

mastarron · 03-19-2015, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335m

A picture with a red arrow on it is worth 1000 words

I will take a picture and post it later, I was in panic state and walked home to look it up on the manual and post about it here. Living in the city I park on the street so im a few blocks away from home.

Meeni · 03-19-2015, 04:42 PM

You can relax, it's nothing. These are normal water drain chimneys. Some dirt and leaves are no concern as long as you do not have enough to actually clog the passage, but it takes a serious amount. Natural water flow should clean the debris by itself.

Vin328IX · 03-19-2015, 08:04 PM

You want to clean it at least for now if you have worry before hand fill an old bottle of what ever you have majbe a soda bottle and just pour it through. It will drain right underneath. Of course a little more pressure like from a water hose or even an air line from like an air pressure will get rid of the crap in there.

03-19-2015, 04:12 PM	#1
mastarron Private First Class 29 Rep 118 Posts Drives: 2011 328i xDrive M Sport e92 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	Did I mess something up? bmw 328i N52 engine, dirt and leaves fell into comportment Hey Guys, I'm planning to change my brake pads today. In preparation to locate my brake fluid reservoir, there were a lot of leaves and even some dirt in that area(to the right of the brake fluid reservoir). I began cleaning it out with my hand. There was a black plastic filter/cover and I accidentally lifted it up resulting in some of the leaves and dirt falling in the hole there. I took out as much as I could, but there is definitely some stuff still there that I cant get out. This same type of filter resides on the other side of the car in the same exact area(top right by the brake fluid reservoir and the top right by the electronic box cover). When I turned the car on I thought I heard a "funny noise". Did I cause some sort of issue? I cant tell if the "funny noise" was there or if im hearing things because this happened. I'm looking at the Bentley manual and I dont see anything about this part, or at least I cant locate it when looking at the N52 engine bay picture. Any help would really be appreciated! EDIT: Just to clarify, the dirt is NOT in the brake fluid reservoir, but the compartment that is located to the right of it, just want to clarify that. -Mastarron
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03-19-2015, 04:23 PM	#2
mansito First Lieutenant 12 Rep 335 Posts Drives: 2013 328i 6MT Coupe Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Somersert Co, NJ iTrader: (0)	You cannot damage anything by removing the leaves and debris from the drain filters. These are the water drain areas. Just remove debris from these areas every time you wash your car. __________________ 2013 BMW 328i, 2008 Honda S2000, 2004 Lexus IS300, 1972 MB 250C
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03-19-2015, 04:25 PM	#3
335m Major 123 Rep 1,166 Posts Drives: 08 e92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Austin Texas iTrader: (1)	A picture with a red arrow on it is worth 1000 words __________________ 2008 e92 M3: Gintani Sport w/ Topspeed Catless X-Pipe, KW-V3
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03-19-2015, 04:42 PM	#6
Meeni Gateropode 329 Rep 2,848 Posts Drives: BMW 330i 06 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: TN iTrader: (0)	You can relax, it's nothing. These are normal water drain chimneys. Some dirt and leaves are no concern as long as you do not have enough to actually clog the passage, but it takes a serious amount. Natural water flow should clean the debris by itself.
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03-19-2015, 08:04 PM	#7
Vin328IX New Member 0 Rep 20 Posts Drives: 2011 328IX Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Westchester County, New York iTrader: (0)	You want to clean it at least for now if you have worry before hand fill an old bottle of what ever you have majbe a soda bottle and just pour it through. It will drain right underneath. Of course a little more pressure like from a water hose or even an air line from like an air pressure will get rid of the crap in there.
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