Cracked head gasket?

jrod5k · 10-19-2018, 10:40 PM

Came out to my car the other morning and had a low coolant warning. I had deleted the EGR cooler previously so I figured I had an air bubble that finally surfaced or I lost a bit of coolant despite my best efforts to capture during the install.
Didn’t think much of it until I started to fill it up and saw what I can best describe as “skim milk” in the reservoir. I’m worried I have a cracked head, I’ve only seen “chocolate milk” and never something that resembles “skim milk” like this before. I have a jr tune 2.0 w/delete and never push the car hard. I’ve noticed no major oil loss and oil on dipstick appears normal. I’m hopijg for best case scenario of a oil cooler cracked or something else. Anyone have a similar experience?

Can’t seem to figure out how to add a photo or else I’d include one.

335dlci · 10-20-2018, 10:09 AM

What color was this skin milk?

robnitro · 10-20-2018, 10:38 AM

If you were low on coolant for a while, the "skim milk" could be air bubbles mixed up in the coolant.

Run the engine at idle with the reservoir open and turn the cabin heater on. Top off the coolant until it's stable at the correct level for a while.

Then just close the reservoir and go for a drive making sure you reach 80 C or so where the thermostat starts to open.
Recheck coolant level when engine cooled down, hopefully the coolant level is good and no more "milk" if low add more coolant, might have dislodged air from the radiator.

Air is a hassle to get out until you fully cycle the engine temperature, because of the thermostat and heater valves.

10-19-2018, 10:40 PM	#1
jrod5k New Member 0 Rep 6 Posts Drives: 2011 335d Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: El Paso, TX iTrader: (0)	Cracked head gasket? Came out to my car the other morning and had a low coolant warning. I had deleted the EGR cooler previously so I figured I had an air bubble that finally surfaced or I lost a bit of coolant despite my best efforts to capture during the install. Didn’t think much of it until I started to fill it up and saw what I can best describe as “skim milk” in the reservoir. I’m worried I have a cracked head, I’ve only seen “chocolate milk” and never something that resembles “skim milk” like this before. I have a jr tune 2.0 w/delete and never push the car hard. I’ve noticed no major oil loss and oil on dipstick appears normal. I’m hopijg for best case scenario of a oil cooler cracked or something else. Anyone have a similar experience? Can’t seem to figure out how to add a photo or else I’d include one. __________________ JR 2R ATM Intake and Exhaust Orion DP DWR transmission tune
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10-20-2018, 10:09 AM	#2
335dlci Lieutenant Colonel 277 Rep 1,574 Posts Drives: 335d Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Socal iTrader: (0)	What color was this skin milk?
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10-20-2018, 10:38 AM	#3
robnitro Captain 160 Rep 803 Posts Drives: x5 35d e70 2011 Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: NYC area iTrader: (0)	If you were low on coolant for a while, the "skim milk" could be air bubbles mixed up in the coolant. Run the engine at idle with the reservoir open and turn the cabin heater on. Top off the coolant until it's stable at the correct level for a while. Then just close the reservoir and go for a drive making sure you reach 80 C or so where the thermostat starts to open. Recheck coolant level when engine cooled down, hopefully the coolant level is good and no more "milk" if low add more coolant, might have dislodged air from the radiator. Air is a hassle to get out until you fully cycle the engine temperature, because of the thermostat and heater valves.
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