[335iNavyGuy]

So i checked my coolant today after a low coolant warning light came on (did not over heat ) and its a sludge brown mixture, most certainly oil and a good amount of it...

So where should i start, which tests to see what gasket? What gaskets could it all be?

thanksfor the info/help!

[335iNavyGuy]

I'll start by replacing the oil filter gasket and see where that leaves me.

[mweisdorfer]

BMW's in general are not known for it, but the worst case situation would be a blown head gasket. I think starting with the oil filter housing gasket is a good start. However, this gasket has a set of tell tales on the exterior not typically the interior.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

BMW's in general are not known for it, but the worst case situation would be a blown head gasket. I think starting with the oil filter housing gasket is a good start. However, this gasket has a set of tell tales on the exterior not typically the interior.

Ive just read a lot about people saying it causes oil in coolant, and i remember the dealership saying they thought mine was leaking. And if i had a blown head gasket, I would most likely have coolant in the oil as well and i dont

[kautiongsr]

It's gonna be head gasket sadly to say 👎

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by 335iNavyGuy

Ive just read a lot about people saying it causes oil in coolant, and i remember the dealership saying they thought mine was leaking. And if i had a blown head gasket, I would most likely have coolant in the oil as well and i dont

When you change out the oil filter housing gasket, you may as well scrub out the intake valves while your in there. The infamous third bolt will not come out unless you take out the intake valve cover. The intake valve gaskets and throttle body gasket are not that expensive. Of course, you will need to change the oil and coolant to really see if changing the the oil filter housing gasket did the trick.

If you become a member at Amsoil, you will get 25% off your order. They make every fluid for the N54.

Good Luck

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by kautiongsr

It's gonna be head gasket sadly to say ��

Like i said if it was a head gasket 9 times out of 10 i would have coolant in my oil. And my oil is clean as can be. So unless you are a genius master mechanic with mind powers, Please stick to useful tips for this issue or please avoid my thread

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

When you change out the oil filter housing gasket, you may as well scrub out the intake valves while your in there. The infamous third bolt will not come out unless you take out the intake valve cover. The intake valve gaskets and throttle body gasket are not that expensive. Of course, you will need to change the oil and coolant to really see if changing the the oil filter housing gasket did the trick.

If you become a member at Amsoil, you will get 25% off your order. They make every fluid for the N54.

Good Luck

Thats a good idea, I was planning to do it before, I just havent had the time, But since im doing one might as well do the other. And its unfortunate i just changed my oil/coolant about a month ago, but hey its all good. Another 150$ in fluids ha ha. I'll look into the Amsoil thing, but i usually use royal purple.

[demontwinz]

Oil filter gasket .. or turbo seals .. i had a mix there before... and final, head gasket

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by demontwinz

Oil filter gasket .. or turbo seals .. i had a mix there before... and final, head gasket

Turbo seals can leak oil into the coolant?
I thought turbos were oil cooled?

Originally Posted by 335iNavyGuy

I thought turbos were oil cooled?

...and water cooled on this platform.

If you want to stick to useful tips for this issue, maybe spend some time on RealOEM studying diagrams to see how everything under your hood is currently connected and functioning.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

...and water cooled on this platform.

If you want to stick to useful tips for this issue, maybe spend some time on RealOEM studying diagrams to see how everything under your hood is currently connected and functioning.

I work 14 hours a day in the military, And have very little free time, So i am trying to utilize these forums to help me. I dont make a lot of money as anyone in the military knows so i have to fix this myself.

And this is kind of what the forums are for, getting help with technical and mechanical issues.

Thanks for the info on being water cooled as well. That is a very likely problem i might have, considering im at 118k miles with stock turbos, and 18k miles of that has been on a JB4 running 14.5 PSI

[6BATMAN6]

Originally Posted by 335iNavyGuy

I work 14 hours a day in the military, And have very little free time, So i am trying to utilize these forums to help me. I dont make a lot of money as anyone in the military knows so i have to fix this myself.

And this is kind of what the forums are for, getting help with technical and mechanical issues.

Thanks for the info on being water cooled as well. That is a very likely problem i might have, considering im at 118k miles with stock turbos, and 18k miles of that has been on a JB4 running 14.5 PSI

Dont feel bad bro hes actually the one who should research .. I hate people that bash kids for trying to learn on here . The only time a car would have "water" cooling anything would be in an air to water intercooler setup (which you do not have) and that would be cooling the air not the turbos
U can however refer to coolant cooled turbos as water cooled but idk why he had to shoot u down on a term lol
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38856" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.e90post.c...hp?t=38856</a>
There is a good link to learn more about how ur engine works.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by 6BATMAN6

Dont feel bad bro hes actually the one who should research .. I hate people that bash kids for trying to learn on here . The only time a car would have "water" cooling anything would be in an air to water intercooler setup (which you do not have) and that would be cooling the air not the turbos
U can however refer to coolant cooled turbos as water cooled but idk why he had to shoot u down on a term lol
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38856" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.e90post.c...hp?t=38856</a>
There is a good link to learn more about how ur engine works.

Alright good to know, thanks for the useful information. Wish people would just stick to that :/

lol I just found it ironic that you asked people to stay out of your thread after posting ideas on the potential issue yet have little/no basic/working knowledge of the system in general. Anyone with over 1,000 posts should have a decent idea on what gaskets/seals tend to fail on these cars by now.

Either way, hope you get this fixed for not very much monies.

[mweisdorfer]

plenty of DIY's old school method (using a gun cleaning kit and 2 1/2 bottles of seafoam intake cleaner). You might get a few brass brushes that can be connected to a tork gun (drill). You'll need about a dozen of them. They are only $2.00 a piece on Amazon. They will help speed up the process of cleaning the cylinder portion of the intake valve. Of course if you have an extra $200.00 or so to blow, you could get the adapters for a walnut blasting assuming you had some sand blasting equipment that also uses media. ECS tuning has both adapters in stock. For a while this spring, they were sort of hard to come by.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

lol I just found it ironic that you asked people to stay out of your thread after posting ideas on the potential issue yet have little/no basic/working knowledge of the system in general. Anyone with over 1,000 posts should have a decent idea on what gaskets/seals tend to fail on these cars by now.

Either way, hope you get this fixed for not very much monies.

Thank you for reading the part about avoiding completely useless posts and then posting a completely useless post.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

plenty of DIY's old school method (using a gun cleaning kit and 2 1/2 bottles of seafoam intake cleaner). You might get a few brass brushes that can be connected to a tork gun (drill). You'll need about a dozen of them. They are only $2.00 a piece on Amazon. They will help speed up the process of cleaning the cylinder portion of the intake valve. Of course if you have an extra $200.00 or so to blow, you could get the adapters for a walnut blasting assuming you had some sand blasting equipment that also uses media. ECS tuning has both adapters in stock. For a while this spring, they were sort of hard to come by.

I will most likely buy the walnut blasting stuff. It will be useful to have on hand. From what ive read the biggest danger is getting stuff inside the engine during cleaning.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by benharding

Hi. I'm very new to all of this. But from past experience on other platforms I think your best plan is to run a compression and leakdown test. It will help to track down a gasket failure at the head gasket. As if it turns out yo be a headgasket you will have wasted so much money on uneeded repairs.

Compression and leakdown would be my first port of call.

Well the reason im going to just replace the gasket to the oil filter gasket, is one its cheap, two the dealership said they thought it was leaking, and 3 i need to replace it to clean the intake anyways. Which is never a bad idea. But yes if that doesnt solve it i will replace the head gasket (and i can re use the oil and most of the coolant since the oil in the coolant only sits on top) So it will only cost me the extra time and 1 quart or so of coolant. I do need to figure out what a leak down test is though ive heard of it just havent researched yet

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by 335iNavyGuy

I will most likely buy the walnut blasting stuff. It will be useful to have on hand. From what ive read the biggest danger is getting stuff inside the engine during cleaning.

It is really easy to ensure the valves are closed. You will need to take the fan out, which is one bolt and an electrical connection. The oil cooler may be attached below. So check this out first. That my be a couple of bolts too. It is sort of tricky to put the fan back in (FYI). Once you have cleared some room, then you need to just put a ratchet on the crank bolt. You will feel the valves close by feeling more tension on the ratchet when the valves close, as you turn the ratchet. You can always spay some Seafoam or brake cleaner in there and ensure that the valve is sealed by watching to see if it leaks down into the cylinder. If it stays pooled then you know it is sealed. Just quickly vac it out and and attach the adapters and blast away.

Again, ECS tuning has them in stock. You'll need the wand and cylinder adapter.

[DanielGonz]

Just a heads up, but I spoke to a head BMW tech (10+ years experience) and he said the t a common problem for oil in the coolant is that where the turbo oil lines meet the block, it's like an upside-down heart shaped drain, and the actual block fractures and cracks at that middle. Apparently it's a well known problem and the only remedy is a whole new block. Thankfully I'm less than 4,000 miles away from my warranty ending and it is all covered. Whew. But it's easily a $7,000 job when all is said and done. Right now, I'm thinking "GOOD FUCKING SHIT DANIEL" for getting the extended warranty through my Credit Union. Whewwww.

[007_e350]

Originally Posted by DanielGonz

Just a heads up, but I spoke to a head BMW tech (10+ years experience) and he said the t a common problem for oil in the coolant is that where the turbo oil lines meet the block, it's like an upside-down heart shaped drain, and the actual block fractures and cracks at that middle. Apparently it's a well known problem and the only remedy is a whole new block. Thankfully I'm less than 4,000 miles away from my warranty ending and it is all covered. Whew. But it's easily a $7,000 job when all is said and done. Right now, I'm thinking "GOOD FUCKING SHIT DANIEL" for getting the extended warranty through my Credit Union. Whewwww.

Gosh everytime I read abt things like these I wanna just buy a camry
.. I hope its not a norm though, I read somewhere the exhaust temp is 1240F when pushing the car, dont know how true that is