09’ BMW 328i Steam

ngribano · 12-21-2022, 04:35 PM

I recently made a post about steam from what I thought was coming from the coolant expansion tank cap after a very harsh drive (going pretty fast, over 100mph). There is no coolant leak in the car, and I checked the coolant fluid levels today and they are the exact same as yesterday. I started the car to see steam coming from what I believe is somewhere underneath, coming from between the engine and coolant expansion tank. I’ll provide two videos below of me trying to showcase the steam but the angles are quite rough (apologize in advance). The videos show blue coolant overspray over some parts, this was when the upper radiator hose broke (fixed a couple weeks ago). The steam does have a burning oil type smell coming from it, but all oil gaskets in the car (including valve cover gasket) were done by specialists at Alpina Motors. Just wondering if I should let it run for a while to see if the steam clears up or what the best course of action would be. The exact car specifications are a 2009 BMW 328i E92 Manual transmission with the N51 engine in it.

A little more details, I noticed the steam after pushing it a little hard last night on the interstate. More precisely after I made it home and parked the car I noticed a strange burning smell and so I immediately went to go check what could’ve occurred to see that steam coming from there. The videos shown have that steam coming after a cold start, the steam starts coming after 10 seconds of starting the car. Curious to know what it could be. Once more all gaskets were done, yesterday we did top off the oil and put in a new oil filter. Oil used is 5W-40 Castrol. Is it safe to drive? What’s the best course of action to take from here? Thanks guys, you all are angels over here.

[Video 1]( https://youtube.com/shorts/2EF4_tYHw...SIkaIECMiOmarE )

[Video 2]( https://youtube.com/shorts/lG1MLxys_...SIkaIECMiOmarE )

Suvorovo · 12-21-2022, 09:18 PM

Any chance it’s left over oil from the oil pan gasket job dripping on the exhaust? Can you inspect the oil pan?

It’s hard to tell with the shaky camera. Is the valve cover dry?

12-21-2022, 04:35 PM	#1
ngribano Registered 1 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2009 BMW 328i E92 Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Portland, Oregon iTrader: (0)	09’ BMW 328i Steam I recently made a post about steam from what I thought was coming from the coolant expansion tank cap after a very harsh drive (going pretty fast, over 100mph). There is no coolant leak in the car, and I checked the coolant fluid levels today and they are the exact same as yesterday. I started the car to see steam coming from what I believe is somewhere underneath, coming from between the engine and coolant expansion tank. I’ll provide two videos below of me trying to showcase the steam but the angles are quite rough (apologize in advance). The videos show blue coolant overspray over some parts, this was when the upper radiator hose broke (fixed a couple weeks ago). The steam does have a burning oil type smell coming from it, but all oil gaskets in the car (including valve cover gasket) were done by specialists at Alpina Motors. Just wondering if I should let it run for a while to see if the steam clears up or what the best course of action would be. The exact car specifications are a 2009 BMW 328i E92 Manual transmission with the N51 engine in it. A little more details, I noticed the steam after pushing it a little hard last night on the interstate. More precisely after I made it home and parked the car I noticed a strange burning smell and so I immediately went to go check what could’ve occurred to see that steam coming from there. The videos shown have that steam coming after a cold start, the steam starts coming after 10 seconds of starting the car. Curious to know what it could be. Once more all gaskets were done, yesterday we did top off the oil and put in a new oil filter. Oil used is 5W-40 Castrol. Is it safe to drive? What’s the best course of action to take from here? Thanks guys, you all are angels over here. [Video 1]( https://youtube.com/shorts/2EF4_tYHw...SIkaIECMiOmarE ) [Video 2]( https://youtube.com/shorts/lG1MLxys_...SIkaIECMiOmarE )
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12-21-2022, 09:18 PM	#2
Suvorovo Lieutenant 254 Rep 502 Posts Drives: Broken e90 330xi 6MT Join Date: Feb 2022 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	Any chance it’s left over oil from the oil pan gasket job dripping on the exhaust? Can you inspect the oil pan? It’s hard to tell with the shaky camera. Is the valve cover dry?
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