If you have been following along, you'll know that I am tracking down a phantom leak that's been going on for weeks and then last week, my car decides to overheat! It's been quite the mystery.
First, here's a clue to the origin of the leak (or leaks). At the front of my oil pan, you can see a few droplets have settled after my car sat overnight. You can also see the traces of streaks of coolant that must have been pushed back by the wind. So I know I have one slow leak originating from the bundle of hose connections around the thermostat.
- Evidence of leaks from above.
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Now, I have a co-worker who keeps telling me that he thinks it's a bad head gasket. He has been telling me this so much that I started to get a bit paranoid. So, I decided to change the oil and look for signs of coolant in the oil. Crossing my fingers, I drained the oil and ... thank goodness there's no sign of anything but oil in the oil. I also installed an ECS magnetic oil drain plug just for good measure (you can see it in the previous picture)
- Nothing but oil drained out. This is a good thing.
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Next, it was time to replace the non-OEM hoses. This particular hose was a EURO. I've never had good luck with these hoses. I kept getting moisture at the junction (at the plastic T under the manifold), but I was never quite sure if it was coming from the junction or just settling there as it was the low point. Well, time to eliminate any issues. I replaced it with an OEM BMW hose. Here's the two side by side and you can really see how they are different. The non-OEM hose (bottom) never fit snug at the ends. I had to tighten the heck out of the clamp. In fact the right side was so loose that I cut the end off to get to a smaller part. Still you can see as compared to the OEM hose, it is still too wide. Well, good riddance to that hose.
- OEM hose at top, crap EURO hose at the bottom.
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Just for completeness, I also replaced the main hose from the thermostat housing. Just because I was so tired of the crap, I also ordered all new BMW hose clamps! I noticed that the aftermarket stainless clamps I had been using was cutting into the hose. The slots for the screws would start to cut the hose when I had them super tight. I noticed on the OEM clamps, the threads for the screws to tighten the hose are stamped into the band. The holes do not go all the way through so no matter how tight they get, the do not cut into the hose. I hope that made sense.
- All OEM hoses from now on.
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Incidentally, I as I was testing the system, I noticed that the small hose from the top of the radiator to the expansion tank had some blockage. I blew it out and made sure that was clear. After all the work, I idled the car in place for 15 minutes and it was fine. Then I drove the car around town about 7 miles. Still it was fine. So I hopped on the freeway and drove about 20 miles to and then back into town idling around a bit. All was good. So, I hope I have somehow remedied the overheating and the leak. I'll find out more this week as I use the car for my daily commute (50 miles each day) once again.