BMW Garage | BMW Meets | Register | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read |
01-31-2020, 09:54 AM | #1 |
Enlisted Member
7
Rep 33
Posts |
Coolant leak- overheating or just a crack somewhere?
Hi all this is my first post with likely more to come. I am looking to buy a 535i and have found one with good options that I like for a decent price, but it has a few issues. A few dash lights are on because the sunroof drain was clogged so water got into battery and spare tire area and most likely messed with some electronics. I'm fine with this, I can fix the leak and either repair the electronics or get some new ones from the junkyard near me.
Biggest issue is that the guy said steam started coming out of the engine bay after driving it for about 20 min. He said this has happened once before, and he just lets it cool off and adds water and then drives it home. At first I though it was overheating because he said the fan also comes on, even though its 30 degrees Fahrenheit here. He sent me a picture of the engine bay and you can see coolant everywhere and it looks like it was spraying out and getting on the manifold. I'll include the picture. I don't really know what the cause of this would be. He said he didn't get ANY dash lights for overheating. Also, he said he let it sit in the driveway idling for 45 min the other day with no issues, but when he drives it, it has this issue. My ideas were- expansion tank, loose/cracked coolant hose, not bled properly, water pump failure, or overheating/bad head gasket. The car does have 170k miles on it. Has anyone had a similar issue or have any ideas what it could be? I want to buy it and I'm fine with doing a water pump/thermostat but I need to know if it needs one so he will lower the price because they are expensive. And if it may have a blown head gasket, that is just too much work for me. Last edited by bigrock07; 01-31-2020 at 09:56 AM.. Reason: Forgot some details |
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
Tags |
e60 e61 n54 coolant leak |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|