excessive coolant pressure - help! |
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bulletproofbomb
Advanced Newbie Joined: 21-November-2008 Location: Cambridgeshire Status: Offline Points: 34 |
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Sorry to hear of your troubles.
I would make very sure that you need to replace the headgasket before you take anything apart, as a running engine (even if badly) is a lot more useful than a pile of bits, if you find the headgasket looks fine. What I am saying is to stop and review exactly what happened, what your current symptoms are, and what tests you can do before dismantling anything. The event: How far from 12 o'clock did the temp gauge go before you stopped? Did you put cold water in immediately, or after some time? How much water did you add (in litres)? The current symptoms: Several attempts to start- Does it sit cranking for ages then go, or does it sound like there is some life but not enough to start fully? Vibration- You say you can feel it in the seat, but a more common meausure of rough running (to look for Nikasil problems) is to open the driver's door and look at it- Is it bouncing up and down, or just wobbling a bit? Compare how much water you added to how much water should be in the system- i.e Did you top it up, or almost refill it? Inspection and Tests: Remove the spark plug from each cylinder in turn and record what it looks like (dry/sooty/wet with petrol/ wet with water etc) Get the codes read by an independent or somebody with one of the common software packages you can get- It should be able to display any major fault codes. Coolant additive to detect for leakage into coolant. Just noticed your comment re. milky scum, so the above is probably academic interest (not sure if it's even that...). I'd still perform the no-cost checks. I had thought that HGF was not usually good news for the head on V8s but, as said previously, you have nothing to lose, apart from time... Where are you based? |
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e34 540iT 6-speed
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jetsetwilly2000
Really Senior Member II Joined: 10-December-2003 Location: Cambridgeshire Status: Offline Points: 701 |
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I second the suggestion to find out what you can before you start. Doing a compression test for instance will tell you which bank to look at.
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E90 M3 DCT, E46 330d Touring, VW T5 wannabecamper
Previous: Disco 3 TDV6, 2x E34 540i6, E34 535iS |
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villman540
Newbie Joined: 22-May-2010 Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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Sorry for delay in replying, have been unwell last couple of days. Thanks to Andrew and Willy for all the great info, will now spend some time sifting through it all. Besides that I need to save a few more pounds up yet before I can get all the bits and pieces that ill need. Ill update everyone once Im ready to get things underway. Just want her back on the road where she belongs, and Im determined to get her there, even in the face of my financial situation. Glad that I joined this forum
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villman540
Newbie Joined: 22-May-2010 Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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Sorry, only just noticed second page of thread, so hadnt seen the most recent two messages before my last reply. Temperature guage began to climb fairly rapidly toward the red. I am always cautious about this sort of thing, so as soon as the guage reached the red zone, I realised that there must be a problem, and pulled over into a layby around 50 yards ahead. When I topped the car up to get it home, the temp stayed just above the middle all the way back. Added a lot of water, dont remember exact volume, but I made several journeys back and forth from the pub using 2ltr bottle, and a large jug, I remember being astonished at the amount of water the car seemed to hold. Didnt fill with water until car had been resting for around 15-20 mins, then as said drove the few miles home. Vibration is not excessive, the car is not shaking visibly, but is felt more when sitting in car. I will make sure that all the tests that have been suggested to me on this forum are carried out before I start wielding any spanners, but thanks for the consideration. Want to have pressure test done next week, and am planning on buying kit to test coolant. Hopefully beyond this point a clearer picture will begin to emerge. In the meantime Im going to continue to swat up on the procedure, so that if the worst is confirmed, Ill be nearer to being ready to tackle the next steps. Guess Im hoping at this stage that Ill get away with just replacing the head gasket, without there being any damage to the head or other potentially price increasing areas. Thanks once again. ps. I live in Deal, in Kent.
Edited by villman540 |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
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Keep asking the questions when you start to read up on it they guys on here are very knowledgeable. My E60 doesn't have a temp gauge so I'll never know if my car has a problem until it's too late! After the rev counter the temp gauge is the most important dial on the car! |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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Johnny conway
Groupie Joined: 14-October-2008 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 48 |
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If the V8 has 2 heads? . Do a compression test to determine which head to remove. you may get away with replacing one head gasket and one head skimmed. Dunno if you can remove one head at a time. But if you keep your own head screwed well on :) , you could DIY. . remove and label all parts. mark the timing cam pullys and chain before they are removed on the way off. have the head skimmed. replace with a new head gasket. Tork down as per BMW Specs. there is a special routine for this.. reset valve clearances after you replace the cam chain. - assembly is the reversal of disassemble. -or something like that. - allow plenty of time if you are not in a hurry. Somebody knowledgeable can give you advice along the way if you get stuck. If youve got nothing to loose -y not. Costs = head skimmed and new head gasket (thats if the head is not damaged). borrow a torque wrench and feeler guage at the end when theyre needed. j |
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Brucie
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Crispy-d
Senior Member I Joined: 07-May-2008 Location: Ipswich/Bristol Status: Offline Points: 130 |
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Hi Villman,
Very sorry to hear of your troubles - unfortunately one of the main things that the BMW engines are vulnerable to is overheating :( There are quite a few cases of head gasket failures that I've read of, many on the M62 (not sure why, maybe they're weaker??) but if they overheat and then have cold water suddenly flowing through them it is likely that the gaskets will go. If nothing else is damaged, just the gaskets then it seems a shame not to at least attempt replacing them. The garages will happily suggest a replacement engine because it is a shortcut and could even save time. But trying it yourself with a Bentley manual will be fun and won't cost much. Then if it doesn't work out then you will have saved up enough money in the few months that you spend on it to buy a replacement engine! I myself am having some concerns for mine now - a lifter was a little noisy (barely noticeable but annoying to me) so I did the old trick of putting 400ml of red diesel into the engine oil and ran it on fast idle for two minutes then drained it and replaced my fancy new Ester sythetic oil. Sure enough it got rid of the noise and the engine is running sweet as, in fact I don't think it's ever run this well! However, I've only just found out that there's an unbelievably high content of sulphur in red diesel and so it's very likely that with the intention of making my engine run really well I've in fact started off its destruction :( :( Only time will tell. I'll let you know in 30k miles if it's still running! Good luck with stripping the heads on yours, Crispin |
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BMW E39 M5 - 2002
Land Rover 110 4.0 V8 - 1986 BMW E39 530d Manual SE - 2001 BMW E34 540i 6 Speed Manual - 1995 Volvo S90 3.0 CD - 1997 Volvo 460 Si Turbo - 1995 Volvo 340 GL - 1989 |
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540 V8
Bavarian-Board Contributor Lick my badge Joined: 07-December-2005 Location: Running the asylum Status: Offline Points: 2280 |
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Firstly, sorry to hear our troubles but I'm sure the M60 is asbomb proof as I've heard many times. If you'd let it overheat there is a chance that the head could be damaged, if not then I'm 99.9% sure it'll be fine and worst case scenario is head gasket on one bank.
Get a compression test done. If the coolant is pressurising and the head gasket has gone then it will be the pressure from one (or more) of the cylinders leaking into the water jacket. In that case a compression test will confirm/deny your fears. All the garage (or yourself if you can bowwow the tool) has to do is screw a compression guage into the spark plug hole and crank the engine. If it loses it's comression or sits really low on the guage then you've got a leak. If all 8 cylinders remain within a given area on the guage then your problems lie elsewhere. It's an easy test to do or to get done so won't cost the earth. Like all the others here, I don't want to see another e34 die and especially not a V8! Get the test done then post your findings and we'll go from there. Do it, go on, you know you wanna! Good luck Mike |
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Current:E34 540i Touring 6 speed manual(Mpower bodykit & suspension)& Chrysler Voyager 3.3 V6 auto Previous:E34 530iSE AC Schnitzer suspension. E28 525e auto-Standard |
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Bigian
Really Senior Member II Joined: 25-May-2005 Location: Stonehaven Status: Offline Points: 2167 |
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I may have a pdf copy of the bently manual some where if you require 1 for the e34 that is bad news on your car im on my second V8 now a 535 e39 but got to admit i do miss the e34 540 im missing the extra 50bhp
Edited by Bigian |
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If you can't be good don't get caught
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villman540
Newbie Joined: 22-May-2010 Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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Thanks to everyone for their supportive and encouraging comments. Apologies for delay in replying on this forum, but we have had an unexpected bereavement in the family to deal with on top of everything else. Noticed today when having a quick look that whilst sitting there the level of water in mixed with the oil has greatly increased, oil in sump is now a chocolate milkshake and timing chain and surrounding areas are fairly thickly coated in creamy, emulsified scum, so CHG replacement/skimming is now probably coing to be my best case scenario. Hope I havent cracked the block, but cant help thinking that if id left the car for another twenty minutes before refilling on that fateful day that I wouldnt be in this situation right now, and my baby would still be purring like a kitten (or perhaps recumbent lion is more fitting for a v8). The distinctive and satisfying growl of this cars engine when opened up after a quick flick into sports mode is perhaps what I am missing the most, even if I did use it as a smooth cruiser most of the time. I used to even turn off the radio when driving as I preferred to listen to the sound of the engine! Will have relevant tests done soon - I keep saying it, but money has been that tight, and thus I will have to put up with that sinking feeling every time I look out of the window and see the car, giving me a sharp and piognant reminder of its current useless condition. Pdf offer of Bentley manual from Bigian would be fantastic. Thanks. I agree whole heartedly with Mike that it would be a travesty to let this car die, but with no car on the road, and an increasingly disgruntled and (should I say) slightly nagging wife, can only hope that I will make it out of the other side before I am forced to replace her. I have already convinced my partner that doing this job myself will be cheaper than replacing the car with another, but time will be the main factor involved, as I have a track record of being overly cautious and meticulous, resulting in sure, but often very slowly forged results. All I can say is that Ill post again when I have any more news, and (hopefully)a bit more cash! Edited by villman540 |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
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Sorry to hear about your troubles. The white stuff you are seeing is not good, oil and water are mixing big style and your CHG is very much blown. I wouldn't start it up. Chin up, Sir, we'll all lend a hand when it comes to answering your posts. Keep an eye in here and fire away with your questions. I'm sure I speak for others but we would be keen to hear how you get on.
Likewise, There is nothing like hearing it growl when you press the noisey pedal. Andrew |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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Crispy-d
Senior Member I Joined: 07-May-2008 Location: Ipswich/Bristol Status: Offline Points: 130 |
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I was told off the other for asking my girlfriend to shut up for a bit while we went through a tunnel All was well though - I got my rush and she got over it soon enough! I think I wasted the best part of £1500 on my sound system as I never use it either!! I really hope you get your head gaskets done. Might even give you a chance to decoke, clean up and check for any wear! If I had a spare £9k I'd buy a new engine for my car and keep it for another 200k miles Although they don't seem to sell the Nikasil engines anymore, which is a shame. If there was somewhere in the UK that had a machine big enough to rebore then replate the bores then I would buy a second hand engine and slowly build it over a few years, accidentally forgetting to keep a tally of the cost!! Best of luck, Villman and I've just realised I have a .pdf of the Bentley manual if Bigian can't find it. Also browse over this site: http://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/741en/index.htm for little jobs. I find sometimes the diagrams can explain a little better than the Bentley manual for certain tasks. Crispin
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BMW E39 M5 - 2002
Land Rover 110 4.0 V8 - 1986 BMW E39 530d Manual SE - 2001 BMW E34 540i 6 Speed Manual - 1995 Volvo S90 3.0 CD - 1997 Volvo 460 Si Turbo - 1995 Volvo 340 GL - 1989 |
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