Still losing coolant

[arcter]

Yeah! Any idea where I can find one? I had no compressor in there, threw it away cause it seized up.

[///digitalme]

Yeah! Any idea where I can find one? I had no compressor in there, threw it away cause it seized up.

yeah you should give the guys at mesa performance a call they usually are good with helping you find parts...they found some parts for me

they are open from 9-6 i believe


1-949-642-8824
or email
info@mesaperformance.com

[arcter]

thanks!

[Norbi]

Hey there, i'm not sure, but i think i might have a cracked head or something like that.
I'm loosing the coolant (0.2-0.3l - 1000km), if i check the plugs, on two of them is the oily thing, but can't see the choco milk, and oil is not loosing at this time.

I will drive it for a few weeks, and will see if it turns bad or not, maybe it's something other. The best thing is to test the pressure you say ?

[jscribble]

My head cracked about 2 months into owning my 'is. It was fall when it happened, but my symptoms were:

Losing coolant
Lack of heat with heater on
White smoke from exhaust under throttle

Note that mine leaked into the engine, but it can also leak out.

I shut it down at the first sign of smoke, found a guy locally that specialized in bmw's, and ended up replacing the head with one that had been resurfaced, and had a valve job. Total cost was $1700.

If you do the job yourself, inspect the head VERY carefully. The crack in mine was TINY!

As far as parts, you'll need:

Head gasket
Intake Gaskets (upper and lower)
Valve cover gasket
Timing gaskets
Thermostat
Thermostat housing gasket
Radiator Hoses
Head bolts (or studs if you want to upgrade)
Cam locking tool would be nice to have
Also a good time to tackle timing components
Timing chain
Guides
Tensioner
Cam sprokets

And, if you haven't done it already, bypass the heater plate on the throttle body take a look here

[arcter]

Thanks for all the help guys. Since I got the car back on the road, the coolant level was staying flat at the kalt line consistently. However, today I checked it and it was about 1/2 inch below. I have noticed some little leaks under my car from time to time so I'm going to check those out and see if it may be a coolant leak rather than burning it again... that'd be awful. I had the head resurfaced and a valve job done and everything.

[arcter]

What's this leak coming from? I know it might be condensation from the new A/C in my car but it's also the first time I've noticed my coolant level drop so I'm wondering if it has anything to do with it. It appears to be water, not coolant. I have a couple other leaks (oil/power steering) but I don't know where the coolant is going, if anywhere at all. No smoke out of the exhaust.

BTW, anyone have experience with the Victor Reinz gaskets? That's what I used on my car.

[jscribble]

It's hell on bearings. Don't risk driving it. Mine survived about 20 - 30 miles with coolant in the cylinder. She'll fight another day.

[arcter]

It's hell on bearings. Don't risk driving it. Mine survived about 20 - 30 miles with coolant in the cylinder. She'll fight another day.

Oh no, I don't see any coolant in the oil or anything like that. I did a head gasket job + valve job, and everything was looking good until today (few weeks later), when the level dropped a bit. I've driven it 1000 miles so far.

EDIT: I just realized I maybe didn't update the thread - I had the whole head gasket job + valve job done a few weeks ago. It's been running great and the coolant level was steady, but today it dropped a bit. I'll check tomorrow to see if it's dropped some more, I really hope not. Maybe just a coolant hose?

[jscribble]

Did you bleed all the air out of the system? Keep a sharp eye out for chocolate milk and white smoke, but my guess is you had an air bubble in the coolant somewhere. That spot looks like it is about right for a/c. touch your finger to it, coolant feels greasy or slippery. It also has a distinct smell, especially when hot.

Gotta keep the thread up to date man, some of us loose sleep when an m42 is on deathwatch!

[arcter]

Well a shop did the work but yeah, I'm sure they did, and it was nice and steady for a few weeks. I'll keep the thread up to date.

EDIT: Car's OK! Think I'm just paranoid :#