these cars are frustrating

[sKunk]

Alright, got done doing the profile gasket/headgasket/all that. Did it, changed the oil, drove it for 50 miles or so, changed the oil again.  Still seeing the milkey shit in the oil, which doesnt surprise me, im sure theres more that needs to flushed out.

Now, Im still losing a ton of coolant.  I just got up this morning, the tank was damn near empty, and there was a puddle under it. Ok, not a real big deal, I know the radiator leaks. Has been for a while.  So, I top it off, drive it about 6 miles or so, come back, and the tank is damn near empty.

So, did I just do a shitty job and replacing the profile gasket and my ish is still effed up, or is my radiator just leaking that bad.

I keep checking the oil and it has yet to go up at all, I figure if its losing THAT much coolant it would have to affect my oil level.

Man, I hate to love this car.

[Bmw02er]

So did you check the head for cracks when it was off? If you still have whipped cream in the oil pan it suggests there's still a leak between the oil and cooling system.

[sKunk]

I should have checked that harder, but I didnt see anything.  I would have noticed if it was a big enough crack to drain the whole tank in 5 or 6 miles.

[dvmotorsports]

It doesn't need to be a big crack.

Did you torque the head bolts to spec AND do the angle torque?

[sKunk]

I did do that, yes. Everything was torqued to spec.

[monty23psk]

If the head is warped not cracked, you can have this issue also.

[sKunk]

Welp, just took it out for another good drive. Filled it up past the line, drove a good 4 or 5 miles, checked it, it was down to about the line, drove it another 4 or 5 miles home, checked it, and it looks like its pretty much the same. Hmmm.

[flyinglizard]

Get it real warm for the Tstat to open , add a little bit of stop leak to it.  
   You want the GM/ caddy stop leak. MM

[zmannz803]

Yeah I would say your head is warped and or your head bolts maybe aren't torqued right. You have been bleeding the system after it gets low each time?

[locknload]

^ +1 on the bleed.  Are you keeping track of how much coolant you've put in?  If it's losing as much as you say, it should be detectable while it's running on the driveway without taking it out for a drive.

[monty23psk]

These cars have a very small coolant amount, only about 2 gallons. So if you are loosing a lot, you have an internal leak if you can't see anything external. Also, you need to make sure the engine is dead cold before checking the level.

[hochiminh]

It's funny how I'm having a similar problem. Mine was that the car would overheat due to introduction of air into the system. Oddly enough, it doesn't leak radiator fluid.  I took apart my motor only to find the head gasket and the TCPG in good condition. I've been doing a little researching and I'm getting the impression that there is a leak somewhere.

[sKunk]

well, its leaking a lot less now. after about 70 miles of driving last night, it went down about  3 inches (thats topping it off on the line last night when it was cold, then checking it again this morning when it was cold again, by the way)

i know for a fact the radiator leaks.  id love to put in a new radiator, but my whole job situation isnt exactly great right now and im not exactly swimming in money.  i didnt think it quite leaked that much, but i really feel like its not getting into the oil.


i think im going to just keep driving it, and keeping a close eye on it.  whoever had the car before me broke the bleeder valve, so i cant really properly bleed it. its not overheating or anything tho, and i think by now its pretty well bled.


now the car likes to stall when coming up to stops and sometimes it idles like crap (sounds like it has some big cams in it lol)


ughhhh

[locknload]

Almost all modern BMW's use the same bleed screw.  New bleed screws at the dealer are about $5 and should be in stock.  You can get a nice brass one at Pelican for about $3, but the shipping will  get you if that's all you order.  You can usually find new radiators on ebay for $100 or less, I think it's the same as a Z3, so you might find one of those in a wrecking yard.  Also, try car-part.com, a 1 stop wrecking yard website.