found my coolant leak

[525i winter driver]

i'm kind of glad 'cause it's been freaking me out for the last month - was always checking underneath but i was looking for puddles and there never were any.

but i'm kind of not glad too. can you guys tell me how bad it looks? or should i look more.... i'm hoping it's common for those o-rings (4) to go.

[525i winter driver]

oh... my mistake... so that's atf then...

guess i've got two problems (among many) now... dammit.

[e34.535i.sport]

guess i've got two problems (among many) now... dammit.

Your not alone my friend! Keep your chin up

[525i winter driver]

Your not alone my friend! Keep your chin up

that's appreciated, thanks -

it's always comforting to get those "don't feel bad, i just spent $X on Y" ... posts.
i felt bad for not contributing to your recent to do list thread, but the thought of all that typing....

[e34.535i.sport]

that's appreciated, thanks -

it's always comforting to get those "don't feel bad, i just spent $X on Y" ... posts.

OK then here you go: "I just spent £100+ on a new rad (fitted it successfully!) and over £200 on some new Bilstein Shocks and mounts...(yet to be fitted!)"

i felt bad for not contributing to your recent to do list thread, but the thought of all that typing....

LOL! Mine's got even longer since! Keeps me busy though, and I kind of enjoy the work when things go my way... Do you do your own work?

[525i winter driver]

OK then here you go: "I just spent £100+ on a new rad (fitted it successfully!) and over £200 on some new Bilstein Shocks and mounts...(yet to be fitted!)"



LOL! Mine's got even longer since! Keeps me busy though, and I kind of enjoy the work when things go my way... Do you do your own work?

nice... i feel so much better...

most complicated thing i ever did myself was changing a starter. i don't even do oil changes myself because i don't want to deal with the used oil, and i don't really have a good place to work underneath. i'm ok with electrical stuff tho (many here might disagree by now) and i change plugs/wires/belts, etc... but there's still a ton of stuff a person can do just to keep an old car safe and running ok - i was looking forward to doing some repairs and learning stuff on this car - i'm starting to feel in over my head tho... i've almost had it for a year and feel like i've been working on it/finding new leaks/taking it to the garage non-stop. i knew there would be some problems, i don't mean to whine i think it will eventually be a very economical car... i would like to get it into reliable shape, it doesn't feel too far off but that's what i said in november.

edit: if i could do it all over again, i'd have bought qube's car, heh.

[e34.535i.sport]

nice... i feel so much better...

most complicated thing i ever did myself was changing a starter. i don't even do oil changes myself because i don't want to deal with the used oil, and i don't really have a good place to work underneath. i'm ok with electrical stuff tho (many here might disagree by now) and i change plugs/wires/belts, etc... but there's still a ton of stuff a person can do just to keep an old car safe and running ok - i was looking forward to doing some repairs and learning stuff on this car - i'm starting to feel in over my head tho... i've almost had it for a year and feel like i've been working on it/finding new leaks/taking it to the garage non-stop. i knew there would be some problems, i don't mean to whine i think it will eventually be a very economical car... i would like to get it into reliable shape, it doesn't feel too far off but that's what i said in november.

edit: if i could do it all over again, i'd have bought qube's car, heh.

I know how you feel... Always seems to be something wrong but I don't mind getting my hands dirty it's just when the new part costs an arm and a leg that does me in. I do my upmost to keep it out of the garage, that's when it starts costing you serious money. I was gutted when it had to go in for the clutch - I didn't really have the tools and a lift to do the job, otherwise I would have.

They will get there eventually there's no doubt about that. Once all the bad parts are replaced I'll pretty much have a new car!

[525i winter driver]

I do my upmost to keep it out of the garage, that's when it starts costing you serious money.

i don't know- if you get your mechanic to do the right jobs i think it's worth it. parts are so brutally expensive here but time in the shop is still pretty reasonable. canadian $ are almost even with us $ but they still want $660 for a fuel tank, $350 for an alternator $400 for a fuel pump and $250 for frigging floormats (all plus 15% sales tax) and i have shopped around i'm a cheap bastard. chances of the mechanic busting things are way smaller than if i try to do it and at this point i don't mind forking over $60 or $200 to get something done that i'd probably really struggle with. i'm just hoping i'll get a couple of years more out of the tranny and eventually get to smaller things that i can take a bit of time with myself