PDA

View Full Version : can the M60 Head warp after only brief overheating?



Jehu
07-29-2007, 03:57 PM
I am getting the "Coolant Level" warning now more than i think i ought after an episode of overheating. Story started when i bypassed the heater Core and a company with whom i contract hurried me to finish the job before i could get water to mix with coolant and so i went off with just coolant to refill what had been lost removing the hoses. Just being too busy and forgetful i ended up a few days later making a long hard drive and the car overheated. I didn't drive it hot and shut it off within seconds of getting the warning,waited till the gage was at TDC then drove it with no rise for another half hour without adding any water yet and then it overheated again but again i shut it right off and sat about 20 minutes and drove to get water which i added and ultimately that night i was able to drive it home and have been driving it without overheating since. I took it two days after to a BMW dealership and had them flush and refill the coolant system and drove it that day with no incidents of either Coolant Level or Overheating. The following day i drove it and the upper radiator hose came off and i lost around two gallons and since then i have gotten the coolant level warning a number of times . I'd fill it to level and the warning goes off but i got it again today and i can't see any leaks from any hoses. I checked the oil and there is no evidence of coolant mixing and i have seen that so i know what it looks like ( Chocolate Milk) and no oil in the coolant that i can detect .I thought i read it is possible to leak coolant into a head port thru the gasket if the head is warped where it does not interact with oil channels. If i continue to lose coolant with no visible leakage from hoses is a compression test what i need to determine if the head warped? Maybe I haven't looked carefully at the lower radiator hose yet. Would that have been removed for a coolant flush? maybe they failed to properly tighten that as they did the upper one...

Evan
07-29-2007, 04:48 PM
none of us knows how many times our motors have been overheated... and it's the cumulative effects of that heat on the gaskets, heads, and block that cause failure

before you spend another dollar on your BMW, leakdown and compression testing are in order...

(it sounds like you're headed my way)

Sidney Rough-Diamond
07-30-2007, 12:49 PM
If you don't top the coolant up properly, it does take several times of warming and running the engine, and then letting it cool before you can top it up. When the aux heater pump broke on my car it pumped out pretty much all the coolant and left me limping to a garage just before the needle went into the red zone. I let it cool enough and then topped it up. I needed to top it up several times over the rest of the day and then finally the next morning before it would hold the level in the expansion tank. Been fine since.
I suggest you keep a supply of water with you and top it up after a drive and when its cooled.such as driving to work and the topping up as needed before you leave for home. Also, if someone has been working on your cars cooling system, check all the hose clamps and they will probably have removed some.How many times have you topped the system since the hose came off ?

Sidney Rough-Diamond
08-01-2007, 12:02 PM
Any news, good or bad ?