2001 e39 overheating...any suggestions ?

[chinist]

The car belongs to my daughter, 1500 miles away, so I'm trying to offer help long distance. Apparently it only overheats when working hard, climbing a hill etc. So far the indepedent shop she uses has checked for leaks, aux fan , and went ahead and changed fan clutch....no help. Now they suggest changing out thermostat and water pump to the tune of $675 more. They are telling her it will be $100 more if they do them seperately. Sounds a little steep to me but my experiance is only with my old e34, so what do I know. So, anybody have any ideas or know of problems with this model ? Do you think a dealer check is called for here ?Car has 50k miles.

[Denton]

V8 or I6?

If it's a V8 then it's just a smidgen early for it's cooling system overhaul. New radiator, hoses, expansion tank, tstat, tstat housing, water pump. Maybe more.

If it's an I6 then those parts listed above should last to about 100k.

A fan clutch wouldn't make sense if it overheats while moving.

EDIT: Wherever she is she needs to find a good Euro mechanic that knows these cars. Sounds like the mechanic is sub-par, at least on Bimmers.

[Chris'91'525i]

The car belongs to my daughter, 1500 miles away, so I'm trying to offer help long distance. Apparently it only overheats when working hard, climbing a hill etc. So far the indepedent shop she uses has checked for leaks, aux fan , and went ahead and changed fan clutch....no help. Now they suggest changing out thermostat and water pump to the tune of $675 more. They are telling her it will be $100 more if they do them seperately. Sounds a little steep to me but my experiance is only with my old e34, so what do I know. So, anybody have any ideas or know of problems with this model ? Do you think a dealer check is called for here ?Car has 50k miles.

Sounds like they don't know what thier doing. I would look for a new Indie.
I know most places mark up parts by 100%, that would put the parts at around $200, and labor at $475. That is totally insane IMO.

Sound like there a flailing parts swapping outfit. Rather than a shop diagnosing the problem first.

[chinist]

the shop sounds a little unsure on how to approach the problem. It can be an ordeal to find a good shop unless you're half a mechanic yourself to begin with. I guess the safest thing at this point may be a trip to the dealer.

[Denton]

Where is the car?

Go onto www.bimmerforums.com and check out the regionals section where the car is located. They can help you find a good Euro mechanic that won't bend you over and rip you off like a dealer.

[chinist]

Thanks for the tip. I was not aware of that forum, and that sounds like a great feature to have.

[Russell]

I doubt if the e39 thermostat/waterpump is much different than the e34 in terms of design or reliability. Many people replace them at 50-60,000 miles to be on the safe side. Also, how long has it been since the coolant has been changed? This could be an issue. IMO, use only BMW blue coolant. Just a consideration.

[Chris'91'525i]

I doubt if the e39 thermostat/waterpump is much different than the e34 in terms of design or reliability. Many people replace them at 50-60,000 miles to be on the safe side. Also, how long has it been since the coolant has been changed? This could be an issue. IMO, use only BMW blue coolant. Just a consideration.

That's a good recomendation on R&Ring the water pump at 50-60K.
Last week with no warning the front bearing pack on my WP expolded on I80/ Yolo By-pass in Davis, CA coming back home from Sacramento. In the process throwing and chewing up the main serpentine belt.
According to my records the WP was replaced with a BMW factory unit, with the heavy cast iron impeller about 25K miles ago. So it must have been a defective unit.
Replaced it with a aftermarket HEPU WP (made in W.Germany). This WP has a nice lightweight stainless steel impeller. Better quality IMO.. Just a data point........
The E39 WP is nearly identical to the E34 unit.
This was also one of the easiest WP's I've ever replaced. took less than a hour to do.
So that quote of nearly $500 in labor, amounts to thievery IMO....

[Derek A.]

http://www.bimrs.org/index.html

That is also a good resource for finding shops.

[chinist]

Thanks again, I'll have her call a few of these for comparison.