Garage ****ed my car up BAD... need advice ASAP.

[nirvana19]

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34999

Read my first post, sound familiar? Never figured out what caused the belt to shred, but the car runs today... though the belt squeals and slips when its cold (shop put it on too loose after the water pump chaos explosion?)

You probably didn't blow any hoses, when the system overheats coolant spills out from the hose that leaves the expansion tank (opposite of the return hose into the top) and lands somewhere near the rear exhaust side of the engine.

[vuyodaddy]

lol got caught rockin the M badge. Base model e34 ftw!!

[Ferret]

lol got caught rockin the M badge. Base model e34 ftw!!

I wouldnt call a 535i sport a base model...

A lot of UK spec 535i sports were shipped badged as M's from the factory - in fact the first E34 I ever had the pleasure of driving/working on was an M535i.

It appears they were special editions or something, as they were shipped with sports suspension, Mtech lights all round, Mtech steering wheel, Mtech shifter and handbrake parts, Red Clocks and cloth sports seats (upgrade to leather avail.)

Sadly they're quite rare these days.

[CharlesAFerg]

That's not an ///M badge on your trunk is it?

Wow,

[healtoeit]

Turns out to be a 17mm socket with a 10" extension on it left in the engine... Obviously from the BMW specialist that done the clutch. I am
pissed.

Stupid mechanic, just plain stupid, give them hell, and make sure he doesn't work on another BMW again. Send em to ford. If that happened at the shop I work at I would be fired before I could register what I did.

[e34.535i.sport]

Hey guys... All points taken and appreciated.

I'm not familiar with the workings of the clutch so I thought they just might have taken the belt off to make something easier at the other end.

Still, leaving things in the engine is not on... no matter how easy it is to do it. At the end of the day if the extension had flew off and hit the fan or the belts or the radiator or whatever things could have been much worse.

Can't see why the belt came off myself to be honest, I checked it recently and thought I may have even done it too tight... No warning on the belt but I must have been doing 50mph at the time.

Anyway, car is still alive, no coolant/oil mix so HG is hopefully still fine. This was my main concern as I couldn't find an outlet for the coolant anywhere! I think the prize goes to Nirvana on that one, thanks!

I made sure the coolant was full, put belt back on (it looks ok but I'll replace it at the weekend), and checked all the hoses. Fired her up (it took a second as the battery prob lost a bit of power yesterday) but all seems good - no overheating or anything unusual. Ran it for ten minutes or so keeping an eye on the temp and giving it a few revs. Think the viscous fan clutch may need looking at in the near future maybe as it seems to wobble a little, but not urgent.

Oh and guilty on the M-badge but it is the M-sport in my defense! I wouldn't put an m5 badge on as I don't believe in false advertising!!!

I'm hoping there won't be any ongoing problems after this, but I'm scared to drive it now... Feel like I should take it easy on it now its overheated incase the H-gasket has been weakened. Worrying.

Anyway, thanks for the input - I needed to have my facts straight for when I rang the garage. It won't be going in again I'll tell you that.

[whiskychaser]

Can't see why the belt came off myself to be honest, I checked it recently and thought I may have even done it too tight... No warning on the belt but I must have been doing 50mph at the time.

Perhaps a little late to ask, but you havent got a pulley sticking by any chance?

[e34.535i.sport]

Hey Adnan don't even worry about it, entirely my own choice.

The only steam I saw was a very brief tiny bit on top of the engine where coolant had landed after coming out of the hose that joints to the expansion tank...

Ran it again earlier up to normal operating temp and no signs of steam or leaks around the head from what I could see. I'm assuming I'll notice signs after driving it a while if there is a HG problem, anything to look out for besides the obvious (oil/water mix, loss of coolant, exhaust smell)?

Seriously hoping I got away with it. I did turn it off as soon as the warning came up when it happened, and it was half way into the red bar on the guage.

In terms of a compression test, do I need to get that done at a main dealer? What does it involve?

Whiskey, I don't think its a pulley sticking as it ran fine earlier after putting the belt back on... Had a feel before I did put it back on though and the alternator spun fine as did the pump pulley. It is a mystery.

Fingers crossed no damage done... HG is my worst nightmare.

[Adnan]

Hey Adnan don't even worry about it, entirely my own choice.

The only steam I saw was a very brief tiny bit on top of the engine where coolant had landed after coming out of the hose that joints to the expansion tank...

Ran it again earlier up to normal operating temp and no signs of steam or leaks around the head from what I could see. I'm assuming I'll notice signs after driving it a while if there is a HG problem, anything to look out for besides the obvious (oil/water mix, loss of coolant, exhaust smell)?

Seriously hoping I got away with it. I did turn it off as soon as the warning came up when it happened, and it was half way into the red bar on the guage.

In terms of a compression test, do I need to get that done at a main dealer? What does it involve?

Whiskey, I don't think its a pulley sticking as it ran fine earlier after putting the belt back on... Had a feel before I did put it back on though and the alternator spun fine as did the pump pulley. It is a mystery.

Fingers crossed no damage done... HG is my worst nightmare.

Hi,

Sounds like you may be just fine; you are one of the lucky ones! A compression test is pretty simple but you need a compression gauge. Essentially, you remove all the spark plugs and screw the gauge into a cylinder and crank the engine. Repeat for all cylinders and compare the readings. Depending on the age of the engine, there will be some variation but the rule of thumb (I think) is a 10% variation or less. Those with more M30 knowledge should chime in, if they know. Advisable to disconnect the fuel pump and ignition when cranking.

As for things to watch out for, I think you've identified the main ones. Keep an eye on that temp gauge to see if it's erratic.

Regards,
Adnan

[e34.535i.sport]

Hi,

Sounds like you may be just fine; you are one of the lucky ones! A compression test is pretty simple but you need a compression gauge. Essentially, you remove all the spark plugs and screw the gauge into a cylinder and crank the engine. Repeat for all cylinders and compare the readings. Depending on the age of the engine, there will be some variation but the rule of thumb (I think) is a 10% variation or less. Those with more M30 knowledge should chime in, if they know. Advisable to disconnect the fuel pump and ignition when cranking.

As for things to watch out for, I think you've identified the main ones. Keep an eye on that temp gauge to see if it's erratic.

Regards,
Adnan

Hey I don't know what I'd do without you guys sometimes... This forum has helped me through some bad times (car-wise!).

Drove it to work and took it easy, maximum of about 3200 revs... Seemed like I was watching the temperature guage more than the road sometimes! It hit marginally above dead centre as it always has and never moved past there which is good news.

I'm going to look into a compression guage, see how much it is. Are there any other things it can indicate rather than a HG failure?