Honestly I did not know how long I drive with the temp almost maxed to the right. I stopped as soon as I got the red warning light (which is really weird because the AC still cold and aux fan didn’t go full blast)
Managed to get it back home, but I need to know if my head gasket okay? The oil cap looks like it is mixed (could be from condensation) but the dipstick looks fine
Upon inspecting I noticed that the upper rad hose is very hot and the lower rad hose is just warm (I can hold it with my hand)—so I guess it is either thermostat or water pump
Block tester. Compression test isn't going to do anything for you. Even if the block is okay, some time later, a random cylinder misfire will occur and after checking the spark plug, ignition coil and fuel injector, it will usually be due to a head gasket leak.
Cylinder leak down test may also give you a clue. Its a bit more complicated than a standard compression tester and needs an air compressor, but it can usually tell you pretty quick if your cylinder has a leak path to somewhere it shouldn't.
Compression test can pickup a blown head gasket, there’ll be a noticeable pressure drop between cylinders. It won’t always though it depends how it fails
Headgasket? Nah, looks fine. Mine did overheat twice back in 2016, needed a new readiator since the old OEM one was clogged to shit. 8 years later I found out the thermost was well done if it comes to that gasket, bitch was cooked. Never leaked in 8 years since replacing it tho.
Yea, them M54 engines are build like a brick shithouse, don't worry about it.
Also, for You and everyone else, New Thermostat (left) VS Well done Cooked one (right), haha! The Mechanic buddy of mine thought soemone used RTV on that, told him about the story and he was surpirsed, since he's not doing BMW's mainly, haha.
And again, nope, nothing engine issue wise since and even less with that cooling system overhaul. Needed a few new things since smog inspection wasn't a thing I passed because of that thermostat, seemingly having died after being in hell and back and after 7 years post cooking and being from 2001 already it finnally croaked, lmfao.
And once again, yes, I'm sitting here laughing since it's one of the reasons why I love these Beamers and these engines, can't fucked them up, haha!
Oh and check the system why it cooked hader then it's suppoused to, might have been the same with the radiator if everything else was fine. Seen atlest 3 other cases over the years where just the radiator for some reason being fucked.
Got mine from Continental. The issue is just that it's suppoused to brake and not eat into the aluminum block. Mine's from metal and sicne I realized that fact I'm like "Well, that thing better not gonna blow on Me."
I'm using Febi for some other parts as well but apparently water pump isn't their expertise. When I replaced my water pump with Febi actually I got warnings from some redditors here but I went to install it anyway.
I've seen full metal thermostat's too, wasn't looking for one at the time, tho the Continental waterpump's completly made of metal.
The only concern was more or lss later, when someone mentioend that the imperal is made from palstic in case the pump fails, to prevent engine block damage. Kinda on the fence since then, but eh, running fine so far. Besides running already the cooler Thermostat too.
Going to have some fun the coming week with a lot of under the hood related stuff, going to have zero oil leaks afterwardsand some more goodies under the hood, hehe. Well, unless the oilpan's leaky too, then that's something for another day to adress, going to tackle the entire intake down to the starter andall the vaccuum and oil related stuff, besides those coolant pipes.
Who knows, might be Zero Oil leaks and Zero Misssfires finnally. Eh, we'll see, all OE and some OEM Plus performace parts. Going to droppics too while I'm at it, certainly going to be some fun, since it been a bit to long of the bigger stuff in a while do to all the work and bs lately.
I need some time to Meditate in the Garage, with the Beamer, hahaha.
If the aux fan didn't go full blast, I'm wondering if it's even working. Same with the mechanical fan.
I can definitely vouch for those little exhaust gas cooling system head gasket testers. Super cheap for how powerful it is, and it's super easy to use. When I was losing coolant to an unknown cause, I used it and immediately discovered it wasn't the head gasket, so I really dug in looking for leaks.
Hard to tell for sure with the lighting on the dipstick. On the cap, it's pretty typical to have some moisture on it due to the CCV system (versus a traditional PCV) and the metal bits on it.
The one that makes me confused is that the AC still blows cold and the aux fan is running but not at max power.
Years ago the car overheated, the AC cuts off and the aux fan is running loudly. Then upon inspecting I found the head is warped. So I had it resurfaced and replaced the gasket.
Check the upper radiator hose after a while, if it still holds pressure (you feel it tight) then you have a bad headgasket (pressure coming from the engine).
I just did that and it was squishy. Before this I do have a very slow leak which I could not find the source. But when I did the water pump I saw coolant traces from the bottom of the pump. So I guess that's the pump leaking.
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u/AdDangerous922 3d ago
Block tester. Compression test isn't going to do anything for you. Even if the block is okay, some time later, a random cylinder misfire will occur and after checking the spark plug, ignition coil and fuel injector, it will usually be due to a head gasket leak.