QuestionWell now that I have try to contact the place I bought it and they told me I would get a call before noon today and its now 8:39PM and no call, as a matter of fact I have call hin 4-5 times and he tells me he will call me back......long story short, Im being IGNORED!
I will be contacting a consumer lawyer tomorrow....
One more question, why is the oil on the motor clean with no water but there is water on the expansion cooling tank.....He did tell me he changed the power steering pump, do you think thats oil from the power steering.
Well if I need a new head, where is the best inexpensive place to buy one..Im probably looking at few thousand dollars to get the car running again right?
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I did notice that the expansion tank was empty and had some oil inside, I just hope I was able to shot the car off before damaging the head.......As soon as I saw the Red light come on on the temperature gauge I shut the car off.............I bought the car at a big Exotic Car Dealer....NXCESS in Houston Texas
I did call him and they told me that they replaced the power steering pump or oil pump...cat remember.....do any of this need the water pump to be removed or anything that could have cause the impeller to go out.
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I have a problem, I just purchased a 2000 323i with 90,000 miles, I drove car from Houston to San Antonio and also drove it here in town....Since I bought it I have driven it 431 miles. This morning when I went to work, temperature got hot and Red light came on about 4 miles from the house...I turn car off as soon as I saw the Red light in the temperature gauge. Well I noticed when I got home that there was a light brown spot where I was park, looks like oil/water mix.......I have no idea what could it be....Im hoping this car has an oil cooler that has gone bad but Im thinking it could be a head gasket and I have no idea what that its going to run.......Im trying to get the Dealer that I bought car involved. What else could it be other than Head Gaskets.....any where else where water/oil can mix.
Answer -
Mike,
Sorry to hear about the problem with the new car. All I can say is I hope you bought it from a BMW dealer because they will back up the sale, most used car lots will not. As for the problem the most likely cause is the water pump impeller failed and caused the car to overheat. This made the thermostat fail and coolant to stop cicrulating. This very well could have caused the radiator expansion tank to rupture and unless it was promptly shut off it may have overheated enough to damage the head. Now, this is important!!! Follow this advise. Take it to a BMW dealer via flatbed tow truck. When this engine overheats and the head is taken off and sent for repair 95% of the time when it is being reinstalled the threads for the head bolt holes will pull out of the block. If this happens the engine block is trash too. Any actual BMW dealer will have a procedure to check the bolts should it be determined that the cylinder head need come off. DO NOT let indepentant service shop handle this problem!!! A dealer will know that the heater pipes under the manifold are trashed too. Unfortunately there is no oil cooler. Maybe you got lucky and you are just seeing an oil leak mixed with A/C condensaion. Regardless please do not run the car again for any amount of time until a qualified service technicnan inspects it. I wish you luck with this problem that is certianly not a fun way to start your new relationship.
Answer -
Mike,
Do some forum homework before you buy your next car. BMW straight 6 motors tend to trash a water pump about every 60k-90k miles. The water pump is quick and easy to change so whenever I buy one of these cars over 50k for myself I change that thing before I take it home. I am aware of that dealer, I am about 700 miles away from them and work on their crap because BMW owners go all over the country to save a buck. Keep this in mind. Used car dealers generally-not always but generally-have little obligation to that car once it leaves their lot and thus don't care. That means they clean it up, shine the tires, spray some air freshener in it and you have a pretty new car. I would almost promise that water pump was bad when you bought the car and they either knew about it or whoever checks their cars isn't knowedgable about BMW cars. I can also almost promise you the head is warped. Don't let anyone tell you it just needs a gasket. That head is aluminum and once it is overheated it is warped. I am really sorry to hear about your problem. I see it all the time and it is really dirty that dealers can get away with it. If you have only had the car 431 miles let them try to make your deal right but if they don't want to play contact a consumer lawyer promptly and tell him you need a new engine. Good luck.
AnswerThe coolant probably came out of the water pump center shaft or blew a crack in the expansion tank that you can't see. There is probably no coolant in the oil because there was no coolant to leak through the head gasket or cracked head. The power steering pump probably had nothing to do with this problem but I wouldn't know why it was changed, they rarely go bad unless the steering rack was leaking into the dust boots and the pump ran out of fluid then burnt up. Go back to my first response for the head replacement. If it was overheated bad enough the block may be trash too. If the head needs to come off a BMW certified tech can check the head bolt bores to see if they are damaged before the head comes off. That way you don't get the head repaired only to find out the block is trash. If the block is ok then the head should be sent to a machine shop and that can true the surface and repair almost any crack. Remember that I haven't seen the car and I am just telling you this as a worst case scenario, also most probable but unfortunately worst case. Don't get too excited until the boss man gets back with you. He may be willing to make this right. If not then talk to the lawyer.
