2016 BMW 535d back in shop - coolant leak

wavinwayne

wavinwayne

Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
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Location
North Alabama
Starting this thread mostly to note anything interesting the shop might find. I was heading in to the office this morning and as I was pulling in, the "add coolant" light came on. No big deal, as it came on one other time since I bought the car in 2023, and just needed a tiny bit to top up. I pull into my spot at work and notice a little steam coming from under the hood. Popped the hood and looks like a leak in the area of the oil filter housing, and it's dripping on the ground. Pulled up the hidden menu to monitor coolant temp (dash temp gauge is oil temp), turned heater on high, and drove slowly to my local trusted indy BMW shop, just as he was opening for the day. Coolant temp never got above 101°C. Indy guy agrees with me that it looks like the leak is coming from the oil filter housing area but won't know for sure until he gets into it. Gave me his shop vehicle (old X5 with 200k+ miles) as a loaner. To be continued..
 
wavinwayne said:
Starting this thread mostly to note anything interesting the shop might find. I was heading in to the office this morning and as I was pulling in, the "add coolant" light came on. No big deal, as it came on one other time since I bought the car in 2023, and just needed a tiny bit to top up. I pull into my spot at work and notice a little steam coming from under the hood. Popped the hood and looks like a leak in the area of the oil filter housing, and it's dripping on the ground. Pulled up the hidden menu to monitor coolant temp (dash temp gauge is oil temp), turned heater on high, and drove slowly to my local trusted indy BMW shop, just as he was opening for the day. Coolant temp never got above 101°C. Indy guy agrees with me that it looks like the leak is coming from the oil filter housing area but won't know for sure until he gets into it. Gave me his shop vehicle (old X5 with 200k+ miles) as a loaner. To be continued..
Click to expand...
My guess is cracked/leaking take off coolant hose flange.
The part is cheap but it's buried underneath the intake manifold.
 
BMWTurboDzl said:
My guess is cracked/leaking take off coolant hose flange...
Click to expand...
Haven't heard back from the shop yet, but wherever the leak was originating from, it sprayed upward and soaked the under-side of the plastic engine cover. Based on where the engine cover was soaked with coolant, I'm guessing it's the oil filter housing. We'll see.
 
wavinwayne said:
Haven't heard back from the shop yet, but wherever the leak was originating from, it sprayed upward and soaked the under-side of the plastic engine cover. Based on where the engine cover was soaked with coolant, I'm guessing it's the oil filter housing. We'll see.
Click to expand...
Could be. The coolant hose flange is right next to the oil filter housing.

1000001063.webp
 
wavinwayne said:
Shop called. Cracked oil filter housing. Said he can get the part from BMW tomorrow but may not have time to finish by Thursday evening. At least he said I could keep the loaner over the weekend if need be (they don't work on Fridays-Sunday).
Click to expand...
I think you should retitle this thread "2016 BMW 535d in the shop; may sell it, part 2."

kidding.
 
At least it isn't anything emissions related. Tyler Hoover briefly had a 335d and from his video the emissions components are insanely expensive as BMW didn't offer diesel vehicles in the USA for very long. As a side note see if you can get a metal version of the part. This will relieve any future headaches.
 
Finally got my car back today. The shop has been covered up for the last week. I was glad they let me drive their shop car for the week. As it turned out, both the oil filter housing and the coolant pipe next to it had to be replaced. I Brought My Wallet. Pic from invoice below. Owning this car is like dating a hot model with some bad habits. She treats me like crap, but she's so hot..
535d Coolant leak invoice.webp
 
97prizm said:
At least it isn't anything emissions related. Tyler Hoover briefly had a 335d and from his video the emissions components are insanely expensive as BMW didn't offer diesel vehicles in the USA for very long. As a side note see if you can get a metal version of the part. This will relieve any future headaches.
Click to expand...
People are having problems with the metal part. Bad casting, thermal expansion and poor fitment of the gasket
 
wavinwayne said:
Finally got my car back today. The shop has been covered up for the last week. I was glad they let me drive their shop car for the week. As it turned out, both the oil filter housing and the coolant pipe next to it had to be replaced. I Brought My Wallet. Pic from invoice below. Owning this car is like dating a hot model with some bad habits. She treats me like crap, but she's so hot..
View attachment 280693
Click to expand...
I have to wonder if the first repair was unnecessary, and it was all the second one.
 
I don’t know why you wouldn’t replace the pipe when doing the filter housing.

I’ve had techs write it up for the filter housing get it apart and realize it’s just the pipe/outlet.

I wouldn’t have charged the additional labor for it, even if we had to pull it back apart but that’s me.
 
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