coolant light on...

[onemig]

Im new to the forum and never properly introduced myself and would like to say hello and what a great place BITOG is.

I have a friend with an 04-05 BMW 330 coupe. She said last Aug. she had the external coolant tank replaced and coolant flushed or drained and filled. She never had any problems until two weeks ago when there was no heat from the heater and the coolant light is on. She said it did not overheat and the temp gauge stayed in the middle.

She brought it to an Independent BMW shop and was told that her Waterlo pump needs to be replaced and would cost around 1k bucks.

To me this sounds like there is air in the system introduced from the coolant flush and not water pump related because it did not overheat unless if the pump is leaking then I see the point of replacing since its going to be removed to replace the gasket, might as well put a new WP in it to avoid future problems. She did not say if a leak was found by the mechanic.

What do you guys think? Is she being ripped off? Does 1k sound resonable if it really needs to be replaced? I told her to get a second opinion from another shop (dealer) since she wasnt over heating. Coild it be air in the system and the reservoir just needs topping off (since coolant light is on). Her father also topped off her coolant with non BMW coolant that was purchased from AZ or AAP.

TIA for everybody's patience to my long post

 

[KrisZ]

I'm not familiar with BMW's, but I would think this aspect is probably similar to most makes.

Basically when the coolant level drops below a certain level, the circulation to the heater core is cut and there will be no heat in the cabin. This is pretty much a standard precaution in all cars.

Since the car did not overheat or go into a limp mode, I think the WP is fine, however the coolant must've gone somwhere. Perhaps the WP is leaking, so it needs to be replaced.
Find the cause of the leak and that will fix the problem.

 

[onemig]

^^^Exactly what I was thinking. Theres probably a small leak somewhere.

Since I dont see her often, It is hard for me to monitor the issue for her. I also dont expect her to look for leaks as she has never opened a car's hood in her life.

Thank you

 

[Donald]

Many water pumps have a weep hole to let you know you need to take action.

I would fill up the radiator, get it hot and look around the water pump with the engine running. Maybe some UV dye.

 

[kschachn]

Well, that's three months for the coolant to fall enough to get no heat. That kind of leak will be visible if even only trails of blue on surfaces (assuming it's BMW coolant). Generally once you know the sickly sweet smell of coolant you can smell it in minute quantities. A lot of times I can be walking through a parking lot and pass a car that I know has a coolant leak. Can she smell or see anything?

 

[cptbarkey]

i've seen a video where the water pump fins are rusted away, causing little movement in the cooling system. perhaps a pressure test is in order?

 

[Eddie]

I think I would top it up and make sure the system was purged of air. Then keep track of the level. Ed

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i've seen a video where the water pump fins are rusted away, causing little movement in the cooling system. perhaps a pressure test is in order?


I do not believe the pump provides the pressure. That comes from a rise in temp in a sealed system.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: onemig

Since I dont see her often, It is hard for me to monitor the issue for her. I also dont expect her to look for leaks as she has never opened a car's hood in her life.


I would certainly never take that burden all upon myself. I have no sympathy for people asking for help but not willing to do some work themselves.
I would fill up the coolant, show here how to check the level and make her report to me every two weeks. If not, then 1k is not all that much to repair a bimmer.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: onemig

Since I dont see her often, It is hard for me to monitor the issue for her. I also dont expect her to look for leaks as she has never opened a car's hood in her life.


I would certainly never take that burden all upon myself. I have no sympathy for people asking for help but not willing to do some work themselves.
I would fill up the coolant, show here how to check the level and make her report to me every two weeks. If not, then 1k is not all that much to repair a bimmer.


X2, honestly if she never wants to lift the hood, maybe an 8 year old Euro car wasn't the best choice.

People who don't know anything about cars may be more likely to blame the last person who touched it for "breaking it." I would put that burden on her, rather than making the cooling system on this car your responsibility. Show her what she needs to check and advise her on what to do, but I wouldn't take up the duty of monitoring it for her. She now knows there is an issue, and unless she is disabled or otherwise unable to lift the hood and visually inspect the coolant level, I don't see why you have to do it.

If there was air in the system, I would have expected it to work itself out in the last couple of months. Air pockets tend to show up quickly, not months later.

 

[onemig]

Thank you all for your inputs.

I do agree with everyone that monitoring it as there is likely a leak is the way to go for now. I didnt have to add any coolant in my car since about last year on a non sealed expansion tank so I expect that it should at least take that long or longer to top off a sealed tank.

Ill encourage her to monitor it and will update you guys.

 

[onemig]

01ranger, reason she didnt know of any heater issues is because she had the tank and coolant replaced around summer time when heater wasnt needed. Her car is running fine, no overheating occured ever. She just found out about 2 weeks ago that theres no heat from the heater.

I agree with not taking on the reponsibility ut will encourage her to do the monitoring.

 

[Fleetmon]

I would certainly be careful with this one....BMW's do not tolerate overheating at all and will cause a head gasket failure which sometimes, due to the aluminum block, requires a replacement engine because the threads pull out of the block.

Is there coolant in the surge tank? Do not rely on the temperature gauge....once the probe is no longer submersed, it doesn't work and plenty of times the needle stays in the middle. The gauge is merely a fancy idiot light.

I check my 528 twice a week.

 

[onemig]

^^^ I see. Will definitely keep that in mind. Thanks

 

[antiqueshell]

X eleventy billion when it comes to a friend, working on a friends car, if it breaks you can be sure that since YOU were the last one to touch it YOU will be on the hook for any failure or problems when they occur whether you are the one that caused them or not. Make HER take responsibility for her vehicle, sure help her learn what she needs to look after or monitor.

 

[mechtech2]

That light may be only for low coolant level, not overheating.

 

[mattd]

BMW loves to use lots of plastic in their cooling systems. Check all components and have it pressure tested. IF they the pump needs to be replaced(leaking?), then it is possible that waterpump may need changing.

That coolant light is for low coolant level, not overheating.

 

[SteveSRT8]

With air in the system there will be hot spots, period. Very bad for many cars.

I agree that this was a poor choice of cars for anyone who practices ignorance. Better get her credit card ready!

And I also can smell coolant almost better than I can see it. Very easy to find a leak with the "hot sniff test".

 

[onemig]

Update.

She had the water pump replaced for around $1k. It appears that the WP had a small leak.

Thanks a lot everyone!!