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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
E90 Breether Screws Warning Everyone with E90 Should read (updated with Pics)
Dippies said:Well the Best way to explain this will be to start from the beginning.
On Friday i Took my car to Powerflo in Edenvale where i did DP and Software by Promotec.
While i was waiting patiently i grabbed to opportunity to inspect the undercarriage and looked for possible leaks.
Glad to report that i found nothing, no Leaks what so ever and even the guy sorting my DP said its one of the Cleanest Diesel Engines he has seen.
So after completion of the Dp the car was lowered to put the Engine cover back i inspected the Engine bay for some leakages and or visible Oil leaks cracked pipes and so forth.
It is then that i noticed that there is White Spatter on some of the pipes around the Water reservoir. The White spatter was due to the Antifreeze. Everything seemed fine and i collected a Piece of Cloth from the Boot and Cleaned the Pipes to c if this was occurring often or if it was a one time occurrence.
Software was done and i drove back to Centurion.
Everything was fine and supper exited with he new tune.
I took a short trip to the shops and back to my house.
I noticed that there was water dripping from my Bonnet area. Immediately concerned opened up the bonnet and saw that the water was dripping from the Reservoir tank overflow/Breather Screw. checked the OBD to c if any errors occurred that i missed ( Got a Yellow Engine Warm light the same as Jerry's aka Jenich Car) So i waited until the car was cooler and opened up the Reservoir tank for a Possible Solution to the problem and why it was pushing back the water to the reservoir tank. ?
Possible reasons 1) Water pump Failure. 2) Thermostat Failure. 3) Airlock.
Well it was simple to test the Water pump as i knew the bleed procedure of the Electrical pump. so that would eliminate the problem to Thermostat and Airlock. But another problem surfaced when i tightened the Bleeder screw on the Reservoir tank and had a "technical malfunction" Broke the screw off in the tank :facepalm:. I Left the car overnight. Worried the evening i came up with a plan to get the broken Screw out of the Reservoir tank.
But i would need a replacement Screw and Guess what ONLY BMW had the part as i searched all over. So off to Leohease I went. upon Arrival i spoke to one of the sales people and asked for the part (Breather screw)He said sorry Parts is closed on SATERDAYS.
Wrong again Luckily the Guy showed me where my Bleed screw was and pointed out that it has one screw was located on top of the thermostat housing. According to the diagram i saw two Bleed screws on the Cooling System. I got a Part from the technical guy R53.50c for the Bleed screw. Also got a Quote for the Thermostat if i found that to be the problem part. R800 mandelas. I Picked up some Antifreeze from Midas to fill up the Cooling system.
So back home i went and started thinking about solutions on how to get the Broken Screw out of the Reservoir tank.
I took a Candle and heated one of my screw drivers. careful not to damage the reservoir started to melt the screw driver into the broken off piece of screw. Success it worked like a charm. The broken Piece got out and i now needed to get back to testing the cooling system by means of eliminating the problems.
I removed the Covers to get to the Thermostat housing and location of the one Bleed screws, and opened it up careful not to damage or brake this one as well, proceeded to open the one from the reservoir tank as well. Filled up the reservoir to the max capacity and made sure all the air was out of the System.
NOTE: The Fan will not Kick in if the cooling system has an Airlock. CONFIRMED IT WITH THE TECHNICAL GUY AT BMW.
So I also learned previously on my Father in laws 5series BMW that BMW needs to be ice cold before you attempt to get rid of the AIRLOCK.
So I filled up the reservoir and bleeded the system inspected all the pipes for any leaks of water. i then noticed another Bleed screw :argh::nonono: ai jai jai so to confirm the E90 320d 2007 has three Bleed screws. 1) situated on the reservoir 2) situated on top of the Thermostat housing 3) one situated on top of a pipe directly above the alternator.
So i Bleeded the system and confirmed no air bubbles out of all three Bleed screws. closed all Bleed screws made sure not to tight as they are plastic and brakes or cracks easily.
Then Started the Car. Left if Idling for about 15 min. Waiting for the fan to come on to c if the Thermostat opens and the water circulates, and if i still get the yellow light indicating engine is overheating.
So after the 15min the obd shows no errors and i constantly confirmed no leakages on the Cooling system. After the Fan came on the water circulated and everything seems fine now.
Closed all the covers and parked the car, I will take it for a test drive later to confirm everything is sorted now. In the end the one Bleed screw on top of the Water reservoir was the problem as it was not closed properly and the water escaped through there when the engine got hot. Luckily it is sorted now :joy:
So lessons learned E90.
1) If your system has a airlock The fan will not come on and your engine will overheat. (take caution as i did not drive my car till i got a Red overheating symbol on the OBD) i switched off immediately when the firs yellow symbol was shown.
2) Those Bleed Screws are made of plastic take great care as you tend to over tighten them and they brake or crack easily.
3) BMW is nicky when it come to cooling system - if the engine is not cold when flushing or bleeding the Cooling system it will create problems for you. Seen this now on the E90 and 5 Series.
4) Bleed Procedure for the Non Electrical water pump is easy enough. Open all the bleed Screws fill up the reservoir until all air is out of the system and then start to close all the bleed screws from the furthest away from the reservoir.
5) Take great care when handling or tightening the bleed screws and confirm no water is running out when you start the car. This was initially what caused my airlock in the cooling system.
6) never expect what you did not inspect.
So to confirm that the E90 320d has in fact got three bleed screws and not like previously indicated in other threads no Bleed screws.
I will update the thread with pictures later during the day.
I hope this serves as info as i could not find a single resolution to my problem and bleed procedure for 4 cylinders cars that does not have a electrical water pump.
Please commend and or share your experiences. sorry for the long post.
Dippies
your candle trick worked.....thanks...
D
Dippies
Guest
Im Glad. :thumbs:
D
Dippies
Guest
Updated with pics on Page 1 :thumbs:
D
Dippies
Guest
Just to update.
Since the system was bleeded no no lights came on again and everything is back to normal. No Warnings and no coolant, or water leaks. :joy: and the system keeps its pressure. :joy:
Since the system was bleeded no no lights came on again and everything is back to normal. No Warnings and no coolant, or water leaks. :joy: and the system keeps its pressure. :joy:
S
S1NGH 001
Guest
Glad to hear buddy :joy:
johandl said:This post comes with perfect timing, thank you very much! My wife just called to tell me the petrol attendant had accidentally messed with the breather screw and broke it off whilst looking to open the cap to top up the water of our 320i (e90 - 2007). Not sure how why he messed around with it exactly, but needless to say water poured from the tank.
My wife drove off, but heard a 'grinding' sound, and thinking they messed up during the oil top up, turned back to Total in Melkbosstrand to check with the manager what was done.
This is when the screw was discovered. However, Im unsure why that would cause a grinding sound, so here is my main fear: could they have first topped up the oil tank with water before realizing their mistake?
Total has offered to fix the screw, but my concern is the 'grinding' sound that was not there until after this incident. How do I force them to look at that and accept responsibility if they did make such a mistake? I want them to do an oil change just in case, but I have no proof since I was not there.
What a mess! And the car is on -+109,000km so just out of motor plan
Sorry boet. I never let those knobs look at the oil or water coz they will screw it up and theres nothing one can really do
Hi guys.
Just a question. Any idea on cost to remove those swirl flaps. I have seen some videos on youtube on how its done. But I don't want to do it myself.
I know that apparently on the E90 they not so problematic. But rather safe then sorry.
The video I seen shows how dirty those swirl flaps become and I can bet over time can cause a problem.
Has anyone removed they one on an E90. What is the cost and where did u get it done.
Also any idea on cost of changing some oil thing in the back of engine. Not sure what its called. Will google it. But apparently they get thick with oil. And the filter in it get blocked. There is a new one without the filter. Not sure if anyone knows what I'm talking about.
All precatiuons are better then having a problem right.
Thanks.
Think its call oil breather.
Also cleaning some egr.
Any mech that can do all that at a reasonable price.
I google now. Apparently that oil breather must be a vortex one. Not sure what that is. But I want to do it.
Just a question. Any idea on cost to remove those swirl flaps. I have seen some videos on youtube on how its done. But I don't want to do it myself.
I know that apparently on the E90 they not so problematic. But rather safe then sorry.
The video I seen shows how dirty those swirl flaps become and I can bet over time can cause a problem.
Has anyone removed they one on an E90. What is the cost and where did u get it done.
Also any idea on cost of changing some oil thing in the back of engine. Not sure what its called. Will google it. But apparently they get thick with oil. And the filter in it get blocked. There is a new one without the filter. Not sure if anyone knows what I'm talking about.
All precatiuons are better then having a problem right.
Thanks.
Think its call oil breather.
Also cleaning some egr.
Any mech that can do all that at a reasonable price.
I google now. Apparently that oil breather must be a vortex one. Not sure what that is. But I want to do it.
D
Dippies
Guest
Just de screwed chef :rollsmile: and bleed the system.
D
Dippies
Guest
The trick is to not over heat that the thread of the pipe melts into the pice left over from the broken bleed screw. But to just heat it enough to melt into the remaining broken off pice.
Hi guys. I need help please. I am about to loose hope.
My car has been giving the run around. I know its small petty things but its really getting to me now.
Remember I changed the water pump and belts in december well actually 2nd of jan.
Today I was driving to work and the water level warning came on.
I was close to work and the car was hot so just drove to work and parked it. Warning was yellow so guessed its fine.
Pulled into work and opened the bonnet. The bleeder by the water bottle is leaking. I tighetened it to see if it was tight and knowing that I broke the other one didn't put a lot of pressure. It was tight.
Anyway then decided to open and check it. Took it out. Blew through it. No air.
Put it back and I tighented. But I am scared to break it. So tightened till if felt tight. Drove to bmw. Needed coolant and bought a new bleeder. Came back and its leaking still.
Will fit the new one tonight. Bought two just in case I break it again.
I have no idea how tight. I read u said when its tight don't over turn. Just a half turn. But how do u know when it is tight tight.
My car has been giving the run around. I know its small petty things but its really getting to me now.
Remember I changed the water pump and belts in december well actually 2nd of jan.
Today I was driving to work and the water level warning came on.
I was close to work and the car was hot so just drove to work and parked it. Warning was yellow so guessed its fine.
Pulled into work and opened the bonnet. The bleeder by the water bottle is leaking. I tighetened it to see if it was tight and knowing that I broke the other one didn't put a lot of pressure. It was tight.
Anyway then decided to open and check it. Took it out. Blew through it. No air.
Put it back and I tighented. But I am scared to break it. So tightened till if felt tight. Drove to bmw. Needed coolant and bought a new bleeder. Came back and its leaking still.
Will fit the new one tonight. Bought two just in case I break it again.
I have no idea how tight. I read u said when its tight don't over turn. Just a half turn. But how do u know when it is tight tight.
D
Dippies
Guest
Definate airlock in the system bud. Exactly how mine was.
Hi.
I have a 525i bmw with E90 325i engine that was overheating. I purchased an aluminium water pump but did not change the thermostat. I used the vehicle to work for a week and thereafter i found that its started showing me the overheating sign again. It would go from orange then it went red and when i slowed down the vehicle it showed me the orange sign. No signs of stalling, however when i initially had the problem i had to stop the vehicle on the freeway. Someone advised my dad to drill the thermostat so that I can use it for a while.
Please advise.
I have a 525i bmw with E90 325i engine that was overheating. I purchased an aluminium water pump but did not change the thermostat. I used the vehicle to work for a week and thereafter i found that its started showing me the overheating sign again. It would go from orange then it went red and when i slowed down the vehicle it showed me the orange sign. No signs of stalling, however when i initially had the problem i had to stop the vehicle on the freeway. Someone advised my dad to drill the thermostat so that I can use it for a while.
Please advise.
tyronwakeford
New member
My e90 320d was doing this but I’ve replaced the water pump, the temperature switch sensor, the water bottle sensor and bled the system so many times. But my car still when it starts getting warm the water pipes start swelling then starts leaking water from the plastic joints with the clips, and the water pipes get very hard and this is around 80 degrees the fan comes on but only at 98 degrees I’ve checked everything and for the life of me I can’t figure it out maybe someone here has any ideas.
The head gasket is fine the oil is not mixing with water so I’m at a loss
The head gasket is fine the oil is not mixing with water so I’m at a loss
