Oil in water bottle

[Hoosain V]

Hi guys

So the other morning i checked my water level on my car and i saw oil mixed with the water.
First thing that came to my mind is the Head gasket.But i realized that driving back from 
Cape Town(i stay about 200km outside cape town),the car never got hot or overheated.
Anyone had the same problem?so i replaced my oil cooler which was the easiest.i checked 
the oil by the oil filter housing and that was ok.i still need to flush and test cooling system.

 

[Nikhil]

It doesnt always have to overheat to be the headgasket, that being said, what car is this? And is it auto or manual? What does the engine oil look like?

 

[Hoosain V]

Its a 323 e90 2011 auto.theres no water with the oil in the engine.
The oil is still perfect in the engine.

 

[husaindindar]

It took me about 3 flushes of the cooling system to get all the oil out after I replaced both oil filter and cooler gasket.

I suggest you do the same and take it from there. I also hope you've done an oil change after the cooler was replaced. I would do one again if I were you.


That being said, your pictures look much worse than what mine was. Was the gaskets replaced with new originals and fitted correctly?

.

 

[200 octane]

A friend of mine experienced this in a 320i/d, I can't remember. It was automatic. He took it to a private BMW mechanic who advised that the oil cooler was leaking gearbox oil into the cooling system. If any truth to that then I'd suggest testing your gearbox oil to make sure their is no water inside.

Good luck

 

[Hoosain V]

It took me about 3 flushes of the cooling system to get all the oil out after I replaced both oil filter and cooler gasket.

I suggest you do the same and take it from there. I also hope you've done an oil change after the cooler was replaced. I would do one again if I were you.


That being said, your pictures look much worse than what mine was. Was the gaskets replaced with new originals and fitted correctly?

Im gona do a flush over the weekend or maybe 3.then ill see how that pans out.i only replaced the cooler with the new gasket.aftermarket oil cooler and gasket

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Im gona do a flush over the weekend or maybe 3.then ill see how that pans out.i only replaced the cooler with the new gasket.aftermarket oil cooler

 

[Nikhil]

I suspect it's either the transmission cooler or engine oil cooler. If your engine oil hasn't run low then very possibly the transmission cooler which isn't uncommon on an auto

 

[Schalk94]

My 330d had the same issue and the cuplrit turned out to be the engine oil cooler. Engine oil consumption was the telltale sign

 

[akash]

I had this issue.

Replaced the oil cooler, changed coolant, flushed the system several times and still the oil mixed. Mine was a manual though

I sold the car as is.

 

[evnmopwr]

Common issue

Thats engine oil cooler.
If you replaced that, Flush it a few times to clean it out.

 

[Hoosain V]

Thanx for all the advise guys.ill do a couple of flushes tomorrow and hope its nothing major.

 

[Hoosain V]

Hi guys

Just a update on my car.im happy to report that it was indeed the oil cooler.after a couple of 
flushes it seems that there is no traces of oil in the cooling system.i did the whole self bleeding 
thing.everything is ok.but can anyone tell me when the electronic water pump is suppose to 
work?after self bleeding i can see when i start the car is works.but then after some driving i open 
the bottle to check but i dont see the pump working.i checked it this morning on a cold start...
still dont see the pump working.

 

[akash]

The pump wont work on cold start, this is to bring the car up to operating temperature quicker.

After a bit of a drive and when you switch the car off, you should hear the running for a 1min or so

 

[Hoosain V]

So what you saying is that i dont need to see the pump running when on idle if i open the bottle?
i have to check if i can hear the pump after driving

 

[Taku]

Hi guys,
This thread has been very helpful, I've had the same problem with my e46 and would like to know how much the engine oil cooler was? And where to find it?
Best Regards.