Problems with 318 E46

[Swiegie]

Hi

My parents returned from holiday on Thursday. Friday evening I wanted to wash the car and I notice this pool of water under the car. Checked it out and it is most definitely coolant leaking. Check the water reservoir and it is on minimum. Traced the problem to a leaking sensor that clips into the pipe just underneath the power steering fluid reservoir.

I called up BMW on call to find out if it was okay for me to top up with water only as I need to get the car to a dealership in town on Tuesday. (Do not want to drive it to town on Monday and then they cannot help me) They said it would not be a problem. The thing is the coolant was just flushed late last year so now they will have to do it again as the mixture will be out.


One other question: does motor plan cover wheel alignment? There are a lot of people that say a BMW's wheel alignment must be done at the dealership.

Will keep you guys posted.

 

[zaleonardz]

The antifreeze is really cheap, its like R40 bucks and you need 2 bottles, so dont stress about that.

Its fine to run it a small distance with water, actually you would be amazed how many people run their cars on water only, and does not bother with antifreeze... morons.

Motorplan does cover 1 wheel alighnment a year or something, but it is far not true that only BMW can do alignment, most decent tyre shops can do the job.

 

[ZED1]

Zale, What do mean when you say " you'd be surprised how many people run their cars on water only"?

 

[Sankekur]

A lot of people use only water as coolant, but you should actually use a 50/50 mixture of anti-freeze (coolant) and distilled water, this is for BMWs at least. The reason is to prevent or limit corrosion and to have the right thermal properties and to prevent the coolant in the block from freezing in very cold weather (not really a problem in most places in SA).

 

[zaleonardz]

Not only that, the coolant actually has a lubricant or lubricating properties as well, and not using proper coolant actually errodes the engine block from the inside in case of cast iron blocks.

Go take a look at a second hand garage stand for a car thats say 8 years old, look at the water res, if its plain water, the car has no coolant in, and who knows when last did it have.

Also in cased like that, it is rumoured that when you then add coolant, you start developing water leaks and stuff as the seals freak out, this I have never experianced..

My Pontiac block was sickening from the rust on the inside, cause somebody is too fscking cheap to buy coolant....

It pissed me off...

 

[ZED1]

Damn, call me retarded then, because I did not know that. Iv had my car for a year now and I've never checked if there's coolant in. They would have added at the last service right?

 

[zaleonardz]

When last did you do a radiator flush, I try and do that at least one a year with a brake fluid change...

Speaking of which, who has a contact for a decent pressure bleeder, im tired of booking my car in to have brake fluid changed, i could have baught one already..

 

[ZED1]

Radiator flush? Slow down there zale, don't forget your speaking to a complete noob here when it comes to car maintainance! Oil, tyre pressure, and petrol...that's me, lol. But I'll read up on those things ofcorse

 

[Sankekur]

Radiator flush = drain all the coolant out of the radiator and engine and replace it with new coolant.

 

[zaleonardz]

Ok, well thats already a very good start.

There are a few other items you should take care of though.

Once a year you should flush out your brake fluid (have an expert do this for you, its really not expensive, fluid is cheap, and its about a 30 minute job, if you get it wrong, its going to cost you a lot more)

Once every year to second year, you should actually drain out your radiator, and put in new coolant (50/50 mix of water and coolant), also cheap, your water pump will last longer, ect

Look then at 100k service levels for diff, gearbox, ATF fluid for power steering

I am not going to get into the whole "when to change oil" discussion, as we have done this to death, but believe in 7500 change engine oil, 15,000 change filter and engine oil.

Check battery water.

Every 6 months to a year, drop past a decent supa quick or tyre shop, and have them test for loose suspension/worn bushes, have the shocks checked.

Once a year, take the car past somebody with a decent code reader.

These are but a few, but they are the main "preventative" maint items in my book.

 

[Swiegie]

Hi

Just an update. I have received the most shocking service from Auto Atlantic this morning. Phoned them around 08h30 to find out if they will be able to assist me with the car tomorrow morning as I did not want to drive the car to Town this morning if they are unable to assits. The Lady tells me unfortunatelly we are fully booked and will only be able to attend to the car in 3-4 days!! I mean what the hell, the part will most probably take 15min to replace!!

Phoned Forsdicks at Tygervalley, sir we are fully booked untill Thursday, but please bring in the car and we will attend to your problem this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

I expect a dealership to attend to urgent problems on a Vehicle ASAP. If it was me that forgot to book the car for a service and then want it to be done the next day then I can understand that they cannot assist, but if youre car cannot be driven without causing damage then thay must help!!!

Will update when the car is fixed!!!

 

[Loom]

Menlyn BMW told me I'd need 2 litres of coolant for a complete radiator flush of an E36 316i but when I did it I drained about 6.5 - 7 litres of fluid, so I actually needed at least 3 litres of coolant to make a 50/50 mix. Just something to keep in mind if you decide to do it yourself (and a voice of disappointment about dealers using a 40/60 mix).