Hallelujah I have a leaky rad!!! So what type of oil, plugs and filters should I use? - BMW Forum

frenchtoast · 03-02-2007, 10:55 PM

I was losing about a quart of coolant every couple of days in my new to me 1997 328i with 105km. I had yellowy "mayonnaise" under my filler cap, a bit on the dipstick, and steam from the exhaust when I started it in the morning.

I was counting on getting a head gasket job done and a new mortgage on the house. Turns out it's a leak in the top right corner of my rad. The mechanic showed me that when he squeezed one of the hoses, coolant leaked out. He asked me if I wanted to order the $300+ rad from the dealer and I quickly said no way. He threw a bottle of radiator stop leak fluid in and it has been fine ever since. My other "symptoms" are caused by my 1 km commute to work in the morning and the sub-zero temperatures here.

I now want to go over the car thoroughly and would like some suggestions regarding type of air filter, type of oil (dino, synth, olive) and filter, and plugs to use. I'm not averse to some modest performance gains or spending a bit of money. I am considering a cold air intake (short style) or regular K&N filter, full synth, and Bosch +4 plugs.

You guys know more than I do. What works well on a '97 328i?
Thanks.

Frenchtoast

bow · 03-02-2007, 11:08 PM

hell any filter will work i get the cheapest one. cold air's gonna run u around 250 give or take a few.search oil in the SEARCH i know theres a bunch of threads on synthetic and stuff

moe19x · 03-02-2007, 11:43 PM

Damnnn thank god i read this post!! i saw the same stuff under my oil cap and it got me really worried thinkin i needed a head gasket job cuz im also loosing a bit of coolant but cant figure out from where. i just like you also only drive my car only a couple km a day in sub zero temps! i had a previous problem with my cooling system and i ended up replacing the rad, water pump, fan and fan clutch. But i still cant figue out where im loosing coolant from it could be from heater core i think.

frenchtoast · 03-02-2007, 11:53 PM

Yeah I was a little freaked after reading all of the head gasket posts.
Before I did anything drastic though, I just took it over to the Crappy Tire store and invested $36 in having them check my cooling system. I would never let them fix anything, but they were effective in diagnosing my problem.

Gator · 03-03-2007, 01:11 PM

I wouldn't rest too easy just yet. You may have had a radiator leak, but
"I had yellowy "mayonnaise" under my filler cap, a bit on the dipstick," is usually
a sign of coolant in the oil not short trips in cold weather. Before I spent any money on other things, I would take the car to a competent BMW mechanic to check if the head gasket was in fact ok. Running with coolant in the oil can cause some serious damage and its prudent to be 100% sure before you move on.

bimmerguy82 · 03-03-2007, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gator

I wouldn't rest too easy just yet. You may have had a radiator leak, but
"I had yellowy "mayonnaise" under my filler cap, a bit on the dipstick," is usually
a sign of coolant in the oil not short trips in cold weather. Before I spent any money on other things, I would take the car to a competent BMW mechanic to check if the head gasket was in fact ok. Running with coolant in the oil can cause some serious damage and its prudent to be 100% sure before you move on.

+1

Yeah, usually yellowy "mayonaise" under the filler cap and in the dip stick is a sure sign of a blown head gasket. Don't think much else will cause that. So it might be coincidence that you had a rad leak also.get it check out by a good bmw mechanic. just my 2 cents