520i missing coolant?

[r1bby]

Hi guys, some advise please...
The wife's 1998 E39 M52 520i has lost it's coolant.
The wife was idling waiting for a friend and the coolant disappeared
I've checked all the hoses and there's no leak
I've refilled the coolant and it's not leaking nor is any escaping
I've checked the oil and it's light brown and very watery thin
I suspect the coolant has leaked into the engine oil via the head gasket
Does this sound about right?

Also I take it that's it not a good idea to drive while there's coolant in the engine oil as this will increase the temperature of the engine and is likely to cause cracks and increase costs further, as an interim stop gap could I replace the oil with some new oil without coolant and see if this holds the oil and not coolant? Could it be driven like this and check the coolant daily? The wife only uses the car for frequent short daily trips.

Obviously this is a drastic and expensive repair assuming it is the head gasket and am looking for any further advise for things to check before we part with the time & cash on getting this repaired. (or it could be cheaper to chop the car in px for a similar car than paying for a new head gasket?) many thoughts and your advise would be greatly appreciated thanks guys!

Regards,
Rob

[track1z]

My first post LOL.. Yah you have a leak some where. Head gasket crack head or block.

[shela2525]

For a day after i had it fixed the temperature needle stayed in the middle but now its started to overheat again.

[jimmythepie]

oh dear it looks like the head gasket a

[Penngwyne]

Originally Posted by jimmythepie

oh dear it looks like the head gasket a

Goodness that is a very restrained comment!

[jimmythepie]

good to see your still with us Penngwyne,hows that old mitsi of yours?

[Penngwyne]

Originally Posted by jimmythepie

good to see your still with us Penngwyne,hows that old mitsi of yours?

It died again.

I have been expecting it
Luckily it was in my drive and not halfway to somewhere far, far away.

Seems the ECU has packed it in. ECU is currently in Melbourne getting repaired and I am borrowing wife's Avalon and Son's 525 when needed and available.

It's been a week and I am getting withdrawal symptoms.

[jimmythepie]

Bad luck,hope it clears up soon.Whats an Avalon?

[Penngwyne]

Originally Posted by jimmythepie

Bad luck,hope it clears up soon.Whats an Avalon?

Toyota Avalon.

[Jack Dabsy]

Originally Posted by r1bby

Hi guys, some advise please...
The wife's 1998 E39 M52 520i has lost it's coolant.
The wife was idling waiting for a friend and the coolant disappeared
I've checked all the hoses and there's no leak
I've refilled the coolant and it's not leaking nor is any escaping
I've checked the oil and it's light brown and very watery thin
I suspect the coolant has leaked into the engine oil via the head gasket
Does this sound about right?

Also I take it that's it not a good idea to drive while there's coolant in the engine oil as this will increase the temperature of the engine and is likely to cause cracks and increase costs further, as an interim stop gap could I replace the oil with some new oil without coolant and see if this holds the oil and not coolant? Could it be driven like this and check the coolant daily? The wife only uses the car for frequent short daily trips.

Obviously this is a drastic and expensive repair assuming it is the head gasket and am looking for any further advise for things to check before we part with the time & cash on getting this repaired. (or it could be cheaper to chop the car in px for a similar car than paying for a new head gasket?) many thoughts and your advise would be greatly appreciated thanks guys!

Regards,
Rob

If the car loses the coolant quickly then you have a cylinder head issue, but otherwise, why not try a coolant "Sealer" like "K-Seal"? Google it...

[r1bby]

Thanks for your feedback 'k-seal' it is then! I'm going to replace the oil & add k-seal and jobs a good 'un! Irony is that once I topped the coolant back up again, it's not been leaking or going down, the odd few short mile journeys but mainly on the drive so I suspect that it's a tiny hole that when the car was idling it expanded large enough to leak into the engine oil. Running normally seems to be fine and the sealant is the cheapest quick fix alternative.

We was toying with two options, fix the car at £350 or buy a new car. Seems like we've managed to do the third option, fix the car for £50 and buy a new car for £500!

I am the proud new owner of an E36 528 1992 with LPG kit, this shall save me circa £1500 PA going from my E39 525tds and the wife will have my car and we'll sell her 520i, just don't tell anyone about the k-seal )

[jimmythepie]

way to go

[r1bby]

Slight amendment, it's a 325 not 328 and it's gonna save me around £1k pa, not £1.5k pa, small but costly differences if you're thinking about ever going lpg...

Still not happy about losing my e39 (

[r1bby]

Slight amendment, it's a 325 not 328 and it's gonna save me around £1k pa, not £1.5k pa, small but costly differences if you're thinking about ever going lpg...

Still not happy about giving up my e39 (

[Penngwyne]

Still not happy about giving up my e39 ([/QUOTE]

Well keep it as a project and do things to it