Took my baby in... - BMW Forum

Jrf786 · 10-06-2005, 11:19 AM

Took my car in to the mechanic today due to it overheating(big surprise huh?) well anyway, turns out my radiators bad, water pump is gone and I gotta change all the hoses and thermostat, possibly the fan clutch. It's gonna be a wallet opener. They're inspecting the rest of the car today as well, I keep hearing a weird noise near the front driver's side tire, they said possibly the control arm, or wheel bearings. I'll keep you guys updated, but I might end up selling the car.

RDroz · 10-06-2005, 12:22 PM

Sounds like the shot gun approach to fixing an overheating problem.

Replace everything that gets wet.

Do you trust your mechanic to only replace what needs replacing or did you specify for him to replace all wearing and aging parts?

Richard

sp0rky · 10-06-2005, 09:15 PM

With the way you just said everything is bad, I'm guessing you have an e39.
Cooling problems are pretty typical of the e39.

Why sell the car? Sure it's gonna cost some, but your not going to get the money out of the repair by selling it (loss either way) and whatever car you do get will end up with similar problems at some point. At least if you keep it, you know you don't have to worry about overheating anytime soon.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

superdeadman · 10-07-2005, 09:46 AM

yeah, radiator failure is extremely big and common problem in e39 and i think it's due to a plastic piece that connects a hose to the radiator. it melts and breaks.

AntonioDestiny · 10-07-2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jrf786

Took my car in to the mechanic today due to it overheating(big surprise huh?) well anyway, turns out my radiators bad, water pump is gone and I gotta change all the hoses and thermostat, possibly the fan clutch. It's gonna be a wallet opener. They're inspecting the rest of the car today as well, I keep hearing a weird noise near the front driver's side tire, they said possibly the control arm, or wheel bearings. I'll keep you guys updated, but I might end up selling the car.

Sucks man. How much is that going to run you?

billB · 10-07-2005, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superdeadman

yeah, radiator failure is extremely big and common problem in e39 and i think it's due to a plastic piece that connects a hose to the radiator. it melts and breaks.

Yep..Add to it the PLASTIC impellers on some water pumps....should be replacing it with metal ones is not a bad idea.

As Sp0rky said e39s are well known for everheating...In fact they don't get 100% fresh cold air from the intake...due to routing near the rad. ....We went through this topic in details sometime in the past!... Runs the risk of blowing head or at minimum its gasket...

Good luck and go for it if you trust your mechanic
regards
billb

Jrf786 · 10-07-2005, 10:17 PM

Yup, I have an E39. And it came to a grand total of 1250 dollars. They replaced the radiator, the fan clutch, some engine valves, the belts, hoses, and thermostat. They said the water pump was on its way out but still had some life left in it, so I didnt have it replaced yet. I hear a noise coming from the front end, they said its the front control arm. The bushings are also gone but I'm having them replaced later when I recooperate financially from this time. Hopefully I can get all this stuff fixed without spending ungodly amounts again. Good luck to all you other high mileage E39 owners, you're gonna need it.

billB · 10-08-2005, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jrf786

Yup, I have an E39. And it came to a grand total of 1250 dollars. They replaced the radiator, the fan clutch, some engine valves, the belts, hoses, and thermostat. They said the water pump was on its way out but still had some life left in it, so I didnt have it replaced yet. I hear a noise coming from the front end, they said its the front control arm. The bushings are also gone but I'm having them replaced later when I recooperate financially from this time. Hopefully I can get all this stuff fixed without spending ungodly amounts again. Good luck to all you other high mileage E39 owners, you're gonna need it.

JR
1250 is too much money but it is way much better than $3000 head job....

Good luck man
regards
billb

Jrf786 · 10-08-2005, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billB

JR
1250 is too much money but it is way much better than $3000 head job....

Good luck man
regards
billb

Yeah, I know. But it's a lot of money for me to pull out. I just spent most of my savings on a small vacation and the next day it started to overheat. Weird how things work like that.

Anyway, on another note, you CAN get 33mpg in a 528 over a 600 mile highway trip, with some traffic. Did it on that vacation of mine. I usually get 17mpg just going around like I do

used: Ah well, I'm keeping the damn thing, even if it does cost me more money. I made an emergency lane change the other day at 100+ mph and the car didnt lose grip or anything. It's times like that when you're glad you own a BMW, til you take it to the shop.

billB · 10-09-2005, 06:17 PM

I assume this:
"you CAN get 33mpg in a 528 over a 600 mile highway trip"

Applies to a manual....never seen it on my Auto!!!

afrochapin · 10-09-2005, 07:25 PM

I changed my thermo, rad and all taht same stuff u did for like 700 , I think the price you payed was too much.

Jrf786 · 10-11-2005, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billB

I assume this:
"you CAN get 33mpg in a 528 over a 600 mile highway trip"

Applies to a manual....never seen it on my Auto!!!

No, I do have an auto. I thought it was amazing, I reset the mpg and then set off on my trip and somehow got 33 mpg. It was odd considering my usually bad gas mileage.

And where did you get your car fixed afrochapin?

Teh Prof · 10-15-2005, 11:00 PM

I got as high as 34 mpg from my 528i on a long trip with cruise control at 70.

I miss that car a lot. On the other hand, my M3 is helping me miss it a lot less. And shockingly, I get about 30-32 mpg with the M3 on long trips, if I drive it politely. ;-)