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      12-04-2016, 01:38 PM   #1
Broken135i
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2011 135i BLOWN HEADGASKET?!

Hey im new here, iv had my 2011 135i (23000kms) for about a month now- in the past few days iv been pushing coolant past my rad cap (i went to bmw today, replaced the cap) topped it up and bled it- still pushing coolant when i drive it hard (aka long full throttle pulls in 4th and 5th) im at a loss. No CEL or overheating warnings, just pressurizing the cooling system :s

I fear my headgasket is toast :/ no milkshake in the oil or oil beads in the coolant :s

PLEASE HELP ME ITS MY ONLY CAR AND JUST BOUGHT IT WITH 23000kms for $23000 ??
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      12-04-2016, 01:39 PM   #2
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This is what it looks like after i let off a hard pull :s
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      12-04-2016, 06:17 PM   #3
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Update: just figured out how to get it to show me temperature on the dash- coolant temps somewhat DROP when im driving it hard! Chilling around 99-105 degrees C :s seems more and more like headgasket
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      12-04-2016, 06:19 PM   #4
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This is the car BTW
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      12-04-2016, 09:00 PM   #5
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I'm a BMW Technician, I've never seen an N55 blow a head gasket. It needs a new expansion tank.
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      12-05-2016, 07:07 AM   #6
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Pressure test cooling system.

Listen for crack in expansion tank.

Or just R&R tank.

https://bmwtechnician.com/2016/12/04...-tank-leaking/
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      12-05-2016, 11:06 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken135i View Post
Update: just figured out how to get it to show me temperature on the dash- coolant temps somewhat DROP when im driving it hard! Chilling around 99-105 degrees C :s seems more and more like headgasket
These temps are normal - BMW likes running these engines hot.
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      12-05-2016, 11:49 AM   #8
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There are some chemicals that can check for exhaust in the antifreeze. That would tell you if the head gasket is failing.
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      12-05-2016, 12:02 PM   #9
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Cracked Expansion tank is also my guess.
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      12-05-2016, 12:06 PM   #10
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I want to believe its an expansion tank as much as you guys, but why is the pressure rasing (causing it to leak) only when i drive it hard? Its not overheating at all, so then whats really changing in the cooling system to raise the pressure causing my "cracked expansion tank" to leak except for a combustion leak into the cooling system?
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      12-05-2016, 04:35 PM   #11
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On these cars when you put more demand on the engine the water pump and thermostat work together to lower coolant temp (and overall engine temp) even if momentarily. When you return to lesser throttle inputs the temp returns to normal.

What you saw was normal. Your leak is another story...
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      12-05-2016, 06:13 PM   #12
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Another tech here... also have never seen an n55 head gasket blow, you need to pressure test the cooling system and see where it's leaking. When you heat up the engine under load like that the pressure in the cooling system gets higher and higher.... if there is a small crack in the expansion tank that's when it will leak
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      12-05-2016, 07:20 PM   #13
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I've seen this exact thing on N55's a couple times now. One was a cracked tank, the other was just the system pressurizing and blowing off pressure (and coolant) all over the engine bay.
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      12-05-2016, 08:09 PM   #14
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I had a cracked expansion tank a while ago. Looked pretty similar. Happened right after I replaced my water pump and thermostat, and it drove me insane.

Cracks are hard to see though. Why don't you refill, leave the car on and check to see where it's coming from?
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      12-05-2016, 08:17 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HyeWarrior View Post
I had a cracked expansion tank a while ago. Looked pretty similar. Happened right after I replaced my water pump and thermostat, and it drove me insane.

Cracks are hard to see though. Why don't you refill, leave the car on and check to see where it's coming from?
It wont leak unless its being driven hard, im sure if i never drove the piss out of it it would never leak a single drop. Only if i drive it hard will it leak while im on the gas, i could stop from 200kph to 0 as fast as possible after it sprays and run and pop the hood as quick as possible and all i would see is the aftermath of it spraying :/ i'v ordered a pressure tester. I feel like i should buy a tank as well (as well as the tech's on here iv also had a bmw dealer shop foreman come out to the parkinglot, he scoped my car, put it into bleed mode, told me its highly unlikely a head gasket and that i should replace the bottle :/ $200 to throw at parts is kinda lame, but no one thinks its the head gasket :/
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      12-05-2016, 08:38 PM   #16
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When you drive hard, temps rise and the tank fills to the crack (at the neck) and then it leaks.

Replace the tank and the cap. Not OEM or knock-off from Pelican or Bav (who I both love), rather get an OE tank *from a dealer* (I spent two years replacing cracking M42 OEM tanks from Bav [4x IIRC], which look like they have all the right markings and all, before I got wise and got a tank from a dealer and that thing lasted for years). OEM is not OE... and my experience with not-OE tanks has been very, very bad.
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      12-05-2016, 08:51 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken135i View Post
It wont leak unless its being driven hard, im sure if i never drove the piss out of it it would never leak a single drop. Only if i drive it hard will it leak while im on the gas, i could stop from 200kph to 0 as fast as possible after it sprays and run and pop the hood as quick as possible and all i would see is the aftermath of it spraying :/ i'v ordered a pressure tester. I feel like i should buy a tank as well (as well as the tech's on here iv also had a bmw dealer shop foreman come out to the parkinglot, he scoped my car, put it into bleed mode, told me its highly unlikely a head gasket and that i should replace the bottle :/ $200 to throw at parts is kinda lame, but no one thinks its the head gasket :/
Trust me, ~$200 for a repair out of warranty on these cars is a good day
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      12-05-2016, 08:52 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HyeWarrior View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken135i View Post
It wont leak unless its being driven hard, im sure if i never drove the piss out of it it would never leak a single drop. Only if i drive it hard will it leak while im on the gas, i could stop from 200kph to 0 as fast as possible after it sprays and run and pop the hood as quick as possible and all i would see is the aftermath of it spraying :/ i'v ordered a pressure tester. I feel like i should buy a tank as well (as well as the tech's on here iv also had a bmw dealer shop foreman come out to the parkinglot, he scoped my car, put it into bleed mode, told me its highly unlikely a head gasket and that i should replace the bottle :/ $200 to throw at parts is kinda lame, but no one thinks its the head gasket :/
Trust me, ~$200 for a repair out of warranty on these cars is a good day
Haha amen to that! Im comming from a turbo e30 so on a scale of 1-jaded by headgaskets. Jaded by headgaskets
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      12-05-2016, 09:39 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Broken135i View Post
It wont leak unless its being driven hard, im sure if i never drove the piss out of it it would never leak a single drop. Only if i drive it hard will it leak while im on the gas, i could stop from 200kph to 0 as fast as possible after it sprays and run and pop the hood as quick as possible and all i would see is the aftermath of it spraying :/ i'v ordered a pressure tester. I feel like i should buy a tank as well (as well as the tech's on here iv also had a bmw dealer shop foreman come out to the parkinglot, he scoped my car, put it into bleed mode, told me its highly unlikely a head gasket and that i should replace the bottle :/ $200 to throw at parts is kinda lame, but no one thinks its the head gasket :/
As said above only $200... that truly is a lucky / good day.
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      12-06-2016, 09:38 AM   #20
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There are times to take a car to a dealer or Indy when you suspect a serious issue. Also it is the time to take it easy on the engine until you resolve the problem.

$200? You could be so lucky!
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      12-06-2016, 12:58 PM   #21
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OP, I hate to say it but I had a similar problem with my car which I purchased in March (luckily under warranty), from day one it would blow off coolant exactly as you describe, really only under medium to heavy acceleration. It seemed to tolerate light driving OK. First off, when mine had problems, everything I read seemed to indicate the expansion tank would do it and the dealer thought the same.

Mine was a head gasket (sort of) but I had other symptoms beyond what you are experiencing. I had constant misfires on 6, especially at startup, and couple of limp modes. Turns out one of the head bolts was loose, and allowed water & compressed gas to go back and forth between the cylinder and water jacket. That pressurized the cooling system under high load, puking coolant all over the engine bay. With the engine off, water would seep into the cylinder and cause misfires on startup. Evidently this went on long enough that it cut a small channel in the top of the block and that couldn't be repaired. So I ended up with a new short block (and a bunch of other parts) under warranty.

I noticed a few things with mine that may help rule out a head gasket: When I took the cap off of the expansion tank, the coolant was clean but smelled kind of like fuel or exhaust fumes. It also had a lot of entrained gas(which turned out to be exhaust fumes) but wasn't very foamy. I saw no evidence of interaction with the oil. I also had no visible water from the tailpipe. I replaced the plugs before it went back to the dealer and the insulator on #6 was pretty discolored. Hopefully since you aren't having misfires, yours is just an expansion tank but you may want to have a look at your plugs.

By the way, the dealer said mine passed the cooling system pressure test and cylinder leakdown tests.
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      12-06-2016, 01:41 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fries View Post
OP, I hate to say it but I had a similar problem with my car which I purchased in March (luckily under warranty), from day one it would blow off coolant exactly as you describe, really only under medium to heavy acceleration. It seemed to tolerate light driving OK. First off, when mine had problems, everything I read seemed to indicate the expansion tank would do it and the dealer thought the same.

Mine was a head gasket (sort of) but I had other symptoms beyond what you are experiencing. I had constant misfires on 6, especially at startup, and couple of limp modes. Turns out one of the head bolts was loose, and allowed water & compressed gas to go back and forth between the cylinder and water jacket. That pressurized the cooling system under high load, puking coolant all over the engine bay. With the engine off, water would seep into the cylinder and cause misfires on startup. Evidently this went on long enough that it cut a small channel in the top of the block and that couldn't be repaired. So I ended up with a new short block (and a bunch of other parts) under warranty.

I noticed a few things with mine that may help rule out a head gasket: When I took the cap off of the expansion tank, the coolant was clean but smelled kind of like fuel or exhaust fumes. It also had a lot of entrained gas(which turned out to be exhaust fumes) but wasn't very foamy. I saw no evidence of interaction with the oil. I also had no visible water from the tailpipe. I replaced the plugs before it went back to the dealer and the insulator on #6 was pretty discolored. Hopefully since you aren't having misfires, yours is just an expansion tank but you may want to have a look at your plugs.

By the way, the dealer said mine passed the cooling system pressure test and cylinder leakdown tests.
I hope its not the case, how did you know you had a misfire? CEL came on?
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