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      04-17-2020, 02:45 PM   #1
135ijonny
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Exclamation N55 135i blown headgasket?/ motor ***update included***

Hey guys. Had four 135’s so far. 3 n54 & currently have a n55. So earlier this week I was driving home out of nowhere lost complete power. Cel & reduces power didn’t come up for 5 mins until the occurrence. Car is currently fbo. While doing a light pull around 4k rpm it went into limp. Pulled car over & thankfully it was beside my house. When revving the motor sounded fine. I inspected the car & noticed all the coolant was gone. Prior to driving I changed my brakes & checked everything so I had full coolant prior. Once I got home & turned it on light smoke started showing. I filled it up fully with spare genuine bmw coolant. Tested again & started smoking heavily insane amounts of white smoking from the entire engine & exhaust. Following the next day I took it to two reputable shops. One thought it was head gasket & the other thought it was possibly my turbo. Now when I checked the oil & coolant nowhere could I find any leads to coolant & oil mixing. I took off my chargepipe and noticed a ton of oil that leaked into it & my exhaust. When inspecting the turbo it appeared to be fine from the downpipe view. Following the two inspections due to this virus I had it home & had a friend who’s a mechanic work on it. We looked around to see what else could be found & after removing the chargepipe we found a ton of oil in it also & going into the ic pipe (huge amount) well over a couple 100mls more than a bottle or 2. I will be posting a video later (once I upload to YouTube) tonight on the smoke. But let’s say it’s enough smoke from the engine & exhaust to the point which my neighbours thought it was on fire. White smoke. Prior to this all occurring I smelt a bit of a burnt oil smell which caused concern 1 minute prior to this all going down. Would look any feedback as I am waiting for the most trusted mechanic to open up next week & would love to hear what’s you're opinion on this. If it’s blown or not it’s fine since I came to the concussion whatever it is can be catastrophic yet would love to have some input. Thank you guys. **** no misfires motor sounds fine shockingly & no metal sounds or grinding*** **** video attached*** mechanic second opinion happening this Monday
. Update**** car passed compression & leakdown test with flying colours. Motor is running fine & based on all tests no coolant with oil mixing. Headgasket is fine. Removed exhaust manifold & turbo pictures included
View post on imgur.com
- picture 1 (intake side of turbo) - intake side of turbo is completely stuck in the housing and won’t move.... like it scrapped into the housing and with excessive force we checked & it’s jammed shut. & picture 3(exhaust side of turbo) a piece of the turbine wheel came off) Ton of oil found in the inter cooler aswell. - Tuesday we are replacing turbos &99% sure this is the reasoning for all the massive smoke ****update

Last edited by 135ijonny; 05-17-2020 at 01:44 PM..
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      04-19-2020, 04:45 PM   #2
Hybrid G
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time to do a compression check.

Also check the PCV system, so you have an oil catch can?
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      04-19-2020, 10:02 PM   #3
135ijonny
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hybrid G View Post
time to do a compression check.

Also check the PCV system, so you have an oil catch can?
. Thank you for the response btw

yeah once my mechanic is free I will do a compression test & check the pcv. No I do not have an oil catch can. I was shocked how much oil came out of my downpipe - into the exhaust also the chargepipe had tons of oil like not a little. I’m talking like bottles of it. It was so much it leaked into the bottom onto my driveway. Car runs fine sound wise. Yet lots of white smoke insane amounts *mass plumes* like a fire that come from the motor & exhaust. Just no power it seems and limp
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      04-20-2020, 08:50 AM   #4
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Did you look at the turbo? that's probably your problem
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      04-20-2020, 10:41 AM   #5
135ijonny
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Jeef thats what my buddy thinks also. I’m hoping it’s that haha. Unfortunately due to the virus my mechanic literally the next day closed. As he was nervous about the virus. But when we removed the downpipe we looked at the turbo - we didn’t remove it but we looked at it from the downpipe view and we look at the turbine that was fine but he thinks if we fully remove it it most likely blew. I’m waiting hopefully once he is open to get it removed and inspected. I was just shocked as we were so confused by how much smoke occurred. I checked oil & all around the engine & there was no indication of oil and coolant mixing so I’m hoping it’s the turbo. It would be a gift from god haha if I was told that.
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      04-22-2020, 09:12 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 135ijonny View Post
Jeef thats what my buddy thinks also. I’m hoping it’s that haha. Unfortunately due to the virus my mechanic literally the next day closed. As he was nervous about the virus. But when we removed the downpipe we looked at the turbo - we didn’t remove it but we looked at it from the downpipe view and we look at the turbine that was fine but he thinks if we fully remove it it most likely blew. I’m waiting hopefully once he is open to get it removed and inspected. I was just shocked as we were so confused by how much smoke occurred. I checked oil & all around the engine & there was no indication of oil and coolant mixing so I’m hoping it’s the turbo. It would be a gift from god haha if I was told that.

N54's dont have headgasket issues. I picked up a 335i with a "bad headgasket" from a girl whose mechanic stated it was a headgasket. She stopped driving it and I picked it up. The hose that was the culprit is the one in this video.




High chance it's the turbo or one of the lines snapped. Luckily you didn't run the car without coolant. I'm certain that your headgasket is ok. Especially knowing that the coolant and oil are not mixing. PCV valve system can cause smoke, but from my experience it's oil leaking into the exhaust causing plumes of blue smoke/burning oil smell.


It could be something as simple as this plastic piece cracking on the pump.

Have you removed the undertray and filled the system with coolant or water to check if it's leaking?


Another question is, how long have you had the car? How many miles does it have on it? Has the water pump or turbos been done in your ownership or the prior owners?
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      04-23-2020, 02:37 PM   #7
135ijonny
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iEatSand thanks for the reply. It is a n55. & interesting. I’m still waiting for my mechanic to open up. I’ll make sure I upload the video tonight for you to see. So the odd part is that it has tons of oil in the exhaust & leaked into the downpipe also & a crap ton in the chargepipe also. Now the messed thing is that it’s a ton of white smoke from the engine & exhaust like I’m talking massive plumes not a tiny bit. But so far no indication coolant and oil mixing. Based on how it looks. But understanding white smoke is coolant it’s odd. Doesn’t smell like coolant and the expansion tank has no issues. Checked oil cap and looked inside no milky anything no residue oil is normal black & it doesn’t appear to be mixed. That’s why this is so odd. 2 professional mechanics that are well known within my area have no idea and claim it’s some sort of blown motor or head gasket and didn’t really check compression ect which is my concern & my other mechanic who’s a friend & also another relative who’s one think somehow the turbo went. As stated though when visually inspected turbo turbine looked fine but I will have to check further and dig deeper. I will do a compression test - check pcv then finally if worse case check the turbo again and remove it. And no there is no leaks anywhere minus oil. Which in my experience and based on research though it should be blueish black. I’ll post picture and videos tonight after my work from home is done. & am the second owner 150k have all records. Water pump and turbo never replaced just generic sparks coils - oil pan & oil changes done
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      05-17-2020, 01:27 PM   #8
135ijonny
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Update**** car passed compression & leakdown test with flying colours. Motor is running fine & based on all tests no coolant with oil mixing. Headgasket is fine. Removed exhaust manifold & turbo pictures included
View post on imgur.com
- picture 1 (intake side of turbo) - intake side of turbo is completely stuck in the housing and won’t move.... like it scrapped into the housing and with excessive force we checked & it’s jammed shut. & picture 3(exhaust side of turbo) a piece of the turbine wheel came off) Ton of oil found in the inter cooler aswell. - Tuesday we are replacing turbos &99% sure this is the reasoning for all the massive smoke

Last edited by 135ijonny; 05-17-2020 at 01:34 PM..
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      05-19-2020, 08:23 AM   #9
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Thats good news, looks like your getting a new turbo!! Other than the strain on the wallet there is no downside to it.
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      06-01-2020, 03:29 PM   #10
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Any updates?
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      06-01-2020, 09:30 PM   #11
135ijonny
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Quote:
Originally Posted by houtan View Post
Any updates?
houtan

just went in today.

turbo has been swapped & all necessary items.

intercooler had over a litre of oil in it.

we turned on the vehicle & no more smoke whatsoever finally.

thankfully it turned out to be turbo as the smoking from the motor was a lot compared to anything other have seen for when the turbo goes. it turned out the intake side of the turbo was completely siezed in the housing & the exhaust side turbine had parts ripped off.

just going to be doing a bunch of other side maintenance now in the meantime. Friday we will drive the car for majority of the day to test it. but as of now when we start the car everything sounds well and eliminated the issue.

thankfully I took a 3rd opinion or else the first two indy shops that quoted me would've screwed me over. I knew there was no way what they were telling me could've been true.

sad to see how some shops just like to screw ppl…. not to mention I got amazing prices for this job. my new guy also has been sending me daily updates. ill post a video once its on the road again
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      06-02-2020, 04:57 PM   #12
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Let us know if you ever find a root cause...
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      06-02-2020, 06:58 PM   #13
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So how did this lead to the loss of coolant?

Pretty good news it's "just" the turbo - I use quotes because it's still money and work, but at least it's that and not worse.
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      06-02-2020, 11:11 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tracer bullet View Post
So how did this lead to the loss of coolant?

Pretty good news it's "just" the turbo - I use quotes because it's still money and work, but at least it's that and not worse.
I'm not sure if the N55 turbo is also coolant driven or just oil driven. My guess would be it was leaking/burning both oil and coolant.

Coolant has a lower burning temp, and would start burning off around 250-300 degrees. Oil would start burning off after 350. I figure there was coolant in there, but was burned off to the point where it just had the litre of oil leftover.

Just my 2cents

Happy to hear the issue was solved and you didn't need a new engine
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      06-03-2020, 08:22 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iEatSand View Post
I'm not sure if the N55 turbo is also coolant driven or just oil driven.:
I was kind of wondering the same. Looked it up and it appears to be the case. Makes more sense. I'm used to seeing only oil lines I guess.
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      07-09-2020, 08:00 AM   #16
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Yes, they have a coolant circuit through the turbo too. You would've had to dismantle them during the turbo replacement. They are held together by one small bolt. Two thin orings that easily tear upon insertion too
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      07-12-2020, 09:19 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 135ijonny View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by houtan View Post
Any updates?
houtan

just went in today.

turbo has been swapped & all necessary items.

intercooler had over a litre of oil in it.

we turned on the vehicle & no more smoke whatsoever finally.

thankfully it turned out to be turbo as the smoking from the motor was a lot compared to anything other have seen for when the turbo goes. it turned out the intake side of the turbo was completely siezed in the housing & the exhaust side turbine had parts ripped off.

just going to be doing a bunch of other side maintenance now in the meantime. Friday we will drive the car for majority of the day to test it. bu It as of now when we start the car everything sounds well and eliminated the issue.

thankfully I took a 3rd opinion or else the first two indy shops that quoted me would've screwed me over. I knew there was no way what they were telling me could've been true.

sad to see how some shops just like to screw ppl…. not to mention I got amazing prices for this job. my new guy also has been sending me daily updates. ill post a video once its on the road again
I'm glad I pointed you in the right direction. Turbo replacement is a lot better than swapping a full motor!

gift from God received? lol
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