Hey guys-

Unfortunately, I haven't had an opportunity to become much of a member of this community; I've only had my BMW for a few months...less than 4,000 miles.

The past week, I’ve had some weird behavior:

rough idle
loss of coolant
white smoke


The white smoke happened only yesterday and I had a very, very bad feeling about that when I saw it. The loss of coolant didn't bother me much because of all the other cooling system problems I'd already had (busted t-fitting in the upper radiator, cracked expansion tank), but that white smoke spelled doom to me.

Since I'm in Frederick, I tried to get into Foreign Auto Excellence, but Allen was booked solid. I then tried York Automotive in Mt. Airy. The guy seemed to know his stuff and when I explained my symptoms his pitying stare didn't do much to soothe my fears.

Basically, he said it sounded like either a blown head gasket or with the cooling issues in the past, a possible cracked block. (I’m betting on the gasket) He then said that he wouldn’t feel comfortable working on the big v8 since they are so different from the 6 cylinders that are his bread and butter.

My best options may be to either replace the engine or fill it full of “Stop Leak” and dump it as soon as possible.

Both of those sound excessive. Does anyone here have any kind of experience with these types of repairs? My car is a 99 540i Sport with auto and about 65k on the odo. Any feedback you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys-

Unfortunately, I haven't had an opportunity to become much of a member of this community; I've only had my BMW for a few months...less than 4,000 miles.

The past week, I’ve had some weird behavior:

rough idle
loss of coolant
white smoke


The white smoke happened only yesterday and I had a very, very bad feeling about that when I saw it. The loss of coolant didn't bother me much because of all the other cooling system problems I'd already had (busted t-fitting in the upper radiator, cracked expansion tank), but that white smoke spelled doom to me.

Since I'm in Frederick, I tried to get into Foreign Auto Excellence, but Allen was booked solid. I then tried York Automotive in Mt. Airy. The guy seemed to know his stuff and when I explained my symptoms his pitying stare didn't do much to soothe my fears.

Basically, he said it sounded like either a blown head gasket or with the cooling issues in the past, a possible cracked block. (I’m betting on the gasket) He then said that he wouldn’t feel comfortable working on the big v8 since they are so different from the 6 cylinders that are his bread and butter.

My best options may be to either replace the engine or fill it full of “Stop Leak” and dump it as soon as possible.

Both of those sound excessive. Does anyone here have any kind of experience with these types of repairs? My car is a 99 540i Sport with auto and about 65k on the odo. Any feedback you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

What year 540iA's were affected by the Nikasil engine failures? I don't remember if '99 was one of the years, but it sounds an awful lot like a Nikasil failure.

The head gasket wouldn't blow unless the car was overheated or pinging. A lot.

JV

What year 540iA's were affected by the Nikasil engine failures? I don't remember if '99 was one of the years, but it sounds an awful lot like a Nikasil failure. The Nikasil issue only affected e34's.

If you are willing, have it towed to Martin Motorsports, Inc (www.martinmotorsportsinc.com) in Alexandria, VA. His name is Gary Martin (703) 823-9735. You can say James w/the race car recommended you. DO NOT drive it.

Hopefully, you merely have a blown HG and not a cracked head/block. I cracked my head in three places. Same problem -- white smoke (although idled fine) and coolant blowing through cylinders into exhaust. He is currently rebuilding my engine as we speak. He is a good person to work with. The only way to figure out what is wrong with it -- is to remove and flow the head. At that point, you also have to check the bottom end as well if you find that the head is cracked. If not, probably safe to just look at top of pistons and cylinder walls, and, if looks good -- go ahead and just do the headwork.

There are a number of good shops around ... but, I know he's pretty familiar with the V8's.

You are probably looking at $2K+ minimal. I think shops charge around 15 hours to remove/replace the head. Then, you are looking at machine shop costs to fix/flow-test/machine the head. Not to mention, you should spend the $300-400 and buy new parts for the head. I think a safe estimate is around $3K.

I can't believe the mechanic would suggest using Stop Leak and dumping it on to an unsuspecting person. Completely unethical. You HAVE to disclose known material defects on a vehicle to a potential buyer. If you do not, I can come back and ram a stick up your a$$ ... and go after your personal assets.

p.s. -- I would NEVER see losing coolant as a good thing in any car. ;)

Damn, and I was about to PM Hampton about his 540. I am glad I didn't hit the "submit" button. Hampton, never mind.:)

:stickoutt

Damn, and I was about to PM Hampton about his 540. I am glad I didn't hit the "submit" button. Hampton, never mind.:)

:stickoutt

:lol :lol :lol :lol :nono