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Thread: Advice on issue with 1997 BMW 323i

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
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    sydney
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    BMW 1997

    Advice on issue with 1997 BMW 323i

    Hi,

    I have a 1997 BMW 323i, It was really good driving it and well maintained interior as well. Last week, when I was driving the car stopped at signals. Whenever I slow down the car, its stopping. I had to start again and drive. After driving like that for few minutes, I observed white smoke coming out from the front. I took the car to a mechanic and he initially said the coolant needs to be replaced. Later he said problems with oils leak as well and few other issues and asked for 1000$.

    I am a bit surprised and thought of taking second opinion,but the car now is making lot of noise and not drivable. I am not sure what all the mechanic tried ?

    Should I sell the car ? Please suggest.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    93 740i, 84 533i
    It sounds like you may have a coolant issue and need to figure that out. The stalling problem may or may not be related, but the coolant issue is much more urgent.
    Black on Black 740i - 10/92 build date, 225,000 miles.
    Delphin on Cherry 533i - 4/84 build date, 136,000 miles
    Black on Black 328i - 3/96 build date, 185,000 miles - Sold
    2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Kentucky
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    '03 Z4, '06 Forester
    From your post it's hard to say what even happened, but it sounds like a) the car ran out of coolant, overheated and self-destructed or b) the car ran out of oil, and self-destructed or c) all of the above and it self-destructed.

    Either way, I'd suspect that at the very minimum you're looking at a new headgasket or (what I really believe) is that you're looking at a new engine.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
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    embarrassing jap 4banger
    What are the "other problems" he mentioned? That's kinda important... If you told the mechanic you saw white smoke coming out of the engine bay and the car died, and he only told you that you need to replace the coolant and fix an oil leak, I would go to another mechanic. If he's asking for a grand he needs to be a little more specific about what he thinks the problem is and what he's going to do to fix it, lol.

    There are certain diagnostic tests that need to be performed by a competent mechanic to figure out exactly what happened, but in the meantime you can check for yourself if there is oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil... If so, you most likely have a leaking head gasket at the least.

    The feller above is probably right unfortunately... There's most likely something wrong with your cooling system (tstat, radiator, water pump, etc) that caused your engine to overheat and blew the head gasket. With a little luck, that's all you'll need to replace... If the bmw fairies hate you however, you may have warped the head, cracked the head or the block, or melted everything in the engine into a giant glob of metal.

    Good luck man, I hope it isn't a worst case scenario... Let us know what you find out so people in the future can gain some knowledge from your experience. I'm crossin my fingers for you brother.
    Last edited by e34please; 04-24-2014 at 02:07 AM. Reason: grammar/punctuation fix

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