valley pan

[cavx5]

hi everyone..tried to research valley pan but nothing came up...could someone explain to me what it is, what it does, location and how do you know if it goes bad...i have a 2005 x5 4.4 with 16k...thanks rob

[Budget M3]

Hi Rob,

The valley pan is part of the cooling system in/around the intake manifold. Mine was replaced at 115K. The pan itself does not usually go bad, but the gaskets that seal around it do--you will have a coolant leak if this is the case. Have your mechanic do a pressure test of the cooling system and you can tell for sure.

If the gaskets need to be replaced, you might as well replace the engine vent hoses at the back of the engine at the same time since it's all part of the labor involved. The parts are cheap, but the labor will be a killer--at least 5-6 hours for a skilled mechanic.

Hope that helps!

[G Man]

Originally Posted by cavx5

hi everyone..tried to research valley pan but nothing came up...could someone explain to me what it is, what it does, location and how do you know if it goes bad...i have a 2005 x5 4.4 with 16k...thanks rob

Here's a thread that may help...
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...ley+pan+gasket

I had mine replaced yeaterday along with a new thermostat.

[WolfX5]

Rob, you'll DEFINITELY know when your valley pan quits on you. It usually works something like this:

You have a "low coolant level" message on your dashboard. You go out in the morning and top it off with your 50/50 BMW-branded antifreeze (being sure to use the bleeder valve in the proper manner of course). In a few days the same thing happens again. Then, at ever-shorter intervals of time over the period of the next week or two, you find yourself repeating the same process above. You look and look but you just CANNOT find where the antifreeze could be leaking from because you don't see any obvious indicators in the engine compartment.

Then - one morning you awake, and you notice what must be QUARTS and QUARTS of antifreeze on the ground underneath your car. "Crap..." you tell yourself, because you realize that your valley pan has just completely failed on you and you now have about a $2500 - $3000 fix on your hands.

All because of a crappy $90 gasket that wasn't properly manufactured by one of the Mexican (er...bmw "authorized") parts manufacturers (that's right kids, we pay GERMAN prices for parts made in fu*king MEXICO)! And instead of BMW doing the right thing and paying for what was an obvious manufacturing flaw, they stick YOU the consumer with all of the parts and labor costs to fix it years later. You can comfort yourself though with the fact that, even though BMW denies any and all knowledge of the faulty OEM gasket originally installed in your vehicle, they have nonetheless taken great pains to COMPLETELY REDESIGN a gasket that does not need to be redesigned to avoid any future problems we might potentially encounter. How thoughtful and clever...preemptively re-engineering parts in advance of any problems that might occur. Now THATS why you buy a BMW...

...NOT!!!

All ranting aside, when my valley pan gasket went out I took advantage of the situation and literally dropped the car off with a box of pre-purchased cooling system replacement parts. Since the dealer had to take them OFF the car anyway to get to the valley pan, they had put them ON for free as part of the valley pan gasket replacement process. The parts I got replaced for $0.00 in labor costs included the water pump, thermostat, all belts and most of the hoses. I also had them check for dried and/or rotten hoses near the rear of the engine (many threads on this forum about that) and also had some of those replaced at the same time for a small parts charge.

I hope you don't have to go through this but it IS a BMW after all...good luck!

[G Man]

Originally Posted by WolfX5

Rob, you'll DEFINITELY know when your valley pan quits on you. It usually works something like this:

You have a "low coolant level" message on your dashboard. You go out in the morning and top it off with your 50/50 BMW-branded antifreeze (being sure to use the bleeder valve in the proper manner of course). In a few days the same thing happens again. Then, at ever-shorter intervals of time over the period of the next week or two, you find yourself repeating the same process above. You look and look but you just CANNOT find where the antifreeze could be leaking from because you don't see any obvious indicators in the engine compartment.

Then - one morning you awake, and you notice what must be QUARTS and QUARTS of antifreeze on the ground underneath your car. "Crap..." you tell yourself, because you realize that your valley pan has just completely failed on you and you now have about a $2500 - $3000 fix on your hands.

All because of a crappy $90 gasket that wasn't properly manufactured by one of the Mexican (er...bmw "authorized") parts manufacturers (that's right kids, we pay GERMAN prices for parts made in fu*king MEXICO)! And instead of BMW doing the right thing and paying for what was an obvious manufacturing flaw, they stick YOU the consumer with all of the parts and labor costs to fix it years later. You can comfort yourself though with the fact that, even though BMW denies any and all knowledge of the faulty OEM gasket originally installed in your vehicle, they have nonetheless taken great pains to COMPLETELY REDESIGN a gasket that does not need to be redesigned to avoid any future problems we might potentially encounter. How thoughtful and clever...preemptively re-engineering parts in advance of any problems that might occur. Now THATS why you buy a BMW...

...NOT!!!

All ranting aside, when my valley pan gasket went out I took advantage of the situation and literally dropped the car off with a box of pre-purchased cooling system replacement parts. Since the dealer had to take them OFF the car anyway to get to the valley pan, they had put them ON for free as part of the valley pan gasket replacement process. The parts I got replaced for $0.00 in labor costs included the water pump, thermostat, all belts and most of the hoses. I also had them check for dried and/or rotten hoses near the rear of the engine (many threads on this forum about that) and also had some of those replaced at the same time for a small parts charge.

I hope you don't have to go through this but it IS a BMW after all...good luck!

Exact description of mine, except I caught it before the bulk of the coolant purged itself. Look under the vehicle right behind the engine. If you see coolant drops, you have likely found the culprit. There were no signs of leaking on mine from any area on the top side of my motor.

[omodos]

Does anyone know if the gasket /hose issue affected all x5's?or just the early ones? would a late 04 model be less prone to this gasket nightmare?thanks