4.4 coolant leak

[DimAciD]

03' x5 4.4i
i have replaced expansion tank like a year ago @200,000 kms, had a crack where two part are glued together (top and bottom)
changed water pump about same time (bearing fail)
Now i got same problem, it looks like it comes out of cap, sprays all over the engine cover
i got issues with heat... takes a very long time to warm up, gonna take it to dealer to have it scanned for all possible things (you bring it for one thing but they always check for more lol ) It is -32C these past few days, poor thing barely starts
Bimmer got few issues but parts a not so expensive as most people think bimmerspecialis(dot)com is good place, autopartsway(dot)ca is great also
The very common issue with 4.4 engine involving coolant is actually o-rings on coolant return pipes... items 5 and 7 on picture RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i COOLING SYSTEM PIPE
BMW technician told me, they change em every 80000kms i think he said, parts are very cheap but it takes 4 - 5 hours to change em, if you really know what you are doing
I still love my bimmer (my wifes now, i got an audi )
Dont give up your car, pay someone to look at it to see what needs to be replaced - buy parts online, so much cheaper and luckily x5s are made in states and most of them are sold in north america - there are tons of parts, dont have to go to dealership all the time.
P.S. it is actually doesnt worth changing brakes on x5 by yourself - dealer asked me 460$ for OEM+labour(front pads rotors and sensors)! and i did it myself with aftermarket stuff w/o sensors 350.... now it squicks and i gotta redo lol

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by DimAciD

03' x5 4.4i
i have replaced expansion tank like a year ago @200,000 kms, had a crack where two part are glued together (top and bottom)
changed water pump about same time (bearing fail)
Now i got same problem, it looks like it comes out of cap, sprays all over the engine cover
i got issues with heat... takes a very long time to warm up, gonna take it to dealer to have it scanned for all possible things (you bring it for one thing but they always check for more lol ) It is -32C these past few days, poor thing barely starts
Bimmer got few issues but parts a not so expensive as most people think bimmerspecialis(dot)com is good place, autopartsway(dot)ca is great also
The very common issue with 4.4 engine involving coolant is actually o-rings on coolant return pipes... items 5 and 7 on picture RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i COOLING SYSTEM PIPE
BMW technician told me, they change em every 80000kms i think he said, parts are very cheap but it takes 4 - 5 hours to change em, if you really know what you are doing
I still love my bimmer (my wifes now, i got an audi )
Dont give up your car, pay someone to look at it to see what needs to be replaced - buy parts online, so much cheaper and luckily x5s are made in states and most of them are sold in north america - there are tons of parts, dont have to go to dealership all the time.
P.S. it is actually doesnt worth changing brakes on x5 by yourself - dealer asked me 460$ for OEM+labour(front pads rotors and sensors)! and i did it myself with aftermarket stuff w/o sensors 350.... now it squicks and i gotta redo lol

Wow, for $460 brake job on X5 for one complete axle is very reasonable if done correctly, I won't even do it myself for that price. Again wish more indy shop around Seattle charging those kinda price, oh well.

I didn't even ask my indy shop for brake job anymore, when I had an Audi A4 an indy Audi shop wanted $600 for fron brake job (mind you that was a good 7-8 years ago and rotor/pads size on Audi is smaller thus cheaper compare to X5).

BTW, I called around for Valley-pan and valve cover gasket jobs on my X5, a good $2500-$2800 for both (and most BMW specialists shop say not much overlapping work between the two). Wish I lived in Georgia (former Soviet Union) when my X5 breaks down

One side note, when I say "indy" I meant a shop specializing German cars or BMW only kinda shop. I just don't like the idea of giving my car as guinea pig for the techs.

[joeboch348]

where is the cooling system pipe located?

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by joeboch348

where is the cooling system pipe located?

Those pipes, #4 and #6 on the real oem picture on post-16 go from the coolant-manifold in the back of the V8 (close to firewall) all the way to water-pump, you need to get the intake out of the engine to see them clearly.

[joeboch348]

take the intake out? you mean the cover on top of the motor?

[HPIA4v2]

Originally Posted by joeboch348

take the intake out? you mean the cover on top of the motor?

The item #1 on the picture.
RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i Intake manifold system


You may see the glimpse of those pipes behind the water-pump and under the throttle body (assuming you take off the engine cover).

[markreg]

I've got 92k on it and I've had the radiator, fan clutch, hoses replaced so far.

[joeboch348]

thats a serious job

[DimAciD]

update:
Found the leak, lucky me!
The overflow pipe was repaired by someone (not very bright), they used a thin hose for splicing and put hose clamps - one of those hose clamps made a small cut. When pressure builds up the hose would stretch and water would spray all over and than hole close up once pressureis low, so i could not find it.
Ordered new hose from dealer, relatively cheap, 40 some dollars.

[Nik]

Originally Posted by blazing928

expansion tank. ours only 80,000km and it started leaking. finally replaced it and then the water pump....
now the susp level inact warning
its my wifes car, sorry every one who loves your X5, but they are so badly built its a appaling.

Don't know about water pump, but the Air suspension Air springs wear out in approx in 2 years as I heard. Still depends.

EDIT: There is a Little Hose on back of the motor. Don't know how hard it is to reach one, but I've replaced mine. They can cause a leak.