Whats the Issue?

[afstud]

I recently aquired a 2001 3.0 x5 and when i was doing a fluids check i noticed coolant was low. topped up with bmw coolant when it was cold and went on with the day, checked it a couple days later and was low again but I dont get a low coolant light or any over heating at all, I also noticed under the oil filler cap and at the end of the Dip stick its peanut buttery look, so i changed the oil and it still does this, I know the usual signs of a bad head gasket and i dont have any white exhaust, Even at a cold start up its all normal, it doesnt smell sweet or unusual, Car doesnt over heat, Runs nice and smooth, has alot of power, has never shut off on me, the only two signs i have of any problem are the peanut buttery looking residue and lower coolant level but i swapped sensors from the fluid washer to the coolant and they both work great, Ive driven the car 100s of miles and long trips without any problems at all, and the last time i checked the coolant level was weeks ago and then again yesterday and i can see coolant towards the bottom but the float is at the lowest point in the tank, so could this be a bad head gasket? car has 193k miles and everthing was replaced within the last month. TIA.

[dolbyX5]

Sounds like you may have the "cheese whiz". It's either the CCV or condensation. Do a quick search on the cheese whiz and you'll see more about it. Congratulations on the X BTW.

[afstud]

Thanks! I love the X its one of my favorite SAV's and Ive heard about that and read it and i know it can be caused by short drives but i drive 20 mins to work one way twice a day all on the highway and alot of it cleared up weeks ago but it seems to have a appeared a bit again and i do alot of highway driving almost every day of the week for work, but it just seems like my coolant level will never stay full when i check it when its cold, it goes down but never to the point where it throws a low coolant light or overheating. im puzzled and ive just tuned up everything under the hood.

[motordavid]

Try a hot oil change, maybe backed up by another hot oil change/filter, and see if the crap goes away. The crap isn't the problem, simply an indicator.

If it goes away, all 'summer' in CheeseHeadLand, you have dodge a bullet, for awhile...and do some hour drives hauling azz, in addition to your commute, after the oil change(s).

Those back to back oil changes, (with really hot oil pouring out), are less expensive now, than doing CCV hoses, et al.

As noted, Search CCV, cheese, goop on oil cap, etc: there are literally pages of threads on the topic.
GL, mD

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Try a hot oil change, maybe backed up by another hot oil change/filter, and see if the crap goes away. The crap isn't the problem, simply an indicator.

If it goes away, all 'summer' in CheeseHeadLand, you have dodge a bullet, for awhile...and do some hour drives hauling azz, in addition to your commute, after the oil change(s).

Those back to back oil changes, (with really hot oil pouring out), are less expensive now, than doing CCV hoses, et al.

As noted, Search CCV, cheese, goop on oil cap, etc: there are literally pages of threads on the topic.
GL, mD

x2 on what ol' uncle motor said, go buy yourself 4 gallon jugs of mobil 1 at wally world, and 2 or 3 oil filters, drive the shit out of the car when its warm and do one or two hot oil changes to see if you can burn that cheese whiz off, if it doesnt go away, then i would replace CCV and associated hoses.


As far as the coolant being low, check Tstat, overflow tank, and assocatied cooling hoses for leaks, at your mileage you definitely need a cooling overhaul.

[afstud]

thats the thing ive already done a whole cooling overhaul with OEM parts, i do the first week on any BMW i get, and theres no leaks on the floor. ill do another oil change next week Thanks for the tips! and i usually go on a 3 hour highway trip a week when i do pick ups.

[nate13]

Did you replace your radiator, or at least take it out and check for leaks? My 01 330i had a mysterious leak like what your describing: low on coolant, no leak. Turned out to be a hairline crack on the upper end cap that was covered by the expansion tank, and didn't show a light because it would only leak out to that point (which is much higher than the sender) and past that only slight pressure/ steam would escape.

Replace your CCV and associated hoses (get a ecs kit and hit the gaskets too!). 200,000 miles is right around the time to open up your wallet to the BMW gods and fix the stuff that should've been replaced at 60 or 100,000 intervals. That said, my 330's radiator was stock, and I'm sure that water pump was in there longer than 60k.

Last thing you want is to be 3 hours away from your own garage and resources and have a incident. Pre failure replacement of wear items is CHEAP insurance if you do your own work!!!

[Elvis 3.0]

Under the link "How To's" ---> "X5 Tips & Tricks" --> scroll to Engine section, #7 "Lubrication 101"

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...ion-101-a.html

It is very thorough and will probably explain why your oil is producing yellow gunk, and more importantly why you should drive at high temps at least once a week. (anyone with the yellow sludge issue would be doing themselves a huge favor by reading this great article-- posted by this sites Admin - big props and yet another reason to fork over a few bucks to join the site as a premier), I agree with one or two hot oil changes.

As for your coolant, you may have said already but it is imperative that you 1) use only BMW coolant (for its composition) 2) follow the distilled water mixture depending on climate (typically 50/50 mix unless tundra conditions), and 3)that the proper BMW coolant adding procedure was followed with burping the system, key on, heat on low, cap off- search for procedure....

hope that helps.

[afstud]

ive owned 7 E46's so im VERY familiar with cooling system failures and all the E46 quirks, ive done the same fixes and maintenance to all of them and ive also had two 330i e39's and a 740il so ive been around the BMW block many times.. haha but ive just never had this happen before with any of the BMWs ive owned, ill for sure do the radiator as well as a hot oil change, ill be taking it on another 3 hour trip tomorrow so ill check under the cap and the dip stick when i get back. Thanks for the input guys, i was just really worried that it was the start of a Failing head gasket.