A cracked block is very very rare. Most of the time you have oil and coolant mix, a cracked cylinder head is the cause...mainly due to an extreme overheat. ie. temp guage goes into the red and the person continues to drive for miles. :tsk:

Rob_

Just when I started to feel bad about wanting to dump the X5, yet another potential issue that scares me strait.

Scared of what?

Yep, if you had a cracked head, you'd definately know it. If it was a slight headgasket leak, coolant wouldn't leak out like it is here, it's leak into the cylinders and it's get burnt; you'd see white smoke.

Out of warranty big bill repairs like that....
 

Sounds like a $1500 to $2K repair...if you have a CPO then your set...if not...ouch...I have had a slew of repairs recently and was trying to move my X5....then I started to think...well maybe this it..ya know...there won't be any more..then seeing stuff like that makes me think otherwise.

Update. After 2 days not another drop of anything has leaked. After reading all of your posts It seems that what I saw on the floor was coolant. Checked the coolant level and it does seem to be a little lower then when I last saw it (2 months ago). The fluid I found on my floor might have filled a 50 cent piece in size. My temps are fine, the X runs fine, no warning indicators of any kind are noted. I know for sure its not a cracked block or cyllinder. It seems that there is simply a small intermittent coolant leak coming from somewhere above the tranny bell housing. I followed the cooling hoses from the coolant tank to where they enter the firewall. There is a siver colored hose coupling in the firewall where the inflow and outflow hoses go to. I suspected that my leak may be there. After careful inspection that area is dry as a bone with no residue at all. Any other ideas where an intermittent coolant leak can come from or how a coolant leak could be intermittent at all?

Mark

Mark,

It sure sounds like its the valley pan. If you can, take off the top beauty cover and look under the back of the intake manifold. You may need a mirror.

Rob_

I'm one of those 2 out of warranty individuals which has had the torque converter radial seal replaced and warranted. For what it's worth, the synthetic transmission fluid BMW uses is NOT dyed red; its a straw color (a little lighter than Dial Gold soap), and the used transmission fluid will have a slightly grayish appearance (I have samples of both).

Additionally, the ethylene glycol base of any coolant has a slightly sweet taste to it. 2 and 4 legged critters will readily drink it with deleterious effect so most antifreeze has a "denaturing" chemical added to it to cause one's stomach to reject it. If you want to confirm whether a leak is antifreeze just touch a bit of it to your tongue to see if it has a slightly sweet taste, THEN SPIT IT OUT!

Certainly you shouldn't drink it, but a drop won't hurt you. :)

Dont drink it! (Like saying dont eat the apples from the tree) :D The pics clearly show to be a coolant leak.

Rob_