Engine gurus - How does the valley pan work? (N62)
 

I have the N62 in my X. I have coolant issues but looking at all the photos diagrams I can't work out how the valley pan works.

From the photos it looks like there is one opening into the valley pan which is at the top and connects to the inlet of the water pump, so I can understand how under pressure coolant could enter the valley pan but how does the coolant circulate out of the valley pan?

I've put two photos in below - one with the valley pan, showing no exit points on the bottom of the pan and one of the valley pan cover showing the one entry/exit

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/LKAsu8JDzOw/maxresdefault.jpg

http://realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/c/e/143.png

I would believe that all it is is just somewhere for the coolant to drain into when something goes bad.

:iagree:

Heer is a link to another posting showing how it catches all the antifreeze Posting #144 by Stunt who is pulling his to solve oil leaks etc.
http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ce-all-15.html

So is the valley-pan supposed to be full of coolant if everything is normal? Or only if something is wrong?

Mine was full of coolant when I replaced the valley-pan gasket / cover.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/13/agupa8yd.jpg


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That's where the coolant belongs, under the cover.

That coolant cools the cylinder sleeves inside the V engine configuration. :thumbup:

FYI, BMW never used a gasket on the cover, 1/8" to 3/16" bead of RTV sealent.

Thanks TiAg but stagnant coolant doesn't cool anything - that's why it has to circulate through the radiator... how does it get out of the valley pan to be able to circulate? theres no drain holes or feed tube or anything...

I don't think coolant belongs there...it belongs in the pipe that runs fore/aft in your pic.

The cylinders are cooled by the water jacket around each cylinder, not by any coolant in the valley pan. Look at a head gasket and you can see the coolant and oil holes clearly.

Now, maybe some coolant is supposed to flow unpressurized in the valley pan, but that makes little to no sense at all given our cooling systems are under pressure...hmmmm

Well. Hmmmm. The VP has a big gasket vulcanized to the bottom surface and a big port on it connected to a short water pipe which leads to
the water pump. I'd be surprised if anyone has removed this to find it dry....

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/18/vyneja2a.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/18/6esy8ume.jpg


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Well then, there's the answer. I've never had to take mine apart (furiously knocking on wood...).

Thanks for clearing it up!:thumbup: