Overheating then this
 

Hello all, I've been having a weird overheating issue on my 2011 X5 35i 65k miles. Took it to the dealer Nd they told me that it was due to a loose hose they tighten it and added about half a quart of coolant that was gone. On the way home I started hearing the fan on and off then when got off highway about 10 minutes later fan when on full blast and the drive moderately warning came on.

They told me the water pump is fine and until there is a code is hard to diagnose. But today I checked the oil cap because right before the over heating issue started I noticed that my oil level when up without adding oil it when from 1/3 quart up to full green. I found a milky white residue on it an right on the inside of the oil intake. Here are some pics.

Engine starts fine, no vibrations, no white smoke.

Some guidance would be gladly welcomed.

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Not an automobile expert by any means, and certainly not BMW's; however, I have seen a milky film in my Tacoma at one point (no issues with the vehicle at all). In doing some research I found this is caused by the oil getting foamy and the water condensing and mixing with the oil and is not abnormal or harmful. These pictures look similar to what I found.

I will say given my experience and you DO have a problem, it would seem you have a head gasket leak, or some other internal leak allowing the coolant to mix into your oil system. I would not be able to explain, though, why the oil level would then go back down, once cooled, unless of course it is actually isn't (and that info is not in the description) OR it is evaporating or leaking back out. Wait to see what some of the other guys think before taking any drastic of costly actions. Cheers

Thanks G550Mech, sorry if I confused you the oil level after being . 1/3 down on the green bar when back to displaying full green bars without adding oil.

You could send a sample of the oil to Blackstone Labs for analysis. They will tell you if the oil condition is normal or not, and more about the health of your engine.

Blackstone Labs

Hello, so after taking it to Atila BMW Master Tech. At Vanos Motorsports in Carlstadt this what was found. He plugged it into the scanner, 2 codes for water pump, operating under threshold and or obstruction so yeah the water pump is dead. He will replace thermostat and waterpump, do coolant flush and new oil change plus code the tailgate to close from keyfob and inside button all for $1200.

He did the co2 test came back negative, compression was fine. He asked me if I had added oil recently I said yes Castrol Edge Synthetic. He said ok thats your reason for the white oil viscosity most likely the car had Mobil in it and when Mobil and Castrol mix you get that oil foam.

A witch doctor's narrative.

It is 'soap' made of saponified motor oil and high pH coolant exhausted of its additive package.

[QUOTE=He said ok thats your reason for the white oil viscosity most likely the car had Mobil in it and when Mobil and Castrol mix you get that oil foam.[/QUOTE]

Biggest crock of s**t I've ever heard and this from a Master Tech?

Tough to say whether that emulsion is normal cold weather, short-trip condensation or a leaking gasket.
I'd check for oil in the expansion tank and consider replacing the oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets.

I would say that soapy emulsion in the expansion tank is diagnostic of oil in the coolant, and I can't think of a differential diagnosis.

Free oil, not emulsified, in the exp tank is a sign of a failed oil cooler gasket.

Yeah...

IMO this story will have more chapters.

Hello, there is no oil in the expansion tank at all, coolant is clear. The picture is of the oil fill hole and the oil fill cap on the engine.

^Agree.

The issue is coolant>>>>oil

Not oil into the coolant.

Just a random google quote:

Update - Oil is black no white or soapy deposit at oil pan. Water pump might be good, what he found was that my alternator was toasted and was over charging the system. The Water Pump was getting 19V and shutting down to protect itself. He tells me that a new alternator is needed and programming it to the car. Can I get a used one from a junk yard since a new oem one is upwards of $850 while one from previous x5's run around $150. What do you guys think, here is a pic of the results from the diag screen.

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I understood the photo was the oil filler cap. My point was there are several ways for coolant and oil to mix. Head gasket is obvious, particularly with overheat, but oil cooler gasket is another possibility that's not so obvious.

Good news on the oil. If you had extensive water/coolant in the oil everything under the oil fill cap would be milky white. The drip on the torx screw at 12 o'clock and elsewhere looks like normal engine oil.

This is the first I've heard that alternators need to be programmed/coded. I'm almost positive my E60 and E70 alternators don't need it. A salvage yard unit should be fine. 19+ volts has probably cooked the battery also.
You'll have to keep an eye on the coolant level. Time will tell if the oil filler emulsion is coolant from leakage or simply condensation. Does X5 see lots of short trips?

pshovest who ever had this car never cleared the codes there were over 70 codes stored in the system.

A new battery was put in sometime in June 2015 right before I bought the car but it was never registered to the system, causin the alternator to keep pumping harder thinking it was the same dying battery.

After he cleared all the codes, engine fan was behaving normal, water pump was behaving normal, the SAV was driven for over 40 minutes and no overheating. Only fault that came on was for low battery voltage. He is keeping it one more day to see if the alternator really needs to go if it fluctuates the voltage output like it was doing before.

I'll know more tomorrow hopefully this took care of the problem and for now I don't have to spend the money on all those new parts.

Here are all the codes that were stored, none are present anymore apart from he water pump and low voltage. I only have had the car for the last 6 months. The pdc codes I know cuz I got rear ended, and the tailgate light I was searching for the thump metal noise and had taken it apart.

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This is ridiculous! It is overcharging 19V at 0 engine RPM. Someone created perpetuum mobile ;) If the alternator is overcharging over 16v there will be codes for overvoltage in most modules.

Bad battery would be my first guess......

Hi did you see my other pics, it shows undervoltage or overvoltage at most modules. Let me know what you think after looking at those. Thanks.

I saw codes showing undervoltage and not even 1 for overvoltage.
If there is overvoltage condition the transmission computer will switch to safe mode and there will be a definitely clear code showing overvoltage.

A recommendation: check for codes again in a week. I had an intermittent water pump not reaching commanded speed for about 6 months. Doesn't cause a MIL. Gave up the ghost- seized. Stranded and 1st tow bill in over 20 years. Those codes may be a warning.

Very interesting. I hadn't come across such in my reading. That, with the general ignorance about batteries and charging, might explain some mysterious flurries of error codes.

I really do think that most integrated circuits have input voltage regulators.

They all do. But the transmission solenoids dont have voltage regulators. At 3-4 volts or more over nominal the solenoids characteristics will change significantly.
I have had 2 N62 powered cars recently that will have similar symptoms. All is good at idle and low RPM. Once the RPM jump over ~2000 the trnsmission will go in safe mode. Having ISTA connected while driving I find the voltage to reach 18-19v. Overvoltage codes were to be found in most modules,7-8 at least.

Got the car back today, overheating issue fixed. New water pump and changed the thermostat any way, radiator flushed, oil changed, battery reprogrammed and all codes clear , and coding of some comfort features all for $1300 not bad.

After reprogramming the battery the alternator started behaving normal. Car went back to 24 mpg highway.

Thanks all for your input.

If you are in NJ I recommend Vanos Motorsports in Carlstedt, N.J. to do the job.

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I would keep an eye on your oil level AND oil quality.

If in 500 miles you see nothing going on between coolant and oil, you dodged a bullet.

Nice shout out to Vanos Motorsports.

I definitely will. SAV is driving like brand new.