stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Some may know I bought a 51 plate 330 ci m sport a 6ish months back if not more. Full dealer history family owned blah blah.

I had the car service by BMW when I bought it and have kept an eye on all the levels since but have not been out to check it since Xmas. So thought I should make sure I give the car a once over today and to my shock I have found that there is a thick milky/creamy residue on the oil cap and the edges of the filler hole which runes down around an inch. Also I pulled the dipstick out and the same residue is on the bottom of the dipstick

Now an automatic assumption is the head gasket but its not using any oil or over heating etc so could it be something a little less worrying?

If so any suggestions?

Also anyone got an idea of what it could cost to do the head gasket or cost of any other possibilities as I don't want to get scammed by a garage.

Thanks in advance

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Sounds like condensation which results from cold weather and short journeys not allowing the moisture to dissipate. Take it for a blast and check again.

stedee

iTrader: (4)

round the filler cap is common but on the dipstick would make me worry a bit, if it was me i would probably drop the oil to have a look

hodgy0_2

also a good check is to feel the top rad hose -- often a blown head-gasket will pressurise the cooling system, making the hose rock hard

but agree that cold weather and short trips will give similiar symptoms to yours

The Zohan

+1

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Will go take some pictures but I was on the same line of thinking as stedee as its also on the bottom.of the dipstick not top :-(

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

What are your daily driving habits? Typical journey time?

Also are you changing oil every 12-18months or doing as per the dash (up to 2yrs)?

Personally I'd not rely on the latter. As M54 engines using this service routine on anything but motorway use can suffer from sludge as a consequence (probably a bit late as its a 51 plate, but none the less worth mentioning).

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

here you go, a couple of quick pics.

also i use the car on a daily basis and run to and from work roughly 8 miles each way. i have only had the car six months or so and when i got the car i had it serviced by bmw a couple of weeks after i picked it up

dipstick



cap and top



and inside the best i can get



as i say it will go into my local garage that i have used for years so i trust them. just trying to get the back ground info done

any help pointers cost advice will much appreciated

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I've seen worse! Looks like a typical Beamer M54/M52 oil filler IMO, at least its not baked on sludge... In my opinion if its not losing coolant it just needs a bit of TLC and a good run.

8 miles is not enough if its slow driving. That car needs a good motorway run, better still a run, then a oil change then another good run.

Check what oil was put in beforehand, if it wasn't LL-01 or LL-04 specification oil, change it ASAP. I have known of BMW dealers not use the correct oil (i.e LL-98 or even non-BMW spec 10w-40) as they are cheaper. The problem is its not as durable.

The problem is when that sludge gets in the breather lines, especially the PVC valve under the inlet manifold. Its a bitch to get to and when it gunks up it ends up with MAF errors and throttle readaption fault codes (i.e you start car and the accelerator pedal doesn't work).

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

You're driving too slow Stevie

TX.

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Ok thanks for your help. As I say it was due an inspection service when I bought it so booked it into BMW for the service it was due. Oil was changed then (well meant to be) probably done around 3000 miles in it since having it done. Mainly to and from work about 8-9 miles but depending on traffic can be a 15-40 min drive. Also been on a few motorway runs of say 1.5-2 hours either way.

If I got the garage to drop the oil and replace it for me with the recommended ll-01/04 oil and assume the oil filter to

then see how it goes on a long run

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Ha cheers for the advice John unfortunately unlike the impreza its just a road car although I was considering hitting a track day in the near future ;-) to have some fun with the rwd

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

My 944 had some of this today when I checked it, that too has done some short journeys and it has been cold, think its basically condensation in the oil mist, the engine is basically ingesting lots of cold air with moisture in it, inevitably some gets into the oil and when the mist condenses at the top of the engine where cold air is coming in the front it sticks and forms this crud, don't see it so much in moderns these days, mine didn't have any on the dipstick though, just clean oil down there. Its easy to panic yourself into a HG change, if it does its job, doesn't overheat and pulls well, stick with it.


I remember clearing out the emulsion tubes on a Nova 1.3 SR, I told my mate to rev it as I looked down the tube and got a facefull or it, was like engine Bukkake !

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Cheers for the advice mate, few people have been saying the same thing. to be safe i will get it in for an oil change any way as i am a bit worried as ALI-B has said that maybe BMW have cheap'd out and used the wrong oil. better to be safe then sorry plus i don't want any of the crap getting in to the pipe work etc

thanks again

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

a little update, after doing plenty of research over the weekend it does seem to be a problem with the e46. There are no real pointers towards the head gasket going and "fingers crossed" is just the lack of miles per day and condensation build up.

i found this which was useful http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=840431 basically there are loads of hidden features on the e46 and the digital heads up display. a simple procedure can show you various options on the display rather than miles covered etc. one is the coolant temp to rather than using the gauge to see if its over heating.

Procedure:

1. Start car
2. Hold down left daily miles reset button on cluster until "test" appears
3. Right after test appears immediately start tapping the button until you see test 19 - stop tapping when it is at 19
4. When you leave it on 19, it will start flashing on/off/, on/off
5. tap when it says "off", then it will immediately go back to 0 (now they are all unlocked). Immediately when you see 0 start clicking until you get to test 7. Stop tapping when it is at 7
6. This readout will be a digital display of your actual coolant temp, in degrees Celsius. it should be between 88-98 at operating temp.

kept an eye on mine and as it is only used to and from work i have kept an eye on it and it only hits 61 so the car is not getting up to tempo for one and is showing no sign of over heating. Next is to select oil temp and see how that goes for a few days.

in the mean time the car is booked in at the garage for a check over, head gasket test and an oil and filter change to stop any possibilities of any gunk getting in the pipes as suggested above

so fingers crossed its not a big issue and a thumbs up will be given tomorrow.

thanks for all the advise

steve

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Worth checking the thermostat, they do have a habit of sticking open.

Coolant on M54s usually warm up pretty quick, so I'd expect it to be at about 80degrees within 10-15min of driving with the heater off or on low (the oil takes a lot longer to heat up). I belive they are supposed to run at about 97 degrees when hot (although there is a electric heater inside the thermostat that opens itsooner when you are driving hard or a sensor detects overheating).

Both my M54 engined beamers had to have thermostats replaced (one 51reg 530 the other 02reg 325 ). Nothing seemed unusual barring the heater took a bit longer to blow warm on a cold day, and a few MPG down on the trip computer (a colder engine uses more fuel).

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Cheers Ali I appreciate your info. Will ask the garage to take a look

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Well good news car went to the garage yesterday, head gasket check done and all is fine no signs etc so its been put down as mentioned above the lack of use and the condensation build up.

To say in relieved is an understatement, thought a big bill was on the cards.

Anyhow as suggested had ab oil and filter change and will take it for a good run out this weekend

Thanks for all the advice.

Appreciate it.

MMT WRX

Do these have two stats similar to the E60?
I've just had both changed on mine as it was only reaching 69 degrees. I had to take it back and have the egr stat replaced again a couple of days later as the new one was faulty too. It now gets to 90-92 degrees and holds in any driving condition.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Just the one stat.

Simple job as its part of the plastic housing that bolts to the front of the engine.

Hardest bit is undoing the nut that holds on the viscous fan. I actually damaged the bearing in the water pump because it was that badly seized (had to use a air chisel ), so it became noisy shortly after the stat was replaced...lucky water pumps are only £30 and just as easy to replace.

Stats are often overlooked; as simple as they are they do go lazy/out of spec. Its just a bit of wax inside a brass bulb!