OT: coolant leak x35d Options

[seanpaulmc]

OT so if not appropriate here please move


2017 x35d X5 BMW

~61K
3.0 turbo diesel
Bad engine coolant leak
It’s not a drip, drip, drip. Good flow.
Not up front so doesn’t appear to be radiator.
Near firewall.

Anyone have experience with similar?




Thanks,
Sean

[Superhawk996]

BMW notorious for leaking coolant pipes. Often made of plastic - cracks. O-rings get nicked or degraded though yours isn’t that old. Metal retention clips fail or don’t get clipped properly.

No easy answer other than de-trim the belly pans if necessary to figure out where leak is coming from.

2012 x5 35d ~ 140k miles. Like the ride / handling but hate the complexity of the vehicle. Not DIY friendly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[porschetub]

BMW notorious for leaking coolant pipes. Often made of plastic - cracks. O-rings get nicked or degraded though yours isn’t that old. Metal retention clips fail or don’t get clipped properly.

No easy answer other than de-trim the belly pans if necessary to figure out where leak is coming from.

2012 x5 35d ~ 140k miles. Like the ride / handling but hate the complexity of the vehicle. Not DIY friendly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) thermostat housing are really bad the one in my E39 2001 touring failed after 60k miles,leaked down the front of the motor and took out the crank sensor which wasn't even a sealed unit ,car went into limp mode .
Ordered a new housing and the guy told me that BMW used recycled plastic ,he mentioned he stopped selling the genuine part as he had history of repeated failures the german made aftermarket one he sold me had never given issues .
It's not only water fittings that fail my oil separator went and cracked it seemed clear that the plastic was no good with oil either ,I had huge issues with this car and ended selling it after constant repairs to keep it going and dumped a ton of $$$ just to move it on despite being a dealer serviced approved used car (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) .
To the OP be prepared to suffer BMW's version of assembly , any repairs are a sequence of removing many parts to get to the issue , hope you have a hoist ?? problem is BMW don't really want you to fix this easily and burn you for parts also.
Hope you sort it , good luck,cheers

[Superhawk996]

… problem is BMW don't really want you to fix this easily . . . .
Hope you sort it , good luck,cheers

That’s an understatement. I had a soft spot for BMW based on my 73’ 520. Just like Porsche, it is no longer the same company it used to be.

BMW has gone out of their way to shut down websites that offered technical info and/or ISTA software necessary to do DIY on their vehicles.

Pretty lame how these companies are getting away with suppression of right to repair. Same thing going on in agriculture with John Deere and others. Formerly honorable companies now working directly against their customers desire to keep equipment running. So sad. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)