Wife problems

[rvariverguy]

My wife went out to run a quick errand this afternoon in her '99 528iT. The trip was cut short due to overheating. She called me from the parking area of our local indy repair shop, just down the street from where she was planning to shop. I hopped over there quick and when I arrived the radiator was still hissing and spitting. She noticed the dash light when pulling off the highway and went straight to the repair shop. Total distance from home: 8 miles, and most of that highway. So, what sort of disastrous damage do you think could have occurred in that mileage and what do you think the cause is? The car only has 74,000 miles on it and was recently serviced. Place your bets. Can't wait to get the call from the shop tomorrow.

I consider this story ZHP related since I was driving the rescue vehicle. But reclassify if you must :mafia

[danewilson77]

Would like to change title name...cuz it skeered the shit outta me.

Did it go into the red? For how long?

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[rvariverguy]

Haha yeah I was having a bit of fun with the the title.

She said when getting off the highway she looked down and saw the overheat warning light and the temp was in the red. That was about 1 to 1.5 miles from the shop. She thought since she was close and just noticed the dash light that it would be okay to drive to the shop. I shook my head and she said, "What, I should have pulled over on the highway?" Yes, dear. Anyway it wasn't pretty when I got there and saw it still steaming.

[danewilson77]

Have it compression tested at earliest convenience. Hopefully headgasket is ok.

[llll1l1ll]

Have it compression tested at earliest convenience. Hopefully headgasket is ok.

Indeed. Although, from what I've read on this forum, any sort of overheating is detrimental to the engine.

[rvariverguy]

Anyone in Richmond you recommend? Twin Star said the radiator is toast but they pressure tested and didn't find any other issues. Changed the oil and saw nothing. Thankfully I still got the Memorial Day sale price on the radiator lol. The oddest thing is they said the fuse to the fan was missing. How the hell does a fuse just go missing? No idea.

[danewilson77]

Sux. I wanna do this job for you.

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[johnrando]

Haha yeah I was having a bit of fun with the the title.

She said when getting off the highway she looked down and saw the overheat warning light and the temp was in the red. That was about 1 to 1.5 miles from the shop. She thought since she was close and just noticed the dash light that it would be okay to drive to the shop. I shook my head and she said, "What, I should have pulled over on the highway?" Yes, dear. Anyway it wasn't pretty when I got there and saw it still steaming.

Was that you or the car? lol Glad everything worked out OK. And, plus 1 w/Dane on the title, you had me going.

[rvariverguy]

Sux. I wanna do this job for you.

You, sir, are a saint. Lengthy, pain in the ass process? Or something easily done one morning that leaves an afternoon free? I'm sure my wife would find reason to visit the outlet mall. After all, we just saved like $100 on the radiator haha.

[danewilson77]

You, sir, are a saint. Lengthy, pain in the ass process? Or something easily done one morning that leaves an afternoon free? I'm sure my wife would find reason to visit the outlet mall. After all, we just saved like $100 on the radiator haha.

Just knock it out in the morning. Few hours.

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[Rovert]

I've done my whole cooling system including a bad radiator. It's pretty straight forward.

[rvariverguy]

Yeah, they gave me a decent discount on labor and the radiator was on sale (Behr) plus my wife needs the car, so I just paid the shop to get it done in a day. However I plan to go the DIY route on mine when it's needed. The mechanic was chatting to me about his high mileage Bimmers, as I asked if 74k miles was early for the radiator to go, and he just laughed. He said one time he had a completely uneventful drive home, then as he was walking to the door he heard a "PSSSSHT" and turned around to see coolant pooling on the driveway.

PS I need a GIF as a my signature. Yours is the most entertaining I've seen here.

[rvariverguy]

Just knock it out in the morning. Few hours.

I'll definitely take you up on that soon. I still need to do work on my car too (that OFHG leak). You are going to laugh at how ugly my car is in terms of the exterior. Wish I could work on it but this is setting me back a few months on my plans. Oh well, such is life. Still fun to drive.

[NorCalZman]

I am not sure if my old 5 series had an aluminum block as well, but I drove a 95 525i with the M50 for I don't know how long with a water pump with a broken impeller. I only took it in because I noticed the car taking a long long time to warm up so I had it checked out. I got lucky nothing else was wrong. I did not know about the BMW/coolant weak link at the time. knock on stainless steel/glass (I don't have wood in my room) I am so lucky with the E46 if it comes to that.

[rvariverguy]

So the update on the E39 is the pusher/condenser fan has died and needs replacement. Looks like it's fun to replace. The secondary air pump is also throwing two codes so I need to investigate that business. Hoping it's just the line with a hole in it or something. Love the nuances of these cars that I didn't know about when I purchased. Ah, well, c'est la vie.

My ZHP needs a radiator too as it has a small coolant leak. Got an oil change and was told that in addition to the OFHG leak I now need to do the VANOS gaskets.

Just when I was sweating these repairs and complaining about life, my wife got deathly sick. She came down with meningitis and was hospitalized from last Tuesday through this Friday. That was honestly the scariest thing I've ever experienced. If anyone in your family gets a 103+ fever for over 24 hours definitely take them straight to the emergency room! She's happy to be home recovering and I think the sight of our eight month old son is the best medicine. Meningitis can suck it! Also puts the car complaints into perspective.

[UdubBadger]

Whoa hope she makes a full recovery. Funny how car problems seem so big till someone you love gets sick... Then you really could care less about the bimmer issues.


- Goin' H.A.M. Mobile

[danewilson77]

Thoughts and prayers brutha. Remember....I'm just down the road.

Sent from Corolla, NC USA = Party

[cakM3]

Damn.......yeah, I hope your wife will make a full recovery. Very sorry to hear this...:(

[Jon D]

Damn.......yeah, I hope your wife will make a full recovery. Very sorry to hear this...:(

Ditto

Jon D. Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Damn.......yeah, I hope your wife will make a full recovery. Very sorry to hear this...:(

I third that.


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[johnrando]

I fourth that. I had it, so I know what you're going through. Glad she's home.

[SC4ME]

Glad to hear she is doing better, take care of her. And next time, a little more care with that Subject line!!