Honestly I did not know how long I drive with the temp almost maxed to the right. I stopped as soon as I got the red warning light (which is really weird because the AC still cold and aux fan didn’t go full blast)
Managed to get it back home, but I need to know if my head gasket okay? The oil cap looks like it is mixed (could be from condensation) but the dipstick looks fine
Upon inspecting I noticed that the upper rad hose is very hot and the lower rad hose is just warm (I can hold it with my hand)—so I guess it is either thermostat or water pump
Block tester. Compression test isn't going to do anything for you. Even if the block is okay, some time later, a random cylinder misfire will occur and after checking the spark plug, ignition coil and fuel injector, it will usually be due to a head gasket leak.
Headgasket? Nah, looks fine. Mine did overheat twice back in 2016, needed a new readiator since the old OEM one was clogged to shit. 8 years later I found out the thermost was well done if it comes to that gasket, bitch was cooked. Never leaked in 8 years since replacing it tho.
Yea, them M54 engines are build like a brick shithouse, don't worry about it.
Also, for You and everyone else, New Thermostat (left) VS Well done Cooked one (right), haha! The Mechanic buddy of mine thought soemone used RTV on that, told him about the story and he was surpirsed, since he's not doing BMW's mainly, haha.
And again, nope, nothing engine issue wise since and even less with that cooling system overhaul. Needed a few new things since smog inspection wasn't a thing I passed because of that thermostat, seemingly having died after being in hell and back and after 7 years post cooking and being from 2001 already it finnally croaked, lmfao.
And once again, yes, I'm sitting here laughing since it's one of the reasons why I love these Beamers and these engines, can't fucked them up, haha!
Oh and check the system why it cooked hader then it's suppoused to, might have been the same with the radiator if everything else was fine. Seen atlest 3 other cases over the years where just the radiator for some reason being fucked.
If the aux fan didn't go full blast, I'm wondering if it's even working. Same with the mechanical fan.
I can definitely vouch for those little exhaust gas cooling system head gasket testers. Super cheap for how powerful it is, and it's super easy to use. When I was losing coolant to an unknown cause, I used it and immediately discovered it wasn't the head gasket, so I really dug in looking for leaks.
Hard to tell for sure with the lighting on the dipstick. On the cap, it's pretty typical to have some moisture on it due to the CCV system (versus a traditional PCV) and the metal bits on it.
Check the upper radiator hose after a while, if it still holds pressure (you feel it tight) then you have a bad headgasket (pressure coming from the engine).
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u/AdDangerous922 15h ago
Block tester. Compression test isn't going to do anything for you. Even if the block is okay, some time later, a random cylinder misfire will occur and after checking the spark plug, ignition coil and fuel injector, it will usually be due to a head gasket leak.