hi guys,
my 320i auto's coolant light came on yesterday, got out and had look in the dark and it was low. topped it up today and used it and have just checked again. water hasnt gone down much at all but there is mayo in the tank.
there no mayo on oil filler cap though.
anything i should check or do?
really hope its not head gasket. i cant see any coolant leak anywhere.
haven't noticed any smoke or smell from exhaust
whats the best plan of action?
mayo in coolant tank
Moderator: martauto
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fixedwheelnut
- E30 Zone Regular
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- Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: South East London
Oil is getting in to the coolant somewhere, I would check the autobox oil cooler first then headgasket block, have you pressure tested the cooling system?
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
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- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Are you sure there wasn't mayo in the coolant bottle before the coolant light came on, left over from some historical event? It can take years for every trace of oil to find its way out of a M20 cooling system, and it tends to collect in the bottle.
As fixedwheelnut writes, a leak from the auto box oil heat exchanger would cause mayo in the oil, but this wouldn't result in the coolant light coming on.
If there really is engine oil finding its way into the coolant, then a failed head gasket would be one of the better outcomes - relatively cheap and easy to fix, but M20 head gaskets rarely fail without reason.
If this was a M20B25, then a cracked head, between the camshaft bearings, would almost certainly be the problem, but this is much less common with the M20B20.
What year is this engine?
As fixedwheelnut writes, a leak from the auto box oil heat exchanger would cause mayo in the oil, but this wouldn't result in the coolant light coming on.
If there really is engine oil finding its way into the coolant, then a failed head gasket would be one of the better outcomes - relatively cheap and easy to fix, but M20 head gaskets rarely fail without reason.
If this was a M20B25, then a cracked head, between the camshaft bearings, would almost certainly be the problem, but this is much less common with the M20B20.
What year is this engine?
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aimlessrock
- E30 Zone Squatter
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- Location: Manchester
as to Brian point about removing legacy traces, i have changed the coolant on my cabby about 4 poss 5 time now following the rebuild and im still finding residue of gunk- mainly in the header tank which i then remove and have to clean separately.
E30 320i Convertible (1989)
190 Mercedes (1988)
"there is nothing more expensive than a cheap E30"
190 Mercedes (1988)
"there is nothing more expensive than a cheap E30"
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linke30
- E30 Zone Newbie
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- Joined: Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:00 pm
Hi guys, thanks for the replies and sorry for my late one
So I’ve been keeping a eye on it. And the water hasn’t gone down again since I tipped up.
Emptied aload of coolant today and a lot of the gunky yellow stuff went with it. Topped up again and will keep checking . When we first got it back out on the road the rad had a leak so we changed it. I’m hoping that the auto box oil was getting into the coolant, and where it wasn’t fully flushed and cleaned out there is still traces. Basically what you chaps have said.
I think it might have have got hot the other week and pushed aload of froath and water out causing the drop and the light to come on.
It looked like a lot left the engine today, but I know sometimes it only takes a little to make a big mess.
I haven’t pressure tested coolant system. I will look into that.
There is still no mayo on the filler cap or dipstick.
Going to take it for a long drive tommrow and see how it goes
So I’ve been keeping a eye on it. And the water hasn’t gone down again since I tipped up.
Emptied aload of coolant today and a lot of the gunky yellow stuff went with it. Topped up again and will keep checking . When we first got it back out on the road the rad had a leak so we changed it. I’m hoping that the auto box oil was getting into the coolant, and where it wasn’t fully flushed and cleaned out there is still traces. Basically what you chaps have said.
I think it might have have got hot the other week and pushed aload of froath and water out causing the drop and the light to come on.
It looked like a lot left the engine today, but I know sometimes it only takes a little to make a big mess.
I haven’t pressure tested coolant system. I will look into that.
There is still no mayo on the filler cap or dipstick.
Going to take it for a long drive tommrow and see how it goes