holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
'03MY L322 Petrol 114k5 miles
- Thread starter RichardSEL
- Start date
This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
Thanks for the commisserations. I've got Cressida now to show me the way against RRover-itus -- she's "strict"
Have just spoken with Matt at RCV who I asked about the "drop down" and compression tests. "Oh, we wouldn't want to get involved with anything like that" <sigh into middle distance as if he'd rather be somewhere else instead of talking to me> "If you have cooling problems on that engine then the heads would've warped anyway". Obviously he didn't want to know anymore even though I was a paying customer -- and willing to pay more
So I'm left searching for yet another shop that will take an M62 in for heads / head gaskets. Finding one over this holiday period will be nigh on impossible I fear.
Must admit that when I followed the instructions for bleeding posted earlier from that useful video it did start to behave a bit more civilised. But after each of the two long trips (these were on LPG and with the 110º electric thermostat) still found that the coolant level had dropped signifigantly. So it's a weep not a flood -- until that is a hose pops
Have just spoken with Matt at RCV who I asked about the "drop down" and compression tests. "Oh, we wouldn't want to get involved with anything like that" <sigh into middle distance as if he'd rather be somewhere else instead of talking to me> "If you have cooling problems on that engine then the heads would've warped anyway". Obviously he didn't want to know anymore even though I was a paying customer -- and willing to pay more
So I'm left searching for yet another shop that will take an M62 in for heads / head gaskets. Finding one over this holiday period will be nigh on impossible I fear.
Must admit that when I followed the instructions for bleeding posted earlier from that useful video it did start to behave a bit more civilised. But after each of the two long trips (these were on LPG and with the 110º electric thermostat) still found that the coolant level had dropped signifigantly. So it's a weep not a flood -- until that is a hose pops
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
And for those articles. I'm told the exhaust gas test in coolant only shows as a "trace". And there's no mayo -- there's definately an over pressure (the article mentions 2 bar) felt by the rad top hose being hard but not ballooning.
But I don't know whether 2 bar equates to the top hose being hard or not
Had replaced one of the rear heater hoses,
and the rad top narrow return hose,
the viscous fan's been changed,
the thermostat's now the 88º mechanical one,
the small heater connection at bell housing's been replaced,
the block temperature sender's been replaced,
and the LPG vaporiser's been taken out of the coolant circuit,
Rad's been changed too but only by a cheepo eBay one from the docs I got with car
There's not a lot left to go wrong. Have I missed anything?
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine_Cooling_System.htm
Brilliant clear article.
But I don't know whether 2 bar equates to the top hose being hard or not
Had replaced one of the rear heater hoses,
and the rad top narrow return hose,
the viscous fan's been changed,
the thermostat's now the 88º mechanical one,
the small heater connection at bell housing's been replaced,
the block temperature sender's been replaced,
and the LPG vaporiser's been taken out of the coolant circuit,
Rad's been changed too but only by a cheepo eBay one from the docs I got with car
There's not a lot left to go wrong. Have I missed anything?
http://www.meeknet.co.uk/e31/BMW_M60_M62_M62TU_Engine_Cooling_System.htm
Brilliant clear article.
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
not looked back over the thread but when did your coolant woes begin and has it been over heated as in driven while overheating ?
Really you need to find a bmw specialist and somebody who has worked on the older vehicles up to 2005 as i don't think it was in the x5 past then.
@Saint.V8 managed to get kick the L322 habit but it only takes one tempting advert or maybe just one quick test drive won't hurt and you are hooked again.
Really you need to find a bmw specialist and somebody who has worked on the older vehicles up to 2005 as i don't think it was in the x5 past then.
@Saint.V8 managed to get kick the L322 habit but it only takes one tempting advert or maybe just one quick test drive won't hurt and you are hooked again.
Last edited:
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
I've asked a firm in Peterborough to do the biz given all else has been done (suspension, etc. And its an otherwise fully loaded Vogue with 11-month MOT)
... You've done what? Nuffink. Just getting some advice that's all. That's all it better be. Otherwise it'll be the worse for you. Yes, dear. And don't you yes dear me! (she's in one of her better moods today
)
... You've done what? Nuffink. Just getting some advice that's all. That's all it better be. Otherwise it'll be the worse for you. Yes, dear. And don't you yes dear me! (she's in one of her better moods today
)
- Posts
- 16,358
- Location
- Benfleet, Essex
Totally different engine and therefore totally irrelevant but......
My previous P38 4.6 V8 LPG had an overheat & dump the water habit that the dealer could not fix. Pressure tests were done, sniff-tests etc. All negative.
Both HG's and Radiator/Heater core were replaced but it still kept doing it. I was using it for "road-warrior" car duties for my job where a trip to manchester and back in a day was quite normal and I needed it to be reliable.
Usually as soon as you came to a "slow" part of a journey after running impeccably on LPG for a good while at high speeds.
Boom! over into the red and dump all the water.
After much frustration and thinking "It can't hurt at this point" I chucked a dose of bars-leaks into the coolant on a refill.
It never boiled over again.
I know everybody shudders at the thought of such a clumsy approach, but I was desperate, and it worked.
My previous P38 4.6 V8 LPG had an overheat & dump the water habit that the dealer could not fix. Pressure tests were done, sniff-tests etc. All negative.
Both HG's and Radiator/Heater core were replaced but it still kept doing it. I was using it for "road-warrior" car duties for my job where a trip to manchester and back in a day was quite normal and I needed it to be reliable.
Usually as soon as you came to a "slow" part of a journey after running impeccably on LPG for a good while at high speeds.
Boom! over into the red and dump all the water.
After much frustration and thinking "It can't hurt at this point" I chucked a dose of bars-leaks into the coolant on a refill.
It never boiled over again.
I know everybody shudders at the thought of such a clumsy approach, but I was desperate, and it worked.
- Posts
- 16,479
I did kick the habit, but last February found me in one again.....this one needs some rear suspension work and needs VANOS doing, but soon I should be able to crack on with these at leisure when we move in the latter part of January.
LPG leaks won't show on a sniff test as it is the wrong sort of gas (it checks for burnt hydrocarbons i.e. Exhaust gases) with the LPG disconnected from the cooling system and over pressure but no running issues, white smoke from the exhaust, bubbling over of the expansion tank etc....I would say it is a bad air lock....
I am currently following this guys videos on his *Obviously* blown Head Gasket L322, these vids pretty much show what the worst case is and the telltale signs of a bad HG (he's a bit of a tit but ignore him and watch the car etc):
He's only done 4 videos on the L322 so far (23rd December 2019) so I suggest keeping an eye on his channel for more updates....but this shows the potential problems and signs of a badly gone gasket!
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
>>I did kick the habit, but last February found me in one again.....this one needs some rear suspension work and needs VANOS doing, but soon I should be able to crack on with these at leisure when we move in the latter part of January.
Peterboro says they do that and the timing chain as a matter of course with their re-build as they offer a one year warranty. Which is a bit more than I was expecting to shell out for but they do have a slot early in January. For just a machine, this is getting silly.
>>LPG leaks won't show on a sniff test as it is the wrong sort of gas
biketeacherdave and his youngfellamelad disagree with you on that. My observation on that is when I had my previous set of cooling issues and switched off the LPG and ran it on petrol alone for a fortnight I didn't have any cooling issues in the late summer (air con on). My Merc tech agrees with you as does Matt -- what I was probably doing was having the vaporiser isolated so that the LPG pressure from the toroidal tank wasn't reaching the coolant circuit via the vaporiser with faulty rubber diaphragm.
>>(it checks for burnt hydrocarbons i.e. Exhaust gases) with the LPG disconnected from the cooling system and over pressure but no running issues, white smoke from the exhaust, bubbling over of the expansion tank etc....I
would say it is a bad air lock....
I assume that Matt at RCV knows (as he's a time served mech with certificate on the wall to prove it) how difficult these engines are to purge. But I haven't been down there since they said they would'nt "want to get involved" with either a down pressure check or check on per cylinder compression.
I left it today with the Peterboro re-builders to contact directly RCV for transport arrangements. Haven't heard from either in reply. After all, I'm only the customer in all this and so entirely irrelevent
Peterboro says they do that and the timing chain as a matter of course with their re-build as they offer a one year warranty. Which is a bit more than I was expecting to shell out for but they do have a slot early in January. For just a machine, this is getting silly.
>>LPG leaks won't show on a sniff test as it is the wrong sort of gas
biketeacherdave and his youngfellamelad disagree with you on that. My observation on that is when I had my previous set of cooling issues and switched off the LPG and ran it on petrol alone for a fortnight I didn't have any cooling issues in the late summer (air con on). My Merc tech agrees with you as does Matt -- what I was probably doing was having the vaporiser isolated so that the LPG pressure from the toroidal tank wasn't reaching the coolant circuit via the vaporiser with faulty rubber diaphragm.
>>(it checks for burnt hydrocarbons i.e. Exhaust gases) with the LPG disconnected from the cooling system and over pressure but no running issues, white smoke from the exhaust, bubbling over of the expansion tank etc....I
would say it is a bad air lock....
I assume that Matt at RCV knows (as he's a time served mech with certificate on the wall to prove it) how difficult these engines are to purge. But I haven't been down there since they said they would'nt "want to get involved" with either a down pressure check or check on per cylinder compression.
I left it today with the Peterboro re-builders to contact directly RCV for transport arrangements. Haven't heard from either in reply. After all, I'm only the customer in all this and so entirely irrelevent
myfirstl322
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 41,354
- Location
- Hoots mon...
Seen this coont before you posted...
I was shouting at the telly and wondering how resilient his neck was to my thumbs!!!
Fookin click-bait smelly Merkin.
- Posts
- 16,479
When I manage to move the car to its new location near the end of Jan, I'll put some gas in the tank then undo one of the gas lines from the vap to the injectors while also using a hydrocarbon sniff test to see if it changes colour....I'd be surprised if it does as the sniff test liquid will change colour on the presence of burnt hydrocarbon gases and not the fuel itself!
We'll see what happens as I am as intrgued as you no doubt!
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
Yes, as is biketeacherdave no doubt. He hasn't piped up recently in thread so dunno if he's still reading this on the side.
I posted a pic of my old LPG Vaporiser barrier rubber membrane before young fellamelad changed it over for a new one <save ferreting back in thread>
Looks pretty much well used -- what I fear is that my last overheat adventure had caused the replacement barrier rubber to allow LPG into the coolant like this one did once again, and thus was back to the coolant being polluted once again?
(later, the pic is showing up as inserted in this board's editor, but it's got a Red X whenever I try to post. Anyway, it's URL is:
https://i.ibb.co/SQYTXQ7/LPG-reducer-old-coolant-gasket.jpg
To DanClarke and holidaychicken - Thanks for the heads up on use of K-Seal or Bar's Leaks -- if it's going up to Peterboro for a tear down and rebuild with Vanos / chains & guides then I've got nothing to lose having a go first.
I too got the "long run and all's fine" syndrome. One such took it down to Hastings one fine afternoon but pressed up (about 1 litre of coolant replaced over 75 miles) before returning home. But up to Milton Keynes and back (stop-go with some motorway) didn't press up and still all was fine.
Think previous keeper had had these problems, hence his installing new rad, and ripping out the guts of the previous electric thermostat. And that he sold off to me cheap! OTOH had no cooling problems driving it back to my place the 80-odd miles after it'd not been run for a year
Last edited:
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
L322 with M62 coolant system total capacity 17.3L, capacity for flush & refill 13L
One bottle of K-Seal 8.36 fl.oz (236ml) They say on their web site enough for a 20L system
Listed for use with all Glycol-based coolants
Best found eBay price £8.99 delivered from:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/K-Seal-P...4?hash=item48985bac5c:g:MscAAOSwc2Vdjg8x#shId
One bottle of K-Seal 8.36 fl.oz (236ml) They say on their web site enough for a 20L system
Listed for use with all Glycol-based coolants
Best found eBay price £8.99 delivered from:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/K-Seal-P...4?hash=item48985bac5c:g:MscAAOSwc2Vdjg8x#shId
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
Here is another link, i would have a good search around the BMW forums regarding the m62 engine and head gasket sealant - this link seems to recommend steel seal but there are probably others. K seal was just the first one that came to mind for me.
I would still want to make sure that coolant isn't going anywhere else first and not just a normal leak like the valley pan but if you definitely have exhaust gas in the coolant and it has been overheated then chances are it is HG.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=&t=1779837
Have a read of this one, also and the bimmerfest thread is the one i think i followed before regarding doing all the work and still leaking, they mention bars leak treatment.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2288727-M62-Head-Gasket-Repair
Make sure you read this one to the end, lots of info on the last page regarding HG.
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=516669
Last edited:
biketeacherdave
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,885
- Location
- south east london
Richard, you need new elbows on your vapouriser check them for weeping as I recall your refurb kit came with new O rings for them and were fitted at the time John did some work for you. They were on the list of things he found and reported on at the time.
It is in my opinion you do not have warped heads for what it is worth.
It is in my opinion you do not have warped heads for what it is worth.
- Posts
- 16,479
If going the route of using repair fluid, i reccomend Steel Seal. Worked a feckin treat in my N42 powered 3 Series.
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
need to make sure every other leak is sorted before using it and you put in enough for the complete system volume of coolant.
i had a mark one escort, still do actually but can't find it and that had a hole in the radiator that i couldn't afford (be bothered) to repair so i used to top it up with water before every trip and crack an egg in the radiator which worked for ages. i think the engine finally died of heart failure brought on by high cholesterol though ..
i had a mark one escort, still do actually but can't find it and that had a hole in the radiator that i couldn't afford (be bothered) to repair so i used to top it up with water before every trip and crack an egg in the radiator which worked for ages. i think the engine finally died of heart failure brought on by high cholesterol though ..
Henry_b
Think outside, no box required.
- Posts
- 15,506
- Location
- somewhere else
need to make sure every other leak is sorted before using it and you put in enough for the complete system volume of coolant.
i had a mark one escort, still do actually but can't find it and that had a hole in the radiator that i couldn't afford (be bothered) to repair so i used to top it up with water before every trip and crack an egg in the radiator which worked for ages. i think the engine finally died of heart failure brought on by high cholesterol though ..
Amazing when i look through various gasket fixers I have in the shed.
Some range from a Watery substance to liquid cement
The thick stuff in a cooling system is a nightmare when you have to clean it out
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
I'm not sure if there are other waterways that could be compromised by certain sealers which is why i would use it as a last resort before stripping down an engine but if the engine is not serviceable as it is then not too much to lose - chuck in a dozen eggs and see what happensAmazing when i look through various gasket fixers I have in the shed.
Some range from a Watery substance to liquid cement
The thick stuff in a cooling system is a nightmare when you have to clean it out
RichardSEL
Active Member
- Posts
- 262
- Location
- Blackheath
Chucked in a dozen eggs, got a half decent omlette.
It went up to Peterborough and has today reached the top of this BMW engine re-builder's queue.
Total rebuild, all worn parts replaced, it'll have a one year warranty. He said there was a small head gasket leak which is why the fault was intermittent. And water pressure was still only 2 bar or less. Well, I did buy the K-Seal but never used it as Peterborough said he's got space to store at his works.
Today, it was partially stripped down. But he's got no further due to Covid-19 stopping parts being delivered and with two young kids and a partner it's not worth the risk of having staff around either as it's non-essential work. So they're not allowed to commute
Clarissa's well, thank you for asking. My only means of escape -- the enquiry into Operation Midland -- has stopped due to "Lock Down"
Yes, and you can't go out either or someone will give you a £30 fine. Yewowwoww! That stings...
Good for you, now sit down at my feet and behave...
Yes dear. ... I mean ma'am <cringe>
It went up to Peterborough and has today reached the top of this BMW engine re-builder's queue.
Total rebuild, all worn parts replaced, it'll have a one year warranty. He said there was a small head gasket leak which is why the fault was intermittent. And water pressure was still only 2 bar or less. Well, I did buy the K-Seal but never used it as Peterborough said he's got space to store at his works.
Today, it was partially stripped down. But he's got no further due to Covid-19 stopping parts being delivered and with two young kids and a partner it's not worth the risk of having staff around either as it's non-essential work. So they're not allowed to commute
Clarissa's well, thank you for asking. My only means of escape -- the enquiry into Operation Midland -- has stopped due to "Lock Down"
Yes, and you can't go out either or someone will give you a £30 fine. Yewowwoww! That stings...
Good for you, now sit down at my feet and behave...
Yes dear. ... I mean ma'am <cringe>
Last edited:
holidaychicken
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 4,014
- Location
- Kent
I’m going to make up a fact that 90% of the M62 engines I have come across (not in the @tomcat59alan fashion I must add ) have had LPG conversions ...
