E46: Radiator Blow

[romeo_v12]

Hi People,Just a story for thought.Was returning from JB last Friday after spending 2 days there for work. Took my wife's Perdana V6 for lower maintenance cost and also cos I was moving around PTP and Senai is sort of rough road conditions(dont tell my wife!!)Past melaka, this e46 318i with AC kit and rims joins the highway from the rest area. He was on my back...pushing. Everytime a car clears in front of me he would follow till about 160kmh and then the V6 will pull better till about 180/190 until I brake again and then the same story is repeated.This time, I didnt puch hard but let him pass me(he kickdown cos I could hear the engine high reving) and pushed him to 160 and was following him. He went on to 170+. Then i had WATER on my windscreen, I thought it was bloody raining and had to switch on the wipers. But outside was extremely hot. I noticed water coming out of the bottom of his car, hit the back bumper and on to the road. I thought..this man is a dead duck.He had a phone call and I went alongside him and tried to indicate to him to stop and check before he blows his engine. he was on the phone...hence ignored me.2 mins later he was on my back again wanting to cucuk...then suddenly his left indicator is on and he pulls over to the hard shoulder...engine bungkus I think....poor dude!I suspect he blew his expansion tank.Car had Putrajaya 7xxx plate.When do we change our expansion tank.???The V6 got me home safe and sound, super air-con, kurang stress(pour petrol and drive)Cheers people!!Romeo k:

 

[E46Fanatic]

Its known to blow between 60-80k kms... One of those failures which will leave you stranded on the road and likely cause you hefty bills (engine head warp etc) if you are not careful to observe the temp gauge. Should do a precautionary change as its not that expensive to replace and it'll need replacing anyways over time.

 

[romeo_v12]

Thanks man.

The plastic expansion tank should be around RM200 bucks or less....worth the change for peace of mind

Romeo

 

[schone]

When your expansion tank blows, you might hear a loud crack / pop. And then steam coming out from the bonnet with the water spraying out and landing on any hot metal.

Hard to ignore. The biggest giveaway would be the temp guage going sky high.

Guess this fella must be unfortunate enough for the tank to blow in the such a way that all the water vented immediately to the bottom.

That's why you shldn't be paying attention and not yakking on the phone all the time

 

[leakwoon]

tat's scary..

 

[skar19]

what is the reason for the breaking in the expansion tank? material fatigue?

 

[Redd]

jeez that is scary! not so much that the expansion tank blows but that a cheap part like the expansion tank can lead to extensive engine damage.

redd

 

[3er]

Originally posted by skar19@Mar 13 2006, 07:46 PM
what is the reason for the breaking in the expansion tank? material fatigue?

Yup! Its called - plastic

 

[BMW9700]

Originally posted by leakwoon@Mar 13 2006, 04:37 PM
tat's scary..

its downright dissapointing that BMW chooses to use such materials for an important part as the expansion tank..a failure can deem the car immobile and cause extensive damage..

i have owned an E46 for more than two years and spent loads to upkeep the car according to the so called maintenence programme..however, it somehow dosent give me the confidence to drive the "ultimate driving machine" on the dark lonely hilly stretch from Kelantan to KL...I have done it in a 1996 Wira 1.5 auto previously..i lose sleep sometimes imagining i had to do that journey after sunset in a BMW, even new...

hope the guy in the 318i got away with just replacing the tank!!

regards

 

[Redd]

just a thought, is there an option to use a lower pressure cap? on our alfas/fiats we have 1.1bar and 1.4bar pressure caps and both are interchangeable.

redd

 

[ozone]

I think there is an option to use a lower pressure cap. 325 uses 2 bar but 318 uses a lower one.
But I'm sure it will affect performance somehow.
Expansion tank can explode for many reasons - once pressure build up in the cooling system, the weakest part of the system will blow.
I had the problem because of 2 things - the thermostat was jammed and the fan was not working. The first thing that went was the radiator return which cost me RM 360 plus RM 60 labour. As I did not spot the actual problem, the next day radiator spare tank went. This cost me RM 285.
The engine still overheated somehow.
The above problems happened when I was in JB - I went to an unknown workshop call Bencez Automobile near my father in law's house.
So I had no choice but to call my company breakdown hotline for help. They called a tow truck from Nanmar Motors and towed my car to another workshop - a BMW specialist. He identified that the fan was not working and replaced it for me free of charge. The engine seems OK then and I got back to KL without overheating.
A week later when I went to Ipoh, the radiator burst at the place where the hose join the radiator. Car was carried ( literally went onto some sort of tow truck ) to my usual workshop. Changed the radiator (BEHR) for RM 650.
Car seems OK after that and went back to KL.
But I was still feeling uncomfortable as something must be wrong for the pressure to build until each weakest part gave way.
Was very worried about cracked cylinder head.
So I took it to Bomin Auto ( there is a workshop belonging to the brother next door) to diagnose.
He checked and discovered the thermostat was jammed and the heat had cracked the thermostat housing. Cost to RM 200 to change these items.
Happily after all that, my car coling system is OK now.
But I have got into a habit of looking at the temp dials every 5 minutes.
But be careful, as during some of the bursting, the temperature dial was normal.
What you can do is to feel the pipe pressure (press the hose). It should not be very very hard. If it is something might be wrong.
Anyway spent a total of RM 1,555 for the whole thing and this is excluding the cost of the fan. But at least I have no worries for the next 2 years as all the parts are new ...........

 

[E46Fanatic]

Hmm I wonder if the thermostat jamming thing is a common problem which causes the expansion tank to burst?

I agree with you guys. I do not have the same level of confidence in long distance runs with the beemer compared to a typical jap or even proton car.. Quite sad man.

 

[romeo_v12]

Dudes,

BMW9700 and E46fanatic hit the spot...no confidence vote!!

Imagine our babies in the car at 11pm on a road from Seremban to Kuala Pilah..basket! The wife will have a field day with verbal abuse...

Most cooling system weaknesses are visible to the naked eye except for the thermostat.

So I guess it would be good practice to change the thermostat whenever we change the water pump. Hoses should last a little longer.

That leaves the expansion tank. What about fitting a custom made copper tank in lieu of the plastic one we all have. Can't be that much. Preassure may be different though.

Romeo

 

[flash]

Question.... ever wondered why we do not hear of so many overheating problems from the Japanese cars or even Malaysian cars? Not that they do not happen, they do but less complains, if you know what I mean.

Izzit because they are using better parts? The engines are more tolerant of overheating problems? Or mainly because their cooling system is not under so high of a pressure especially the expansion tank which is usually not under pressure at all.

Why BMW cannot learn from the Japs? Have seen too many leaking problems with the plastic expansion tanks.

 

[E46Fanatic]

I was told it was a design flaw for the E46... the E39's dont have the bursting plastic expansion problem.

 

[flash]

Originally posted by E46Fanatic@Mar 14 2006, 09:35 AM
I was told it was a design flaw for the E46... the E39's dont have the bursting plastic expansion problem.

Well, for the E36 (which I had) and the E34 (which I am having now), the expansion tanks did not blow but they did crack.... :angry:

WTF, the expansion tank for my crap PV6 is secured by cable ties (because the brackets have broken) and yet I am more confident driving my PV6 outstation than my SLOTH (which has its cooling system completely overhauled).

 

[GREEN KILLER]

like that arrr...........

 

[Mont-o]

wowww that bad arrrr? scary man!! Just upgrade to E46 from E36, i make a wrong choice lah. Why BMW make so lousy car???? ptuiiii.

 

[Lee36328]

Conspiracy theory time....

Which is a better business model - engineer the car to last forever, or just good enough to get the customer to buy, but then requiring regular maintenance to keep it running?

Or better yet, engineer the first few models superbly to build up a brand following, and subsequently start substituting with lots of plastic, aluminium, etc... in the name of 'light weight'... and watch the car maintenance business grow...

For example, ever wonder why the lower arm bush of the e46 cannot be replaced without replacing the entire lower arm unlike the previous models?

Que twilight zone music....

 

[flash]

Originally posted by Lee36328@Mar 14 2006, 06:17 PM
Conspiracy theory time....

Which is a better business model - engineer the car to last forever, or just good enough to get the customer to buy, but then requiring regular maintenance to keep it running?

Or better yet, engineer the first few models superbly to build up a brand following, and subsequently start substituting with lots of plastic, aluminium, etc... in the name of 'light weight'... and watch the car maintenance business grow...

For example, ever wonder why the lower arm bush of the e46 cannot be replaced without replacing the entire lower arm unlike the previous models?

Que twilight zone music....

In my own words.... programmed obsolecense.... ever noticed how problems occur at regular intervals and even involving different cars at that i.e. plastics parts disintegrating, expansion tanks going kaboom, gearboxes going kaboom at around 150 - 200k kms, etc. They don't make cars like they used to.