Howdy guys....
So the past 3 months has been the most trying time for my love for BMW, but I will never stop loving them.
It all started with someone using my 325ti 2002 as a daily while there cab was in the panel beaters, during this time I only drove it on occasion at night. The head lamp globes popped so i swapped them put with the brights for the night and the next day I dropped one of the globes in the engine bay and I couldn't find it, so I left it..... Not so clever!! But nothing I could do... It managed to get picked up in the viscose fan and shot it into the radiator, cutting it open.... Not much but just enough to do damage when there was pressure in the system...
It over heated a bit...
My car was then sitting at my mech, we replaced the radiator and most of the pipes... I also spoke to manor for vanos seals... I wanted to do it while everything was apart.... I got the seals from him and all I can say it excellent service..!!
It so turned out that I needed to go down to durbs a few days after the radiator gave in.... I wanted to get the seals in before going down to durbs but time was not on my side and both my mech and manor said I should rather wait before putting them in as the last thing anyone wants is to pick up problems on the way down as I would be driving through the night..
So the cooling system was finished the day before I was going to leave.. I drove it around that day and night just to make sure everything was good and it was, I even put it through its paces and it was all good!
So three mates and I left at around 11pm on the Wednesday on our way to margate. Everything was smooth running until we slowed down for the toll gate just outside escort and that's when the endless shit started.... As I pulled away from the toll gate I noticed the temperature climb so i pulled over to check what's happening and the bottom radiator hose had unclipped.... (the only hose I didn't replace as it was still in very good condition) what happened is that with the new radiator it had to be pushed on with more force to clip it in properly.. So I popped it back on without knowing it needed more force so it didn't clip on properly.. Now most of the water was out and we where stuck on the side of the road without any water in the car.... What do I do now? One of my mates suggested I use the windscreen washer water. It would work cause there was no soap in the water! But how do I decant the water without a pipe? Eventually I unplugged the pipe on the sprayer on the bonet and had a mate "spray the windscreen" and put the pipe into a bottle and the water pumped in..
The plan was to stop at the next garage and buy antifreeze.... Luckily that was the plan because as we pulled into escort it started over heating again... The hose had unclipped again... I dismantled a few things to get a better grip on the hose and managed to get it on properly.. But the damage was done. After I topped up with water and antifreeze we set off again..
The next thing to go was the radiator cap.. But this was due to a cracked head!! It was releasing to much pressure into the cooling system... But I didn't know this at the time.. Eventually I used a condom to make a new seal on the cap to get us to the nearest BMW dealership.. I replaced the cap and everything looked good... I wasn't worried about the head because i never let it over heat by much...
On the way to margate from BMW it over heated again... And that's when I noticed the head was gone.... Water in the oil and a misty white smoke out the exhaust... So I had my external warranty tow the car to the nearest RMI mechanic... And that was the end of that, we flew back the Saturday as it was my mates 21st...
I will carry on with my write up and post pictures, I also want post some questions.
So please keep an eye on this thread guys..
So the past 3 months has been the most trying time for my love for BMW, but I will never stop loving them.
It all started with someone using my 325ti 2002 as a daily while there cab was in the panel beaters, during this time I only drove it on occasion at night. The head lamp globes popped so i swapped them put with the brights for the night and the next day I dropped one of the globes in the engine bay and I couldn't find it, so I left it..... Not so clever!! But nothing I could do... It managed to get picked up in the viscose fan and shot it into the radiator, cutting it open.... Not much but just enough to do damage when there was pressure in the system...
It over heated a bit...
My car was then sitting at my mech, we replaced the radiator and most of the pipes... I also spoke to manor for vanos seals... I wanted to do it while everything was apart.... I got the seals from him and all I can say it excellent service..!!
It so turned out that I needed to go down to durbs a few days after the radiator gave in.... I wanted to get the seals in before going down to durbs but time was not on my side and both my mech and manor said I should rather wait before putting them in as the last thing anyone wants is to pick up problems on the way down as I would be driving through the night..
So the cooling system was finished the day before I was going to leave.. I drove it around that day and night just to make sure everything was good and it was, I even put it through its paces and it was all good!
So three mates and I left at around 11pm on the Wednesday on our way to margate. Everything was smooth running until we slowed down for the toll gate just outside escort and that's when the endless shit started.... As I pulled away from the toll gate I noticed the temperature climb so i pulled over to check what's happening and the bottom radiator hose had unclipped.... (the only hose I didn't replace as it was still in very good condition) what happened is that with the new radiator it had to be pushed on with more force to clip it in properly.. So I popped it back on without knowing it needed more force so it didn't clip on properly.. Now most of the water was out and we where stuck on the side of the road without any water in the car.... What do I do now? One of my mates suggested I use the windscreen washer water. It would work cause there was no soap in the water! But how do I decant the water without a pipe? Eventually I unplugged the pipe on the sprayer on the bonet and had a mate "spray the windscreen" and put the pipe into a bottle and the water pumped in..
The plan was to stop at the next garage and buy antifreeze.... Luckily that was the plan because as we pulled into escort it started over heating again... The hose had unclipped again... I dismantled a few things to get a better grip on the hose and managed to get it on properly.. But the damage was done. After I topped up with water and antifreeze we set off again..
The next thing to go was the radiator cap.. But this was due to a cracked head!! It was releasing to much pressure into the cooling system... But I didn't know this at the time.. Eventually I used a condom to make a new seal on the cap to get us to the nearest BMW dealership.. I replaced the cap and everything looked good... I wasn't worried about the head because i never let it over heat by much...
On the way to margate from BMW it over heated again... And that's when I noticed the head was gone.... Water in the oil and a misty white smoke out the exhaust... So I had my external warranty tow the car to the nearest RMI mechanic... And that was the end of that, we flew back the Saturday as it was my mates 21st...
I will carry on with my write up and post pictures, I also want post some questions.
So please keep an eye on this thread guys..