Coolant colour opinion - M54 engine

[Chengy]

Hi all,

For the VANOS refurb I had to remove the lower coolant hose for access. Specifically this one



After some spillage, had a nosey at the coolant - does this coolant colour look off? I know there’s an orange coolant type but this almost looks brown..or I might be overthinking things.





Coolant looks like it was added during a service last year March and there was no mention of coolant issue.



Thanks all.

 

[ed80]

Some coolants are not compatible with one another. BMW blue coolant is a different type to (most) orange coolant (inorganic vs organic acid), the new coolant may have reacted with the remains of the previous stuff. It's probably a good idea to flush it and replace with something you know is good. I would steer clear of that garage in future as well.

https://www.slashgear.com/1513393/antifreeze-radiator-coolant-colors-explained/

 

[Chengy]

Some coolants are not compatible with one another. BMW blue coolant is a different type to (most) orange coolant (inorganic vs organic acid), the new coolant may have reacted with the remains of the previous stuff. It's probably a good idea to flush it and replace with something you know is good. I would steer clear of that garage in future as well.

https://www.slashgear.com/1513393/antifreeze-radiator-coolant-colors-explained/

Thanks for the reply. The work was done by a very reputable specialist so that seems really odd if they’re the culprit.

 

[raymond.harper]

From the handwritten bill, your garage has yet to embrace the digital age. Blue BMW coolant is £14 for 1.5 litres so £9.90 is a bargain assuming 1.5 was placed. Given the fragility of the cooling system, I would be tempted to have it changed.

 

[ed80]

If they are specialists, I would send them that picture and ask for their input. They should also be able to tell you what coolant was used.

Even if they tell you it's fine, I would still recommend replacing it for peace of mind.

 

[Chengy]

Thanks all - coolant will be my next job then, looks daunting..

For now I’ll top up with some de-ionised water to replace the liquid lost during the VANOS refurb procedure.

 

[Chengy]

Just to follow up on this, VANOS refurb went well and definitely notice an improvement in smoothness of acceleration, responsiveness and more power. Brilliant.

Bad news is that I now have a coolant leak. The only part of the coolant system I touched was this part of the hose highlighted - would this be the cause of the leak?



Definitely didn’t have the leak before and I struggle to see the source of the leak. If anything the leak looks like it’s coming from below the expansion tank, but it’s very coincidental that it happened after the VANOS refurb..

Thanks all.