Cooling System

javis20

Active member
 Hershey, PA USA
My son recently had his 2003 Z4 2.5 (85,000 miles) at the BMW dealership for a free courtesy check up. The dealer recommended a valve cover gasket and to replace the cooling system. Well, my son and replaced the valve cover gasket (piece of cake). About the cooling system... Is that really necessary? It's not exhibiting any problems. And I have not heard of people here talking about it, like rear coil springs. What's your collective thoughts? I'll do it If I have to, but it looks like a big pain in the ass.
 
As always with BMW, not so free check up,, main dealers always seem obsessed with changing cooling fluids, brake fluids, whether they need doing or not, it certainly wont hurt to do it, as you can get a build up of deposits in it, but not a game changer I would think.
So either if you handy do it yourself or any local garage will do that, for a dam site less than BMW
 
If you decide to do it yourself make sure you follow the bleeding procedure. In particular I was told to bleed it before starting otherwise it simply recirculates the air...
 
[ref]javis20[/ref], I would take advantage of BMW's 'courteous' service and d it yourself.
Cam cover gasket only required of it leaks. All else putting plasters where there is no wound! As for the cooling system I would replace expansion tank (prone to crack and she'd the coolant without any notice) and refresh the O-rings molested in the process. F it's an auto you may want to look at what else might want replacing. I've heard the oil cooler is integral with the engine radiator and if it exists it can allow gear oil and coolant to mix, which is not great.
 
Well, they were estimating $3,000 dollars or more, so it was more than a flush. They said all hoses, expansion tank, water pump ..etc. Full cooling system replacement.

The valve cover gasket had a really tiny leak, so my son and I replaced it.
 
The expansion tank is a well documented weak point. Prone to getting hairline cracks.

Saying that, they are very cheap and aren't too difficult to replace. I paid around £75 gbp for a new one from BMW. Worth doing yourself, definitely.
 
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