East Sussex Z4, advice needed

D

Dimatteo

Member
Hi All,

Thought I'd say hello after eight months of owning a Z4. What a blast! It's a 2.5 litre auto, gun metal with 86,000 miles. Great condition. I've really enjoyed it, especially cruising around the Sussex countryside during the summer.

OK, here's the problem. The radiator expansion tank split causing the engine to instantly overheat. The car stopped. The head gasket seemed intact according to my local garage and they've since fixed the radiator. However, the engine's blowing smoke, smells like burnt toffee and the transmission dashboard light (cog symbol with exclamation mark) is still on. The garage had previously run the engine for an hour and the temp gauge seemed fine. I don't know whether I just need to run the car for a little to get rid of the old smoke (same smell as when it overheated) or whether it's incurred some serious engine damage. My suspicion is the latter. However, I don't know.

If anyone can recommend a proper Z4 expert garage in the Sussex area please let me know. All advice welcome although I'm bracing myself for the bad news.

Incidentally, I used to work for BMW (Head Office, Bracknell) in the early 90's and they remain to this day the most professional company I have ever worked for - behind the scenes they were consummate professionals. That's given me huge confidence in their cars ever since and I still miss my old X3. They're a top, top company and witnessing what went on behind the scenes was eye-opening and inspiring.

Cheers, Jez
PS Let me know how to post a pic and I will!
 
This might be a bit of a journey for you, but Walkers Autotech near Wisborough Green are well-recommended.

Good luck!
 
Can recommend Walkers as above, ML is near me and there is a specialist in Eastbourne.

Where are you based?
 
Update: I took the car out for a test last night on my local roads (based in St Leonards-on-Sea) and the car felt much better. The burnt oil smells and smoke had disappeared for the most part. However, there's still a small residue smell and I'm suspicious that the exhaust smoke has become whiter and more visible. Looking online at head gasket problems it appears that there are easy tests to see whether the gasket has been breached. So I'll try those.....I'm of a mind that I've incurred some engine damage..... In saying that, the temp gauge is now perfect and the engine feels fine, just slightly out of tune.

Thanks for the tips on local garages. Much appreciated.
 
For your piece of mind get a good local garage to do some tests like a pressure test on the cooling system etc. You don't need a specialist for that any decent garage should be able to do it. I would also check the coolant level everytime before you drive it. You may just be being paranoid about the white smoke, but you may also have an issue. You need a proper answer.
Smell wise, when you loose oil/coolant etc and it sprays everywhere like yours has it can get into every nook and cranny and take a bit of time with the engine running and the car being driven to burn off.

As for BMW UK, not sure many would agree with you there, sorry. Especially those of us that have had warranty issues etc that have become a battle. From what you say they're probably great to work for (at least in the 90's), just not great to be a customer of! Reliability wise, it still amazes me how strong an image the like of BMW/Audi etc manage to maintan when the truth is they do so poorly in reliability surveys etc. They clearly have great "Mad Men"!
 
Hi Mack, thanks for this, that's a really helpful answer. You're right - I need a proper answer for my own peace of mind. Could you give me a steer about how to check the coolant level? A novice's question, sure, but an honest one.

Interesting what you say about BMW. Yes, I was one of those Mad Men. That was my job. And, truth be told I saw the stats of new car sales and well over 50% of them (back in the early 1990's) had to be sent back to the dealer for some issue or other. In fact the reason I still never touch an official dealer is that, back then, the dealers made more money off servicing than selling the new cars. They were a rip off then.
So you make a fair point......still, what a great company to work for back in the day. I had a blast and I have a few interesting stories to share, that's for sure.
 
Hi, the coolant level is checked by undoing the cap (safest on a cold engine) and checking a float is sitting at the correct level.
Rob
 
Thanks - that's helpful. I've just checked a YouTube video and it seems clear enough. I'll just make sure I do it when the engine's cold.
 
An easy check if you think the head gasket may have been breached is to take out the dipstick (if you have one) and check the condition of the oil. If it doesnt look like oil any more and has gone frothy and changed colour then you have coolant getting into the oil. The level will also go up. You can also remove the oil filler cap. If it is full of 'mayo' froth then you could have problems. Frankly I would check oil and water levels are both ok and then take her for a run and recheck on return when car has cooled.
 
Update: I had to go to a meeting in Milton Keynes (250 mile round trip) and with my heart in my mouth I set off on Wednesday. I took the advice above and the coolant was fine. I also took some coolant along for safety. I additionally popped in to a specialist for a quick once over. It all went fine, the specialist thought it seemed OK, and the car ran smooth as clockwork.

I'm a relieved man. When the expansion tank first broke the car was at the very end of a 200 mile trip and the motor was red hot. On a day that was 34 degrees to boot. I'll continue to keep a close eye on it though.

Thanks for all the advice above. That's why I came to the Forum, although I'd been a reader before now, and the advice has been greatly appreciated.
 
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