Noises AFTER a drive.

T

Tommo

Member
 Stoke-on-Trent
I noticed the other night that after Id been for a spirited drive and had parked the car up, that apart from the usual noises and smells (brakes :oops:) there was an unusual sound that Ive not heard on other cars before. Its like a release of pressurised gadd that lasts for about 1 second and this is repeated roughly every 30 seconds or so. Is this normal?

/paranoia
 
Sounds like the cooling system "letting off steam". Make sure you check the coolant level.
 
Smokin said:
Sounds like the cooling system "letting off steam". Make sure you check the coolant level.
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**** that reminds me, the Engine coolant light has come on a couple of times. Could I have done any damage?

How important is it to use the BMW coolant? Ive got a bottle of ready mixed "Top Up advanced Protection Anti-Free & Summer Coolant" from Halfords... On the back its says... That it meets the requirements of:

Audi
Ford
Mercedes-Benz
GM
Seat
Skoda
VW
Chrysler
Volvo
Renault
'Also suitable for use in most other vehicles'
 
I ran by the dealer and got mine filled. Especially on post facelift 3.0l, that's magnesium and aluminum in that engine. I'm not taking any chances. Probably didn't do any damage unless the light came in and stayed on or if it came on red rather than yellow. Unless that Halfords specifically said BMW, I wouldn't use it. You also have to be careful to not mix types of antifreeze (propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, etc)
 
Thanks mate, Its a pre-facelift 3.0i.

So I just go to my local dealer and they top it up for me?
 
Please don't thrash it again till you have the coolant topped up, you run the risk of serious engine damage if it overheats, headgaskets blowing etc...
 
Just buy some BMW coolant and top it up yourself, it's easy enough.What you need to do is find out why you have lost coolant, most car mysteriously lose a little bit but it shouldn't be much if any.
 
*AL* said:
Just buy some BMW coolant and top it up yourself, it's easy enough.What you need to do is find out why you have lost coolant, most car mysteriously lose a little bit but it shouldn't be much if any.
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I agree; the parts department at your local main stealer will sell you a bottle of the stuff they use when they swap coolant, IIRC it's about £5 for two litres (which you then dilute!). I get most of my consumables (bar oil) from the dealer, it's generally cheaper than anywhere else.

Mine has a mild taste for oil, but the only time the water level has ever been below maximum was straight after I'd had the coolant changed at the dealer... hmmm.
 
:cry: Im going to get straight up there in a min. Any Idea how much the oil is too? my car's used just under a litre in 2500 (around town) miles.
 
ha no it certainly wouldn't be from shock, trust me :P

Just gotbak from BMW, £7 for 1.5L Engine Coolant. Im just topping up so do I still need to dilute it? I supposed to top it up once the car's cooled down right? Not got the manual with me before some smart arse comes up with RTFM :D
 
Def. wait for it to be fully cool to not only avoid possible steam scalding but to get the correct level.

Looking back at the initial I don't think that it should really be venting off like this, especially at this time of year (cold and at night) so IMHO the cooling sytem is not working at full capacity, OR you simply thrashed it all the way to the drive and switched off, in which case the latent heat in the engine has no where to go and boils the coolant off. That's not a good thing to do to an engine.

I'd always run the last mile or so at a much more gentle pace to allow the engine (and to a lesser extent other parts like discs) to cool down.
 
Tommo said:
:cry: Im going to get straight up there in a min. Any Idea how much the oil is too? my car's used just under a litre in 2500 (around town) miles.
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These engine do tend to use a bit of oil but shouldn't bee too noticable, i very very rarely have to top mine up.
 
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