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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Powertrain and Drivetrain Discussions > N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i > Oil in Coolant



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      12-21-2015, 06:48 PM   #1
rgfinn76
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Oil in Coolant

Guys, I'm looking for any feedback if anyone else has experienced this... About 6k miles ago I noticed gunk all built up in the coolant tank, so much where the dipstick was stuck in the down position. I had the entire system flushed three times, replace coolant tank, hoses and the oil filter gasket. Where else could oil be mixing with the coolant? There is signs of oil coming back in the coolant tank.

P.S. There is no signs of coolant in the oil, so its only going in the direction of the coolant.

Please help!!
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      12-21-2015, 07:43 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgfinn76
Guys, I'm looking for any feedback if anyone else has experienced this... About 6k miles ago I noticed gunk all built up in the coolant tank, so much where the dipstick was stuck in the down position. I had the entire system flushed three times, replace coolant tank, hoses and the oil filter gasket. Where else could oil be mixing with the coolant? There is signs of oil coming back in the coolant tank.

P.S. There is no signs of coolant in the oil, so its only going in the direction of the coolant.

Please help!!
Oil in your coolant is a tell tale sign that you have a broken head gasket.

Sorry to beg the bearer of bad news
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      12-21-2015, 10:56 PM   #3
Dave W.
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Can you see the color of the oil? Is your car auto or manual? The auto trans cars have an oil/coolant heat exchanger mounted low on the left side of the radiator.
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      12-21-2015, 11:00 PM   #4
MDORPHN
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Although it certainly could be the headgasket, it is more common for combustion gas to leak into the coolant, resulting in an overpressurized system.

Neil
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      12-22-2015, 01:54 AM   #5
theweebabySeamus
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How did you flush the coolant? I had the exact same issue and ran a Zerex coolant flush through it and flushed with distilled water a couple more times and it fixed mine.
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      12-22-2015, 07:47 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave W.
Can you see the color of the oil? Is your car auto or manual? The auto trans cars have an oil/coolant heat exchanger mounted low on the left side of the radiator.
Most cars have an oil cooler but not all. The early 335's from 2006 to about mid 2007 did not for example.

You don't need one at all unless you plan on tracking the car to be honest.
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      12-22-2015, 04:01 PM   #7
theweebabySeamus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
Most cars have an oil cooler but not all. The early 335's from 2006 to about mid 2007 did not for example.

You don't need one at all unless you plan on tracking the car to be honest.
Iirc, coupes with sport package did. Mine isn't a retrofit but has the oil cooler and is an 06 build.

Furthermore, Dave W was referring to the heat exchanger that automatics run and not the oil cooler.



In either case, OP I would check and make sure they're not simply putting new water in and calling that a flush and if so, run some coolant flush through it as water won't always grab all the oil in coolant. If that's not the case then I would look into the heat exchanger referenced above and do a compression test if so desired, but head gaskets seem to be a lot less common than an oil barrier gasket failure especially if you haven't had an incident related to tuning or overheating. These cars just don't blow head gaskets very often.
My 0.02

Last edited by theweebabySeamus; 12-22-2015 at 04:10 PM..
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      12-23-2015, 07:47 PM   #8
rgfinn76
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Yea its an auto.... I'm starting to think it could be the heat exchanger. There is no signs of coolant in the oil at all... I had a shop do the flush and replaced the ofhg. Too bad there is no way to check the level of transmission fluid on this damn car.
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      12-23-2015, 08:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgfinn76 View Post
Yea its an auto.... I'm starting to think it could be the heat exchanger. There is no signs of coolant in the oil at all... I had a shop do the flush and replaced the ofhg. Too bad there is no way to check the level of transmission fluid on this damn car.
Can't you just pull the fill plug? Isn't the tranny full when the fluid is level with the fill hole?

Neil
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      12-24-2015, 12:43 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgfinn76 View Post
Yea its an auto.... I'm starting to think it could be the heat exchanger. There is no signs of coolant in the oil at all... I had a shop do the flush and replaced the ofhg. Too bad there is no way to check the level of transmission fluid on this damn car.
The auto trans fluid level should be checked with the car running on level ground. Pull the fill plug and see if any fluid comes out. There should be a little fluid spilling out.
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