[beppy]

So my car died yesterday brought it in local mechanic. Diagnose it to be failed starter.

Today he called me to tell me it's worst. Cause of the problem is a leaking coolant getting onto flywheel and the spinning of the wheel caused the coolant to get on the starter and damage it.

The coolant leak he showed me comes from a small hole/crack from the engine block. He said that I should go back to BMW to have them fix it.

Not sure what to do next but I will be taking pictures and videos to post here for feedback. This is a disaster since I am out of warranty.

Any preliminary thoughts?

[Me_Hi]

How many KM? What driving style... Nobody will warrant a welding job on a cracked engine block plus I don"t even think it's doable on our blocks due to the special alloy it's made of...
Fix the starter and sell the car or go to BMW and get on their "exchange" program.... Let them deal with it ....

[beppy]

there is 97,000 km on the car. I drive very normal, shift gears around 2k rpm.

2006, 5 year old car, isn't it rare for engine block crack? I thought these engine were more durable. Judging by how the crack looks, very strange how i got it.

see video here.

[EliteAutoImports]

It is hard to tell from the video but:

1.. It would appear that it is a hole not a crack. It also appears to be on the backside of the assy to where the coolant hose is on the front side???
2.. My guess is that it is a casting defect as it does not appear to be related to the combustion side, but the water jacket side.
3.. I would expect that there is another defect on the inside as it would appear that there is an indirect route for the coolant loss as if it were direct, you would lose coolant very quickly with that hole.

Welding it would be difficult in this location, and I would expect that the defect could be larger than you are seeing there.

It sucks, but I think you should try to work BMW to warranty it as a good will gesture due to an obvious casting defect.

Good luck!

[beppy]

Thanks.

Ya the leak looks very usual but will need to have closer inspection to conclude.

Very weird as the leak has not occurred until now. So if it was a casting defect. I should have had a leak long ago.

Anyways in the meantime anyone know how I cam drive my car around to garage safetly. Just carry coolant around?

[beppy]

so brought it in to a bmw specialist shop.

Said it is indeed a crack and becuase it is a magnesium - aluminum block, cannot do welding to repair the engine.

So they suggest i do an engine swap.

should i still take it in to dealership for a diagnostic, i'll have to wait a week. and not sure how much bmw would charge for the diagnostic. also they probably will quote me something redicuous for this repair.

sigh, have no idea what caused the crack.

[Me_Hi]

There are engine blocks 4 sale on eBay for 2500$ I see that being the cheapest option for you but why not go to BMW and see their exchange program

[Andy M]

Have you ever sprayed your engine block with water after driving it? Sometimes the sudden change in temperature will make the engine block crack.

[Me_Hi]

I have exposed vents and driving in the BC rain.... That can't be it

[beppy]

Exchange program? Never heard of it works with older cars too? If so maybe exchange after weld?

[02themax]

Buy a used block and be done with it. I wouldn't waste time and money taking it to BMW. GL

[beppy]

Purchaing a used block same thing as engine swap right? Sorry just trying to understand the terminology.

Also what implication would I be facing with a swapped engine down the road?

[02themax]

Depends on how you look at it. Short block is the engine block only, while long block is the block and head included. Easiest swap would be to have them both together so you basically pull the old one and drop in the new one. You could then sell the old head and make some $$ back. Who knows you might be able to sell the block as well.

[dassub]

Wow I'm at 90,000km now, hate to think that was in-store for my car. I have CPO, so I'm crossing my fingers that if ever something major like this happened, the CPO warranty would have it covered.

[beppy]

anyways got it welded, holding it pretty well. not sure anyone else had this problem, it was a weird dimple where it leaked from and didn't quite look like a crack.