X5M turbo coolant pipe leak?

[Colodano]

For those of you that have had a bad coolant leak to the turbos...

I have been getting the bad coolant burning smell in the cabin, and a few weeks ago I replaced the obviously dripping hoses to the passenger side turbo. Still was getting the smell, but could not see any dripping.

Today, got on it a bit, and right after I slowed down got a low coolant warning, and a bunch of smoke coming from under the hood.

Stopped and checked it out, as soon as I popped the hood there was coolant sprayed everywhere from the front Vee area, but could see that it wasn't coming from the soft hoses.

Adding coolant and limping it home, I was continuing to get leakage and coolant smoke, but very hard to narrow down as of yet, but I assume it is coming from the hard lines to the turbos.

At this point I know I am going to have to get all of that area apart, but I am not sure if I need to do all new hard lines, or if just replacing all of the seal rings and spacer rings should be sufficient. I also plan to do the turbo return block and the gaskets and seals for all of the turbo oil lines, but again, will the seals be enough?

Has anyone seen proof of a failed coolant hard line, or failure of the oil supply or returns lines outside of gasket or seal leakage?

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by Colodano

For those of you that have had a bad coolant leak to the turbos...

I have been getting the bad coolant burning smell in the cabin, and a few weeks ago I replaced the obviously dripping hoses to the passenger side turbo. Still was getting the smell, but could not see any dripping.

Today, got on it a bit, and right after I slowed down got a low coolant warning, and a bunch of smoke coming from under the hood.

Stopped and checked it out, as soon as I popped the hood there was coolant sprayed everywhere from the front Vee area, but could see that it wasn't coming from the soft hoses.

Adding coolant and limping it home, I was continuing to get leakage and coolant smoke, but very hard to narrow down as of yet, but I assume it is coming from the hard lines to the turbos.

At this point I know I am going to have to get all of that area apart, but I am not sure if I need to do all new hard lines, or if just replacing all of the seal rings and spacer rings should be sufficient. I also plan to do the turbo return block and the gaskets and seals for all of the turbo oil lines, but again, will the seals be enough?

Has anyone seen proof of a failed coolant hard line, or failure of the oil supply or returns lines outside of gasket or seal leakage?

The soft hoses leak all the time as well as the plastic T fitting (some M's have metal T's). The metal side of the turbo coolant lines will never leak unless they were not installed correctly/loosened.

Also there is a little dorky 1/4" coolant hose that runs from head to head under the turbos that has a plastic Y fitting, this is very prone to leaking too and can cause exactly what you are describing.

Jump over to the F10 M5 forums and do a search (the S63 up to 2012 is the same as the E70), lots of info on replacing the rubber hoses over there. Also there are some youtube videos on it (look under both the N63, and S63 when doing a seach, same hoses used on both)

I am actually about to install that cylinder head to head hose later today after doing the valve guide seals. I am wrapping mine in heat reflective wrap to help it survive. Dick move on BMW making the Y & T connections plastic.

ProTip: Use a small funnel and poor coolant down the lines until it goes to the top before connecting the soft lines to the hard, this will help keep the turbo coolant lines primed. Cover you Alternator in plastic and paper towels as some will run out when you connect.

[Colodano]

I called up one of the guys I know that is a former BMW tech, and that hose between the heads is exactly what he suggested as well. Makes more sense, so I am ordering one up today. He was even nice enough to run through the best way to get to it, I just need to get it over to my parents place. I have my other car stored there as well, so I am going to get that put back together as well, been awhile since I thought about wanting a backup.

I may still see if I need to do anything else in that area while I have it torn down a bit.

[TwinSnailz]

You’ll see why shop charge an arm and some leg to change that piece of peazy hose.
Intake charge pipe, Fuel line, Alternator everything in that area because there’s no other way to squeeze a flat head screw driver in there for the clamps. Oh and the front hose connection, its bury in there.
I’ve learn alot of new cuss words since Ive owned this X5m.

[Colodano]

Yep I expect it to be some fun, even with some of the specialized tools that I have at my disposal. Doesn't help that I am big guy, with big hands.

I may try and take some pictures and throw a tutorial together as I go.

[Colodano]

Well that was a fun job...

Took out the charge pipe assembly, fresh air ducts, and alternator and bracket to get to it. The little Y was basically nothing any more, and getting the new hose on the barbs in each head was a bit of fun. I did at least give it a wrap of gold foil tape, who knows if it will help or not.

Also found that the seal from one of the fresh air ducts into turbo was already loose a year and a half or so after replacement, so those seals seem to be about a 15K change interval.

Not sure if I did something wrong, but I could not get the coolant bleed procedure to work, so I am slowly working the coolant through everywhere, but had no heat on the maiden voyage. Working from home now, so it may be a bit to get that sorted out completely.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by Colodano

Well that was a fun job...

Took out the charge pipe assembly, fresh air ducts, and alternator and bracket to get to it. The little Y was basically nothing any more, and getting the new hose on the barbs in each head was a bit of fun. I did at least give it a wrap of gold foil tape, who knows if it will help or not.

Also found that the seal from one of the fresh air ducts into turbo was already loose a year and a half or so after replacement, so those seals seem to be about a 15K change interval.

Not sure if I did something wrong, but I could not get the coolant bleed procedure to work, so I am slowly working the coolant through everywhere, but had no heat on the maiden voyage. Working from home now, so it may be a bit to get that sorted out completely.

It really is a shame that BMW doesn't make the y out of metal instead of cheap plastic. The heat reflective tape will help. I Covered mine in heat resistant wrap too just to help it last longer (pics below for anyone else interested in doing this when fixing this coolant hose).

As for the coolant, if you pull the turbo coolant hoses and use a small funnel, you can usually get another quart or two down there to help as it is the highest point on the engine. Otherwise the best way is to use a vacuum fill method kit like they sell at FCP Euro, I just used it on mine and worked flawlessly. didn't have to bleed or anything after. I had pulled the heads and heater valve so had to refill the entire systems. Took almost three Gallons of 50/50 BMW coolant/distilled water.

[frankenm]

Well this small fucking y-line failed for me today when I was test driving a fix for an oil leak - just checked it a few months ago when changing turbos and it was fine should have replaced it then I guess...

Thought the engine caught fire there was so much smoke coming from under the hood, was a catastrophic failure of the hose.

This damn car feels like a boat full of holes I cant keep plugged...literally every time I fix something theres another problem.

[TwinSnailz]

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as i thought so too.
More BS to come, thing that doesn’t break in other cars will surprise you in a bmw.
I’m a car enthusiast and enjoy working on cars but with this X5m, I just want to smash my head in a brick wall everytime I popped the hood.

[frankenm]

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as i thought so too.
More BS to come, thing that doesn’t break in other cars will surprise you in a bmw.
I’m a car enthusiast and enjoy working on cars but with this X5m, I just want to smash my head in a brick wall everytime I popped the hood.

I have a new appreciation for working on other cars now ... well actually more of a jealousy ...

Kind of fuck all ideas did these engineers have when they built this engine - they have so many design ideas that make zero fucking sense.

[Colodano]

For the most part, I assume that they draw something up in a design program, and makes sense a little, so they send it out to a cheap bidder. So much cheap plastic junk under the hood of these beasts.
I work on my cars at my parents place, and my dad, who was a euro tech for over 40 years, would just walk by and shake his head. We had a few good laughs after the job was all done, he was surprised at how fast I got it all back together actually.
Unfortunately I am getting some other kind of leak and smoke now, although not as bad a as that hose was. Really thinking I should have just pulled the turbos, cleaned out the valley really well, and replaced all of the other gaskets down there, as well as the vacuum pump o-ring, I have had it in the glovebox for over 2 years now.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by frankenm

Well this small fucking y-line failed for me today when I was test driving a fix for an oil leak - just checked it a few months ago when changing turbos and it was fine should have replaced it then I guess...

Thought the engine caught fire there was so much smoke coming from under the hood, was a catastrophic failure of the hose.

This damn car feels like a boat full of holes I cant keep plugged...literally every time I fix something theres another problem.

It is mind boggling why BMW chose to use plastic on so many critical components. This in combo with their refusal to let the cooling fan run for any length of time and sealing up the engine compartment is a recipe for everything under the hood plastic and rubber to have a short lifespan.

I am going to replace all the plastic y and t blocks on the cooling systems with metal also.
I am also adding (4) 7 inch fans in front of the radiation/intercooler, arranged under the bumper and in the middle as to not affect high-speed airflow and assist during stop and go and I am installing a 5min timer.

One of the main reasons I the n& s63tu do so much better is their cooling fan actually stays on cools the damn thing down on shutdown. Im going to start a build log soon and will post there for anyone interested.

Deleting your rear partition, removing your engine cover, and triming the rain gutters a half and inch will drastically reduce your underhood temps.

[TwinSnailz]

Does the N63 not allow fan to run after engine is shutdown when hot?
My S63, usually in summer heat, will run for a few min after engine is off.
Maybe you can code it?

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Does the N63 not allow fan to run after engine is shutdown when hot?
My S63, usually in summer heat, will run for a few min after engine is off.
Maybe you can code it?

I notice mine on when the engine temps are 220+. I was thinking about coding it in too and asked several engine tuners but they didn't have any info on it. I am sure it can be done but I also wanted a way to manually turn on cooling as I also plan to install a ice-water spraying system in-front of the intercooler and see how it affects performance. Probably not worth it but only one way to know for sure.

[philly42]

I suspect I'm getting the same coolant leak. Could someone help me locate the part numbers for the hose that needs to be replaced?

[frankenm]

OEM cost is about $60 and it is just doomed to fail again ...

I am using some silicone hose, a standard metal-Y adapter and wrapping it in a heat shield ... cost around $20 total this will hopefully last a lot longer.

The hose measures about 8mm ID and 14mm OD

[Dawgz]

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

It really is a shame that BMW doesn't make the y out of metal instead of cheap plastic. The heat reflective tape will help. I Covered mine in heat resistant wrap too just to help it last longer (pics below for anyone else interested in doing this when fixing this coolant hose).

As for the coolant, if you pull the turbo coolant hoses and use a small funnel, you can usually get another quart or two down there to help as it is the highest point on the engine. Otherwise the best way is to use a vacuum fill method kit like they sell at FCP Euro, I just used it on mine and worked flawlessly. didn't have to bleed or anything after. I had pulled the heads and heater valve so had to refill the entire systems. Took almost three Gallons of 50/50 BMW coolant/distilled water.

The hoses you wrapped....I can't find them on realoem

Do you have any reference?

[philly42]

Originally Posted by Dawgz

The hoses you wrapped....I can't find them on realoem

Do you have any reference?

The hose is #5 (Part# 17127589731)

I can see coolant on the tray underneath the alternator also down the valley of the V. The upper turbo coolant hoses look fine and were replaced last year.

[Dawgz]

Ah ok thanks

[Colodano]

Here is some I took of it from the top, this one you can see a bit more of where it is routed, and the drivers side head connection:



Here as soon as a I touched it, you can see it was broken cleanly. The nasty gunk everywhere is from the leak in the upper hoses before etc. This I wish I took the extra time to really clean it all up:

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by Dawgz

The hoses you wrapped....I can't find them on realoem

Do you have any reference?

Philly42 already posted a link to it but FrankenM does have a good idea on just replacing the entire thing with silicone hose and a metal Y adapter to make it bullet proof.

If you do go with the stock hose, definitely wrap it. I used : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I cut it apart and used stainless steel bands to make it fit over the odd shape and y fitting.

[pearlpower]

Anyone have a link to a 5/16" Y-pipe in metal? Going to swap mine as I see a very small amount of dried coolant on it. Thanks.

EDIT: Found these
https://amzn.to/35ErvqC