What Happened??!?! (Long)

[xwill112x]

heater core or valve since it was pissing on your feet. delete it with hoses while waiting for parts to see if engine runs properly, that way youll know if it was only the heater core, or if it in fact overheated terribly.

[tonywonder]

well i guess that means you just have to rebuild your engine. your head is warped, gasket is destroyed now theres coolant in your oil. you probably destroyed your pistons and cylinder walls because you ran it again. you need to rebuild your entire cooling system now too. sucks man.... i suggest looking for an entirely new engine. you probably screwed up your tranny now too and need new drive axles... not to mention what that does to your suspension. sheesh.

but seriously though. its just your heater core or valve. i just bypassed the heater core by looping the hoses together. you can do that temporarily to drive her around while you wait for your valve, core, or both depending on what went. you caught it before it went completely red and you didnt run it while it was overheating so your engine should be fine.

im assuming your puller fan is rigged to the temp switch? if so then check the switch to see if its good.

[5ickride]

You guys are scaring the hell out of me lol
I ran the engine after this happened and it sounds normal...I wont take any more chances though and will take a look at it this week. I hope its just the heater core as you guys mentioned. The fan is connected to the temp switch and my guess is that the switch is not working. Newb question, how come i can bypass the heater core, dont i need it? What does it do?

[nrubenstein]

You guys are scaring the hell out of me lol
I ran the engine after this happened and it sounds normal...I wont take any more chances though and will take a look at it this week. I hope its just the heater core as you guys mentioned. The fan is connected to the temp switch and my guess is that the switch is not working. Newb question, how come i can bypass the heater core, dont i need it? What does it do?

It heats air. You know, so you don't freeze in the winter.

You really should replace the valve when you're in there.

The fact that you drove it home is worrying, but failure isn't inevitable. If this ever happens again, wait for the tow truck.

[5ickride]

It heats air. You know, so you don't freeze in the winter.

You really should replace the valve when you're in there.

The fact that you drove it home is worrying, but failure isn't inevitable. If this ever happens again, wait for the tow truck.

Thanks for explaining and for the sound advice.

[5ickride]

Took the car to Bimmer Clinic. She's in better hands now.

[damith]

Heater core is a bitch. Same shit happend to me while I was in parkway doing 65mph.
Replacing it, is not that hard. There is a nice write-up in DIY section here.

[DREWHALL]

What a fantastically clean and stock looking swap car. Do you have A/C installed? If so that is an amazing daily driver.

[5ickride]

What a fantastically clean and stock looking swap car. Do you have A/C installed? If so that is an amazing daily driver.

Thanks. No A/C but the lines are there for one...i dont really use A/C.

[BMW_TUNER]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that the violent shudder caused by a bad manual driver caused either the hose at the firewall or the two piece pressure tube to the heater core to die. I bet the core is ok. It was just a factor of jerky starts and stalls and the hose and or the O-ring in the two piece part let go.

[5ickride]

Update: Just got her back today from BimmerClinic. It was the heater core! There was a gasket on the side of it that came loose and must have been leaking coolant for a little while until finally emptying my reserve...i didnt realize this but now i know to start checking all my fluids periodically. The valve he said was fine so all that got replace was the heater core. Thanks again!