Need help again. BMW 528i 2000. All rad hoses want to burst???

[herman maire]

Car- 2000 BMW 528i automatic. All stock.

Anybody know whats going on? My dad was driving around town and the temp started to rise... he kept driving until the temp gauge started to get close to the red then shut it down.

The bottom rad pipe is leaking and all the other rad pipes have a few bubbles on them. So there was some pretty high pressure here, I dont know what would put that much pressure in the system.

So what could be faulty-
- thermostat
- rad
- water pump

As always, any opinions appreciated .

Thanks

[Tobra]

high temps put a lot of pressure in system, I would check thermostat first because I am cheap, perhaps water pump or blocked up rad. If you flush the system and it goes away, problem was the rad

[VincentVega]

All 3 are maintenance items on that car. It's common to replace the combination every 60k.

[TerryBPP]

Bmw's are famous for head gasket issue. Check your oil for coolant. If there any in it time for a HG.

Could be just the water pump or stuck thermostat.

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by Tobra

high temps put a lot of pressure in system, I would check thermostat first because I am cheap, perhaps water pump or blocked up rad. If you flush the system and it goes away, problem was the rad

.exactly........

[TerryH]

That generation of BMW had weak plastic impellers on their water pumps. Thermostat is another common failure also. I know the 3 series have/had expansion tanks rupture often, so wouldn't be surprised if 5 serier are similar being as it's 2.8L.

How's coolant level?

[3.2 CAB]

BMW had a massive recall, due to improper coolant res. caps. they were allowing too much pressure to build and were blowing cooling systems apart, radiators, expansion res., hoses, etc. Check to make sure that you have the proper cap on the coolant res. It should have a "flat top" on the correct cap.

[cairns]

I'll bet you money it's a faulty thermostat or pressure valve. I'd replace both, the hoses and the water pump too. This is the only thing that went wrong in my ten years e39 528I ownership.

[3.2 CAB]

Here is the BMW recall info on the coolant cap.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/leersmd/original/SI%20%20Radiator%20Cap%20Recall%20-%20No.pdf

[herman maire]

Guys thank you for all the speedy replies.... It turns out it was all the items that you guys mentioned but the broken down car seemed to REALLY stress my dad out and it was like talking to brick wall. So , he ended up just sending the car to a bmw dealer 70 miles away and renting a car for the weekend instead of me helping him out. It was pretty intense, just looking under the hood he was pacing around the car cursing the gods why me, why me ect... Oh well, I tried.

They did not change the rad cap though. Do you think I should tell him to pick up a new cap?

Thanks again

[cairns]

You may may want to ask about the TSB/recall but if it's running normally now I wouldn't worry about it.