1996 BMW Z3 coolant and head gasket issues

DAR.REED

MEMBER
1996 BMW Z3
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
119,000 MILES

All,

so I have a 96 BMW Z3 with ~ 119k miles. I recently took it in to the shop as it had quite a substantial oil leak. When I got there the guy repaired the leak and said that my radiator and thermostat assembly were on there way out so we had them replaced as well. He flushed the coolant through and made sure all was good. Couple of days later my girlfriend is driving down the freeway and the engine loses all power, apparently when she put her foot on the gas it stuttered and died. When I arrive there is the distinct smell of burnt coolant, lift the hood and sure enough there is coolant everywhere.

i took it back to the guy and he said that a plastic hose that goes from the back of the head to the radiator blew, dumping coolant everywhere. The loss of coolant may have caused the head gasket to go but it had nothing to do with the work he did. Im no mechanic but it seems to me that if you replace the radiator and other coolant systems, you should check it is all working before it leaves the shop. It sounds like he didnt fit something properly which caused the coolant explosion and hence cause the temp to shoot through the roof and blow the head gasket. Just looking for abit of confirmation or perhaps some other theories before I talk to this guy again.

oh and he wants 1500-1800k now to fix it all

Thanks in advance for you help

1 Reply

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

The guy you had work on your car may or may not have done his due diligence and I am not here to pass judgment, often older cars with plastic in the cooling system have catastrophic failures after repairs due to the system pressures. If the car had all the cooling system components replaced, I would expect it to not fail. That did not happen and to blame the tech is just an easy way out. I am not defending or condemning the actions taken, FYI, the older the car, the more that can happen, and this is a worst case scenario. I would try to get some of the cost reduced for the repairs, a bit of negotiation might be the thing to do.