[Sunnyc123abc]

So I have a bad coolant leak in front of the turbos. Anyone else have this leak before? And was it covered under safeguard warranty?

[dadysev]

Did you check the turbo coolant lines? i have a post on a DIY for them. thats the only coolant that runs around there i believe.

[Sunnyc123abc]

Originally Posted by dadysev

Did you check the turbo coolant lines? i have a post on a DIY for them. thats the only coolant that runs around there i believe.

Yea I changed the turbo coolant lines. The part thats leaking is the y joint where three coolant lines connect in the picture above. It completely shattered into pieces. Im in the process of changing it now. part # 17127576363

[Apple Corps]

Are those OEM hose clamps?

If not, those type of clamps are notorious for breaking plastic as they do not impart equal pressure all around the hose (and thus the plastic part the hose is being sealed to).

[Sunnyc123abc]

Yea, those are original. It broke at the joint. The tubes and area where the hose clamps are are in good condition

[Apple Corps]

Thanks - that photo tells the story. While I am no materials engineer, I have found plastics + heat = failure.

Kind of surprised that such a critical part was not engineered with a more durable material or construction.

[BloomingtonFPV]

This was very helpful. I had an opportunity to look down at my y-section (I had to print out the picture and compare it against my engine to figure out where the little bugger was). It looks like I have a bad leak there as well, at least at one end.

How hard was it to replace the new piece? Just remove a bunch of stuff, install the new piece, and put it back together? Or were there tricky sections?

[dadysev]

Man, i had the cpp done, and turbos replaced. hope these were checked. You are making me want to open my hood now!
Good find!

[Sunnyc123abc]

I had the ccp done. They didn't touch any of the lines.

Changing the hoses is pretty straight forward. You just have to unplug a couple sensors, intake, and vacuum hoses to get in there. The hard part was figuring out how to unscrew the hoses clamps without removing the alternator etc.

On the passenger side I had to use a really short extension to get the ratchet in the right position to slowly unscrew it. On the driver side I had to use 3 extensions so that the ratchet was basically on the passenger side of the engine making it able to turn. Two of the extensions with heads that pivoted to get the socket at the right angle because the screw clamps point downward. The third hose is pretty accessible from the front.

You will definitely need a lot of patients. I also used a little wd-40 when reinserting the new hoses to make them slide on easier. I dunno if that's bad for them or not. Here are pics of the location where the hoses connects to the motor.

part # 17127576363

Got one of the dealers nearby to pricematch.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...e/17127576363/

[dadysev]

Thanks again for the info. I don't know about wd40 but i normally use a little silicone grease when sliding on rubber hoses or o rings. any lube is ok i guess.

[BloomingtonFPV]

Thanks for the picts. Did you use BMW spring clamps, screw clamps or some mixture? I could see using spring clamps where I could, and screw clamps for the really tight areas...

[Sunnyc123abc]

I used the bmw ones that where there alreadya for the back two, and a generic screw clamp for the front one.

[535_BiTurbo]

Originally Posted by Sunnyc123abc

Yea, those are original. It broke at the joint. The tubes and area where the hose clamps are are in good condition

Can I just remove the clamps on the end near the Y fitting and just replace the Y fitting??

[Sunnyc123abc]

Yea you can just replace the Y joint because it was the only part leaking. The only problem is that it will be hard to get in there and remove the hose clamps at the Y joint. The hose clamps at the the end of the hoses that connect directly to the motor are screw clamps. But the hose clamps at the Y joint and the hose going to the front of the motor are crimp style clamp.

[AmooManiak]

I noticed that I am leaking coolant as well. Didn't really notice before, but today the car was on and stationary for about 30-45 minutes while some coding was being done. After I moved it, I noticed a puddle of coolant.

I've gone had a couple of 200+ mile round trips in the last 7 days and didn't have any issues. I assume the the fact that the car was stationary for a while caused it to run a little hotter than usual.

[Paul1994]

Wow.. I just took my car into the shop for this same problem. I replaced the hoses that were leaking, but still smelled coolant. I did not start taking apart things to get to all the hoses maybe i should have. The dealer is charging me around 3k for replacement of everything(all leaking hoses/pipes).

[Paul1994]

Is this a weak spot that we are just going to have to deal with.. Next time I will take a little more time and fix it my self.

[Sunnyc123abc]

I believe these spots will eventually leak.

[SLVSRFR]

Originally Posted by Sunnyc123abc

I believe these spots will eventually leak.

Did you drain the coolant before changing the lines? Or did you clamp them off?

[Sunnyc123abc]

Originally Posted by SLVSRFR

Did you drain the coolant before changing the lines? Or did you clamp them off?

no, I didn't drain anything. But then again my coolant was low when I changed the lines. I don't think there will be much coolant coming out of the lines because they are on top.

[kris993tt]

Hi guys,

I had the y pipe failure as well and thought I'd share this. The y pipe as others have noted is plastic which shouldn't be a problem. With materials engineering and tech being what it is, there should be no issue with designing/engineering a plastic component to be able to sustain the heat and pressures it would be subjected to. BMW just didn't do this or trusted the spec/data sheet from it's supplier. Long and the short of it, it's crap plastic which literally disintegrates over time. If it were to break on a long drive, total loss of coolant and a blown engine would be the result.

I decided to replace just the Y with a brass T fitting that you can pick up at any plumbing/gas supply. All pics attached. I got mine from the local ACE hardware. Access to the fitting is the main hassle. You have to remove the turbo inlet and outlet air hoses. Not a bid deal, just tedious. Once you can see the fitting though, it's fairly straight forward. You need to just cut the crimped on hose clamp right across the ear with a really good pair of cutters. Then carefully remove that fitting. It WILL break off inside the hose. No matter, a long timber screw of the right diameter (1/4") screwed into the broken bit will give you enough of an anchor to pull it out. If you do drop pieces in, see if you can tap them out. If not, you will have to remove the entire hose. Get hose clamps onto the 3 hoses there, push in the T fitting and screw it on. You'll struggle but it can be done as my pics show. I pulled the hose that's on the passenger side out to my left so I could get one end of the T in first before threading it back in behind the alternator to connect to the other two hoses. You can of course remove the alternator. A bit more work but much more access.

The reason I didn't remove that entire hose assembly was primarily because getting at the hose clamps at where the hoses connect up with the engine at two points and the main coolant pipe was going to be a lot more work. The second reason was that I'd end up with that same piece of plastic shyte in there. So I came up with this solution. I did a similar fix on my E63 with the N62 engine and that was back in 2013. 4 years ago and not a problem since. So I guess it is a long term solution, and the quality of the rest of the hoses are up to it (I do inspect them regularly).

This worked for me, was a simple solution (took about 2 hrs tops) but attempt at your own risk etc etc

cheers,
Kris

[dadysev]

Just to be clear this is under the left side turbo correct ( drivers side) ? My car is parked until April but i was still smelling a little coolant before i parked it and suspect that little fu##er is leaking. Forgot to check if they changed it with my CCP as my timing chains were done and the engine block was removed from the car and stripped.