Sweet Burning smell

[CyberDawg]

Hi Guys Fantastic forum first of all.

I drive a 318ti(e46) YES e46 I know you don't get them in the states, anyway the other day I took my car in for a clunking noise and steering vibration to my local BMW dealer, the mechanic jacked the car up and we inspected the control arm and swing arm bushes and the were worn out.

while under the car I noticed a blackish oily substance running down the right hand side of the car and the mechanic first though was it was oil from the worn bushes.

I asked him to check and see if its not coming from the top and he lowered the car and to my horror he said yes it seems like your head gasket is giving in.

for the past two weeks ive also noticed a sweet burning smell from the vents
coming and going irregularly when i drive(sure its the leaking fluid that I saw underneath the car)

the cars performance is still fantastic oil and water levels remain constant
my question is what is the leaking fluid and is my head gasket really giving in?

oh yes I did notice faint white smoke escaping through the gap btw the bonnet(hood) and the fender(front quarter panel) with same smell that comes from the vents inside the car

please advise
Thanx

[3050rpm]

Despite what you say about the coolant and oil levels, this sounds like antifreeze to me, sorry to say...

[XRACER]

Originally Posted by CyberDawg

Hi Guys Fantastic forum first of all.

I drive a 318ti(e46) YES e46 I know you don't get them in the states, anyway the other day I took my car in for a clunking noise and steering vibration to my local BMW dealer, the mechanic jacked the car up and we inspected the control arm and swing arm bushes and the were worn out.

while under the car I noticed a blackish oily substance running down the right hand side of the car and the mechanic first though was it was oil from the worn bushes.

I asked him to check and see if its not coming from the top and he lowered the car and to my horror he said yes it seems like your head gasket is giving in.

for the past two weeks ive also noticed a sweet burning smell from the vents
coming and going irregularly when i drive(sure its the leaking fluid that I saw underneath the car)

the cars performance is still fantastic oil and water levels remain constant
my question is what is the leaking fluid and is my head gasket really giving in?

oh yes I did notice faint white smoke escaping through the gap btw the bonnet(hood) and the fender(front quarter panel) with same smell that comes from the vents inside the car

please advise
Thanx

Have the coolant system pressure tested, you can bring it to an Advanced Auto parts store or Autozone......This way you can pinpoint the leak, it might be something as simple as a hose clamp loose or a bad hose......
X,

[CyberDawg]

Thank you for the advice guys I will have the coolant system pressure tested I sure hope it is just a loose hose clamp or something small strangely the smell hasn't come back
in the last few days after posting this but im still gna go check it out

Thanx for the replies

[CyberDawg]

Finnaly took the car in and they found the problem its my valve cover gasket thats giving in
relieved that its not the head but in the back of my mind I thought it couldnt be as the car showed no symptoms of head gasket failure,

but this brings me to my next question how easy is this to replace this as a DIY activity im sick of getting ripped of at the dealers paying large amounts to get simple stuff done on the car something has been breaking on the car every month for the past 5 months :-(

if anyone could please advise me on what to do I would really appreciate it engine type is a N42B20 on a 318ti

[3050rpm]

Whew, dodged a bullet there... I think the valve cover gasket is a simple job. I may have seen a how-to write up at Pelicanparts.com, they've got a rather decent section on jobs you can do yourself, at different skill levels. Worth checking out.