[johnnybforbacon]

Hi all,
Hoping someone may be able to help....

I have an F31 330D xDrive - (3 litre N57 engine I believe)

Every now and again since the EGR recall (mine hasn't been changed yet..) I pop the bonnet when starting the car to check coolant etc. A few days ago on quite a mild morning, I saw very slight smoke coming from the front of the engine. It stopped after about 30 seconds. No warning lights on the dash, no smells, no levels of anything dropped...

I then drove the car for around 150 miles with no other probs or warnings. Have also used since and each time, popped the bonnet to find no smoke anywhere and no other probs. Any idea what this could have been?

Any help would be much appreciated. Been tempted to take it into BMW but all they do these days is plug it into a computer which will still give me no idea...

Have tried to embed the video of it, if not try this link https://streamable.com/uv0lr

[Eddamoo]

Yeah I'd get that checked although it looks more like steam than smoke? Does it have a sweet odour?

Looks like your coolant is leaking from the EGR cooler area near the exhaust manifold side. The pipe you're looking at transports the EGR gases so is extremely hot.

[johnnybforbacon]

Originally Posted by Eddamoo

Yeah I'd get that checked although it looks more like steam than smoke? Does it have a sweet odour?

Looks like your coolant is leaking from the EGR cooler area near the exhaust manifold side. The pipe you're looking at transports the EGR gases so is extremely hot.

Yeah it is more like steam which leads me to think it's vapour evaporating rather than something actually burning. There doesn't seem to be much smell other than fumes although the car is sitting still so would expect that.

I've spoken to BMW this morning and they said they'd need to plug it in to their diagnostics tool which might or might not show anything. It's out of warranty so they couldn't really give a monkeys.

[jinjur]

That is an EGR leak..............almost sure of it.

Looks more external to me but if it is on the recall list, get it changed as soon as bud

I think the fire risk comes from the internal mixing with soot causing a flammable mix etc but if it is leaking on the outside, it could also be leaking inside

Better safe than sorry

J

[johnnybforbacon]

Originally Posted by jinjur

That is an EGR leak..............almost sure of it.

Looks more external to me but if it is on the recall list, get it changed as soon as bud

I think the fire risk comes from the internal mixing with soot causing a flammable mix etc but if it is leaking on the outside, it could also be leaking inside

Better safe than sorry

J

Thanks mate.

Booked it in at BMW but the only date they next have is 29th March believe it or not... I'll keep an eye on it for now and may possibly have to get it recovered to them if it happens again. The lady I spoke to on the phone had absolutely no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the EGR recall and said it didn't have no recalls. It's irritating to say the least

[Sasquartch]

If you're anywhere near Herts I'll willingly plug it in and see what ISTA says
However it sounds like either a leaky egr
or something like a cam cover gasket leaking oil