Μ54 coolant leak front (opinions)

[Zephyr]

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friend of mine, today, saw temp going to the red and fumes coming from the engine.
its an M54/3.0.
stranded and waiting for road assistance
what can this be?
Busted thermostat? Water pump?
the engine is toast btw, he had to drive for sometime until he could stop, was uphill on a single lane.

 

[Mint]

I had similar on my 2.2 a few years ago. Turned out it is a plastic housing on the thermostat which had split. Easy fix.

 

[colb]

Degraded plastic parts are cropping up as failures these days, its down to the age of the cars and the heat cycles they have been through over the years. Have seen a few issues with plastic water stubs and cam covers breaking down and splitting or crumbling. Rubber coolant pipes and power steering rubber pipes also rot out due to age. Well worth keeping an eye on all these parts and doing regular visual checks when you have the bonnet up checking oil and coolant levels.

 

[Zephyr]

The engine is kaput. As already mentioned, checking brittle plastics is of the utmost importance for keeping an older car in good health.
Cant imagine what will be the maintenance cost in lets say 10 years from now.
biodegradable wires, hardened seals, cracked hoses…. discontinued parts…