newby smelling coolant

[hatched91]

hello everybody, i'm new to the forums and to bmw's in general. i just bought a 535i with 330k miles from a buddy for dirt cheap. i'm having a problem though, and i've read quite a bit from this site about it, but i can't diagnose it for sure.
problem:

when i turn the a/c on at times, heat comes from the passenger vents, but a/c through the drivers, when both are set to cold. other times, it works fine. when the heat comes from the passenger side, i smell coolant when this happens and i leak coolant. i think the heater core is bad, thus the leak, but i can't figure out why the heat comes on. also the drivers side control knob "clicks" when turned all the way to the left for the defrost, but the passenger doesn't, it stops, but no click. my guess is bad heater core and the control panel needs to be replaced. what are your guys' thoughts?

p.s. here are some pics of my bimmer, it has dinan suspenion and b&b tri-flow exhaust, also has some ugly after market wheels and tinted windows. payed less for the car than the catback costs.(that's my explorer in the back hehe)
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7789/bmwsitepiczl8.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/2817/bmwsitepic2tm3.png (http://imageshack.us)
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/2175/bmwsitepic3uq1.png (http://imageshack.us)

[nuclearfusion]

If you're losing coolant and you smell coolant inside the car it's very likely your heater core is leaking.

The climate control system is dual-zone and you might find that the driver's side control clicks at both extremes of low and high temperature. If so that is the override for the dual-zone climate control. Check it carefully.

A search for "heater core" should yield you lots of information about what it takes to swap out.

Here's a good link to get you started:

http://www.homeofsbc.com/Fixes/Heater/heater.htm

Enjoy!

Fusion

[genphreak]

sweet find :)

The core could be just pipes, but once in there you just replace the lot for new. No point having to teat the dash apart twice for the cost of a new one from www.bmaparts.com - and they will tell you what you need.

A leaky core is normal at that age, but it could also mean bad coolant. If you have not got blue coolant chnage it immediately for the dealer supplied stuff, a full block, radiator flush is in order.

The heater problem is liley to be the heater valves- again a repalcement but much easier to do. Might as well change all your hoses, water pump, thermostat and belts whilst you are at it.

It'll tot up but save you money as any failiure in these parts can cause overheating and at your car's age the block won't handle this well. It causes head gasket to leak- that costs mega bucks- and is a hard job best avoided at any cost.

Read all about other people's woes re heater cores/water pumps/cool-blue coolant and so on. For such simple and well thought out system, it causes a lot of people a lot of cash learning it has to be got it right.