With BMW, Audi and Mercedes. It is never just an in and out job

Yes, my people, good day. If I said it before I will say again. It’s never an in-and-out job when it’s European. Let me show you what I mean by that my friend. We needed a water pump, so we removed it. But we can’t put that old thermostat back on. That thermostat looks older than my great-grandmother’s bookmark. The radiator hoses are next to be inspected.

I squeeze it, and it feels soft, almost like paper. This indentation tells you how long this clamp has been on here a very long time. I am not saying that it’s leaking, but it is old. Also, I was trying to remove this small coolant line, but it looks petrified.

The valve cover gasket is leaking all over the exhaust manifold, which smokes when you start up. If you do valve cover gaskets, you must remove the ignition coils.

Now would be a good time to replace the spark plugs if they have never been replaced. Or if they have not been replaced in a long time. This is how it snowballs from a water pump job to a valve cover gasket to spark plugs and then belt tensioner pulleys. And this is how it is when a European car with a few thousand miles, comes in for service. More than one item will need attention.