HELP Leaking Coolant

airlordz · Nov 29, 2003

HELP my coolanat is leaking and i am not sure where its from my first guess is that its from the top cylinder gasker and second is that its from a hose o heater core how do i confirm what it is. Do i continue driving or just park it until i know where the leak is from. If its the top cylinder how bad can the damge get if i dont fix it right away [?|]

Thanks

kev415 · Nov 29, 2003

If you even have the littlest doubt that it is comming from the head or head gasket, I would stop driving it NOW. However, there are a few different possibilities. If you have an older E36, '92-'94 and you have recently removed the cap on your coolant resovior, the o-rings tend to go bad and the general sealing capabilitys of the cap are compromised, causing a leak of a rather horrible appearance. If you can narrow it down to this, I would get it fixed as soon as possible, but just watch your coolant level and your temp and you should be fine. Pretty much the same story with the hoses, but again, get them fixed as soon as possible. While you are terring down your cooling system, you might want to check out your water pump and see if it has plastic or metal fins. After a while the plasic ones wil decompose or something, break apart and get sucked into the cooling chanels in your head. That would quicly turn into a $3000 water pump/head job, its better to check it now. But if you see it weeping from around the bottom of the head or is you can blatantly see a crack in eaither the head, or head gasket, I would park it and have it towed to your favorite BMW shop.

airlordz · Nov 29, 2003

kev415 said:

If you even have the littlest doubt that it is comming from the head or head gasket, I would stop driving it NOW. However, there are a few different possibilities. If you have an older E36, '92-'94 and you have recently removed the cap on your coolant resovior, the o-rings tend to go bad and the general sealing capabilitys of the cap are compromised, causing a leak of a rather horrible appearance. If you can narrow it down to this, I would get it fixed as soon as possible, but just watch your coolant level and your temp and you should be fine. Pretty much the same story with the hoses, but again, get them fixed as soon as possible. While you are terring down your cooling system, you might want to check out your water pump and see if it has plastic or metal fins. After a while the plasic ones wil decompose or something, break apart and get sucked into the cooling chanels in your head. That would quicly turn into a $3000 water pump/head job, its better to check it now. But if you see it weeping from around the bottom of the head or is you can blatantly see a crack in eaither the head, or head gasket, I would park it and have it towed to your favorite BMW shop.

Thanks Kev
How do i check whether its leaking from the headgasket what are the signs that i should look for and where are the o-rings located.

airlordz · Nov 29, 2003

Also if the coolant is leaking from the head gasket do u smell it in the car?

kev415 · Nov 29, 2003

You will see it seeping from right between the block and the head, check all the way round the engine. The o rings and all the different seals I was talking about are on the cap to the coolant resovior. You may or may not be able to smell it in the car.

BTW, how does your temp look?

airlordz · Nov 29, 2003

kev415 said:

Temp is fine and i checked to see whether i could see the coolant in the engine using the dipstick nothing so i dont know where its coming from. If i open the engine cap will i see a mix of some sort?

kev415 · Nov 29, 2003

if you do see a mix of oil and coolant, it will be a bubbly milkly looking concoction, and it is usually a pretty good indiacation of a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

airlordz · Nov 29, 2003

kev415 said:

When i take of the oil cap if i look inside there is a brown mixture of some sort right at the top. I dont know whether its old age or what but i dont like it. I thinmk the gasket is blown or at least i hope so. Any idea on cost of repair

kev415 · Nov 30, 2003

If it is just the head gasket, probably between $1000 and $1500. If the head is messed up, and can be machined back to where it should be, $1500 to $2500, and if you need a new head, God help you, cuase I dont even want to know homw much those things are...

The sludge that you see in there might just be build up from old age. Before you make any rash decisions, have your compression checked. That will tell you exactly waht is wrong. If you have a friend who is also a mechanic, buy them some beer to frink while you check it at your house, if not, take it to the NEAREST garage of any kind. They will charege you probably like $50-$75 to check.

airlordz · Nov 30, 2003

kev415 said:

If it is just the head gasket, probably between $1000 and $1500. If the head is messed up, and can be machined back to where it should be, $1500 to $2500, and if you need a new head, God help you, cuase I dont even want to know homw much those things are...

The sludge that you see in there might just be build up from old age. Before you make any rash decisions, have your compression checked. That will tell you exactly waht is wrong. If you have a friend who is also a mechanic, buy them some beer to frink while you check it at your house, if not, take it to the NEAREST garage of any kind. They will charege you probably like $50-$75 to check.

Thanks KEv will have the compression done. I beleive the compression tells you whether the leakage is from the headgasket or from the head right.

jcblaschke · Dec 1, 2003

Yes that's what a compression test will tell, also, you may check your temp sensor at the bottom of your radiator, mine was leaking from there this summer, a cheap fix, even cheaper than compression test, and it only takes a sec.

mjbst111 · Dec 1, 2003

instead of testing your compression you can see if your head gasket is leaking compression into your coolant by taking off your coolant tank cap and check for coolant getting pumped into it abnormally. Or see if your car overheats quickly or at all.

You should have a coolant tank overflow hose that wil lead into your fender or somewhere else. Follow that small hose (pull it out of wherever it leads on your new fancy BMW's and see if it is leaking out of that). If you head gasket is doing what i explained your resevior will fill up quickly and leak there and you wouldn't know it. Least thats what it like for the 325i e30's(as far as the resevoir overflow hose).

Otherwise check on your oil cap again.... is the brown you explained light brown? Does it have the consitancy of mayonaise? If so you may be in bad shape. But then again that wouldn't explain leaking coolant. I was just going with what you guys were saying with the head gasket.

Check all your hoses. it shouldn't be too hard to find.

One last place to check is your firewall has a hose that come out and just ends.... check for fluid comming out of that. it is your heater core leak return so if your heater core leaks it won't leak into your interior.

Hope you find it.

kev415 · Dec 2, 2003

jcblaschke said:

Also a very good point. Check your thermostat, it just might be leaking there. And if you have to replace it, replace it with one 20* cooler than stock. A cooler engine is a faster engine!

kev415 · Dec 2, 2003

airlordz said:

No prob.
If the head is cracked, a compression test may not show it. But the crack usually occurs due to warping caused by extreme heat change typically associated with a bad head gasket. If the head gasket is blown, one or more cylinders will show lower than the rest.

That reminds me, are you getting a rough idle or any check engine lights? How long is your daily drive? Do you let the car warm up and cool down?

mjbst111 · Dec 2, 2003

did you find it yet??

airlordz · Dec 4, 2003

Thanks a lot guys for all your imput.
Questions though
1) Can i do a compression test myself or no. I dont think so
2) My car doesnt overheat quickly thats for sure but so do you take the cap off when engine is on ( i hope not) if not how do you determine whether coolant is getting pumped in abnormally
3) were is the fire ware located cos sometimes i smell coolant in the car especially when i start it i believe might be wrong but yeah i do smell the coolant in the car sometimes but not too often
4) is the temp sensor easy to find or the thermometer can i find those myself
The idling in the morning after a couple of secs is ok. But initially its rough but its cold in this city thats for sure.

I will check the coolant hose and let you all know later
i check my engine oil and theres no trace of coolant its just at the top of the oil cap but i have cleaned the top and i still see it there and no its not like mayonaise thank God.

carcus · Dec 4, 2003

airlordz said:

Spray the engine with engine cleaner, Gunk foam is great, drive it a few days, get it on a lift and have it checked out to isloate the leak before you guess. Save the compression test money for a few bucks of engine cleaner. Use plastic wrap over the electronics though. Hope this helps. If you find out where the leak is, take a pic and post it, we will hook you up. [thumb]

Think cheap first, clean the area, isolate the leak, even get the engine steam cleaned, then you will find the leak pretty easy. I am not the BMW pro, but this is what I have done with all my cars. Never steered me wrong. [thumb]

carcus · Dec 4, 2003

kev415 said:

If the head is cracked or the head gasket is blown, you WILL feel it. Also the temp gauge will be giving you a red flag. [;)]

mjbst111 · Dec 5, 2003

your fire wall is right behind your engine. it seperates your engine from your interior. You'll see two tubes going into it and a tube that looks like it is cut off coming out. Start your engine and look for fluid out of that one.

you can take off your cap as long as your engine is still cool (cold). Pretty much if your engine is still cool than you will see ripples, right off the bat at the speed of your idle.

you can't do a compression test unless you have a compression gage.

good to hear you don't have mayonaise.

temperature sensor i could only tell you on a 91 325... otherwise sorry bro.

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