Hey guys,
So the car is a 2003 325ci (coupe, not convertible) Automatic. Started loosing a little bit of coolant recently and so I hooked up my trusty cooling system pressure tester to see where. I was expecting (from my recent E36 experience) that it would be a hose connection or water pump or thermostat housing... nope.com.
So at 20psi it is dripping slowly, but steadily from the bottom left of the radiator (drivers side in USA). This is next to the blue drain plug but definitely not from it. It looks to be leaking from the seam between the plastic end tank and the aluminum radiator. Now, I know what you are thinking, you have solved it already! Just replace the darned radiator and you should be good. You might be right, but in my experience (with cooling system overhauls on e36's (3 times)) the radiator is _never_ the problem. After searching the forums for a while it seems like the expansion tanks are also a problem spot.
Should I:
1) Buy and expandion tank and see if that solves the problem
2) Tear the thing apart to attempt to determine what the real problem is? (This would normally be my first choice, but I cannot pressurize the system when it is apart).
3) Buy a radiator and see if that is the problem.
Sorry for the blurry pics.
e46-coolant-02.jpge46-coolant-01.jpg
So the car is a 2003 325ci (coupe, not convertible) Automatic. Started loosing a little bit of coolant recently and so I hooked up my trusty cooling system pressure tester to see where. I was expecting (from my recent E36 experience) that it would be a hose connection or water pump or thermostat housing... nope.com.
So at 20psi it is dripping slowly, but steadily from the bottom left of the radiator (drivers side in USA). This is next to the blue drain plug but definitely not from it. It looks to be leaking from the seam between the plastic end tank and the aluminum radiator. Now, I know what you are thinking, you have solved it already! Just replace the darned radiator and you should be good. You might be right, but in my experience (with cooling system overhauls on e36's (3 times)) the radiator is _never_ the problem. After searching the forums for a while it seems like the expansion tanks are also a problem spot.
Should I:
1) Buy and expandion tank and see if that solves the problem
2) Tear the thing apart to attempt to determine what the real problem is? (This would normally be my first choice, but I cannot pressurize the system when it is apart).
3) Buy a radiator and see if that is the problem.
Sorry for the blurry pics.
e46-coolant-02.jpge46-coolant-01.jpg
Coolant leak, Expansion tank or Radiator?
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